"The Simpsons Movie" Should Be Rated "PG-16" (at least!)

I went to the cinema for the third time this year/summer. I watched "The Simpsons Movie", as I was planning since a year, when the first teaser came out. It was just a gag with the S of Superman's chest, but worn on Homer's T-shirt.



Then, other teasers and theatrical trailers were released in the cinemas and on the Internet, showing images of a film that looked great.







And great it was! Actually, it's like a regular episode, but longer (approx. 90 minutes). It allows for a broader storyline (obviously) and more visual easter eggs.

Talking about that, I got a little angry when I saw roughly 150 children entering the room, accompanied by their parents. But why? I mean, OK, that's a cartoon, and there are visual gags that would make them laugh, but The Simpsons isn't just about visual gags! There are dozens of cultural references in each episode, and that means that there were a lot more (hidden) references (or, as we call them, "Easter eggs") in a film.

That is the reason why I decided to enumerate the occurences of gags and references that little kids (say, under 12 years old) couldn't possibly understand, be they cultural, political, sociological, religious, sexual, or visual. (It means it doesn't count if I hear any childish laughter.)

For instance, do the children understand why it is funny to make of Arnold Scharzenegger the President of the United States? And first, do they know who he is???

Message to ignorants:
The answer is that there's a widespread joke that Arnie, like the late Ronald Reagan did, would become President after a successful career as an actor. Of course, it's impossible for him to be elected president: the Constitution says that you have to be born on American ground—and Arnie was born in Austria. Nevertheless, in Demolition Man (a film with Sylvester Stalone), Arnold Schwarzenegger is just mentioned as the 44th President of the USA, because the Senate had changed an Amendment so that he could be elected…

I also spotted many references to Star Wars (by the way, the films are known to contain loads of Easter eggs, too): it is probably the most popular story in the USA, after the Bible though. It's normal that such references occur in the movie. However, I can't see how these kids could see the allusion… (But adults and fans like me would.) I mean: Star Wars is far less popular in Europe than in America, for few children know the films. When I was in 3rd grade at secondary school, I asked all my classmates who had seen the films. Only one had. Hopeless.

Well, at the end of the movie, I had counted 98 instances of such "non-understandable-things-for-under-12s". 98. And counting: I talked about it with my mother and brother (with whom I went and see the film) and they had spotted things that I hadn't. I guess I'll have to see it once more. But maybe not at the cinema. I'll wait till I get the DVD. So that I can watch it without any pop-corn or crisps-eating kid in my sight… (That's one of this millenium's scourges, in my opinion.)

That's why I'm saying that the film should get a PG-16 rating (or its various national equivalents): let's ban children from serious movies they won't understand. My mother saw and heard children getting bored: they obviously couldn't understand this movie.

Oh, and the hell with them! They piss me off!

(Sorry for looking so unkind and "callous", but I can't help it. Perhaps the reason is that I was a reasonable kid and I never shouted silly comments at the cinema, nor did I eat crisps all the time…)