154-491: The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons created by Matt Groening . The film was directed by series veteran David Silverman (in his feature film directorial debut) and stars Dan Castellaneta , Julie Kavner , Nancy Cartwright , Yeardley Smith , Hank Azaria , Harry Shearer , Pamela Hayden , Tress MacNeille , and other recurring actors reprising their roles from
308-713: A camp sensibility lay behind the successful Carry On films , while in America subversive independent film-maker John Waters made camp films for college audiences with his drag queen friends that eventually found a mainstream audience. The success of the American television show Saturday Night Live drove decades of cinema with racier content allowed on television drawing on the program's stars and characters, with bigger successes including Wayne's World , Mean Girls , Ghostbusters and Animal House . Parody and joke-based films continue to find audiences. While comedic films are among
462-577: A homemaker and take care of her family. However, she has held several one-episode jobs in the course of the series. These include working as a nuclear technician alongside Homer at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant in " Marge Gets a Job " ( season four , 1992); selling houses in " Realty Bites " ( season nine , 1997); owning her own pretzel business in " The Twisted World of Marge Simpson " ( season eight , 1997), and working at an erotic bakery in " Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes " ( season 20 , 2008). While Marge has never expressed discontent with her role as
616-433: A "new Grand Canyon " on the site of Springfield. Realizing that their hometown is in danger, the family vow to save it, except for Homer, who refuses to partake because of how their friends had turned against them and storms out. When he returns the next morning, he finds his family gone and a videotaped message from Marge explaining that she and their children are returning to Springfield to save it. To prove that her decision
770-518: A 30% increase in profits for the altered 7-Eleven stores. Homer performed a special animated opening monologue for the edition of July 24, 2007 of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , as part of another promotion. Promotions also occurred around the world. 20th Century Fox erected a giant pink donut in the town of Springfield in Canterbury, New Zealand , to celebrate being named Springfield, while in London
924-469: A caricature of Schwarzenegger, being given more wrinkles under his eyes and a different hairstyle. Every aspect of the film was constantly analyzed, with storylines, jokes and characters regularly being rewritten. Although most animated films do not make extensive changes to the film during active production due to budget restrictions, The Simpsons Movie crew continued to edit their film into 2007, with some edits taking place as late as May, two months before
1078-428: A character from the 1996 episode " You Only Move Twice ", was originally meant to return as the main antagonist, but the staff dropped the idea and created Russ Cargill instead. Having eventually decided on the basic outline of the plot for the film, the writers then separated it into seven sections. Jean, Scully, Reiss, Swartzwelder, Vitti, Mirkin, and Meyer wrote 25 pages each, and the group met one month later to merge
1232-502: A double decker bus-sized floating inflatable Spider Pig was set up next to Battersea Power Station . In Dorset , England, an image of Homer was painted next to the hill figure , the Cerne Abbas Giant . This caused outrage amongst local neopagans who performed "rain magic" to try to get it washed away. McFarlane Toys released a line of action figures based on the film while EA Games released The Simpsons Game to coincide with
1386-566: A film based on a television series, surpassing Mission: Impossible 2 . It was also the third-highest grossing opening weekend for an animated film. It opened at the top of the international box office taking $ 96 million from 71 overseas territories, including $ 27.8 million in the United Kingdom, the second-highest UK opening ever for a 20th Century Fox film. It contributed to over half of the record 5.5 million people attending British cinemas that weekend. In Australia, it grossed $ 13.2 million,
1540-496: A film with Tom Hanks (who ultimately made a guest appearance voicing himself in the finished film). It was also on this same reunion that Groening introduced the idea of Homer adopting a pet pig, inspired by a pig-waste management story he had read in the news. Jean suggested the family rescue manatees , which became the 2005 episode " The Bonfire of the Manatees ", and there was also a notion similar to that of The Truman Show where
1694-488: A film, explaining why their town should host the premiere, with the results being decided via a vote on the USA Today website. Springfield , Minnesota dropped out on May 31, 2007. The winner was announced on July 10 to be Springfield , Vermont . The town beat Springfield , Illinois by 15,367 votes to 14,634. Each of the other 14 entrants held their own smaller screenings of the film on July 26. Springfield, Vermont hosted
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#17328491215371848-481: A free animated and static content for use within their conversations. Burger King produced a line of Simpsons toy figures that were given away with children's meals, and ran a series of Simpsons -themed television adverts to promote this. JetBlue Airways held a series of online sweepstakes to win a trip to the film's Los Angeles , California premiere. They also included a channel dedicated to The Simpsons on their planes' in-flight entertainment system. The film
2002-401: A gambling addiction. While Marge has learned to cope with her addiction, it has never completely disappeared and remains an underlying problem that is referenced occasionally on the show. Marge is also known to suffer OCD as shown when she won a house cleaning but she then cleaned the whole house herself and it thus led to her accidentally causing her to suffer Amnesia . Another time is when
2156-622: A giant glass dome. Being trapped under the dome causes mass hysteria in Springfield and when Homer's silo is discovered on the news, hundreds of townspeople arrive at the Simpsons' house in an attempt to lynch the family. They escape through a sinkhole hidden under Maggie 's sandbox, which destroys the house, the debris trapping in the rest of the town. The family is furious at Homer for his blundering, but he convinces them to follow him to Alaska , where he had always planned to go if something like
2310-467: A good relationship with Lisa and the two are shown to get along quite well. Marge over-mothers Maggie, which causes her to become too clingy and dependent on Marge. Marge maintains a good relationship with her mother Jacqueline and her sisters Patty and Selma, though they disapprove of Homer and are vocal about it. Marge has tolerated their criticism, but has occasionally lost patience with them, once referring to them as "ghouls". Marge's late father Clancy
2464-501: A homemaker, she has become bored with it. In " The Springfield Connection " ( season six , 1995), Marge decided that she needed more excitement in her life and became a police officer. However, by the end of the episode, she became upset with the corruption in the force and quit. Matt Groening first conceived Marge and the rest of the Simpson family in 1987 in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks ' office. Groening had been called to pitch
2618-414: A live-action film based on his character Troy McClure ; several of the show's staff expressed a desire to help create it, and Josh Weinstein proposed to use the plot of the 1996 episode " A Fish Called Selma " for the film, but the project was canceled following Hartman's death in 1998. The project was officially green-lit by 20th Century Fox in 1997, and Groening and James L. Brooks were set to produce
2772-471: A lot of other stuff". In December 2014, just prior to the broadcast of the twenty-sixth season episode " The Man Who Came to Be Dinner ", Jean wrote on Twitter that the episode (which had been produced in 2012 and was originally set to air in May 2013) had been held back by himself and Brooks because it was being considered for adaptation into a sequel film as the episode was "cinematic". Jean later expanded that there
2926-401: A nervous breakdown, and James L. Brooks quickly approved. The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette. The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. To draw Marge, the animators generally start off with a sphere, similar to
3080-428: A nervous breakdown. After spending time at "Rancho Relaxo", during which her family barely coped with her absence, she returned refreshed and everyone promised to help out more often. Marge often provides a grounding opinion for Homer and their marriage has often been shaky. Marge admits that she "put[s] up with a lot in [their] marriage," and has left Homer or thrown him out of the house on several occasions. One of
3234-449: A pig to save it from being slaughtered. Marge, identifying the pig as a part of the prophecy, warns Homer to get rid of it, but he refuses and names it Plopper. Homer's fawning over Plopper makes Bart, now fed up with Homer's carelessness, to look to their neighbor, Ned Flanders , as a father figure. Marge orders Homer to dispose of an overflowing silo full of Plopper's feces. Rather than disposing of it safely at Marge's request, he dumps
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#17328491215373388-474: A plastic cup ... with your blue hair filled with pink birds peeking out all over. Evidently, you and your charming family — Lisa, Homer, Bart and Maggie — are camping out. It's a nice family scene. Clearly you are setting a good example for the rest of the country. Please forgive a loose tongue." In 2002, opponents of the Seattle Monorail Project planned on showing the episode " Marge vs.
