The Simpsons Should Have Ended With The Movie
The Simpsons is one of the most recognizable shows of all time, with numerous brand deals, T-shirt placements, and over 35 years airing on Fox.
For years, fans and critics alike have argued when the show will end, if ever, and offered their own takes on exactly what point in time would be best to finally lay the long-running cartoon to rest. For my money, the best time to close the chapter on the series before it spiraled into the lifeless husk that it is today would have been with the arrival of the 2007 film, The Simpsons Movie.
The Simpsons Movie Was Perfect Finale
The Simpsons Movie essentially offers a perfect finale to the series, with the eponymous yellow family finally making much-needed changes in their lives, and finding a newly restored appreciation for their friends and neighbors.
The Simpsons Movie offers the biggest adventure yet for each of the core characters, and will certainly not be topped by any finale attempt drafted in the modern day. The film took over nine years to bring to the big screen, with over 158 drafts written, and united some of the all-time greatest Simpsons writers for a last hoorah.
The Simpsons Been On Forever
At this point in time, The Simpsons has aired for so long that nobody can agree on what constitutes the “new” era of the show anymore.
Season 11 was once considered “new” The Simpsons for fans of the early episodes who had grown to lose interest, while others, who grew up catching episodes throughout the mid-2000s likely use the term to describe seasons 25 and beyond.
Despite the constant refrain that the show hasn’t been good in years, each season does have something to offer new and returning fans, though we can all agree the show has more than run its course.
Post-Simpsons Movie Series
The current The Simpsons showrunner, Matt Selman, has done an excellent job of revitalizing The Simpsons since 2020, with some recent outings of the show wowing new and returning fans.
Despite this, the show has two glaring problems that cannot and will not be solved, and both relate to the post-Simpsons Movie seasons.
No More Springfield-Related Stories
For starters, Selman and his team have fully exhausted any possible new ground for Springfield-related plots, leaving the series to explore a multitude of new art styles, parody a number of popular films, and recently travel back in time to provide the Simpsons’ take on prehistoric life on Earth.
While this is visually interesting, I can’t help but feel that Selman’s talents would be better utilized in his own show that lets him explore anything he wants, completely untethered to Homer and Bart’s on-again off-again relationship to physical violence.
Marge Simpson And Julie Kavner
An even more glaring issue lies in Julie Kavner’s voice, which has seen noticeable strain in recent years.
Kavner, who voices Marge Simpson in the long-running show, strained her vocal cords considerably while working on The Simpsons Movie, as director David Silverman forced her to perform over 100 takes for some scenes.
While her vocal strain was easily obfuscated for several years following the film, video comparisons of post-2019 recordings clearly highlight the toll this role has taken on her.
Should Have Ended With The Movie
Modern episodes of The Simpsons can still be enjoyed, and the show has delivered many new and exciting episodes since the 2007 release of the film.
Still, many fans seem to agree that the massive spectacle of The Simpsons Movie, which swept the nation for months, even turning a number of 7-Eleven stores across the country into Kwik-E-Marts, would have been the best opportunity to end the show on a high note.
