Simpsons The Movie (Blu-Ray) (2007)

"You'll laugh till your knees hurt and you can't breathe!  Gene Shalit, Today
"This long-awaited movie adaptation has plenty of laughs, plus an assortment of milestones for fans.  J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
"...a classic Simpsonian interplay of family psychology, social commentary, and brainy visual and verbal jokes tossed off at rat-a-tat speed...  Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
"Like "Hairspray," it's not just a spinoff but a wised-up family comedy that's spirited and inventive.  Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
"The movie is best when it just riffs on our compacted memories of the past 18 years of episodes. Fortunately, that's most of the time.  Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
"...the most wickedly funny arsenal of assaults on big government, organized religion and corporate America this side of "Borat."  Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly
"The genius is in the writing and in keeping all gambits created by the individual writers in sync...one of the best movies of the year.  Stephen Hunter, The Washington Post

Editor's Note THE SIMPSONS MOVIE may not qualify for the honor of "Best. Movie. Ever," but even the harshest critics like Comic Book Guy will find little to dislike in this hilarious comedy. Springing from Fox's hit series, the movie expands the adventures of the Springfield residents into a feature-length film. Here Homer's selfish antics (and a hankering for free donuts) are responsible for a horrific ecological disaster that could spell the end for Springfield. So it's up to the paunchy patriarch to save his family and the town from the mess that he has created. Just as in the Emmy-winning show, THE SIMPSONS MOVIE skillfully combines smart satire with inspired silliness. Dan Castellaneta, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, and other regulars of the series provide laughs with their vocal talents, while Albert Brooks is hilarious as the film's villain. Though THE SIMPSONS MOVIE is best seen after a lifetime of watching reruns of the show and repeating its endlessly quotable lines, viewers don't have to be die-hard fans to get the jokes. Screenwriters Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Co. are at the top of their game here, channeling the show at its best. The film comes after 18 seasons of the series, but it's certainly more in the spirit (and quality) of the show's best years.

	Albert Brooks - Voice Of
	Billie Joe Armstrong - Voice Of
	Dan Castellaneta - Voice Of
	David Silverman - Director
	Dima Malanitchev - Art Director
	Hank Azaria - Voice Of
	Hans Zimmer - Original Music By
	Harry Shearer - Voice Of
	James L. Brooks - Producer
	Joe Mantegna - Voice Of
	John Carnochan - Editor
	Julie Kavner - Voice Of
	Marcia Wallace - Voice Of
	Matt Groening - Producer
	Matt Groening, et. al. - Writer
	Nancy Cartwright - Voice Of
	Tom Hanks - Voice Of
	Tress MacNeille - Voice Of
	Yeardley Smith - Voice Of

New York Times
"[I]t's a very funny movie....Full of the anarchic, generous, good-natured humor that is the show's enduring signature." 07/27/2007 p.E1

USA Today
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "If you like the TV show, you're going to love the movie....The laughs come fast and furiously on the big screen." 07/27/2007 p.14D

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "THE SIMPSONS MOVIE honours the slickness, wit and ingenuity of Matt Groenig's creating with aplomb....A triumph..." 10/01/2007 p.58

Sight and Sound
"[T]he creative team have upped their game considerably for this special outing....This is certainly the funniest American animated movie since the SOUTH PARK film." 10/01/2007 p.71

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he team of writers masterfully avoids moralizing and instead delivers a raft of social satirical digs..." 04/01/2008 p.68

ReelViews 8 of 10
When it comes to The Simpsons, longevity is an asset few can ignore. 18 years old and counting, the TV series has carved its niche into pop culture. Most of today's high school students hadn't been born when The Simpsons debuted as filler on Tracey Ullman's variety show. It's no longer as fresh, as acerbic, and as popular as it once was, but could one expect anything else from a show that has turned out about 400 twenty-two minute episodes? It is a little odd that it has taken so long for The Simpsons to make the transition from the small screen to the big one; there has been talk about a movie since the mid-'90s. While nothing in this motion picture quite matches the television series at its early best, this is more of a throwback than a throw-away. It's wittier and more energetic than anything that has appeared on FOX in quite a few years...This isn't like South Park which, freed from the constraints of a more restrictive medium, pulled out all the stops. The Simpsons is interested in being a family film, although this is one of those rare animated occasions when adults are the primary audience. I, for one, couldn't be happier. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
The Simpsons are fairly surprised to find themselves in a movie; they can't believe "anyone would pay to see what we did on TV for free." But I suspect a lot of people will. Here is a feature-length version of what Time magazine, no less, called "the 20th century's best television series." That may say more about Time magazine and the 20th century than it does about the Simpsons, but never mind: The movie is funny, sassy and intelligent in that moronic Simpsons' way...For me, the three biggest laughs in the movie (I won't spoil them) are a plug for the Fox network, a skateboarding sequence inspired by "Austin Powers" and a unique way to go fishing. Those, and the peculiar everyday lives of the closely knit Simpsons, fill in the gaps in the plot, along with a devout neighbor who, considering what Homer puts in his mailbox, is more sinned against than sinning...If "The Simpsons" is indeed the best television series of 100 years (almost half of them, to be sure, without television), I guess I shouldn't be surprised to visit the Internet Movie Database and discover that the movie has been voted the 166th best film of all time, seven places above "The Grapes of Wrath" and 10 ahead of "Gone With the Wind." - Roger Ebert