3542-441: A project, as they already worked full-time on the show. Groening also expressed a wish to make Simpstasia , a parody of Fantasia ; it was never produced, partly because it would have been too difficult to write a feature-length screenplay. At another point, it was briefly suggested to do an anthology-style Treehouse of Horror film, but such suggestion was never pursued. Recurring guest performer Phil Hartman had wished to make
3696-459: A rock on his head. The townspeople forgive and praise Homer before he rides into the sunset with Marge as Springfield begins restoration. The production staff had considered a film adaptation of The Simpsons since early in the series. The show's creator, Matt Groening , felt a feature-length film would allow them to increase the show's scale and animate sequences too complex for the TV series. He intended
3850-529: A sausage truck driver, a scene with Plopper the pig at the end, and a news report, showing the dome's effect on daily life in Springfield in areas such as farming and sports, all of which were featured on the DVD, were cut because they did not fit the overall context of the film. Several musical numbers, at various intervals throughout the film, were cut. These included a song about Alaska, featuring music by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics . Jean said it "got pretty far along in
4004-471: A scene that ended up being cut. Edward Norton recorded the part of the man who gets crushed as the dome is implemented, performing a Woody Allen impression. The staff felt the voice was too distracting, so Castellaneta re-recorded Norton's dialogue with a different voice. Isla Fisher and Erin Brockovich also recorded cameos, but their scenes were cut. Kelsey Grammer recorded lines for Sideshow Bob , who
4158-477: A separate genre, but rather, provides a better understanding of the film. Marge Simpson Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson ( née Bouvier ) is a character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family (The Simpsons). Voiced by Julie Kavner , she first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short " Good Night " on April 19, 1987. Marge
4312-460: A sequel one day. In July 2021, Jean stated that discussions for the potential sequel had stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In May 2024, Jean expressed his hopes for a sequel: "I want to see the animation business completely returned to what it was before the pandemic. And then, I think if that was the case, it would make sense to do The Simpsons theatrically." Comedy film The comedy film
4466-453: A series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show , and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction and hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family , naming the characters after members of his own family. Marge
4620-587: A series of five 44-cent stamps featuring Marge and the four other members of the Simpson family. They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while the show is still in production. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009. Marge is depicted in much The Simpsons -related merchandise, including T-shirts, baseball caps, bumper stickers, cardboard stand-ups, refrigerator magnets, key rings, buttons, dolls, posters and figurines. She has appeared in each of The Simpsons video games . Besides
4774-526: A similar way. At the end of the film, the crowd's celebration is similar to the conclusion of Return of the Jedi , with Carl performing exactly the same hand gestures as Lando Calrissian . The $ 1,000 Homer received when entering Alaska is a reference to the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend . As Homer leaves Eski-Moe's he grabs on to a passing truck and uses it to propel himself back to the house,
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4928-420: A tap-dancing penguin in reference to the film Happy Feet . The "Spider-Pig" song is a parody of the theme song of the 1967 Spider-Man TV series, and the name of Lisa's lecture is An Irritating Truth , a play on Al Gore 's film An Inconvenient Truth . The bomb disposal robot was based on Vincent D'Onofrio 's character Leonard "Pyle" Lawrence from the film Full Metal Jacket , who commits suicide in
5082-466: A tribute to actor Buster Keaton , while the epiphany scene features homages to the film Brazil and the works of Salvador Dalí . Hillary Clinton appears as Itchy's vice president, while an Orc from The Lord of the Rings appears in the mob scene. A scene that was cut had Marge and the kids appear on the TV talk show The View to spread the news of Springfield's impending doom. Parts were written for
5236-566: A truck at the EPA was replaced with "more emotional and realistic" scenes at the motel and carnival that allowed for a change of pace. The scene of a naked Bart on his skateboard was Matt Groening's idea, who had always wanted to have Bart skateboarding naked, and Mike Scully had the idea of showing Bart's penis for two seconds. Storyboard artist Martin Archer was credited for devising the way to cover Bart's genitals with different things before they are exposed to
5390-562: Is a film genre that emphasizes humor . These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending , with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the oldest genres in film, and it is derived from classical comedy in theatre . Some of the earliest silent films were slapstick comedies , which often relied on visual depictions, such as sight gags and pratfalls, so they could be enjoyed without requiring sound. To provide drama and excitement to silent movies, live music
5544-488: Is a feminist. In " Lisa the Skeptic " ( season nine , 1997), an "angel skeleton" is discovered, much to Lisa's skepticism. As Lisa rants about the people who believe it is an angel, Marge informs her that she also believes it is an angel. She tells Lisa, "There has to be more to life than just what we see, everyone needs something to believe in." In spite of her highly debatable moral stances, Marge struggles with vices, such as
5698-748: Is acceptable in PG films". The film was banned in Myanmar , not for the scene of nudity, but for the excessive use of the colors yellow and red, which is prohibited in the country. The convenience store chain 7-Eleven transformed 11 of its stores in the United States and one in Canada into Kwik-E-Marts , at the cost of approximately $ 10 million. 7-Eleven also sold Simpsons -themed merchandise in many of its stores. This included " Squishees ", " Buzz Cola ", " Krusty-O's " Cereal, and "Pink Movie Donuts". This promotion resulted in
5852-513: Is also the age given in The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family , a book written by The Simpsons ' creator, Matt Groening . In " Homer's Paternity Coot " ( season 17 , 2006), Marge states that Emerald would have been her birthstone if she had been born three months later, placing her birthday sometime in February. In " Regarding Margie " ( season 17 , 2006), Homer mentioned that Marge
6006-446: Is dirty and disheveled, and begs Marge to take him back, saying the one thing he can offer her that nobody else can is "complete and utter dependence." At first, Marge does not see that as a benefit, but eventually admits that he "really [does] make a gal feel needed." Episodes that depict marital problems have become more frequent in recent seasons of the show. Through it all, Marge has remained faithful to Homer, despite temptations to
6160-445: Is married to Homer and mother of Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson. She was raised by her parents, Jacqueline and Clancy Bouvier . She has a pair of sisters, the joyless Patty and Selma , both of whom vocally disapprove of Homer. In " The Way We Was " ( season two , 1991), it is revealed via flashback that Marge attended Springfield High School, and in her final year met Homer, after they both were sent to detention—Homer for smoking in
6314-468: Is permanent, she tapes her message over their wedding video. An Inuit shaman then helps a distraught Homer to have an epiphany about his selfishness and he vows to save the town. Meanwhile, Marge and the kids are captured by the EPA in Seattle and placed back inside the dome. The EPA lowers a time bomb suspended by a rope through a hole at the top of the dome, and the townspeople try to escape by climbing
