About to begin its 19th season on Fox, few television programs - animated or otherwise - can claim the celebration and cynicism that has surrounded The Simpsons almost from the very start. And now, to the delight and/or chagrin of Simpsons fans everywhere, the much-anticipated Simpsons Movie is set to be released this Friday.

In a four-part discussion this week, Maclean's writers Jaime J. Weinman, Marco Ursi and Chris Selley will debate the highs and lows of the last two decades and nervously anticipate the Simpson family's move to the big screen. Volume I can be read here. Volume II can be read here.

From: Jaime Weinman
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 12:46 PM

We’ve pretty much exhausted every topic, so what do you say we end this early? No? Dang. Okay, here’s another topic: do you think this is the right time for The Simpsons to make a movie?
 
As Jon Stewart pointed out when he interviewed Matt Groening last week, most animated shows spin off a movie early, when they’re still the trendy new thing. That’s what South Park did with Bigger, Longer and Uncut, rushing the movie into theatres to take advantage of the show’s early popularity. The Simpsons didn’t make a movie in the early years when Bart was famous for… uh… actually I’m not completely sure what.(The selling of Bart as some kind of super-cool rebel is one of the great triumphs of deceptive marketing; right from the beginning of the show, he’s been nothing more than a nice kid with a mischievous streak. He’s about as subversive as Danny Partridge.)Now they’re bringing out the movie at a time when the show is less of a sensation and more of an institution: it’s on every day, everywhere, and people watch it without getting very excited about it.
 
That may not be the best selling point for a movie. Apparently the film even has a line about how people shouldn’t go to the movies to get what they can see on TV every day for free. But on the other hand, the fact the show has become so familiar may actually give the movie an added appeal. People are so used to the Simpsons formula(unrelated first act + semi-topical plot + family relationship problem + celebrity guest voice = fun!)that anything even vaguely new might be a welcome change. Even if the movie just feels like three episodes strung together, at least it’ll be more lavishly animated and on a larger scale than a 22-minute episode.
 
And who knows, if the movie is any good, it might have a salutary effect on the series. Remember, South Park improved quite a bit after Trey Parker and Matt Stone made the movie, because they incorporated the movie’s more biting social satire into new episodes. I’m not saying the same thing will happen to The Simpsons, but I can hope. If only because I know I’m going to keep watching it out of habit, and I’d prefer it to be an entertaining habit.
 
Here’s one more question, selected almost at random: if there was one creative person(or writing team)you’d like to see return to The Simpsons, who would it be?(The usual answer, “Conan O’Brien,” is hereby forbidden - the guy only wrote for the show for one year.)Personally my pipe dream is for them to find a way to bring back the co-creator and original showrunner, Sam Simon. He was evidently kind of nuts and left the show because he couldn’t get along with Groening. But when you hear some of the bad puns The Simpsons staff come up with these days, you get the feeling they need a Sam Simon to tell them their jokes suck.

From: Marco Ursi
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 2:34 PM
To: Jaime J. Weinman; Chris Selley

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