Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Movies Media

Simpsons on the Silver Screen 433

Posted by timothy from the it-will-be-funny-you-will-laugh dept.
An anonymous reader writes "It looks like Matt Groening is going to actually go through with it. This article says that the cast of the Simpsons has signed on for at least 3 feature films. Hooray!" I hope they call them Episodes 4, 5 and 6.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Simpsons on the Silver Screen More

Simpsons on the Silver Screen

Comments Filter:

  • Oh God! (Score:4, Funny)

    by SpanishInquisition ( 127269 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:47PM (#4377286) Homepage Journal
    Worst story ever

  • Woo-Hoo! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by tonyhill ( 590105 )
    Woo-Hoo!
    Doh!

  • Maybe (Score:2, Interesting)

    by r_arr ( 613036 )
    Maybe we can have a 10 minute futurama opening cartoon. Kinda like the short clip of Dexter's lab the played during the Powerpuff Movie.

  • Bart Wars? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Black Parrot ( 19622 )


    You know, you could make an absolutely hilarious parody of the Star Wars saga using the Simpson family.

  • Timeline.... (Score:4, Funny)

    by _ph1ux_ ( 216706 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:50PM (#4377312)
    Lets just hope that he is not on the George Lucas movie release timeline.
    • this post isn't exactlly funny, and actually it will probably take much longer. producing 18 minutes of animation at TV scale takes them over 6 months. to do a movie will surely take over 2 years.

      ARE YOU A PHP DEVELOPER? WORK WITH ME ANE MAKE MILLIONS!
      Web Developer II [sst.com]

      • Re:Timeline.... (Score:3, Interesting)

        by EvilBuu ( 145749 )
        So if they produce ~20-22 episodes per season, you're saying each season takes ten to eleven years of animation work to complete? I think not. Most likely it takes a single crew ~6 months to finish an episode, but they can have 15+ crews working simultaneously.
        • I'm probably screwing this quote up but...

          Very few cartoons are broadcast live, it's a horrable strain on the animator's wrists.

  • Inside the Actor's Studio?! (Score:5, Informative)

    by Viking Coder ( 102287 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:51PM (#4377318)
    According to this [newschool.edu], The Simpsons are going to be on Inside The Actor's Studio, on Nov. 18. How freaking cool is that?

    James Lipton: Homer, what is your favorite curse word?
    Homer Simpson: D'oh!

    Unfortunately, Nov. 18 is when they tape it, not when they broadcast it...

  • jumped the shark. (Score:2, Insightful)

    by strawdog ( 204777 )
    oh geez.
    has the simpsons jumped the shark too?

  • Will be feature James Woods? (Score:4, Funny)

    by saforrest ( 184929 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:52PM (#4377324) Journal
    James Woods: Well, my work is done here, I'm off to fight aliens on a faraway planet.

    Marge: My, Mr. Woods, I'll look forward to seeing that movie!

    James Woods: (Chuckles, eyes dart nervously about) Ahh, yes...heh...a movie....
    • James Woods: Wow, you're Apu, you are like THE guy around here. Is it true you once worked for 86 hours straight?

      Apu: Yes, towards the end I began believing I was a humming bird of some kind.

      James Woods: Oh yeah, I saw the tapes.(Cuts to tape of Apu vibrating his hands like a hummingbird on Ritalin).

  • They say they want it to be feature-film quality (Score:5, Funny)

    by mmacdona86 ( 524915 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:52PM (#4377325)
    Like "The Itchy and Scratchy Movie"?

    (54% new footage)

  • Pay To See - Simpsons (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ackthpt ( 218170 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:53PM (#4377330) Homepage Journal
    Honestly, the show is good and if you tape them (like I did) and watch them back to back (like I also did) you can get the effect of watching a movie, provided you edited out the commercials (like I did as well.)

    So the only thing different? A further expanded plot. Ok... I'm not sure that makes any difference, in the grand scheme of things, but I'd probably go see it anyway.

    The downside is, unless Matt brings in a ton of animators or turns the background over to a Beowulf cluster (I can just imagine that...) of renderers, the show doesn't gain anything cinematic, so big screen, eh!

    Maybe they'll get lucky and score a hit like Blame Canada, eh!

  • I don't know how well the simpsons will translate to the big screen. Part of what is so groovy and wonderful about the show is the seeming randomness of it. There are little plot consistancies, but there is not a single focus or drive behind the series. It is a combination of many things and an excellent reflection of all the things that are right and wrong with America.

    I predict that when the movie start coming out, the simpson will jump the shark. Not a bad run, really.

  • Repeat? (Score:5, Informative)

    by gatekeep ( 122108 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:55PM (#4377335)
    Isn't this [slashdot.org] a repeat? [slashdot.org]

    No, wait.. this same rumor recirculates every few months, that's right.

