# A Simpsons Movie? How should it be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575 "2004-02-16T23:58:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roadwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Roadwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadwalker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/1 "2004-02-16T23:58:44Z")
I heard a rumor that there could be a Simpsons Movie. It is still in the zygote stages and could be years before it is made. What could they possibly do in a Simpsons movie anyway? The show has pushed the envelope of creativity and guest voices. How could a film be unique besides Patty and Selma’s bare asses? :eek: I’m thinking, if they make a movie, it should begin with three Klingon Battle crusers… ---
**Author:** ![Soapbox\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/2 "2004-02-17T01:54:50Z")
It shouldn’t be made, all the current writers should be fired and possibly beheaded, and the past 5 seasons should be incinerated. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/3 "2004-02-17T02:14:34Z")
> [@Roadwalker](#): > > I’m thinking, if they make a movie, it should begin with three Klingon Battle crusers… …being pursued by a really long star destroyer… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/4 "2004-02-17T03:15:52Z")
Maggie MUST speak. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/5 "2004-02-17T03:25:08Z")
It should be all Itchy and Scratchy shorts (with 56% new footage.) ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/6 "2004-02-17T03:44:40Z")
[http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff\_id=0&obj\_id=40792&this\_cat=Movies](http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&obj_id=40792&this_cat=Movies) I read this news about 2 weeks ago, on some other site. I’ll go see it. ---
**Author:** ![grisham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@grisham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grisham)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/7 "2004-02-17T03:57:15Z")
Making Simpsons into a movie is a great idea but you know it would get screwed up and then we would all complain. Lets just leave it as the great show it is. Though new writers would be nice ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/8 "2004-02-17T04:44:43Z")
I’m more than willing to risk a very bad Simpsons movie if there’s a chance, however slim, of getting a really good Simpsons movie. A good Simpsons movie I’ll enjoy for the rest of my life. A bad Simpsons movie I’ll forget about just like I did for the majority of the last five or so seasons of the TV show. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/9 "2004-02-17T04:53:00Z")
I’d rather see the Itchy and Scratchy movie instead. ---
**Author:** ![Phnord\_Prephect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Phnord\_Prephect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phnord_Prephect)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/10 "2004-02-17T05:21:29Z")
Well… I don’t know what it would be about, but if they did it right… The entire first half-hour of the movie would have NOTHING to do with the actual eventual Real plot, being just some strange convoluted way to introduce the subject instead. It would have lots of real celebrity voices. It would have even more fake celebrity voices. Some of the fake celebrity voices would be real celebrity voices, or possibly the other way around. In addition to these celebrity cameos, it would have cartoon character cameos. I’m thinking Fry and Bender here, among others. It would have an actual, true, real-life honest-to-goodness 1950’s-style Pre-Movie Cartoon, featuring Itchy and Scratchy of course. The pre-movie cartoon would be completely unrelated to either the fake plot or the ‘real’ plot. And the movie poster of this cartoon would appear in the background somewhere, later in the movie. Homer would get hurt. Marge would nag. Lisa would be too smart for her own good. Maggie would ALMOST talk, but not quite. Bart… well… he’s Bart. Disco Stu would get run over by a tank, never to be seen again. This tank would be driven by Poochie. There would be a 5-minute scene created for the sole purpose of cramming in an appearance by every single character ever to appear on any episode of the Simpsons ever. There would be more than one version of the movie made, as in the horrible failure “Clue”. Two reasons for this occur to me at the moment… One, for the opening credits. The traditional ‘different openings’ has to be worked in somehow, and one way would be to make four-five of them and distribute them randomly. Or something. Two, the location of springfield could be a major plot point, and finally be revealed. This location would be different in each of the different versions, for the sole purpose of keeping idiots like us arguing about it on the internet for years to come. q;} Three, the joke “Hi, Opal” would not be used, in any of the versions. I feel ashamed using it here. 😃 Probably a good thing I’m done talking. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/11 "2004-02-17T05:41:42Z")
The real problem is this: most TV shows, especially animated ones, jump to a larger scope of the story when they move to the big screen. Think **Rugrats** or **Wild Thornberrys**. **The Simpsons** , however, have already gotten a lot of mileage out of ordinary episodes that have big scope. Trips to exotic locations, Homer joining the Navy, moving the entire city of Springfield, etc… So what’s left? I just can’t think of any way to make a Simpsons screenplay distinctive enough to really be worth seeing in theatres. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/12 "2004-02-17T10:47:32Z")
> [@Soapbox Monkey](#): > > It shouldn’t be made, all the current writers should be fired and possibly beheaded, and the past 5 seasons should be incinerated. I’m glad it only took one response to say that it shouldn’t be made, because it shouldn’t. There’s absolutely nothing they could do that wouldn’t just seem like an extended episode, and I think we’ve all seen where sometimes the show can get bogged down by it’s own genius and attempts to be over the top. Still, I disagree with the rest of the statement. I’ve rather enjoyed these past few seasons and found some great gems in it. Eh, like all shows, it has some bad episodes, but it’s nowhere near as crappy as everyone keeps bitching about it. Get over yourself and enjoy the episodes with a fresh head, and you’ll see they’re actually quite enjoyable. But not so much so that they need a movie adaptation. That would suck. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/13 "2004-02-17T13:28:36Z")