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6468-459: Is rarely referred to in the series and has had speaking parts in only two episodes. It was revealed in " Fear of Flying " ( season six , 1994) that Clancy told Marge that he was a pilot, but in reality, he was a flight attendant. Marge discovered this one day and developed aerophobia . In " Jazzy and the Pussycats " ( season 18 , 2006), Homer casually mentions that they once attended his funeral. It
6622-500: Is some way out of this controversy. I thought, perhaps, it would be a good start to just speak my mind. —Marge Simpson in her letter to Barbara Bush The edition of October 1, 1990, of People included an interview with then- First Lady of the United States Barbara Bush . The article included the following passage: "She loves America's Funniest Home Videos but remains baffled after sampling The Simpsons . "It
6776-654: Is the matriarch of the Simpson family. With her husband Homer , she has three children: Bart , Lisa , and Maggie . Marge is the moralistic force in her family and often provides a grounding voice in the midst of her family's antics by trying to maintain order in the Simpson household. She is often portrayed as a stereotypical television mother and is often included on lists of top "TV moms". She has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons —including video games , The Simpsons Movie , The Simpsons Ride , commercials, and comic books —and inspired an entire line of merchandise. Marge's distinctive blue beehive hairstyle
6930-432: Is the history of The Simpsons , this film will come to be seen as oddity rather than apotheosis." More negative reception came from the magazine Empire , where reviewer Ian Nathan compared the film to New Coke , saying that "it utterly failed". Phil Villarreal believed that there were "too few laugh-worthy moments" and that "instead of stretching to new frontiers, the film rests on the familiar". Sheila Johnston criticized
7084-465: The 35th Annie Awards the film was nominated in four categories: Best Animated Feature , Directing in an Animated Feature Production, Writing in an Animated Feature Production, and Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production for Julie Kavner. All four awards were won by Ratatouille . It was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 65th Golden Globe Awards , the BAFTA for Best Animated Film , and
7238-499: The 44th Primetime Emmy Awards , Kavner received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for voicing Marge in the season three episode " I Married Marge ". In 2004, Kavner and Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer) won a Young Artist Award for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series". For her performance in The Simpsons Movie , Kavner was nominated for "Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature" at
7392-733: The Producers Guild Award for Animated Theatrical Motion Picture. It also received nominations for the Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature , the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature , and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature . Before its release, the film received a nomination at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards for "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet", with
7546-436: The "junior" writers are usually given Marge episodes because he and writing partner Josh Weinstein were given several to write during their first season. During the third season of the show, most of the writers focused on Bart and Homer, so David M. Stern decided to write a Marge episode, which became " Homer Alone " ( season three , 1992). He felt that they could achieve a "deeper vein" of comedy in an episode where Marge has
7700-401: The 2007 Annie Awards , but lost to Ian Holm from Ratatouille . Kavner's emotional performance in the movie got positive reviews and one critic said she "gave what must be the most heartfelt performance ever." Various episodes in which Marge is prominently featured have been nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program , including " The Way We Weren't " in 2004 and " Life on
7854-541: The 24th "Most Memorable Female TV Character". Her relationship with Homer was included in TV Guide 's list of "The Best TV Couples of All Time". Religious writer Kenneth Briggs has written that "Marge is my candidate for sainthood ... She lives in the real world, she lives with crises, with flawed people. She forgives and she makes her own mistakes. She is a forgiving, loving person ... absolutely saintly." Marge and Lisa are James L. Brooks most favorite characters in
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#17328491215378008-416: The DVD release occurred across the United States. The Empire State Building was illuminated yellow, the first time the building had ever been used as part of a film promotion. In the United Kingdom, Fox launched a £5 million advertising campaign. They also signed a £1.6 million deal with the yogurt company Yoplait , to produce a The Simpsons Movie design for their brand Frubes. In its first week it topped
8162-559: The Daredevil " crashed into a tree next to Springfield Gorge. The Carpenters ' song " (They Long to Be) Close to You " was used in Homer and Marge's wedding video and had also been used in several emotional moments between them in the TV series. On April 1, 2006, 20th Century Fox announced that the film would be released worldwide on July 27, 2007. The film was released a day earlier in Australia and
8316-520: The Fast Lane ", which won the award in 1990. In 2000, Marge and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. Marge has been ranked highly in lists of the top television mothers of all time. She was ranked first on Entertainment Weekly 's list in 1994; first on Fox News ' list in 2005; eighth on CityNews ' list in 2008; and
8470-625: The Monorail " at a protest event. Following complaints, 20th Century Fox sent a letter to the event organizers ordering that the episode not be shown due to copyright laws. In 2004, Marge appeared on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom for the Alternative Christmas message , which is annually broadcast at the same time that Queen Elizabeth II gives her Christmas message. On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service unveiled
8624-518: The Simpson family on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short " Good Night ". In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons , a half-hour series airing on the Fox Network . Marge and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show. Matt Groening believes that episodes featuring Marge are among the most difficult episodes to write. Bill Oakley believes that
8778-452: The Spider-Pig song into a choral piece, which was a joke he never intended to be put into the film. Zimmer also had to write foreign-language lyrics for the 32 dubbed versions of the song when the film was released internationally. He found translating the song into Spanish the hardest to write. The same choir learned to sing the piece for each of the foreign-language dubs. Al Jean described
8932-451: The Third . The film's trailer won a Golden Trailer Award in the category Best Animated/Family Film Trailer at the 8th Annual Golden Trailer Awards. Forbes named the film the third best of the year, based on its box office takings and Metacritic critical response score. The film's website received a Webby Award at the 12th Annual Webby Awards in the category "Best Movie and Film Website". At
9086-447: The U.S. DVD chart, and generated $ 11.8 million in rental revenue. On Rotten Tomatoes , The Simpsons Movie has an approval rating of 87% based on 221 reviews and an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, " The Simpsons Movie contains the hearty laughs, biting satire, and honest portrayal of an American family that makes the show so popular. And it boasts slicker animation and polished writing that hearkens back to
9240-432: The United Kingdom. Little information about the plot was released in the weeks building up to the film's release. Groening did not feel that "people look in the TV section of the newspaper and think, 'I'll watch this week's Simpsons because I like the plot.' You just tune in and see what happens." Fox held a competition among 16 Springfields across the United States to host the American premiere. Each Springfield produced
