"Dear Mr. Groening
I waited almost two decades and paid 8â,¬ to see Bart's full-frontal genitals?
Congratulations, you jerk, I bet every child molestor will appreciate this movie!
As for me, I want the last 18 years of my life back!!!
Sincerely, a pissed-off fan
PS.: For fuck's sake, fire Al Jean already! He doesn't know, what he's doing!"
Well, maybe I'm a little harsh (on the movie, not on Al Jean), the movie wasn't that bad (if you overlook such things like the fact that Collin, a new introduced character, doesn't contribute a thing to the overall absurd plot)!
But the movie was so trivial and unmemorable, it's like the time I spent in the movie theater vanished into another dimension.
I left the movie theater and was like "Alright, I've just seen The Simpsons Movie and now I'll just go on with my life like nothing has happened."
And do you know why? Because nothing has happened!
Another point is, the niveau dropped pretty badly (see above).
I've always respected the Simpsons because they managed to get along without pushing the envelope of taste too much.
It's like they used the movie as a mere mean to finally do all the things they weren't allowed to on TV.
You go into the movie theater expecting some intelligent jokes and what do you get?
Two policemen making out with each other! (Because homosexuality is so abnormal and therefore funny.)
I'll be honest: I laughed at some moments. But just because you laugh at something, it doesn't mean it's good (just take George W. Bush. God, I hope the Curse of Tippecanoe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_Tippecanoe) will kick in soon).
I know there will be people who say "But the shows exists for 18 years! What did you expect?"
Well, are you really going to tell me I'm supposed to enjoy something that has become stale and crappy?
If you are no longer able to produce something enjoyable, don't do it!
But sadly, the time to let the Simpsons die in dignity is long over, and they just keep making it worse!
Why won't they just put an end to the misery?
Well, I digress a little.
What I want to say is: If you want to go see the Simpsons Movie, go ahead, but don't have your expectations too high.
And to everyone who already watched it: What's your opinion?
Oh, bugger. That's a shame. I still really want to see it, but after reading your post I'm gonna have to lower my bar of expectation... If I go in expecting it to be crap it might be mildly entertaining.
Are you actually going to send that letter to MG? You should, you might get your money back.. hehe.
I hope you're joking about child molesters being pleased to see Bart's genitals. I mean, don't be ridiculous, really. Do you think child molesters are going to sit in the back of the cinema masturbating because they saw a few seconds worth of a bart's badly-drawn genitals?
Also, I thought the movie was absolutely fantastic and I cried laughing many times throughout it, but then I stopped watching the series about 7 or 8 years ago because it started getting shit. Maybe if you've been watching it for 18 years, you're a little tired of it by now.
I disagree with stupot, by the way. You shouldn't send that letter by the way because it reads like you already DID get 18 years of your life back and were 5 when you wrote it.
Some of the jokes in this film look laaaaame! I will be watching it on Sunday hopefully. I don't have very high expectations. I recently got into a FG/Simpsons debate with someone :p
My main point from the trailers is that I can't understand how people find
"Spider-pig, spider-pig" to the theme tune of "Charlie Chalk", funnier than
"Spider-man" to the theme of Batman.
QuoteI know there will be people who say "But the shows exists for 18 years! What did you expect?"
Well, are you really going to tell me I'm supposed to enjoy something that has become stale and crappy?
I suppose I could tell you that if something has become stale and crappy, you could
not watch it. If you no longer enjoy watching the show, why would you pay money to see what is essentially, a two hour episode of a program that can't write a story that will keep your interest for twenty-one minutes?
QuoteAs for me, I want the last 18 years of my life back!!!
And I'd seriously reconsider that line, makes it seem as though you spent a large portion of your life in a monastery worshiping The Simpsons.
I enjoyed it, but then my expectations weren't too high. I stopped watching the series a few years ago because I simply didn't enjoy it anymore, so maybe going "cold turkey" allowed me to appreciate it more.
It's by no means brilliant, the plot is pretty terrible, but there are some very funny moments.
