The Simpsons Movie
Posted on Dec 31, 2007
By Julia Szabo
The Simpsons Movie (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2007, 87 minutes) - add this to your
Netflix queue
DVD also available at
7-Eleven stores, $21.99
As Homer gorges himself at Krusty Burger, one little piggie taping a commercial with Krusty the Clown is about to get the hook - until the cute curly-tail gives the Simpson paterfamilias pleading, puppy-dog eyes. Next thing you know, the Simpsons have a porcine new pet - "Spider Pig" - with whom Homer is utterly besotted. Then all heck breaks loose as Homer dumps a silo full of pig waste in Springfield's polluted lake, which leads to an epic environmental crisis. This prompts the EPA to target Springfield for destruction, sealing the town and its inhabitants under an unbreakable dome from which only the Simpsons escape.
One doesn't want to give away too much plot, since this masterpiece of a movie has such a short run time. But in those excellent 87 minutes we get a good bit of dog action, which hardcore cinema hounds may view as a Simpsonian riff on
"The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." The "good" is Santa's Little Helper, the Simpson family's rescued greyhound. The "bad" would be Homer's brief experience with Iditarod in Alaska, during which he's seen mercilessly whipping a team of sled dogs, who ultimately stage a mutiny and break free. As for the "ugly," that's Homer's boss Mr. Burns, here channeling Lionel Barrymore as evil Mr. Potter from
"It's a Wonderful Life." Burns makes good on a threat to "release the hounds" - not a metaphor, but an actual pack of attack dogs he unleashes on the hapless Springfield townfolk who come begging him to share his nuclear-powered electricity.
As the end titles roll, there's even a nod to "No animals were harmed" as Lisa, ever the caring, conscientious citizen, looks for the end credit made famous by
American Humane. (For the record, no animals were employed at all in this film - Santa's Little Helper's two brief lines of dialogue are subtitled, and Spider Pig's sounds are supplied by a human.) At that point, animal lovers should hightail it to the Special Features section of the DVD and scroll down to the "Slightly Alternate Ending" - there's a dog in that short clip, too.
| Presence of dogs: |   |
| Respect for dogs: | |
| Canine star quality: | |
| Family friendly: | |