9394-883: The animation for around a quarter of the film under Silverman's supervision, with numerous other animators working on scenes. For inspiration for the crowd scenes in the film, the production staff referenced a poster featuring more than 320 Simpsons characters. Groening said they tried to include every single character in the film, with 98 having speaking parts, and most members of the crowds being previously established characters instead of generic people. The series' regular voice actors: Dan Castellaneta , Julie Kavner , Nancy Cartwright , Yeardley Smith , Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer , as well as semi-regular performers Tress MacNeille , Pamela Hayden , Marcia Wallace , Maggie Roswell , Russi Taylor and Karl Wiedergott , reprised their roles. Joe Mantegna returned as Fat Tony , while Albert Brooks , who supplied many guest voices in episodes,
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#17328491215379548-480: The animation, and then we got scared that the movie began to drag in that section." Producer James L. Brooks chose Hans Zimmer to compose the film's score, as they were good friends and regular collaborators. Zimmer felt that the score was a "unique challenge", and he had to "try and express the style of The Simpsons without wearing the audience out". He used Danny Elfman 's original opening theme , but did not wish to overuse it. He created themes for each member of
9702-593: The award ultimately won by Transformers , and lost the Teen Choice Award for "Choice Summer Movie – Comedy/Musical", which was won by Hairspray . It was also nominated for Favorite Movie Comedy at the People's Choice Awards , losing to Knocked Up . In 2014, Brooks stated that he had been approached by Fox and that they had requested a second film. He added that there were no immediate plans, stating, "We've been asked to [develop it], but we haven't. We're doing
9856-429: The bathroom with Barney, and Marge for burning her bra in a feminist protest. She was at first wary of Homer, but agreed to go to the prom with him, although she ended up going with Artie Ziff after Homer received tutoring lessons as a means to get to know her better, while knowing that she needed to sleep for a school meet. However, she regretted going with Artie when he started to pressure her to have sex after prom. At
10010-462: The best stuff to come [from the Simpsons ] since season 12 or 13 " and praised the animation, but also said that the appearances of characters such as Comic Book Guy and Seymour Skinner were "small and unfunny". Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film's good nature, stating that the laughs "come in all sizes", but also noted that, "little has been gained bringing the Simpsons to
10164-404: The best." The same went for director Brad Bird who said he had "entertained fantasies of asking if [he] could work on the movie", but did not have enough time due to work on films like The Incredibles and Ratatouille . The producers arranged a deal with Fox that would allow them to abandon production of the film at any point if they felt the screenplay was unsatisfactory. Work continued on
10318-558: The camera work, inbetweening , and digital ink and paint before shipping the animation back to the United States. Director David Silverman said that unlike the TV series where "you [have] to pick and choose", the film gave them the opportunity to "lavish that attention [on] every single scene". The characters have shadows, unlike in the show. Silverman and the animators looked to films such as The Incredibles , The Triplets of Belleville , and Bad Day at Black Rock for inspiration, as they were "a great education in staging because of how
10472-651: The characters are placed". They also looked for ideas for a dream sequence, in Disney films such as Dumbo and the Pluto cartoon Pluto's Judgment Day and for crowd scenes in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World . Silverman looked at some of the Simpsons episodes he had directed, primarily his two favorites, " Homie the Clown " and " Three Men and a Comic Book ". Mike B. Anderson , Lauren MacMullan , Rich Moore and Steven Dean Moore each directed
10626-532: The characters discovered their lives were a TV show. Groening rejected this, as he felt that the Simpsons should "never become aware of themselves as celebrities", but the idea was later used in the video game The Simpsons Game . Groening read about a town that had to get rid of pig feces in their water supply, which inspired the plot of the film. The decision for Flanders to have an important role also came early on, as Jean wished to see Bart wonder what his life would be like if Flanders were his father. Hank Scorpio ,
10780-604: The comedy is structured around the idiocy of Homer". This assessment was shared by Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times , who felt that "once the movie wanders into its contemplation of mortality and meaning, the trenchancy kind of creaks and falls off." She negatively compared it to South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999), a film similarly adapted from an animated television series, saying that, in terms of satire, it offers "nothing we don't hear every night on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart ." Bruce Newman criticized
10934-457: The contrary such as the one in " Life on the Fast Lane " ( season one , 1990), where she resists Frenchman Jacques and instead chooses to remain with Homer. Marge is more caring, understanding, and nurturing toward Bart than Homer, but she refers to him as "a handful" and is often embarrassed by his antics. In " Marge Be Not Proud " ( season seven , 1995), she felt she was mothering Bart too much and started acting more distant towards him after he
11088-529: The cover of Maxim . She also appeared on the cover of the November 2009 issue of Playboy , becoming the first cartoon character to appear on the cover. The cover and a three-page picture spread, as well as a story inside entitled The Devil in Marge Simpson , commemorated the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons , but as also part of a plan to appeal to younger readers, a decision which has been criticized due to
11242-421: The deletion of Kang and Kodos heavily criticizing the film during the end credits. A lot of people at the screenings found the original film too coarse, and some of Homer's behavior too unlikable, so several scenes were toned down to make him appear likable. Russ Cargill was redesigned several times, originally appearing as an older man whose speech patterns Albert Brooks based on Donald Rumsfeld . The older model
11396-435: The dispute was soon resolved and she received $ 125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $ 360,000 an episode. The issue was resolved a month later, and Kavner earned $ 250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $ 400,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Kavner and
11550-444: The door, it would spring back and forth. This was never used. Groening's original plan for Marge's hair was that it would conceal large, Life in Hell -esque rabbit ears. The gag was intended to be revealed in the final episode of the series, but was scrapped early on due to inconsistencies, and also to the fact that rabbit ears would be too fictitious even for The Simpsons . Marge's voice is performed by Julie Kavner , who also does
11704-408: The end of the evening, while Artie drove her home after receiving a slap, she spied Homer walking along the side of the road with the corsage meant for her. After hearing her parents voicing their negative opinions about Homer, she took her own car and went back to give him a ride. She then told Homer she should've gone to the prom with him and he fixes her snapped shoulder strap with the corsage. During
11858-400: The established back-story; for example, it was revealed that Marge and Homer were childless in the early 1990s although past episodes had suggested Bart and Lisa were born in the 1980s. As with many Simpsons characters, Marge's age and birthday changes to serve the story. In season one (1990) episodes " Life on the Fast Lane " and " Some Enchanted Evening ", Marge was said to be 34. This
12012-511: The existence of a very active God", when asked if he believed it was likely to offend. Mark I. Pinsky, author of The Gospel According to The Simpsons , said the film "treats genuine faith with respect, while keeping a sharp eye out for religious pretension and hypocrisy of all kinds". Regarding the scene where the tenants of Moe's Tavern and the Church switch locations, he believed it took the "chance to unmask everyone's human fallibility." In analyzing
