According to Groening, there was enough material cut from The Simpsons Movie to make a whole other film, with entire scenes and plot points being removed and crucial changes being made up to two months before release. James L. Brooks said of one trailer: "70% of the things in - based on where we were eight weeks ago - are no longer in the movie". Scenes prepared then subsequently deleted include alien overlord-wannabes Kang and Kodos criticising the film, Mr. Burns telling viewers how long they have left to get a refund and a news report revealing the effect of the dome on daily life in Springfield. Scenes featuring Marge having the prophetic church vision and Homer finding himself involved in a car chase were also swapped out for scenes with greater "emotional" resonance. More fundamental changes were made after disappointing preview screenings of an apparently 'coarser' cut of the film, featuring a less sympathetic Homer, prompted the creatives to tone things down. Additions were also made after some early 2007 previews, with Cargill's final scene with Bart and Homer being added in along with the Spider-Pig gag, arguably the most enduring aspect of the movie. What other different versions of the Simpsons Movie could there have been? Let us know in the comments below.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
