8 Ways The Simpsons Movie Could Have Turned Out Completely Differently

2. The Celebrity-Packed, Character-Heavy Cut

It wasn't just musical numbers that failed to make the final cut of The Simpsons Movie: with such a packed cast of characters (every Simpsons character to ever make an appearance in the show features), inevitably not everyone managed to make it into the theatrical cut. The script was re-written a total of 158 times, with changes continuing to be made well after animation started in 2006. As a result, new characters were created then cut if it was felt they didn't contribute enough, while others underwent significant redesigns at the last minute; Lisa's love interest, for one, went through frequent name and appearance alterations, while the Albert Brooks-voiced Russ Cargill originally appeared as an older man with the voice of Donald Rumsfeld. Celebrity cameos were also excised, with Isla Fisher, Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob, Erin Brockovich as herself and Minnie Driver as a grievance counsellor all being cut. Edward Norton in addition provided the original, Woody Allen-inspired voice of the man crushed by the dome, but producers replaced him with Dan Castallanetta when Norton's impression was deemed too distracting.