12166-556: The family had to house sit for Mr. Burns , she forced Lisa and herself to clean the entire mansion. Politically , Marge generally aligns with the Democratic Party , having supported the candidacy of her state's progressive governor Mary Bailey , and voted for Jimmy Carter in both of his presidential elections. She was also deeply affected by the death of Lyndon B. Johnson , to the point where she wanted him to be alive so badly that she kept seeing him everywhere she looked. At
12320-413: The family. Homer's leitmotif was a major focus, and Zimmer also composed smaller themes for Bart and Marge. Regular television series composer Alf Clausen was not asked to score the film, noting: "sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug". In addition to their appearance in the film, Green Day recorded its own version of the Simpsons theme, and released it as a single . Zimmer turned
12474-535: The film dramatically stronger than a TV episode, saying that he wanted to "give you something that you haven't seen before". Animation for the film began in January 2006, with the Itchy & Scratchy short being the first scene to be storyboarded . Groening rejected making either a live-action or a CGI film, calling the film's animation "deliberately imperfect" and "a tribute to the art of hand-drawn animation ". The film
12628-515: The film industry due to their popularity. In The Screenwriters Taxonomy (2017), Eric R. Williams contends that film genres are fundamentally based upon a film's atmosphere, character, and story, and therefore, the labels "drama" and "comedy" are too broad to be considered a genre. Instead, his taxonomy argues that comedy is a type of film that contains at least a dozen different sub-types. A number of hybrid genres have emerged, such as action comedy and romantic comedy . The first comedy film
12782-416: The film to be made after the show ended, "but that [...] was undone by good ratings". There were attempts to adapt the fourth season episode " Kamp Krusty " into a film, but difficulties were encountered in expanding the episode to feature-length. For a long time, the project was held up. There was difficulty finding a story that was sufficient for a film, and the crew did not have enough time to complete such
12936-459: The film was released. James L. Brooks noted, "70 percent of the things in [one of the trailers]—based on where we were eight weeks ago—are no longer in the movie." Matt Groening said that enough material for two more films was cut. Various new characters were created, and then cut because they did not contribute enough. Originally Marge was the character who had the prophetic vision in church. The writers however considered this to be too dark and it
13090-400: The film's DVD release, although the plot of the game was not based on the film. Samsung released The Simpsons Movie phone, and Microsoft produced a limited edition The Simpsons Movie Xbox 360 . Ben & Jerry's created a Simpsons -themed beer and donut-flavored ice cream, entitled "Duff & D'oh! Nuts". Windows Live Messenger presented their users with the opportunity to download
13244-451: The film's first post-opening credits scene, which sees Green Day fail in an attempt to engage their audience on the issue of the environment, "sets in motion a plot expressly built around cultural agenda-setting" and "reflection on timely 'issues'." Religion is focused on in Grampa's momentary possession, and Marge believing what he said to be a message from God. Groening joked the film "posit[s]
13398-501: The film's message as being "a man should listen to his wife". In addition, the film parodies two major contemporary issues, religion and environmentalism. The theme of environmentalism is present throughout the film: in Homer's polluting of Lake Springfield, Green Day's cameo, Lisa's activism and her romance with Colin. The villainous Russ Cargill is head of the Environmental Protection Agency . Reviewer Ed Gonzalez argued
13552-450: The film's visual gags. Randy Shulman praised the cast, and described them as having "elevated their vocal work to a craft that goes way beyond simple line readings", and particularly praised Kavner who he said "gave what must be the most heartfelt performance ever". Roger Ebert gave a positive review of three out of four stars, but admitted he was "generally [not] a fan of movies spun off from TV animation". He called it "radical and simple at
13706-407: The film. The voice cast was signed on to do the film in 2001, and work then began on the screenplay. The producers were initially worried that creating a film would have a negative effect on the series, as they did not have enough crew to focus their attention on both projects. As the series progressed, additional writers and animators were hired so that both the show and the film could be produced at
13860-412: The film: a writing team of Brooks, Groening, Jean, Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham , George Meyer , David Mirkin , Mike Reiss , Matt Selman , John Swartzwelder and Jon Vitti was assembled. They conceived numerous plot ideas, with Groening's adapted. The screenplay was rewritten over a hundred times, which continued after work on the film's animation began in 2006. Consequently, hours of finished material
14014-418: The first such episodes to depict this is " Secrets of a Successful Marriage " ( season five , 1994), where Homer starts teaching an education class on how to build a successful marriage. He is at first unsuccessful, but gains the interest of the class when he starts giving away family secrets, many of which concern Marge. Upon finding this out, Marge is incensed and throws him out of the house. The next day, Homer
14168-461: The first time since the television show's early seasons. Castellaneta found the recording sessions "more intense" than recording the television series and "more emotionally dramatic". Some scenes, such as Marge's video message to Homer, were recorded over one hundred times, leaving the voice cast exhausted. The writers had written the opening concert scene without a specific band in mind. Green Day were cast in that role having requested to guest star in
14322-441: The fleeting appearances of many of the show's secondary characters, and found the film to be "a disappointment". The film earned $ 30,758,269 on its opening day in the United States making it the 25th-highest, and fifth-highest non-sequel opening day revenue of all time. It grossed a combined total of $ 74,036,787 in its opening weekend on 5,500 screens at 3,922 theaters, reaching the top of the box office for that weekend. This made it
14476-470: The highest-grossing film based on an animated television series, and the highest grossing adult animated movie of all time . The film was nominated for numerous awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 65th Golden Globe Awards . After finishing a concert at Lake Springfield , Green Day tries to engage the audience in a discussion about the environment, but they refuse to listen and throw garbage at them. The pollution in
14630-402: The idea, noting that "[Schwarzenegger's] opinion polls were way down", and has said that they "were [hoping] he'd make a political comeback". The animators began by drawing an accurate caricature of Schwarzenegger, but one of the staff instead suggested an altered version of recurring character Rainier Wolfcastle as president. This idea was developed, with the design of Wolfcastle, himself also
14784-519: The illusion. People feel these are real people." Kavner takes recording sessions seriously and feels that voice acting is "a little more limiting than live acting. And I have nothing to do with my character's movement." Marge's raspy voice is only slightly different from Kavner's, who has a "honeyed gravel voice" which she says is due to "a bump on [her] vocal cords." While Marge is her most famous character, Kavner's favorite characters to voice are Patty and Selma because "they're really funny and sad at
14938-412: The incident happened. Homer wins a truck by riding a motorcycle around a globe of death and the family restarts their lives in a remote Alaskan cabin. Meanwhile, as Springfield exhausts its supplies, the townspeople attempt to find another way to escape from the dome. Cargill, mad with power, tricks Schwarzenegger into ordering the town's demolition. The Simpsons see Tom Hanks on television advertising
