DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) STARRING Dan Castellaneta as HOMER SIMPSON Julie Kavner as MARGE SIMPSON Nancy Cartwright as BART SIMPSON Yeardley Smith as LISA SIMPSON Hank Azaria as VARIOUS Harry Shearer as VARIOUS TV-PG Studio: FOX Created by: Matt Groening Back to DVD Review Home |
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One of the most amazing things about “The Simpsons” is its longevity. Heck, I remember when “The Simpsons” was the target of the social do-gooders who were offended at the attitude of Bart Simpson. His “Underachiever and Proud of It” tee-shirt was enough to cause a stir in the show’s early history.
However, over the years, “The Simpsons” has come full circle and has been held up as a bastion of wholesomeness, especially when people compare it to edgier shows like “South Park” and “Crank Yankers.” The truth is that “The Simpsons” hasn’t really changed all that much. In fact, it’s a huge testament to the show that this premise never really lost any steam in the fifteen-plus years it’s been on.
Now, when it comes to holiday episodes, “The Simpsons” is more known for its contributions to the Halloween market. After all, the classic Simpsons version of “The Raven” is almost as famous in some circles as “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” However, they also have done their fair share of Christmas episodes, too.
FOX has packaged four of “The Simpsons” Christmas episodes on this disc, drawing from the 2000 and 2003 seasons. It’s a nice collection of shows if you want your Simpsons fix. Some of the episodes are more relevant to the season than the others, but in general, they are all pretty funny.
In “Homer vs. Dignity,” Homer pleads with Mr. Burns to get some more cash in his paycheck. Because Smithers has gone to Albuquerque to produce a stage musical based on the Malibu Stacey doll, Burns needs a new flunkie. He hires Homer as his “Prank Monkey” and has him perform public acts of humiliation for Burns’ amusement.
There are some incredibly daring scenes in this one, including a bull panda bear having its way with Homer, which makes this show one of the gems in the disk. Maybe the censors had just given up on this show by this point. Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a Christmas message that sneaks in here as Lisa tries to help her father regain his dignity.
“Skinner’s Sense of Snow” shows the kid nightmare come true. In this episode, a freak blizzard shuts down the entire town of Springfield. However, Principal Skinner is determined to have the best record when it comes to snow days, and he refuses to close the Elementary School. Eventually, the kids get snowed into the school with Skinner as Homer and Flanders try to bust them out before all hell breaks lose with the kids staging a revolt against Skinner.
This episode touched me personally because I went to a school system that had a similar Skinner attitude about closing school. Back in the 1980s, my school system won an award for Excellence in Education from President Reagan. In response to that, the meglo-maniacal superintendent named Homer (no kidding) wouldn’t close school for the second coming. I remember having to drive through a blizzard as two feet of snow fell and more cars ended up in ditches than in driveways. Fortunately no one was hurt, but I hate this kind of superior attitude that puts kids in danger.
“Dude, Where’s My Ranch” isn’t really a Christmas episode, except that it involves Homer writing a Christmas carol about how much he hates Ned Flanders. However, this is a relatively funny episode that takes the family to a dude ranch where Lisa falls in love for the first time.
“’Tis the 15th Season” pits Homer against Flanders in a competition about who can be a better good-doer on Christmas. There is a nice storyboard/animatic comparison that comes along with this episode, which actually shows some interesting script deletions from the early stage.
“The Simpsons Christmas 2” is a nice collection of four episodes. It doesn’t have much to go with in terms of special features, but is a nice way to rekindle some holiday spirit with a little dysfunction as well.
Specifications: Dolby Digital Surround. Full frame (1.33:1). French and Spanish language tracks. Spanish subtitles and selective French subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