Apparantly the cast are contracted to do another two movies should they happen - although to be honest I hope they don't. One is enough.
Also, m0dsy: Did it not occur to you that the "Spider-pig" thing might be to the tune of, you know, the old Spider-man theme rather than some British kids TV show that about 20 people have heard of? :P
Quote from: veryweirdguy on Fri 03/08/2007 10:48:56
Also, m0dsy: Did it not occur to you that the "Spider-pig" thing might be to the tune of, you know, the old Spider-man theme rather than some British kids TV show that about 20 people have heard of? :P
Don't be ridiculous, VWG, just look at the completely different lyrics:
Spiderpig, Spiderpig
Does whatever a spiderpig does
Can he swing from a web?
No, he can't because he's a pig
Look out! Its a spiderpig!
Spiderman, Spiderman,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out! Here comes the Spiderman.
I actually really enjoyed it. A lot of my friends i went with weren't that impressed, had the same impression you did Thomas.
I was somewhat disappointed with the art in places, they had some very nice animations but it seemed a lot of them just had a tonne of unnecessary frames chucked in.
And the line art of characters, objects etc in places was very poor and inconsistent. I noticed a lot of uneven (too fat, too thin) line art, almost to the same effect as double pixels in pixel art.
And i don't care what anyone says, Simpsons is a lot more enjoyable after a good smoke.
Quote from: SSH on Fri 03/08/2007 12:02:39
Quote from: veryweirdguy on Fri 03/08/2007 10:48:56
Also, m0dsy: Did it not occur to you that the "Spider-pig" thing might be to the tune of, you know, the old Spider-man theme rather than some British kids TV show that about 20 people have heard of? :P
Don't be ridiculous, VWG, just look at the completely different lyrics:
Spiderpig, Spiderpig
Does whatever a spiderpig does
Can he swing from a web?
No, he can't because he's a pig
Look out! Its a spiderpig!
Spiderman, Spiderman,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out! Here comes the Spiderman.
Charlie Chalk, Charlie Chalk
He can get you out of trouble,
He can teach you how to juggle
That's Charlie Chalk, yeah Charlie Chalk.
You know, Spiderpig (in the trailer, haven't seen the movie yet) is the first Simpsons thing in years to actually make me laugh out loud - but now I'm thinking it'd have been funnier if it was to the tune of Charlie Chalk.
Also I think this is the first time I've heard a wholy negative comment about the movie, most of them have been along the lines of "well it wasn't amazing, but it's better than the last 7-8 years of the show". Which isn't exactly a rousing success, but it's not "give me back 18 years of my life" either.
I haven't seen the movie either, but I found the Spiderpig scene to be slightly annoying (while only funny the first time). I just think it's so anticlimactic how we've been so many years waiting for a Simpsons movie to come out, and instead of giving us what made the TV series so popular, they give us yellow people pr0n (okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the point).
Hang on, what?
You're judging the movie without even having seen it?
Jeez... I have an idea, why don't people either
1. see the movie, then judge it
2. don't see the movie but stop complaining about it
Stop stealing other peoples opinions and grow your own... for heavens sake there's nothing worse than people judging things they haven't even seen/heard/experienced...
This email is just too hilarious and flippant that I can't help myself but analyze it.
Quote from: Thomas Voà Ÿ on Fri 03/08/2007 05:01:25
"Dear Mr. Groening
I waited almost two decades
You seriously waited? Of course you'll say "no, of course I didn't literally wait for it, but you know what I mean!" but that only warrants a response of "Then don't say it". It sounds kind of fanboyish, but in the bad way. You know, the ones who say a certain Transformers toy is entirely crud because one colour is slightly less cyan than it should be.
Quoteand paid 8€ to see Bart's full-frontal genitals?
Congratulations, you jerk, I bet every child molestor will appreciate this movie!
Wow, you're definitely focusing a lot of attention on Bart's genitalia and how the fact that they were shown might please child molesters. I can guarantee you that when I saw that scene, the LAST thing to go through my head was child molesters. Freaky little train of thought you got there.
