As a Nightmare Fuel page, all spoilers are unmarked as per wiki policy. You Have Been Warned!
"WE WANT HOMER! WE WANT HOMER! WE WANT HOMER!"
Ah, The Simpsons Movie. The Big Damn Movie, everyone in Springfield gets their chance to be on the silver screen, animation portrayed unlike anything the series has shown, what's not to love about this milestone celebration for one of the most celebrated animated sitcoms in TV history?
However, while the show does have its fair share of nightmare fuel to go around, here, they crank the fuel to high octane levels in a manner that not even Treehouse of Horror can replicate.
- Abe's prophetic ranting in church is a very distressing scene early on. It's especially startling because it looks like he's been given some wonderful, divine news... only to launch into an utter tirade of ill omens. Worst, it can come off as a family member having a medical episode, like a heart attack or a stroke. And whilst it plays off the subversion of a divine messenger, the fact the movie demonstrates it came to Abe after a beam of light touched him as Lovejoy discussed ordinary citizens having something to say just makes it more haunting. Almost as though the town's dire fate was forewarned to them by God Himself.
- While the movie itself is light-hearted, it's when Homer dumps the pig silo that things begin to shift to rather dark territory early on. Let's break it down.
- Thanks to Lisa and Colin's efforts, all of the townspeople begin to pitch in their efforts to keep the lake clean. And this is all met with genuine sincerity, even Mayor Quimby takes good measures in installing concrete barriers and multiple warning signs forbidding anyone to dump into the lake.
- Homer himself does his fair share in taking the pig silo to a cleaning station, but it's when he gets the call of free donuts that he shifts gears and decides to dump the entire silo in the lake. He isn't fazed by the numerous warning signs he knocks down (including a "You Suck" sign held by Hans Moleman) and once he smashes through the concrete barrier, he does the deed.
- Once the silo sinks to the bottom, the water turns black and toxic, therefore raising pollution levels to kingdom come. And for added horror, a skull and crossbones form in the lake and scream "EVIL!" at Homer, almost as if the lake is using its dying breath to curse its culprit.
- The aftermath of that mess isn't pretty either. A squirrel tries to evade a raccoon, only to fall into the lake and mutate into a multi-eyed creature. It would be found by Bart and Flanders, only for it to be apprehended by the EPA. Which in turn leads to the dome sealing in the town to prevent the pollution from spreading, then the limit of supplies, then the power fizzling out, and all the misfortunes within. And when Lisa protested that all the townspeople stopped polluting the lake, Cargill pointed out that at least one person would be stupid enough to ignore the warnings.Lisa: (upon learning why Springfield is being contained) Wait, wait! We couldn't be more polluted! Everyone stopped dumping at the lake!
Cargill: Apparently, someone didn't get the message.
Homer: (moves away from Plopper, quietly) Act natural. - Whoo boy, the mob scene. It is one of the most unsettling images to come out of any Simpsons media, in a way that not even Treehouse of Horror can replicate. Whereas in Treehouse of Horror, it's put through a comedy filter to some degree, but the mob scene here is pure unfiltered malice.
- The setup for it is no slouch. Channel 6 finally uncovers the reason for the pollution to the public and shows the silo being raised from the lake, then it turns around to reveal the text "RETURN TO HOMER SIMPSON (NO REWARD)". Now the entire town knows who put them under the dome. Upon seeing this, Marge gets incredibly angry at Homer for what he did; even Brockman sums it up with this quote to motivate the entire townspeople to take action against Homer for the same reason:
Brockman: (after spotting Homer's name on the silo) Just a reminder, this station does not endorse vigilante justice. Unless it gets results. Which it will.
[The news channel shows a picture of Homer with the text "GET HIM"]- Because of that news report, the gloves come off as all of the townspeople (except for Flanders and Colin) storm off to the Simpson residence while holding torches, with the intent to brutally punish Homer for what he did. Despite being animated beautifully, and fluidly unlike anything before seen on the show, all the characters you grew to love have turned from being their own character to rage-filled monsters that want to kill Homer for what just happened. That's scary enough, and the mob in question includes long-time family friends like Lenny, Carl, Moe, and Apu, Skinner, the police force, the Springfield Mafia, and even Abe, Patty and Selma themselves, all ready to murder the person they've known for ages.