> [@](#): > > we would all complain. Most fans don’t do anything but complain as is\*, so this doesn’t concern me. I’m excited to see what happens. \*I’ve created a theorem about the Simpsons: I think that, based on the opinions of fans, the show is terrible and has been getting progressively worse every episode. So the best episode ever was the first one, and it sucked too- in fact, it was the worst thing in the history of television except for all the subsequent episodes. So I conclude that nobody has ever enjoyed the Simpsons, and it’s possible that nobody has ever watched it. ---
**Author:** ![mske](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mske](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mske)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/14 "2004-02-17T13:43:27Z")
The movie, if it is made, should coincide with the end of the TV series. You know - kind of like a glorified last episode. Save up all the good ideas that the writers can come up with over the next couple of years (shouldn’t take long given recent history - heh) and make that the plot. The weekly episodes continue to be filler. This way, the show goes out with a bang and people will remember it as being _funny_. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/15 "2004-02-17T13:51:00Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Most fans don’t do anything but complain as is\*, so this doesn’t concern me. I’m excited to see what happens. > > \*I’ve created a theorem about the Simpsons: I think that, based on the opinions of fans, the show is terrible and has been getting progressively worse every episode. So the best episode ever was the first one, and it sucked too- in fact, it was the worst thing in the history of television except for all the subsequent episodes. So I conclude that nobody has ever enjoyed the Simpsons, and it’s possible that nobody has ever watched it. Actually, the Simpsons never existed at all. It started as an “in joke” on the SDMB, like 1920’s style Death Rays, and spread from there. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/16 "2004-02-17T15:10:55Z")
> [@Soapbox Monkey](#): > > It shouldn’t be made, all the current writers should be fired and possibly beheaded, and the past 5 seasons should be incinerated. Thanks, you saved me the trouble. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/17 "2004-02-17T16:36:08Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve rather enjoyed these past few seasons and found some great gems in it. Eh, like all shows, it has some bad episodes, but it’s nowhere near as crappy as everyone keeps bitching about it. Get over yourself and enjoy the episodes with a fresh head, and you’ll see they’re actually quite enjoyable. Eh, I don’t know. To each his own, of course, but it seems obvious that the show is so far past its prime it’s not even funny (no pun intended). I still find it frequently amusing, but one can’t help but compare it to all those years when it was consistently excellent. It might just _seem_ bad because I remember these characters being so much funnier, but I hope they don’t make a movie, regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Soapbox\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/18 "2004-02-17T17:08:25Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > Eh, like all shows, it has some bad episodes, but it’s nowhere near as crappy as everyone keeps bitching about it. Get over yourself and enjoy the episodes with a fresh head, and you’ll see they’re actually quite enjoyable. I’m sorry, but this is just SO wrong. There are maybe 3 gem moments per season now, and many of the meant-to-be-funny lines in each of the newer episodes I have seen make me cringe. The new writers have completely lost touch with what made The Simpsons funny. They think that they can have Homer say anything and it will be hilarious because he’s Homer. Dead wrong. Some of the things Homer says make me feel EMBARRASSED to be watching the show with other people because they are so awful and contrived. The old Homer was funny because the things he said were funny to begin with, not just because it was any old crap coming out of his mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/19 "2004-02-17T18:27:34Z")
I think **Soapbox’s** comment comes close to the heart of it. I’ve been getting the feeling for a while that the Simpsons writers aren’t just parodying sitcom conventions; they’re trying to parody a sitcom itself, parodying the very notion of characters in a situation doing or saying funny things. So many things the characters say — not just Homer, but pretty much all of them — have nothing to do with the characters’ personality, and they’re not funny lines in and of themselves. They’re more intended to make you laugh at the idea of anyone finding them funny, to remind you you’re watching a device ostensibly designed to make you laugh. I can’t think of a specific example right now, but a close one would be characters constantly clapping their ears and going “WHAAA??!!,” which seems to happen every few episodes now. This isn’t funny. It was never funny. It’s not **supposed** to be funny; that’s the point. That’s true of so many stories and jokes on the Simpsons now. The show is trading so heavily in irony it’s disappearing up its own backside. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575/20 "2004-02-17T18:50:21Z")
As far as the new episodes go, I saw a new one a month or two ago that was _hilarious_. I was amazed because I thought the show had JTS years ago. As far as a movie, dear og, please…no! Of course if Fox can turn a dime off of it, it’ll be a go. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simpsons-movie-how-should-it-be/229575.md?page=2)