15092-453: The lake erodes the band's barge , causing them to be drowned. During their memorial, Grampa Simpson has a spiritual experience and frantically prophesies that a disaster will befall Springfield, which only Marge takes seriously. Concerned about the terrible state of the environment, Lisa and her new friend Colin hold a seminar and convince the town to clean up the lake. Meanwhile, Homer and Bart eat at Krusty Burger, where Homer adopts
15246-493: The latter of which transformed selected stores into Kwik-E-Marts . The film premiered in Springfield, Vermont , on July 21, 2007, and was theatrically released in the United States six days later on July 27, by 20th Century Fox . The Simpsons Movie grossed $ 536.4 million worldwide, becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2007 , the second-highest-grossing traditionally animated film (behind Disney 's The Lion King ),
15400-743: The most popular with audiences at the box office, there is an 'historical bias against a close and serious consideration of comedy' when it comes to critical reception and conferring of awards, such as at the Academy Awards . Film writer Cailian Savage observes "Comedies have won Oscars, although they’ve usually been comedy-dramas, involved very depressing scenes, or appealed to stone-hearted drama lovers in some other way, such as Shakespeare in Love ." According to Williams' taxonomy , all film descriptions should contain their type (comedy or drama) combined with one (or more) sub-genres. This combination does not create
15554-400: The music from The Wizard of Oz was used in that scene, and the fawn had white spots; these were removed because the animators felt it resembled Bambi too clearly. Bart impersonates Mickey Mouse on the train, calling himself "the mascot of an evil corporation". Homer plays Grand Theft Walrus , an allusion to the video game series Grand Theft Auto . In the game, his character shoots
15708-419: The other cast members accepted a 30 percent pay cut, down to just over $ 300,000 per episode. Marge is generally a stereotypical sitcom mother, and she also plays the "long-suffering wife" who puts up with the antics of her children and her oafish husband. While she usually takes her family's problems with good humor, in " Homer Alone " ( season three , 1992), her workload and resultant stress caused her to have
15862-497: The pacing of the film and its joke level saying that "the overall momentum flags at times" and that it was "a salvo of comic squibs, some very funny, others limp". David Edwards agreed with this, writing that although "there's a great half-hour show rattling around...the rest is padding at its very dullest", concluding that it "isn't a terrible film, just a terribly disappointing one." Cosmo Landesman believed, "the humour seem[ed] to have lost its satirical bite and wit" and that "much of
16016-422: The plot was a satire of the government's reaction to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans . Ian Nathan of Empire magazine criticized this focus, believing it gave the film an "overt political agenda [which] border[s] on polemic ". James D. Bloom of Muhlenberg College commented on the "explicitness" of the film's " intellectual agenda", on this issue, shown particularly through Lisa. He wrote that
16170-400: The ride, he tells her he will hug her and kiss her and never be able to let her go. After the two had been dating for several years, Marge discovered she was pregnant with Bart, and she and Homer were married in a small wedding chapel across the state line. Bart was born soon after, and the couple bought their first house . The episode " That '90s Show " ( season 19 , 2008) contradicted much of
16324-419: The role of Ned Flanders, he wrote, "It is [the] willingness of The Simpsons to depict all the different sides of us [...] that makes it so rich and funny on our complicated relationship with religion." Trees are a motif in the film, and they were implemented in every important or emotional scene throughout the film. The animators inserted an apple tree behind Lisa and Colin during their initial meeting, which
16478-503: The rope. Homer returns to Springfield and descends the rope, knocking the escaping townspeople and the bomb off, inadvertently shortening its countdown and further provoking the town's ire. Homer reconciles with Bart and they use a motorcycle to travel up the side of the dome with the bomb. Bart throws the bomb through the hole seconds before it detonates, shattering the dome and freeing the town. Cargill attempts to murder Homer and Bart for foiling his plan, but Maggie knocks him out by dropping
16632-399: The same time, subversive and good-hearted, offensive without really meaning to be". Richard Corliss of Time said that the film "doesn't try to be ruder or kinkier, just bigger and better". USA Today film critic Claudia Puig said that the story did "warrant a full-length feature, thanks to a clever plot and non-stop irreverent humor". Patrick Kolan believed that the film was "easily
16786-578: The same time. Groening and Brooks invited Mike Scully and Al Jean (who continued to work as showrunner on the television series) to produce the film with them. They then signed series director David Silverman to direct the film. The "strongest possible" writing team was assembled, with many of the writers from the show's early seasons being chosen. David Mirkin , Mike Reiss , George Meyer , John Swartzwelder , and Jon Vitti were selected. Ian Maxtone-Graham and Matt Selman would also join later, and Brooks, Groening, Scully, and Jean also wrote parts of
16940-500: The same time." In The Simpsons Movie , some scenes, such as Marge's video message to Homer, were recorded over one hundred times, leaving Kavner exhausted. Kristen Bell provided Marge's singing voice in " The Star of the Backstage ". Until 1998, Kavner was paid $ 30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing to cast new voices. However,
17094-424: The screen." Variety 's Brian Lowry called it "clever, irreverent, satirical and outfitted" but that it was "just barely" capable of sustaining a running time longer than a television episode. Lisa Schwarzbaum praised the voice cast but stated that the "'action' sequences sometimes falter". When comparing the film to the early episodes of the show, Stephen Rowley concluded that the film "has more going for it than
17248-406: The screenplay from late 2003 onwards, taking place in the small bungalow where Matt Groening first pitched The Simpsons in 1987. The writers spent six months discussing a plot, and each of them offered sketchy ideas. On their first brainstorming session, Scully suggested a story in which Steven Spielberg (intended to be voiced by Spielberg himself) would try to blow up Springfield so he could shoot
17402-400: The screenplay. Sam Simon did not return having left the show over creative differences in 1993. Former writer Conan O'Brien expressed interest in working with the Simpsons staff again, although he later joked that "I worry that the Simpsons -writing portion of my brain has been destroyed after 14 years of talking to Lindsay Lohan and that guy from One Tree Hill , so maybe it's all for
17556-459: The series, and the two with whom he identifies with most. Marge and Lisa are more popular than Homer and Bart in Japan, France, and many French speaking countries. Matt Groening has spoken fondly of them, though he prefers Homer and Bart. Sam Simon also prefers Homer and Bart finding Marge and Lisa to be too "goody two-shoes" for his tastes. Dear First Lady, I recently read your criticism of my family. I
17710-514: The series, with Albert Brooks joining for the film. The plot follows Homer Simpson as he attempts to save Springfield when it is imprisoned under a glass dome by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after Homer irresponsibly pollutes the town's local lake. Although previous attempts to create a Simpsons film had been made, they failed due to the lack of a final screenplay. In 2001, series producers Groening, James L. Brooks , Al Jean , Mike Scully and Richard Sakai began development on
17864-420: The seven sections into one "very rough draft". The film's screenplay was written in the same way as the television series: the writers sitting around a table, pitching ideas, and trying to make each other laugh. The screenplay was rewritten over 100 times, and at one point, the film was a musical. However, the songs were continually being shortened and the idea was dropped. Groening described his desire to also make