QuoteAs for me, I want the last 18 years of my life back!!!
Yeah, because Simpsons is totally everything and all you lived for. How can you hold him personally (even if you meant it in a pissed off, fanboyish, figurative way) liable for taking away 18 of your 20 years? You're a big fan of hyperbole aren't you? If you want the last 18 years of your life back, you must have had a really shitty life if Simpsons was the sole high point.
QuoteSincerely, a pissed-off fan
Really, who cares.
QuotePS.: For fuck's sake, fire Al Jean already! He doesn't know, what he's doing!"
Obviously he doesn't. I mean, the guy has worked in the business for more years than you've been alive, but he must be a total hack. Obviously.
Dude, really. Calm the hell down. The movie wasn't what you expected? Write a bad review. But don't get all uppity about how Matt Groening somehow "owes" you anything for your own choices. I stopped watching the Simpsons years ago because it was turning random and quite frankly, shit. I didn't expect much from the movie and subsequently it didn't disappoint because I had no idea what I'd be getting.
Every time people go with the hype and go all "THIS MOVIE IS GONNA BE AWESMOE!" and then, when it isn't, they start bitching and saying how shit it was that the movie was so much worse than expected.
Dont' just lower your expectancies.. STOP EXPECTING ANYTHING.
Movies are business. There are only so many movies created out of pure love, and those, sadly, are the ones nobody sees.
The movie didn't piss me off, but your self-righteous post does.
LOL!! Ahh, well I never knew of a Spiderman before the Spiderman movies and the comic. There was a TV show? Guess I should check it out. Actually I do vaguely remember one. Still, I think there's more irony & comedy in P Griffin singing it to Batman. But that's just me :)
Quote from: Meowster on Fri 03/08/2007 13:34:13
Hang on, what?
You're judging the movie without even having seen it?
Jeez... I have an idea, why don't people either
1. see the movie, then judge it
2. don't see the movie but stop complaining about it
Stop stealing other peoples opinions and grow your own... for heavens sake there's nothing worse than people judging things they haven't even seen/heard/experienced...
Those are exactly my feelings about how this forum judges Indy IV, but I'll reserve that for another thread...
Quote from: Steel Drummer on Fri 03/08/2007 14:15:25
Quote from: Meowster on Fri 03/08/2007 13:34:13
Hang on, what?
You're judging the movie without even having seen it?
Jeez... I have an idea, why don't people either
1. see the movie, then judge it
2. don't see the movie but stop complaining about it
Stop stealing other peoples opinions and grow your own... for heavens sake there's nothing worse than people judging things they haven't even seen/heard/experienced...
Those are exactly my feelings about how this forum judges Indy IV, but I'll reserve that for another thread...
(the indy IV thread?) ;)
Children, children. We are all perfectly entitled to discussing our own views whether we've seen something or not.
Also, I don't think Matt Groening even works on the Simpsons anymore... Maybe he came back for the movie but I do believe he's moved on to other things years ago.
Quote from: m0ds on Fri 03/08/2007 14:34:26
Children, children. We are all perfectly entitled to discussing our own views whether we've seen something or not.
Judging a movie you haven't seen is a pretty stupid idea. People are entitled to do it, sure, but it makes them pretty much an idiot.
It's not just like like somebody is generally saying "that looks crap, I'm not going to see it", Steel Drummer for instance very specifically said he hadn't seen the movie and then said that he'd been waiting years for it and all he's got is "yellow people pr0n".
But he hasn't seen the movie.
Maybe he's afraid to go and see it in the cinema in case paedophile sperm rains down on his head during the "full frontal nudity" scene? Since apparently child molesters are going to flock to the cinema to see that...
I think Thomas' "letter" seems very tongue in cheek, and I doubt if he was being serious at all when he wrote it. But I didn't expect this movie to be anything special, even when I first heard it was being made, and that was at least 5 years ago. From what I've read in various reviews, it seems like the creator of the movie (Matt Groening?) wanted to skip the humour side of things and give everyone some good old Springfield soft core pr0n.