    As much as I'd love to see it happen, I'll believe it when there's something resembling a formal announcement.

  • This News Reaches Rigel 7... (Score:4, Funny)

    by tunabomber ( 259585 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:55PM (#4377340) Homepage
    spacey synthesizer music

    Kodos: The man-planet has produced a Simpsons movie!

    Kang: Set coordinates for the obscure, T-shirt-producing planet known as Earth!

    Together: AWAHAHAHAAHA!

  • gahhhh (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:56PM (#4377349) Homepage Journal


    All TV and no Silver Screen make Homer.. something.. something..

  • Attention spa ... what was I talking about again? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Ezubaric ( 464724 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @06:57PM (#4377355) Homepage
    I don't think that the Simpsons translate well to a feature film. Like the article said, they don't even fill a 22 minute show with quality. Even some of the best episodes were of the form BAA, where there was a five-minute substory to hook into the next two acts. So that's about a fifteen minute episode.

    Can they make a coherent movie eight times that long?

    I don't think so; let's not forget that the show started as 1 min shorts. I think that if they do make a movie, it should be in the form of "22 Short Films about Springfield," which (in an homage to Bach and a wonderful movie about Glen Gould) passed a semi-coherent theme back and forth between subplots. I think that The Simpsons could really do something creative and kinda tweak with traditional notions of film, linearity, etc.

    It would be like their sendup of Lola Rennt with three stories told from different perspectives (a later episode that was actually quality, even though the story itself was about seven minutes long).

  • no way.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by gatekeep ( 122108 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:00PM (#4377382)
    A simpsons movie? That's unpossible!

  • Boy, I guess the ole' boy got used to having two sources of income when Futurama was on and now just can't cope with one cash cow.

  • Will they even be good? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mcarbone ( 78119 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:01PM (#4377389) Homepage
    Let's hope that the writers of the feature films are those that wrote during the Golden Age of The Simpsons (Seasons 3 - 7 give or take). Honestly, if the style and quality of the movie is at all similar to the show in the past few years, I'm not sure I'd be able to sit through the whole thing. Even the writers and producers admit on the Season 2 DVD commentary tracks that Simpsons today is a little bit more low brow, hyperactive and random, and with a lot less character and plot.

    Maybe some of you like this Family Guy-like style, but I think it has degraded an amazingly intelligent funny show to just an occasional funny show (I won't be a jerk and try to state that it's not funny anymore). Nevertheless, I hope the producers and writers consider these films more seriously than the show as it now stands, as I would love a great Simpsons movie. Otherwise, I'll just have to stick with Futurama (almost as good as the Simpsons when they were great, but not quite).
    • McBain: "Your post is very homosexualy"
      slashdot: "BOOOO!!!"
      McBain: "Maybe all of you are homosexuls!"
      slashdot: "BOOOO!!!"

      Bart reading slashdot: "this is terrible"
    • OK, I would just like to say that Family Guy and the current day simpsons are 2 very different things. Family Guy has (had... until fox cancelled it because of it's craptacular time slot...) it's own style that is nothing like the simpsons. Much of the family guy humor revolves around flashbacks (something the simpsons hasn't done yet) and obscure famous people refrences, with very clever written gags in there too. Today's Simpsons make no attempt to establish a plot line or even have characters who are consistant with themselves. Which is really sad. And to say that Family Guy is the same way is just as sad. I'm sorry, I just miss Peter, Lois, Brian, Meg, Chris and Stewart a lot...

  • Behind the Movie? (Score:3, Funny)

    by garcia ( 6573 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:02PM (#4377396)
    I can't wait to see the Behind the Movie about this one.

    Bart: Homer was too drunk to play his parts. He couldn't even remember his lines!
    Homer: Oh yeah you little... Do'h!

  • Super... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by LastToKnow ( 449735 )
    The show's been going downhill ever since season 9. The episodes still have their moments, but they just don't have that charm that they did before. I mean, I've seen everything pre-9 a dozen times, and they're still fun to watch. I see a new one once, and I'm sick of it halfway through.

    Now there'll be not one, but a few movies that I'll have to sit through. The Simpsons (and I'll bet money that they'll refer to themselves in the third person. Something else they've only really done since the 9th season. "Should the Simpsons get a horse?", "The Simpsons are going to japan!") will go on some "zany", contrived adventures, and I'll have to watch just in case its good. I'd rather just see what they did right in the beginning; let the characters create a situation, instead of inventing a situation, and forcing the family into it, even if its contrary to their personalities.

    I suppose this is more a rant against recent simpsons in general, but if they make a movie, that'll tick me off, too.

  • who's staring? (Score:2, Funny)

    by ejaw5 ( 570071 )
    Skinner: (on intercom) The rehearsal for characters in the new movie will be right here in our school's cafeteria!

    (in classroom, all hats get sucked to the roof)
    Skinner:oh, yes the air conditioner system will be fixed this weekend.