18018-411: The show in its later years, but is still a long way short of what made it so invigorating". The Monthly critic Luke Davies echoed Lowry's concerns about the length: "everything moves with the whip-crack speed of a half-hour episode. And that's the paradox: it makes the film feel like three episodes strung together. We're in a cinema, and we expect something epic." He opined that "in the great arc that
18172-464: The show's entire panel and the scene was planned to feature Russ Cargill having a gunfight with Joy Behar . Another dropped scene featured Moe describing Springfield's varying physical states inside the dome, one of which was the Disneyland ride Autopia . There are several references to events in previous TV episodes of The Simpsons . These include the wreckage of the ambulance from the episode " Bart
18326-455: The show's glory days." On Metacritic , it received a score of 80 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. British newspapers The Guardian and The Times both gave the film four out of five stars. The Times ' James Bone said that it "boasts the same sly cultural references and flashes of brilliance that have earned
18480-404: The show. Tom Hanks also appears as himself in the film and accepted the offer after just one phone call. Everybody Loves Raymond creator Philip Rosenthal provides the voice of the father in the "new Grand Canyon " commercial with Hanks. Due to time restraints, several guests who had recorded parts were cut from the film. Minnie Driver recorded the part of a patronizing grievance counselor in
18634-413: The silo in the lake, critically polluting it, in order to arrive at the closing Lard Lad Donuts in time to get free donuts. Russ Cargill, head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), informs President Schwarzenegger of Springfield's pollution crisis and presents him with five solutions. Schwarzenegger then randomly picks the third option – sealing Springfield off from the rest of the world under
18788-516: The television series a following that ranges from tots to comparative literature PhDs". The Guardian 's Peter Bradshaw stated that it "gives you everything you could possibly want" and that he thought, "Eighty-five minutes [was] not long enough to do justice to 17 years of comedy genius". Ed Gonzalez praised the film for its political message, likening the Itchy & Scratchy cartoon at the beginning to President Schwarzenegger's situation later on, as well as
18942-521: The television series, Marge regularly appears in issues of Simpsons Comics , which were published from 1993 to 2018. Marge also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride , launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood . Marge appeared in a 2005 advertisement for Dove Styling , where her normal beehive hair was exchanged for a more stylish look for a series of ads featuring several popular cartoon women. In April 2004, Marge appeared on
19096-452: The tenth-highest revenue of all time, for an opening weekend in July, and highest among non-sequels, and the highest animated TV adaptation of all time, surpassing The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie . This outperformed the expectations of $ 40 million that Fox had for the release. It set several American box office records, including highest grossing opening weekend for a non-CG animated film and for
19250-415: The third-highest opening weekend in the country, and the highest for an animated film. The United Kingdom is the highest-grossing country for the film outside in the United States with a $ 78.4 million gross overall, with Germany in second place with a $ 36.3 million gross overall. The film closed on December 20, 2007, with a gross of $ 183.1 million in the United States and a worldwide gross of $ 536.4 million. It
19404-546: The townspeople are frustrated or contemptuous of her failure to recognize or react correctly to breaches of social norms. Marge is the only member of the family who encourages, and often forces, church attendance. In " Homer the Heretic " ( season four , 1992), Homer starts skipping church and Marge tells him "don't make me choose between my man and my God, because you just can't win." Yet, in some episodes, Marge's stereotypical attitude seems to affect her relationship with Lisa, who
19558-508: The use of comedy film to make social statements by building their narratives around sensitive cultural, political or social issues. Such films include Dr Strangelove, or How I Learned to Love the Bomb , Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? and The Graduate . In America, the sexual revolution drove an appetite for comedies that celebrated and parodied changing social morals, including Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Fanny Hill . In Britain,
19712-551: The viewer. While the crew agreed that the gag would be funny, they wondered it if would mean an R-rating for the film, as they were happy with a PG-13 rating and that the gag was nonsexual and silly. They were ultimately able to get away with the joke because it wasn't live-action nor was it Homer's genitals. Further changes were made after the March 2007 preview screenings of the film in Portland, Oregon and Phoenix, Arizona . This included
19866-490: The voices of Marge's mother Jacqueline and her sisters Patty and Selma. Kavner had been part of the regular cast of The Tracey Ullman Show . Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Kavner and fellow cast member Dan Castellaneta to voice Marge and Homer rather than hire more actors. Part of Kavner's contract says that she will never have to promote The Simpsons on video and she rarely performs Marge's voice in public because she believes it "destroys
20020-410: The way Lisa and Maggie are drawn. The eyes are then drawn, with one roughly in the middle of the sphere, and the other to the front side of the head. Then, the nose and lip are drawn. Her hair is then drawn on top as a long tube coming out of the sphere. An original idea the animators had for when Marge walked through doorways was that her hair would be forced down as she walked through, then once clear of
20174-572: The world premiere of the film on July 21 with a yellow carpet instead of the traditional red . The film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for "irreverent humor throughout"; the production staff had expected this rating. However, the British Board of Film Classification passed the film as a PG with no cuts made. A BBFC spokeswoman said regarding Bart's brief nude scene, "natural nudity with no sexual content
20328-414: Was L'Arroseur Arrosé (1895), directed and produced by film pioneer Louis Lumière . Less than a minute long, it shows a boy playing a prank on a gardener. The most notable comedy actors of the silent film era (1895–1927) were Charlie Chaplin , Harold Lloyd , and Buster Keaton , though they were able to make the transition into “ talkies ” after the 1920s. Film-makers in the 1960s skillfully employed
20482-742: Was a reference to the biblical figures of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden . Many cultural references and allusions are made throughout the film. Green Day plays " Nearer, My God, to Thee " on violins as their barge sinks, in a sequence parodying the film Titanic . When Bart is riding his skateboard naked, different passing objects are almost constantly covering his genitalia, a nod to similar techniques used in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery . Homer and Marge's love scene parodies many Disney films, including Cinderella , with Disney-style animals helping them undress. Originally,
20636-604: Was also nominated for an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature for her performance in The Simpsons Movie . In 2000, Marge, along with the rest of her family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . The Simpsons uses a floating timeline (the characters do not physically age), and as such the show is generally assumed to be set in the current year. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific time periods, although this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. Marge Simpson