Well that really couldn't be further from the truth.
I fully agree with Meowster, and having actually seen the movie, I feel I have the unusual insight to do so.
Quote from: Steel Drummer on Fri 03/08/2007 15:53:35
I think Thomas' "letter" seems very tongue in cheek, and I doubt if he was being serious at all when he wrote it.
I bet you he was.
Saw the movie. It was, well, material for maybe two episodes made into a movie. It was- to me- Simpsons all the way, with some added political incorrectness that (as has been said) might've been considered a bit over the top for TV. I wasn't so keen on the cellshade they used, though it fits the cartoon style quite well. It was a bit too long, part of it seemed to be included just to get some more runtime, but overall I wasn't exactly disappointed. It had the tongue-in-cheek, it had the catchphrases, heck, it was Simpsons.
As Mr. Simpson himself tells the audience, if you go into cinema to see something you can get for free on TV... ;)
QuoteI thought Die Hard 4 would be bollocks and I was right.
And in your opinion that may be true; I, however, enjoyed the movie immensely and found it far superior to Die Hard 3. The interesting thing is that like you I was dreading it, though I half-expected them to throw in McClane's son to be his successor. Man am I glad that didn't happen.
Also, I don't think it's stupid to form opinions about a movie based on the information that is out there about it. Hollywood and random morons on the internet sometimes circulate false rumors though, so you have to be a bit discerning about what to listen to and what to ignore.
If I have any beef with Indy 4 it's that Harrison Ford looks and is simply too damn old now. As far as the Simpsons goes I never really liked it so I doubt the movie would impress me.
Everyone is blowing this penis thing way out of proportion. If you haven't seen the film, you won't understand the context and you don't really have a place telling us how your virgin eyes will explode if you see three curved lines of cartoon. I don't really care about spoilers, because this has gone along for too long.
This is what happens in the porn scene of the movie: Homer and Bart are playing dare. Homer dares bart to skateboard to the kwik-e-mart and back totally naked. What ensues is a long and very funny sequence where bart skateboards along having everything possible coincidentally covering his genitalia (very similar to the Johnson-scene in Austin Powers). So after a while of genitalia-covering mayhem, Bart passes a bush that covers everything else than his genitalia. His penis is shown for a fraction of a second, end of story.
So yeah, if that kind of thing makes you die inside, go check out something you can rely not to have such violent acts of porn. Perhaps the new Harry Potter? Oh no, that's not good, Harry kisses a girl in that. Hmm, maybe you should just avoid cinemas and stay indoors. I'm just left to wonder how you manage through diaper commercials on TV.
Quote from: ildu on Sat 04/08/2007 12:59:18
This is what happens in the porn scene of the movie: Homer and Bart are playing dare. Homer dares bart to skateboard to the kwik-e-mart and back totally naked. What ensues is a long and very funny sequence where bart skateboards along having everything possible coincidentally covering his genitalia (very similar to the Johnson-scene in Austin Powers). So after a while of genitalia-covering mayhem, Bart passes a bush that covers everything else than his genitalia. His penis is shown for a fraction of a second, end of story.
Only reading that made me laugh.(and i havent watched the movie) That's what all the fuss is about? Negro, por favor!
Quote from: ildu on Sat 04/08/2007 12:59:18
Everyone is blowing this penis thing way out of proportion. If you haven't seen the film, you won't understand the context and you don't really have a place telling us how your virgin eyes will explode if you see three curved lines of cartoon. I don't really care about spoilers, because this has gone along for too long.
This is what happens in the porn scene of the movie: Homer and Bart are playing dare. Homer dares bart to skateboard to the kwik-e-mart and back totally naked. What ensues is a long and very funny sequence where bart skateboards along having everything possible coincidentally covering his genitalia (very similar to the Johnson-scene in Austin Powers). So after a while of genitalia-covering mayhem, Bart passes a bush that covers everything else than his genitalia. His penis is shown for a fraction of a second, end of story.
