Simpsons Movie: The Music Soundtrack CD

Lyricists: Alexandra Jean; Ian Maxtone Graham; John Swartzwelder; Mike Scully; George Meyer; Mike Reiss; David Merkin; Matt Groening.
Personnel: Heitor Teixeira Pereira (guitar); Katie Kirkpatrick (harp); Julie Gigante, Endre Granat (violin); Brian Dembow (viola); Stephen Erdody (cello); James Kanter (clarinet); Leslie Reed (oboe); Michael O'Donovan (bassoon); Dan Higgins (saxophone); Malcolm McNab (trumpet); Charles Loper (trombone); Doug Tornquist (tuba); Jim Thatcher (horns).
Additional personnel: Heitor Teixeira Pereira.
Recording information: The Newman Stage, Twentieth Century Fox.
Arranger: Michael A. Levine.
When THE SIMPSONS, the longest running and perhaps most culturally significant cartoon television show ever, finally hit the big screen in 2007 both fans and critics rejoiced. The simple yet vastly nuanced show made the transition to the big screen with class and in style, and the accompanying soundtrack is a nice microcosm of this leap.
Written by acclaimed composer Hans Zimmer, the music for the THE SIMPSONS MOVIE is, appropriately, grander and more sweeping than that used on the show. Yet Zimmer does an excellent job of keeping Alf Clausen's quirky, frenetic musical motifs in place (see the surf rock-inspired "Release the Hounds"), and gives Danny Elfman's beloved title theme a grand cinematic upgrade. It's both odd and exhilarating to hear such thunderous orchestral music being used to support the antics of Homer and company, then again, the same can be said for seeing a 20-foot tall Homer trying to save the world. The limited edition version of the disc comes in a pink frosted doughnut package. Mmm.... limited edition.
One thing is clear from the soundtrack to The Simpsons Movie -- the long-awaited silver screen debut of Matt Groening's timeless cartoon family is not a musical. It may not be a musical, but it is surely the soundtrack to a big-screen spectacular, meaning that the zany, zesty work of Alf Clausen has been traded in for the lush, symphonic touch of Hans Zimmer, who manages to retain enough of the spirit of the show but gives it a full-fledged widescreen makeover. In other words, this soundtrack is a traditional score -- even "Spider Pig" is sung by a choir, not the characters, and only the ending tongue-in-cheek electro-dance of "Recklessly Impulsive" breaks the symphonic spell -- and even with titles as wacky as "Doomsday Is Family Time," "Thank You Boob Lady," and "Why Does Everything I Whip Leave Me?," the soundtrack doesn't sound all that humorous. It merely sounds like the sweeping yet sensitive mood music to a movie. And on those terms, The Simpsons Movie is a very good soundtrack -- perhaps not as clever as Clausen, but it's still light on its feet while having enough pomp and circumstance to justify being shown on such a larger screen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine