Veterans bring vitality to ‘Simpsons’

For fans of “The Simpsons,” it’s been a long time coming.

The zany animated series, which debuted on Fox in 1989, has finally made its jump to the silver screen with “The Simpsons Movie.” This side-achingly hilarious romp employs the show’s long-standing hallmark: an effective balance of humorous forays and tangents — whether physical or satiric — with a cutting emotional edge.

But that’s not to say the show has always followed this precise formula. In recent years, the show has taken its share of criticism from die-hard fans, who can’t help but cringe at the seemingly endless stream of celebrity guests, the “Which country are we going to visit this week?” plotlines and an increasing reliance on physical humor. (Granted, Homer in pain is funny, but being raped by a panda?)

Needless to say, ratings have tumbled, and when news of the imminent release of the movie was made public, skeptics were certain that there was only more disappointment in store.

As it turns out, these “Comic Book Guy” types couldn’t have been more wrong.

Released last Friday, the movie was easily on par with the transcendent wit that made the show a global phenomenon in the mid-90s.

That’s no surprise. Just take a look at some of the credited writers who penned the screenplay: George Meyer, David Mirkin, Al Jean, Mike Reiss — all of whom were key producers and writers during the show’s “golden age.”

But the writers’ task wasn’t an easy one, especially in approaching the plot to the movie. How do you out-do a show that has garnered a reputation for its randomness and over-the-top antics? How do you actually come up with “The Simpsons’ greatest adventure yet”?

For the answer, the writers turned to a favorite motif in the series: the inexplicable hand of God. Grandpa Simpson (Dan Castellaneta), local coot, falls into a mysterious seizure at the local church, spouting out seemingly meaningless gibberish to which parishioners chalk up to the old man’s senility (another favorite motif).

Marge Simpson (Julie Kavner), the characteristically determined tall-haired homemaker, detects something ominous is afoot, but her concerns are secondary in the much-distracted mind of her husband, Homer (Castellaneta), whose thoughts dwell primarily on a recently acquired pig.

In trademark Simpsons fashion, once the basic plot elements are established the film travels at frenetic speed, with one gag on top of the other.

Before you know it, the Simpson family is taking refuge in Alaska as fugitives, and their hometown Springfield is on the brink of annihilation.

This pacing creates a rhythm and timing familiar to the show’s 30-minute episodes on TV. Not surprisingly, the movie runs at a lean 87 minutes.

The movie centers on the exploits of the nuclear Simpson family — Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie. As the show initially began around this basic premise, this is logical enough.

But some notables in “the cast of thousands” promised in the trailer — including C. Montgomery Burns (Harry Shearer), owner of the local nuclear power plant — are conspicuously absent for most of the movie. One of Burns’ few appearances garnered many laughs, though, as he literally releases the hounds on unsuspecting townsfolk seeking his charity.

One staple of the TV series is its take on physical humor, executed by Homer, who doesn’t disappoint in the film. Whether his scalp is being a clawed by an angry mob or he is simply being sandwiched by a wrecking ball (this isn’t a first for Homer, by the way), the audience laughs uproariously.

But for every near-concussion and every hammer lodged in the eye, the film counters by developing a solid emotional arc, captured superbly by Kavner as Marge. In one scene, the emotion is palatable in her fragile, crackly voice. Not only is this rapport with the audience achieved via an animated character (a rather odd looking one at that), but only a few scenes before, an avalanche sends Homer tumbling down a mountainside, in pure comic fashion.

For any other writing troupe, this juxtaposition of scenes would present a problem. But for Simpsons veterans, it’s a piece of cake ... er ... donut.

Grade: A-