  • I hate to say it, but... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Man In Black ( 11263 ) <ze-ro@sha w . ca> on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:11PM (#4377454) Homepage
    The Simpsons have been going downhill for the last few years. I've been a devout fan watching even the reruns every day for the last X years... but recently I've decided to stop. You can only see that damn "elf jockey" episode so long before you realize they've mostly run out of good ideas. Granted, the show still manages to make me laugh once in a while, but it's definitely lost it's magic in recent years. To be honest, if they're having trouble making 30 minutes (or 23 minutes or whatever) funny, I simply can't see them keeping the show funny for a complete 90 minutes. I'd love to be proved wrong of course...

    It's really too bad that Futurama and Family Guy were cancelled. They were great shows with a great style of comedy behind them. I really hope someone realizes that all these so-called "reality" shows are retarded, and gives Futurama another chance. It has/had almost limitless potential.

  • the real reason (Score:5, Funny)

    by leroybrown ( 136516 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:15PM (#4377489) Homepage
    d'ough!

  • Where's Phil? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Wag ( 102501 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:18PM (#4377505)
    If only he had done this when Phil Hartman was alive.:(

  • Assorted movie-related quotes (Score:5, Funny)

    by Wraithlyn ( 133796 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:21PM (#4377515)
    Hey McBain! Your last movie sucked!

    I know... we had script problems from day one.

    --

    Director: Up and atom!
    McBain: Up and at them.
    Director: Up and ATOM!
    McBain: Up and atdem!
    Director: UP AND ATOM!
    McBain: UP AND ATEM!
    Director: .. Better

    --

    We came here to make a movie. A simple movie.. a movie about a radioactive man. But you slick small town folk ruined it! We're going back to Hollywood, where people are still good to each other.

    --

    Homer: The important thing is.. it's got the perfect part for you.. either one of you. It's about a killer robot driving instructor, who travels back in time for some reason. Ron Howard's attatched to direct!
    Ron: I am not!
    Homer: Well. He expressed an interest.
    Ron: No I didn't!
    Homer: Did too!
    Ron: I did not!
    Homer: You lie!
    Alec: Yeah, Homer, most movie scripts are 120 pages. This has only seventeen. And several pages just have drawings of the time machine.

    --

    [sign on a closed-down movie theatre that reads: Yahoo Serious Festival]
    Lisa: I recognize all three of those words but that statement doesn't make any sense.

    --

    Lionel Huntz: This is the clearest case of False Advertising I've seen since I sued the movie The Never Ending Story

    --

    Reporter: Don't you think it's dangerous to send civilians into space?
    Homer: I'll handle this... the only danger in space is if we land on that terrible Planet of the Apes... wait a minute... Statue of Liberty... THAT WAS OUR PLANET! YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!

    =============

    Because any excuse to spread Simpson's quotes is a good excuse to spread Simpson's quotes :)

  • Interesting to see how they do it. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Nathdot ( 465087 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:23PM (#4377529)
    I mean come on, one of the things that so endearing about the simpsons is that they have carte blanche to do whatever in any given episode.

    No episode affects the next, with minor exception (eg. Maude flanders death), and because of that the creators are not limited as to what can happen; A fact they seem to relish, even mock with in-jokes: "Oh look, we've won a trip to Delaware"

    But major motion pictures are built on structure (ie. most commonly three acts, set-up - crisis - resolution)

    So it would seem that some major event (ie. The movie's selling point)would have to occur involving the Simpsons in the motion picture (Obviously the set-up doesn't have to be that lrge because these are characters we already know and love). And due to the scale of a film, wouldn't that major event have to be permanent/immutable, somehow affecting or tying into the series?

    So finally how is the film to work as a concept without fucking with the time-tested formula?
    • No episode affects the next, with minor exception (eg. Maude flanders death), and because of that the creators are not limited as to what can happen; A fact they seem to relish, even mock with in-jokes: "Oh look, we've won a trip to Delaware"

      the general rule is that no episode affects the scripts of later episodes unless ther is a real world reason for it (except for occasional references, for instance referencing sideshow bob's previous antics whenever he gets out of jail). for instance, lisa stayed a vegetarian because it was a condition in the mccartney's contract when they appeared to be on the show. maude flanders died because the voice actress quit.

  • What will Bart Write? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Amazing Quantum Man ( 458715 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:30PM (#4377572) Homepage
    What will Bart be writing on the blackboard?

    I will not sign major motion picture contracts without reading them first.
    I will not sign major motion picture contracts without reading them first.
    I will not sign major motion picture contracts without reading them first. ...
    • hehe....or perhaps even:

      I will not download pirated movies from the Internet.
      I will not download pirated movies from the Internet.
      I will not download pirated movies from the Internet.

