Exclusive: The Simpsons Movie Preview By
Sean Lynch
Click Here for Exclusive Clips from The Simpsons Movie News spread quicker than a Paris Hilton VD when it was
announced that the first, full length trailer for the hotly anticipated
film version of cultural phenomenon that is The Simpsons hit the net. There has long been talk of a Simpsons (one
of the longest running cartoon / sitcoms in TV history, which recently
celebrated it's 20th year on air) flick, and amazingly - after almost
20 years on air - it's about to hit cinemas. Not surprisingly, The Simpsons Movie
is also one of the most closely guarded films that has ever existed.
Rumours have been flying around left right and centre: what's the story
about, it will be live action, Homer will die, Green Day will star,
Blink 182 were going to reform in the film, Bart's full frontal nudity
scene, a brand new character, etc, etc. In fact, there have been
more rumours surrounding the flick than there are conspiracies
surrounding the death of John F Kennedy. But the biggest question of
all is - will is be any good? It's become a bit of an unspoken agreement amongst TV fans, that the newer episodes of The Simpsons
currently airing on TV haven't exactly been of the greatest quality. In
fact, and we're just being honest, but the show has been struggling to
get a laugh for the last several seasons. Characters which were once
left to the side for quick comic relief one liners are now getting
entire episodes devoted to them (did anyone else see that terrible ep
with "Ol' Gill") - so it is with great hesitancy that we anticipate The Simpsons Movie. Or will it simply be the case that the writers have been saving all the good gags for this script? Let's hope so. While
the plot for the flick has been tightly guarded, experts suggest that
the first full length feature from Matt Groening will follow Homer
trying to save his hometown Springfield from a disaster which he was
responsible for. But, of course, this is Hollywood - so that
could mean anything. A recent interview with Groening in
Entertainment Weekly in the US saw Matt suggesting that "70 percent of
the things in it [the current trailers available online] — based on
where we were eight weeks ago
— are no longer in the movie, because we keep on fooling around [with
the script]." This
seems to be the case, with voice actor Harry Shearer having stated
numerous times that he has been recording new voice material on and off
for the last five years - every week or so! While this may bode well
for the freshness of the jokes within the film, you can't help but
wonder if it will affect the overall consistency of the flick. Much
like the current crop of episodes, plot lines have fast become a thing
of the past - instead making way for a series of unrelated gags. Now
call me crazy, but for some reason that just doesn't fly with me. Shows
like Scrubs has started to
suffer from a similar affliction of late - worrying to much about the
gags, and not enough about the story. The truth is, the reason the
jokes were so good in the old episodes was because they stood out
amongst a strong story. Now, there's just so many gags being thrown at
you that you really aren't interested. But
enough of my TV
soapbox. Back to the flick at hand. Another 'confirmed rumour' is the
astonishing number of characters set to appear throughout the
flick."There are 94 speaking parts [so far]. And our animals don't
speak."
Groening said. While that may please die hard fans, will having 94
speaking parts really help the plot line along? Well it seems so with
Matt suggesting that the team "Consistently held on to the idea of
story and emotion, when the instinct in the room was to write as many
jokes as possible". So perhaps all is not lost. For those who have yet to see the trailer yet - the link is below - but be warned, if you're not a fan of the Futurama style 2D/3D mix ups (many believe The Simpsons
was stronger for always sticking to it's original animation style) you
may be in for some stress. Yep, there's gonna be a lot of it! At
the end of the day, people are going to see the flick - and it will be
part of everyone's DVD collection no matter how good or bad it is. Much
like the TV series itself, you can watch it as many times as you want
and there is always something new to discover. Speaking with a
friend in the car the other day he succinctly put his finger right on
the button when he said "So, how long is it until I'm disappointed by The Simpsons Movie?".
For those interested - it hits Australian cinemas July 26 (one day
before it hits the US surprisingly). Be prepared for the best...and the
worst! The Simpsons Movie hits cinemas
in
Australia July 26th, 2007. The Simpsons Movie : Official Site
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Homer in one of the trailer's funnier scenes | Homer Simpsons getting savaged by
fans and critics |  |  |
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