- Also how all the faces of anger are drawn. Never before has the facial expression of anger conveyed so much malice in those drawings. Even Homer is met with angry scowls on the faces of his family, mostly Lisa, who angrily berates him for his refusal to heed her warnings about polluting the lake.
Lisa: (angrily pounds Homer) MONSTER! YOU MONSTER!!
Homer: (nervously) Uhh.... did you see the news?- Despite Carl saying that the townspeople only want Homer for what he did, Krusty commands Mr. Teeny to take out Maggie. It's Misplaced Retribution at its scariest. Fortunately, Maggie escapes by breaking her glass bottle and threatening to use it on Mr. Teeny if he tries to touch her. Even when the family tries to make it to Flanders' house for refuge, Principal Skinner angrily orders his student archers to raise the arrows to kill them. The idea that the grade-school students want to see Bart and Lisa dead is scary, but the idea that they want to kill Bart and Lisa themselves just because their father doomed the entire town? Horrifying...
- The backyard scene, is arguably the most terrifying part. Just when it looked like the family will drive away safely, in actuality, they're being carried to the backyard. They then see nooses being set up for all of them, including the kids (with a pacifier for Maggie's noose), thus implying that the townspeople not only wanted to kill Homer for what he did, but also his wife and kids; even Homer lampshades this out earlier when Marge tries to tell him to apologize for what he did. Even when Homer attempts to pacify the townspeople by trying to give out a sincere apology, one of the townspeople responds by throwing a buzzsaw at his face to shut him up. To them, an apology won't undo this amount of colossal damage. It's the straw that broke the camel's back.
- When the family escapes by submerging into a sinkhole covered by Maggie's sandbox, the citizens angrily claw at Homer's forehead when he sinks slowly into the sinkhole; even Nelson takes his chance to fire an arrow at Homer's head. The cops then try to shoot him down with all of their rage as he finally sinks away, but the sinkhole grows bigger and spreads around, destroying the entire Simpson residence and belongings (including Bart's treehouse and Homer's car); even Santa's Little Helper's doghouse ends up being destroyed as well, though Santa's Little Helper is safe from harm as he is already a few feet away watching his doghouse tremble to pieces. The townspeople are forced to flee and watch in terror, and as the damage is already done, all left the scene with only the feeling of disatisfaction.Chief Wiggum: (after seeing the Simpson house being destroyed by the sinkhole) Well... they're China's problem now.
- Actually, that whole display of lynching you've seen above? There is some foreshadowing to that in the introduction. In a rather dark spoof of Titanic (1997), Green Day holds a concert and tries to raise environmental concern over the lake only to be violently rebuffed. Their point is only proven correct in that the lake has already corroded its barge to the point that it starts immediately sinking. The band's reaction is pulling out violins & playing "Nearer My God to Thee" as they plunge to their deaths, still being heckled by the citizens.
- Russ Cargill. Don't get us wrong, he does have genuinely funny moments in the movie, and Albert Brooks' voice acting is well done, but there's no denying how horrifying this man is throughout the movie. Hank Scorpio he is not.
- His willingness to trap an entire town in a dome for the foreseeable future. While he didn't choose Option 3 the first time, the idea that that was one of the options is terrifying, especially since we don't know the other options and how devastating they could potentially be.
- When the Simpsons escape the dome via the sinkhole, some of his gags are funny, but one EPA agent put it best at Cargill's current state of mind, "Sir, you've gone mad with power," to which Cargill unsurprisingly admits to.
- Option 4. While the dome did provide some humor, it's this moment when the stakes are as higher as ever. Mad with power, Cargill manipulates President Schwarzenegger into choosing Option 4, and when he takes the document, he stares into space with an uneven smile, it looks wrong. Then he unpacks the document, "OPTION 4 - BLOW UP SPRINGFIELD". He knows there are innocent (supposedly, considering Springfield) people and children in the town, yet still decides to blow it up, make a natural monument, and profit off of it. He has effectively crossed the Moral Event Horizon, not giving a single damn about the consequences or welfare of the people he trapped.
- Even his final stance against Homer after the dome is blown to smithereens. He knows he will get into a lot of trouble now that the word is out, but he still strives to do one more thing despite this. Kill Homer (and presumably Bart). He aims a shotgun at both of them and comes very, very close to pulling the trigger. Thank God for Maggie's intervention.