  • Matt Groening confirmed... (Score:4, Informative)

    by TheTomcat ( 53158 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:33PM (#4377589) Homepage
    I saw Matt Groening in Montreal (here) a few months ago at the Simpsons Reading (Just For Laughs Festival). He confirmed that there would, in fact, be a Simpsons Feature.

    The show (reading) was pretty cool, too. (-:

    S

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @07:34PM (#4377595)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Heh... (Score:2, Funny)

    by NanoGator ( 522640 )
    "With 53 percent new footage!"
  • They are:

    1. "Woohoo!"
    3. Some more obscure quote from the show;
    2. Diatribe about the show's declining quality in recent seasons; or
    4. "Worst movie ever."

    Take your pick. (Of course, if anybody can figure out a Beowulf cluster joke to shoehorn into the topic at hand, I'm willing to add a #5.)
  • ... I was grounded for bending my wookie.
  • You heard the monkey, make the trade...um, I mean movie

  • In the words of Rainier(sp) WolfCastle:

    My Eyes, the goggles do nothing!

  • I hope they call them Episodes 4, 5 and 6.

    Yeah. I hope they don't.
  • he should name them 7,8,9. that would be a funny jab at Lucas.

  • Icon (Score:3, Interesting)

    by UniverseIsADoughnut ( 170909 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @08:19PM (#4377843)
    Why doesn't the Simpsons have it's own slashdot icon for stories on them?

  • Could be done (Score:3, Interesting)

    by fermion ( 181285 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @08:22PM (#4377867) Homepage Journal
    I think it will be possible. First, the movie needs only be 70-80 minutes long. Second, the current format, as others have noted, is a nearly independent first act that sets up the motivation for the second and third act. The situation in the first act may or may not be resolved. In a feature length film, they wil have time to more fully develop and conclude the motivation, and still have time to have a complete story.

    A good analogy would be Beavis and Butthead. Each epi-choad of B&B had around 5 minutes of action. The movie was apparently developed by stringing together nearly independent, slightly expanded, episodes with several 'glue' scenes that essential comprised the overall plot. It was amazingly effective.

  • The real trick will be... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by theMightyE ( 579317 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @08:31PM (#4377920)
    .. finding something new to base a story on. A bit ago, I noticed that after 14ish years the Simpsons had more or less covered every major (and most minor) memes in American culture. Think about it: Lack of diversity in policics? The John Jackson vs. Jack Johnson election. Drug legalization? Homer & Otto get stoned, "They call them fingers, but I've never seen them fing... Oh, wait. There they go." Crappy sitcoms? "See ya in a couple of seasons, Roy." Superflous third nipples? Krusty has one. You get the point.

    About the only things a movie format has to offer that can't be done in a TV show are (1) swearing, which really only means a half-dozen or so new words since the show really pushed the boundaries out in this area in the early 90's, (2) Nudity, which in cartoon form doesn't seem that popular outside of Japan, and (3) A longer format, which is dubious since they can always split an episode into two parts. None of this seems to really offer much in the way of new ground for them to cover.

    Sooo... I think the best we can hope for is a long version of a TV series episode, maybe with a bit more time spent in the writing phase than your typical TV studio allows. But given the string of crappy movies that have been out in the last few years, I guess the whole thing isn't really all that bad. I'll see it - especially if there's a Futurama short at the beginning.

  • The Prayer (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Perdo ( 151843 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @08:43PM (#4377977) Homepage Journal
    Please not like Scooby-Doo.
    Please not like Scooby-Doo.
    Please not like Scooby-Doo.
    Please not like Scooby-Doo.

  • This just in... (Score:4, Funny)

    by A Guy From Ottawa ( 599281 ) on Wednesday October 02, 2002 @08:55PM (#4378031)
    The titles of the first 3 Simpsons movies were just released:

    The Simpsons I - The Pickle Matrix
    The Simpsons II - American Cheese (64 Slices Of...)
    The Simpsons III - The Compuglobalhypermega-Net

    Bhay-gn-flay-vn! Mm-hai... Now that was some clever vhyving!!

  • probably is not apropriate in this forum.
  • I'd like to present a challange to you all: Please name any TV shows that became GOOD movies. I can't think of any.

    Here are the TV-to-MOVIE examples that I can think of:
    The Avengers
    X-files
    The Saint
    Scooby-Doo
    The Brady Bunch
    Lost In Space (although I did like seeing Heather Graham in latex, it still sucked)

    That doesn't give me much hope. I guess X-files wasn't horrible, but it wasn't better than a good episode, and it wasn't worth $7.

    Wait, i got one, the first Wayne's World.
  • They'll make live action movies of the Simpsons that really suck. Tom Arnold will play the grandpa since he'll be too old to be the dad in that one ... well I guess there is always plastic surgery, but I digress.

Slashdot Top Deals

Gravity brings me down.

Close