20790-437: Was cast as the main antagonist Russ Cargill after he told the staff that he wanted to be part of the film. For "about a week", Brooks was to reprise the role of Hank Scorpio, but when the character was omitted from the film, he ended up voicing Cargill himself. The cast did the first of three table readings in May 2005, and began recording every week from June 2006 until the end of production. James L. Brooks directed them for
20944-459: Was caught shoplifting. In the beginning of the episode, Bart protested her "over-mothering", but as she started becoming distant, he felt bad about it and made up with her. Marge has expressed understanding for her "special little guy" and has defended him on many occasions. She once said "I know Bart can be a handful, but I also know what he's like inside. He's got a spark. It's not a bad thing ... Of course, it makes him do bad things." Marge has
21098-417: Was changed to Grampa. The role of Lisa's love interest Colin was frequently revised. He was previously named Dexter and Adrien, and his appearance was completely altered. One idea was to have Milhouse act as Lisa's love interest, but the writers realized "the audience was not as familiar with [his] long-standing crush on [Lisa] as [they had] thought". A car chase in which Homer throws flaming mummies out of
21252-467: Was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks ' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He based the character on his mother Margaret Groening. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, the Simpson family received their own series on Fox , which debuted December 17, 1989. Marge
21406-419: Was cut from the final release, including cameo roles from Erin Brockovich , Minnie Driver , Isla Fisher , Edward Norton , and Kelsey Grammer , who would have reprised his role as Sideshow Bob . Green Day and Tom Hanks voice their own animated counterparts in the film's final cut. Tie-in promotions were made with several companies to promote the film's release, including Burger King and 7-Eleven ,
21560-461: Was deeply hurt. Heaven knows we're far from perfect and, if truth be known, maybe just a wee bit short from normal; but as Dr. Seuss says, "a person is a person". I try to teach my children ... always to give somebody the benefit of the doubt and not talk badly about them, even if they're rich. It's hard to get them to understand this advice when the very First Lady in the country calls us not only dumb, but "the dumbest thing" she ever saw. I hope there
21714-586: Was divided among four studios around the world: Film Roman in Burbank, California ; Rough Draft Studios in Glendale, California ; and its division along with AKOM , in Seoul , South Korea , all of whom previously worked on the series. As with the television series, the storyboarding, character designs, background layout, general animation, and animatic parts of production, were done in America. The overseas studios completed
21868-420: Was finally revealed that Clancy died of lung cancer in season 27 episode " Puffless ". Marge believes she has higher morals and is more law-abiding than most other characters, once leading a family values crusade against the violent The Itchy & Scratchy Show and being a prominent member of the "Citizens' Committee on Moral Hygiene". She often provides a voice of reason for the town itself, but many of
22022-423: Was his age, meaning she could have been anywhere between 36 and 40. During this episode (Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore), Lisa questions Homer's memory of Marge's birthday. When he cannot remember, Marge yells that it is in May. In the season eighteen episode " Marge Gamer " she states that she and actor Randy Quaid share the same birthdate (October 1). Marge has been nonworking for most of the series, choosing to be
22176-514: Was included in Time 's list of the "10 Best Moms Ever". In a 2004 poll in the United Kingdom, Marge was named the "most respected mother" by respondents. Still in 2004, Marge was ranked third in a poll conducted by the Opinion Research Company. In May 2012, Marge was one of the 12 moms chosen by users of iVillage on their list of "Mommy Dearest: The TV Moms You Love". AOL has named Marge
22330-514: Was inspired by a combination of the Bride's in Bride of Frankenstein and the style that Margaret Groening wore in the 1960s. Julie Kavner, who was a member of the original cast of The Tracey Ullman Show , was asked to voice Marge so that more voice actors would not be needed. Kavner has won several awards for voicing Marge, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992. She
22484-410: Was named after Groening's mother Margaret "Marge" Groening, who has said she bears little similarity to the character, stating, "It's really weird to have people think you're a cartoon." Marge's beehive hairstyle was inspired by the titular Bride in Bride of Frankenstein and the style that Margaret Groening wore during the 1960s, although her hair was never blue. Marge debuted with the rest of
22638-417: Was played in sync with the action on the screen, on pianos, organs, and other instruments. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1920s, comedy films grew in popularity, as laughter could result from both burlesque situations but also from humorous dialogue . Comedy, compared with other film genres , places more focus on individual star actors, with many former stand-up comics transitioning to
22792-406: Was produced in a widescreen 2.40:1 aspect ratio, to distinguish it from the then 4:3 fullscreen look of the television series at the time, and colored with the largest palette the animators ever had available to them. A lot of the animation was produced using Wacom Cintiq tablets, which allowed images to be drawn directly onto a computer monitor to facilitate production. Animation production work
22946-545: Was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc worldwide on December 3, 2007, and on December 18 in the United States by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment . It contains commentary tracks from both the producers and animators, six short deleted scenes, and a selection of material used to promote the film release. An unfinished deleted scene of the townspeople singing the Springfield Anthem was also included on The Simpsons The Complete Tenth Season DVD box set. Promotions for
23100-419: Was the dumbest thing I had ever seen," she says, "but it's a family thing, and I guess it's clean." The writers decided to respond by privately sending a polite letter on September 28 to Bush where they posed as Marge Simpson. On October 9, Bush sent a reply: "Dear Marge, How kind of you to write. I'm glad you spoke your mind ... I foolishly didn't know you had one. I am looking at a picture of you ... depicted on
23254-731: Was the eighth-highest-grossing film worldwide and the tenth-highest grossing in the United States of 2007. The Simpsons Movie won the award for Best Comedy Film at the British Comedy Awards , Best Animation at the inaugural ITV National Movie Awards , and Best Movie at the UK Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards , beating Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End , and Shrek
23408-566: Was the fear of the potential film being considered "not canonical" with the TV series and the potential backlash of overcoming it by using a "memory wipe". In July 2017, Silverman and Jean said that the sequel was in the early stages of development and stressed the toll production of the first picture took on the entire staff. On August 10, 2018, it was reported that a sequel was in development. On July 22, 2019, Groening stated that he had "no doubts" that The Walt Disney Company , which acquired 21st Century Fox early that year, would likely produce
23562-424: Was the one used by Burger King for the action figure. Cargill's scene with Bart and Homer at the film's conclusion was added in to fully resolve his story, and the " Spider-Pig " gag was also a late addition. One excised scene, before the dome is put over Springfield, had Mr. Burns reminding viewers that it was the last point in the film that they could get a refund. Other deletions included Homer's encounter with
23716-414: Was to appear at several different points, but these scenes were also cut. Johnny Knoxville was also touted as a possible guest star. Although he does not provide the voice, Arnold Schwarzenegger is president of the United States rather than the contemporary real-life incumbent George W. Bush , because according to Groening "in two years ... the film [would be] out of date". Brooks was nervous about
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