The Simpsons Movie is a 2007
American animated comedy film based on the animated television series
The Simpsons. The film was directed by
David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of
Dan Castellaneta,
Julie Kavner,
Nancy Cartwright,
Yeardley Smith,
Hank Azaria,
Harry Shearer,
Tress MacNeille, and
Pamela Hayden. It features
Albert Brooks as Russ Cargill, the evil head of the
Environmental Protection Agency who intends to destroy
Springfield after
Homer pollutes the lake. As the townspeople exile him and eventually his
family abandon him, Homer works to redeem his folly by stopping Cargill's scheme.
Previous attempts to create a film version of
The Simpsons failed due to the lack of a script of appropriate length and production crew members. Eventually, producers
James L. Brooks,
Matt Groening,
Al Jean,
Mike Scully, and
Richard Sakai began development of the film in 2001. A writing team consisting of Scully, Jean, Brooks, Groening,
George Meyer,
David Mirkin,
Mike Reiss,
John Swartzwelder,
Jon Vitti,
Ian Maxtone-Graham, and
Matt Selman was assembled. They conceived numerous plot ideas, with Groening's being the one developed into a film. The script was re-written over a hundred times, and this creativity continued after animation had begun in 2006. This meant hours of finished material was cut, which included
cameo roles from
Erin Brockovich,
Minnie Driver,
Isla Fisher,
Kelsey Grammer, and
Edward Norton.
Tom Hanks and
Green Day appeared in the final cut as themselves.
Tie-in promotions were made with several companies, including
Burger King and
7-Eleven, which
transformed selected stores into
Kwik-E-Marts. The film premiered in
Springfield,
Vermont, which had won the right to hold it through a competition organized by
Fox. The film was a box office success, as it grossed over $527 million and received generally positive reviews.