Somewhere in Korea, an animation factory just kicked into overdrive.
The Simpsons Movie has long been the Chinese Democracy of the tube-to-screen adaptation world (a world that still breathlessly awaits The Small Wonder Movie). Suddenly, there’s a teaser trailer, attached to Ice Age 2. On the weekend of April 1. Can you blame the wag-o-sphere for being a little suspicious?
I mean, it looks like a joke. The 20-second teaser begins with an extreme close-up of Superman’s “S” logo, and a voiceover promising a hero’s leap to the big screen. We pull out to see Homer on the coach, in a horrifically undersized Superman T-shirt.
The project has been cloaked in Burns Mansion-level secrecy, which means it may be up to 15, 20 minutes before a version of the script leaks.
Honestly, I wish it were a prank. (Doubtful: Pre-production reportedly began last June, trusted newsman Kent Brockman promised a breaking Simpsons story during last week’s American Idol, and producer James L. Brooks confirmed the timetable on Friday.) The movie was supposed to be the icing on the cake: Matt Groening & Co. wanted it to open after the show’s sunset. Now, it’s the beginning of the end. The big-screen version will come out July 27, 2007, between the show’s 18th and 19th seasons. Does this mean a 20th-season bow-out? Only time and ratings will tell.
In the meantime, here’s a question: Did the suits at Warner Bros. flip their wigs when they saw that great big Superman “S”? Parody is protected, of course, but they couldn’t have been happy to see another company piggyback on their Superhype, however lightheartedly. I imagine a response more along the lines of, “Smithers, release the hounds.”
Honestly, how weird is this? Seems like yesterday Bart Simpson "eat my shorts" shirts were banned from my fourth-grade classroom. Now, a mere decade-and-change later, they’re making a movie. Guess this can mean only one thing: It’s time to dust off my Manimal petition (so far, two and a half signatures).
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I’m as big of a Simpsons fan as I can imagine, or close to it. The prospects of a movie sound at once awesome, and a little scary. I just hope they make the jump to the big screen as effortlessly as the 4th Graders from South Park did, if that’s the case, then a hearty WOO HOO may be in order. I, for one, can’t wait….I think.
I agree with BP on this one. I’ve been a fan of the show for as long as I can remember. It’s been the cornerstone of humor for my generation. I will be first in line for the movie, but also very apprehensive. The show, inevitably, has not been up to par with its earlier seasons. I hope this will not effect the status of the show, even though Groening and pals have certainly left their mark on television history.
i don’t care if the movie stinks, i’ll still love it.
This movie could be about Mr. Teeny hurling feces at Apu’s seventh octuplet and I’d be there opening day. I am certain that the producers will bring their A game and I can’t wait to see it.
Bring on the MOVIE!
It will be the highest grossing film of the year…hands down!
I remember a lot of Big Daddy and “the Phantom Menace’s” hype got stolen by Austin Powers 2 (which features star wars and big daddy parodies in it’s ads). A similar ad campaign was done to promote “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (the movie even features a scene with Mark Hamill getting his hand cut off).
20 seasons is long enough for any show. The Simpsons was really cutting edge, almost revolutionary, in 1987, but now it’s become so mainstream that right wing magazines talk about how it’s a favorite show to watch among conservatives. I love the Simpsons but feel that more than 20 seasons could become too much of a good thing.
I love idea of a Simpson’s Movie. I too am one of the folks who have been watching The Simpson’s since I was in elementary school, and I can’t imagine life without them.
I’m just glad that they’re not doing a live action movie like The Flintstones!
Add a signature. The young me worshipped Manimal something fierce. I used to try and make my hands turn into paws all the time.
Yo, Ep Sato. Remember me? We butted head over Kevin Smith. Gotta disagree with you again on The Simpsons.
Just because right wing magazine name-check The Simpsons doesn’t mean it’s lost it’s power to subvert. In fact, that they were able to win over their harshest critics *defines* their subversion! What better way to alter the course of mainstream thinking than to burrow yourself inside contrarian thought?
The fact that The Simpsons has been around almost 20 years means that some of the ideologues spewing their agenda grew up with the show. And since The Simpsons is so engrained into American culture, it colors their perspective in a way it wouldn’t have otherwise.
In other words, it could be a lot worse!
Tom Brazleton-
I agree totally. I think we should be praising the Simpsons rather than complaining that some right-wingers appreciate the show’s humor.
Please remember how many other shows start to suck in their second or third season, and look at the Simpsons, it still makes me laugh almost two decades in.
I think it awsome for a simpson movie to come out. I remember wathcing for the first time and could not keep from laughing. Im writing this from outside a movie theater waiting for the tickets to go on sale.
I heard that they hired a bunch of previous writers from the show back in the day to work on the movie, which is kind of interesting….
I’m excited–I didn’t think it would ever come out…
What’s with freakin’ previews these days?
“Coming soon…here’s an idea for a movie we’re THINKING of making in 2008 to bring to you in 2015. The script isn’t written yet, but here are a few sketches by a homeless man on a cardboard box he was flashing out on the street asking for change that represent what the film will look like. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll crap your pants because by the time it comes out you’ll probably be at a raisin ranch your grandkids threw you in where you get changed twice a day and are forced to watch ‘The Simple Life’ reruns.”
And with the Simpsons, this probably was the case back in 1992, the third season of the already popular show.
That said…BRING ON THE SIMPSONS!
Ahh memories. When the Simpsons first appeared on the air after the Tracy Ullman show, Bart Simpon was the “it” character. When I was 14 the biggest Summer trend was Bart Simpson T-shirts, most of them saying “Ay Carumba”, “Don’t have a cow”, and “Eat my Shorts”. I don’t think that anyone could have predicted that they would be the longest running animated family cartoon in history. “Woh Mama!”
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