By FRANKLIN DAHTU KOLMA
THE Simpsons Movie is about the Simpsons, the most dysfunctional family in the world.
This family, made up of the strangest assortment of members, is the ultimate entertainment group; having had eighteen seasons, over 400 episodes and innumerable awards and honors (including 23 Emmys and a designation from the Times Magazine as the “Best television show of the twentieth century”), the Simpsons are not new to the limelight.
They live in a town called Springfield - a literal world where everything is exactly what it is said to be. For example; the yellow men are literally yellow and the same goes with any other colored person.
For those of you who don’t know the Simpsons, here is a brief look at that family.
The head of the family is Homer .J. Simpson, a horrendously stupid man with an epic sense of both lame and lively humor; in my opinion, probably the only person to graduate from the SNZ (Springfield National Zoo) with a credit.
Homer isn’t the smartest monkey of a man around, in fact, he’s thick, really thick; what’s worse is that he’s trying to raise a family.
Then there’s Marge, the mother and probably the only sane person in the Simpsons household. She is kind, loving, fair, respectful, and all the other things that perfect people are.
Next there is Bart - Being the big boy/monkey junior of the house, his responsibilities include being disorganized, disgusting, disrespectful, disobedient, and all the other words that start with ‘dis...’.
Then comes Lisa, who though may seem normal is a freak. A freak in that, she is a fanatic of almost everything that is to do with anything. A devout Buddhist she takes a peculiar interest in nature.
Last is Maggie, the literally squeaky baby girl that is mostly neglected and likes it that way. Maggie’s tendency to wander off physically and mentally brings her through some rather narrow situations.
The Simpsons Movie is different from what we all have come to know and love as the Simpsons episodes. It lacked something. Yet still, that isn’t to say that I didn’t have a blast watching it.
With Homer’s hilariously insane choice of words and Bart’s sense of daredevilishness, I found myself struggling to breathe the first time I saw it.
Without giving away too much, the story is basically about how Homer cleans up his monkey business by saving the town of Springfield from a horrendous catastrophe that he caused.
The warnings of the cataclysmic calamities to come are first showed to us by God. In church, Homer’s father drops onto the floor and starts to do what possessed people do; however, thick monkey senior (Homer) takes no notice of the spiritual manifestation as he is too busy paying his disrespects to God (Which I think was a very big let down in the movie, as far as setting a good example is concerned).
Anyway, it all starts when Homer falls in love with a fancy dressed pig. This oink at first sight leads him to take the pig home and start neglecting his already neglected kids. He gives the pig as much as he can conjure (including a pig excrement silo), which fills up rapidly due to a high rate of conjuring the wrong substances on both the pig and Homer’s part.
The silo becomes a major player in the movie when it is deployed into Lake Springfield by Homer and the pig; turning the lake into a bog.
The news gets around and Springfield earns the distinguished title of most polluted town in the world. Taking a heavy beating in the world’s eye, The United States of America decides to isolate the citizens of Springfield by putting a huge glass dome around Springfield, for theirs and ultimately, everyone else’s good. This makes things very unpleasant for the Simpsons, especially Homer, as an angry mob of Springfield residents want to destroy him for destroying their livelihoods.
The story comes to a climax when Maggie (the little baby girl) finds a very useful natural wonder; the funny thing is that even this wonder was a product of Homer’s laziness.
From here, everything hits the fan. Homer becomes even more self-centered than ever; Family connections are tested to the very brink. These events will lead to a final countdown where Homer will have to be the stuntman, hero and lifeline to survive in the dying moments of the movie.
I must say, the movie wasn’t as impressive as I would have hoped. Nevertheless, it holds true to the humor, fun and excitement that have made the Simpsons famous in the world.
Just to finish of, there’s a The Simpsons Game coming out soon on the Xbox 360. It is a cell shaded game that probably will be heaps of fun.
I recommend that you take a peek both at the movie and the game.
No matter what your opinion on the Simpsons is, they are here to stay, and they probably won’t have it any other way.
Have a good weekend and remember, no monkey business, the world already has the Simpsons.
 

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