It’s been almost 14 years since The Simpsons Movie came out in theaters and fans finally got to see their favorite animated family on the big screen. The Simpsons has been on TV since 1989, but they didn’t have a full-length feature film until 2007. It took about nine years to finish the whole thing since the filmmakers wanted to give fans an epic movie and something they would never forget.
They pulled it off with a movie that’s about Homer accidentally causing a disaster that threatens Springfield and the rest of the world. He has to fix the problem he caused before he loses his home and his family. Homer is known for accidentally getting him and his family into trouble, but the filmmakers definitely went all out for the movie since he almost destroys the world. Here are 10 facts about The Simpsons Movie that you probably didn’t know.
10 The Movie Was Almost Called “Kamp Krusty”
There’s an episode in season 4 called “Kamp Krusty” where Bart and Lisa go to a summer camp run by Krusty the Clown. The episode was so iconic that the filmmakers of The Simpsons Movie almost made the movie about it, but they couldn’t come up with a long enough script for that idea. According to ScreenRant, “When ‘Kamp Krusty’ was completed, Executive Producer James L. Brooks became convinced that the episode should be reworked into a feature-length story. While attempts were made to transform ‘Kamp Krusty’ into The Simpsons Movie, there were several creative and logistical roadblocks that ultimately made this an impossibility.”
9 Russ Cargill Was Supposed To Be Hank Scorpio
The villain in the movie was originally going to be one of the villains from the TV show—Homer’s former boss, Hank Scorpio. “A fan favorite since his appearance in season 8 episode ‘You Only Move Twice,’ Scorpio is an evil genius in the ‘Bond villain’ mould; somewhat paradoxically, he’s also a friendly and considerate employer. Given his status as a supervillain, it makes sense that the head of the Globex corporation would be considered for the antagonist role in The Simpsons Movie,” according to ScreenRant. The voice actor for Hank Scorpio (Al Brooks) still starred in the movie and played the new villain, Russ Cargill.
8 There’s More Than 320 Characters In The Movie
The Simpsons has had more than 320 through the years and all of them appeared in the movie, including 98 who had speaking roles. According to ScreenRant, “To accomplish this feat, large crowd scenes—including a long dolly shot through an angry mob—made use of established characters rather than generic fill-ins. Furthermore, in order to try and squeeze every single Springfield resident into the film, a promotional poster featuring the full roster of characters was used as reference when planning scenes like these.”
7 It’s The Highest Grossing PG-13 Animated Movie Ever Made
Most of the time anime movies are the PG-13 animated movies to make the big bucks and get a lot of viewers. But that changed in 2007 when The Simpsons Movie was released. According to ScreenRant, “In typically subversive fashion, The Simpsons Movie managed to buck this trend, and its worldwide haul not only made it the eighth most successful film of 2007, but the highest grossing PG-13 animated movie ever, too!”
6 It Took More Than 100 Times To Get The Script Right
The whole movie took about nine years to finish, but the writers didn’t even start the script until 2003. It took them 153 times to get the script right. They kept rewriting it since they wanted the movie to be a lot more memorable than the TV show. According to ScreenRant, “One of the key driving forces behind these edits was the desire of series creator Matt Groening to deliver a story that broke new dramatic ground for the characters. He was also committed to giving long-time fans of the TV series ‘something that [they hadn’t] ever seen before.’”
5 A Lot Of Celebrity Guest Appearances Were Cut
Tom Hanks wasn’t the only celebrity guest appearance that was supposed to be in the movie. The story changed so much that the filmmakers ended up cutting most of the celebrity guest appearances. “Kelsey Grammer, Minnie Driver, Isla Fisher, and Erin Brockovich-Ellis all recorded lines for the film, but their scenes were cut," according to IMDb. It makes sense why they cut out the other celebrity appearances though. The final script didn't leave that many places where celebrities could be in.
4 Russ Cargill And Colin’s Character Designs Changed Several Times
Russ Cargill and Colin were the only new main characters (besides Plopper the pig) in the movie, so the creators had to make sure their character designs fit the story. According to ScreenRant, “Of these, Cargill proved the hardest to get right. While Colin was completely redrawn at least once, ol’ Russ underwent numerous redesigns, so much so that by the time Burger King had produced a tie-in action figure, it was already off-model! Cargill’s earlier designs portrayed the EPA head honcho as a much older gent, with a snowy white mane and rather fierce monobrow! This would later evolve into the more middle-aged, salt-n-pepper buzzcut-sporting character we know and love (to hate), but it’s interesting to see what might have been.”
3 The Filmmakers Could Make Another Movie With All Of The Scenes They Cut
The filmmakers were still making changes and cutting scenes until two months before it was released. By the time they finally finished the movie, they cut so much material that they could make another movie out of it if they wanted to. According to ScreenRant, “While some of this footage was seen in the trailers—producer James L. Brooks remarked that 70% of what was seen in one early preview was canned—plenty more didn’t even make it that far. This included a madcap car chase between Homer and the EPA, where the former lobs flaming mummies at the latter (seriously!), and a run in between the Simpson patriarch and sausage truck driver.”
2 Marge Was Supposed To Be The One To Have The Vision In Church
The iconic scene where grandpa has a vision of what’s going to happen in the film was always in the script, but it was almost Marge who had the vision. “In the original script, Marge was going to have the vision in church. However, it was changed when the crew felt it would make more sense for the family to be ignoring Grandpa than Marge,” according to IMDb. That scene would be so different if they left the script the way it was.
1 It Might Have A Sequel In A Few Years
Maggie hinted at a sequel in the end credits of the movie and in 2017, director David Silverman confirmed a sequel was in development, but we haven’t seen anything yet. It might take a few years before we see any kind of trailer for it. According to GameRant, “Assuming a similar timeline from the announcement of the sequel, the film will finish being written in 2021, begin production in 2022 with a possible release late in 2023, although it is of course not that simple.” Since the first movie took nine years, it's probably going to be a long time before there's a sequel. It will be worth the wait though to see what Maggie was talking about.