So yeah, if that kind of thing makes you die inside, go check out something you can rely not to have such violent acts of porn. Perhaps the new Harry Potter? Oh no, that's not good, Harry kisses a girl in that. Hmm, maybe you should just avoid cinemas and stay indoors. I'm just left to wonder how you manage through diaper commercials on TV.
So the penis shot is kind of one of 'blink and you miss it' moments?
Not if the film is paused.
If you want to pause it when it comes out on DVD and get a good look at his penis then feel free. ;)
I remember the bits in Fight Club where they show a penis for a tenth of a second.
I saw it with a friend of mine and my father when it was first released on DVD, quite unknowingly about this "special" feature. In the final scene, we could detect that odd frame but not make out any details, so, curious as to what it was, my father tracked back and paused. So there it was, a huge full front close up. Luckily, my father isn't easily embarassed, and we could laugh it off.
Hm...sorry to sidetrack! I'm going to see the Simpson movie some day next week.
QuoteI bet every child molestor will appreciate this movie!
Obviously, this is overreacting.
QuoteYou go into the movie theater expecting some intelligent jokes and what do you get?
Two policemen making out with each other! (Because homosexuality is so abnormal and therefore funny.)
Funny, that was just a single gag in the entire film. Why did it stay burned in your memory like that? Plus, the sentence between brackets is your own, not even the film made a big deal of it.
QuoteI was somewhat disappointed with the art in places, they had some very nice animations but it seemed a lot of them just had a tonne of unnecessary frames chucked in.
And the line art of characters, objects etc in places was very poor and inconsistent. I noticed a lot of uneven (too fat, too thin) line art, almost to the same effect as double pixels in pixel art.
Heh, I wouldn't have known how to put it, but something about the art did strike me as odd as well, especially during the start of the lynching-mob scene. Glad to see it wasn't just me. :)
Last thing before my opinion: if people made such a fuss about this, wonder why they didn't pick on "Black is the most evil colour!". It would have been pretty much the same line of reasoning. Maybe people are not yet quite as comfortable with sexual issues as with racism, our good old standby? There's a thought.
I just came from the movie. I went in with not many expectations at all - my take on the Simpsons has always been "criticising the typical American family", and even when they expanded on making fun of other things and (")developing(") the characters, that remained my take on it. So I guess I did have an expectation, after all - I expected many, many things to be made fun of, satirized, and to see some good old standbies like the "wonderful" relationship Homer/Bart. I went in with less-than-extensive Simpson knowledge - I just wanted to have a good time.
You know what? I had a GREAT time. The only real qualm I have is that their depiction of Schwarznegger really couldn't be further from the truth, he seems to have been a very competent, attentive and politically-minded governor (ok, so my only source here is an interview I saw of him on Jay Leno. Crucify me). Other than that, I loved it.
I keep reading about the plot being terrible, but it just looks very Simpson-esque to me. Anyway, who goes to the Simpson expecting a realistic plot? It's one of those things, you have to take it all in your stride.
I even cried at the middle of the film (y'all probably know where). Dunno why, that scene really touched me, and it was surprisingly honest.
Basically, I loved it. Not on my best-film-evah!!!1!ONE! list, but I left the theater feeling good. And nothing seemed stale at all... but then again, I have only a passing knowledge of the Simpsons, must have watched a total of 30 episodes in my life so far (and the real total is probably a lot less). So maybe this film is for "non-Simpsonites"?
EDIT - Incidently, the "penis gag" is more funny that offensive -
Spoiler
from the beginning of the gag, it ostensively hides his genitalia, stretches the "this leaf and this flying seagul and all these things are here to hide the naughty bits!" as far as it can go, close to breaking point, always coming up with new ways to do it so that by this time there's not even the slightest pretense of suspension of disbelief - the film goes "we're doing our best, folks, we're keeping it decent - oh, will you look at that, you left that bush with that HOLE there?!".
Really, in context, the fact that there's a child's genitalia involved is a mere detail.