Portal:20th Century Studios/Selected article/39

The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom The Simpsons. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman and stars the show's regular cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Karl Wiedergott, Marcia Wallace, Maggie Roswell, Russi Taylor, Joe Mantegna, and Albert Brooks. The film follows Homer Simpson, who irresponsibly pollutes the lake in Springfield, causing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to imprison the town under a giant glass dome. After he and his family escape, they ultimately abandon Homer for his selfishness and return to Springfield to prevent the town’s demolition by Russ Cargill, head of the EPA. Homer works to redeem his folly by returning to Springfield himself in an effort to save it.

Although previous attempts to create a Simpsons film had been made, they failed due to the lack of lengthy script. Eventually in 2001, producers James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Scully and Richard Sakai began development of the film and a writing team consisting of Brooks, Groening, Jean, Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder and Jon Vitti was assembled. They conceived numerous plot ideas, with Groening's being the one adapted. The script was rewritten over a hundred times, also continuing after work on the animation began in 2006. Consequently, hours of finished material was cut from the final release, including cameo roles from Erin Brockovich, Minnie Driver, Isla Fisher, and Edward Norton(as well as Kelsey Grammer, who would have reprised his role as Sideshow Bob). Tom Hanks and the members of Green Day voice their own animated counterparts in the final cut of the film, while Albert Brooks, a frequent guest performer on the series, provides the voice of its main antagonist, Russ Cargill.

Tie-in promotions were made with several companies to promote the film's release, including Burger King and 7-Eleven, the latter of which transformed selected stores into Kwik-E-Marts. The film premiered in Springfield, Vermont on July 21, 2007 and was released theatrically six days later by 20th Century Foxacross the United States. The Simpsons Movie received positive reviews and grossed $536.4 million worldwide