The Simpsons Movie Brings the Groove Back - Sort of

TRASH IN MY EYE 64 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout
DIRECTOR: David Silverman
WRITERS: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder, and Jon Vitti; and consulting writers: Joel Cohen, John Frink, Tim Long, and Michael Price
PRODUCERS: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Richard Sakai, and Mike Scully
EDITOR: John Carnochan
BAFTA Award nominee

ANIMATION/COMEDY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring: (voices) Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, Marcia Wallace, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Albert Brooks, and Tom Hanks

The Simpsons Movie is the long-awaited and long-promised big screen version of “The Simpsons,” the FOX television network’s long-running animated series (which has finished its 21st broadcast season as of this writing). The movie is not bad at all, and it is fun to see creator Matt Groening’s animated clan in a feature-length film. In fact, while it’s not great, it is certainly funnier and spicier than the TV series has been in recent years. Still, one would think that after a reported 158 rewrites of the screenplay, the film would have been funnier than it is.

The film begins with Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith) leading a charge to get Springfield Lake cleaned. Her father, Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta), however, does something that makes the lake highly toxic, which allows a conniving government official, Russ Cargill (Albert Brooks), to have a dome lowered over the entire city. Homer Simpson is used to alienating people, but the level of animosity he inspires after polluting the lake and inadvertently causing the city to be isolated is off the charts.

The residents of Springfield become a mob, and the Simpsons are forced to flee and take refuge in Alaska. Marge Simpson (Julie Kavner), however, is determined to return to her home, and that leads to a series of events that may finally force the best out of Homer. Meanwhile, Bart (Nancy Cartwright) had found a new father figure in neighbor Ned Flanders (Harry Shearer).

The Simpsons Movie was never going to be as bad as some thought it could be. There is just too much talent behind the franchise. Still, this movie may not be as good as some would want it to be. The first 30 minutes are quite good, full of the sparkling wit, sass, and bite that made the series so popular in the 1990s. The middle of the film (the Alaska segment) is woefully soft, and at times the narrative feels as if it is stuck in muddy hole. The last act turns the film sassy and funny again, with “The Simpsons’” own mixture of the intelligent and the moronic coming back into play.

The Simpsons Movie finishes off with a bang and may actually leave the viewer with a brief feeling of wanting more; at times, some moments of the film will cause hard laugher. Its candy-colored animation (much of it augmented by CGI) it true to the distinctive visual style of creator Matt Groening. In the pantheon of the best Simpson stories, The Simpsons Movie has a well-deserved place, even if that place isn’t as special as others.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2008 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Film” (David Silverman)

2008 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Film”

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Review: "The Return of Jafar" a Nice Follow-up to Walt Disney's "Aladdin"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 191 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Return of Jafar (1994) – straight to video – animation
Running time:  69 minutes (1 hour, 9 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTORS: Toby Shelton, Tad Stones, and Alan Zaslove
WRITERS: Kevin Campbell, Mirith JS Colao, Bill Motz, Steve Roberts, Dev Ross, Bob Roth, Jan Strnad, and Brian Swenlin; from a story by Duane Capizzi, Douglas Langdale, Mark McCorkle, Robert Schooley, and Tad Stones
PRODUCERS: Tad Stones and Alan Zaslove
EDITOR: Elen Orson

ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY/ACTION/MUSICAL

Starring: (voices) Scott Weinger, Gilbert Gottfried, Linda Lavin, Dan Castellaneta, Jonathan Freeman, Jason Alexander, Val Bettin, Frank Welker, and Jim Cummings, Brad Kane, and Liz Callaway

The heroes and villains of Walt Disney’s Oscar-winning Aladdin (1992) return in the straight-to-video feature, The Return of Jafar – produced mostly by the now-defunct Walt Disney Television Animation based in Australia (DisneyToon Studios).

Aladdin (Scott Weinger) and Jasmine (Linda Lavin) are ready to begin their life as a royal couple, especially now that the Sultan of Agrabah (Val Bettin), Jasmine’s father, has a big announcement to make concerning Aladdin. However, Iago (Gilbert Gottfried), the parrot sidekick of Aladdin’s nemesis in the original film, Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) reappears. Iago, ever an opportunist, wants to be on the winning side and return to the life of luxury at the Sultan’s palace, so he attempts to make nice with Aladdin. Iago is succeeding in earning Aladdin’s trust on a provisional basis when Jafar, now the powerful Red Genie, returns to Agrabah with the help of Abis Mal (Jason Alexander), the chief of a local band of thieves. Both Jafar and Abis Mal want their revenge against Aladdin, and Jafar coerces Iago into helping him. The scene-stealing (blue) Genie (Dan Castellaneta) also returns, but can he help Aladdin stop Jafar’s diabolical plans and get rid of him for good?

The animation in The Return of Jafar isn’t nearly as good or as pretty as it is Aladdin. The colors aren’t as rich, and the shading on characters and objects isn’t there. The character animation is good, but not up to the standards of Disney feature animation. At the time of release, however, this was better than most of the animation produced domestically or overseas for American television, and The Return of Jafar is a nice second serving of the characters and situations from the original film. The last 20 minutes of this movie is riveting, thrilling stuff – as good as that in many live action, action flicks.

The characters are still themselves with the cast giving good voice acting performances, for the most part. Here, Genie is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the voice of “Homer Simpson” (and numerous others) on “The Simpsons,” but he’s so-so as Genie. The absence of Robin Williams, who refused to reprise the role because of a dispute over merchandising money with Disney, is painfully obvious. Luckily, the dispute was resolved and Williams returned for a second direct-to-video sequel to Aladdin.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, September 02, 2006

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