Jim Reardon Movies
Disney and Pixar join forces for this computer-animated tale about a wide-eyed robot who travels to the deepest reaches of outer space in search of a newfound friend. The year is 2700, and planet Earth has long been uninhabitable. For hundreds of years, WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) has been taking out the trash, and collecting precious knick-knacks in order to stave off the boredom of his dreary routine. Little does WALL-E realize that he has recently stumbled onto a secret that could save planet Earth, and once again make the ravaged planet safe for all humankind. When highly advanced search robot EVE makes friends with WALL-E and realizes the value of his remarkable discovery, she excitedly races back to let the humans know that there's hope for their home planet after all. But after centuries alone in space, WALL-E can't stand the thought of losing the only friend he's ever known, and eagerly follows her into the deepest reaches of space on the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way, the friendly trash-collecting robot who has always known what he was made for gradually begins to understand what he was meant for. Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton returns to the helm for this family-friendly sci-fi adventure featuring the voices of Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, and Ben Burtt. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, (more)
- 1998
Looking to boost sales, Costington's Department Store invents a new holiday, Love Day, which prompts Springfield residents to buy one another gifts such as "Sir Loves-A-Lot, the bear who loves to love." However, all those boxes and wrapping paper mean plenty of trash, and Homer Simpson (voice of Dan Castellaneta), typically late in taking the trash out to the curb, curses the sanitation workers when they don't pick up his rubbish. The angry garbage men refuse to pick up the Simpsons' trash until Homer apologizes, which he's highly reluctant to do. Eventually, Marge (voice of Julie Kavner) apologizes on her husband's behalf, which leads to an angry confrontation between Homer and Ray Patterson (voice of Steve Martin), Springfield's sanitation commissioner. Homer decides to put Patterson out of business by running for sanitation commissioner himself, and after making a number of ridiculous promises and slandering his opponent, Homer wins the office. However, Homer's ambitious plans cause him to blow through his annual sanitation budget in less than a month, and to cover up his mistakes, he starts accepting dangerous waste from other cities until Springfield's landfills are overflowing. First aired on April 26, 1998, "Trash of the Titans" also features a guest appearance from Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen of the rock group U2 as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Late October brings yet another trio of comic nightmares from The Simpsons. In The Shinning, Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) gets a job as winter caretaker at a resort hotel high in the mountains owned by Mr. Burns (voice of Harry Shearer). The maintenance man, Groundskeeper Willie (voice of Castellaneta), discovers Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) shares his psychic gift of "shinning" ("You mean 'shining'?" "Shh! You wanna get sued?!?"), which comes in handy when Homer snaps under the pressure after finding the hotel has no beer or television. Time and Punishment finds Homer trying to fix a toaster and somehow becoming unstuck in time, encountering any number of alternate histories as he zooms back and forth from the prehistoric age to the "present." And in Nightmare Cafeteria, Bart and Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) notice that students kept after school for detention are disappearing, as the cafeteria is suddenly serving an abundance of rich, meaty dishes, leading the quickly shrinking number of students to wonder if Principal Skinner (voice of Shearer) and Lunchlady Doris (voice of Doris Grau) are resorting to cannibalism. "Treehouse of Horror" first aired on October 30, 1994. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Homer Simpson (voice of Dan Castellaneta) and his alcoholic friend Barney Gumble (also voiced by Castellaneta) sneak out of work and take a tour of the Duff Brewery, where they help themselves to the copious free samples of Duff Beer, Duff Lite, Duff Dry, Duff Dark, and Raspberry Duff. On his way home, Homer gets picked up for drunk driving, causing him to lose his license and to attend Alc-Anon meetings under a court order. He pledges to give up drinking for thirty days, in part to get his license back and in part to please Marge (voice of Julie Kavner), who is worried about Homer's fondness for alcohol, but Homer finds that going a month without beer is harder than he expected. Meanwhile, after Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) destroys a giant tomato that Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) was growing for a science fair project, she gets an idea for a new project -- an experiment in which she'll prove an ordinary hamster is smarter than her brother. Duffless was first aired on February 18, 1993. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Homer Simpson (voice of Dan Castellaneta) has never much cared for his next-door neighbor, the aggressively cheerful, born-again Christian Ned Flanders (voice of Harry Shearer). But it's not in Homer's nature to turn down barbecue, so he grudgingly tags along when Ned invites the Simpsons to a cookout. As it turns out, Ned uses the occasion to announce he's given up his job as a pharmaceutical salesman to open his own business, a shop called the Leftorium that specializes in gadgets for southpaws. Homer wins a wishbone-pulling contest with Ned, and in a fit of pique wishes to himself that Ned's business becomes a dismal failure. However, when the Leftorium falls on hard times and the Flanders family is reduced to living out of their car, Homer wonders if Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) might have a point about the dangers of "shameful joy." Meanwhile, Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) begins taking karate classes, but loses interest when he learns he'll have to read a book rather than break stuff -- which becomes a problem when he tries to fool the family into thinking he's still attending class. "When Flanders Failed" was first aired on October 3, 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
In the second annual Halloween spookfest from The Simpsons, Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) pig out on candy after trick-or-treating, against the advice of their mother Marge (voice of Julie Kavner). Soon the two kids are having nightmares, as is their father Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta), never one to stay away from sweets. In Lisa's Nightmare, a parody of the classic tale The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs, the Simpsons are vacationing in Morocco when Homer buys a monkey's paw that he is told can make wishes come true. The Simpsons, however, don't use it very responsibly (no great surprise there), leading to misery, disappointment, and an alien takeover. Bart's Nightmare is a take-off on the Twilight Zone episode "It's A Good Life," in which Bart is a monster-child who can make his every wish come true, which makes him hell to be around, especially for Homer after Bart transforms him into a Jack-in-the-Box. And in Homer's Nightmare, Homer is fired by C. Montgomery Burns (voice of Harry Shearer), but that's not the half of his problems -- Mr. Burns and his sidekick Smithers (voice of Shearer) then steal Homer's brain to use in a robot they imagine will be the perfect worker. Appropriately enough, "Treehouse of Horror II" first aired on October 31, 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1990
After watching the ultra-violent cartoon series The Itchy & Scratchy Show with Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith), little Maggie picks up a hammer and attacks Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta), much as the cartoon mouse pummeled the cat. Marge (voice of Julie Kavner) is convinced the show's violence helped provoke the attack, and writes a letter of concern to the show's producer, Roger Meyers Jr. (voice of Alex Rocco). Meyers responds by calling Marge a screwball; angry, Marge organizes S.N.U.H. (Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping) to protest the cartoon's carnage. S.N.U.H.'s activities lead to a nationwide boycott of Itchy & Scratchy, and with profits plummeting, Marge is brought in to help write episodes of the show that would be more acceptable to concerned parents. Under Marge's supervision, Itchy & Scratchy becomes a kinder, gentler show; it's also not very funny. While their parents may approve, the kids lose interest and the show's ratings hit the skids. "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" first aired on December 20, 1990. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
