The Simpsons: Family Portrait (1988 TV Short) User Reviews

Birth of the choke

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 22 July 2017]

"The Simpsons: Family Portrait" is an American (very) short film from 1988, so this one will have its 30th anniversary next year and this already tells you how old the Simpsons already are because this one was released shortly before the actual series started about one year later. Homer is trying to make a nice family portrait with his camera (you also see what cameras looked like back then), but things don't go exactly as planned. It is kinda entertaining how Homer's aim for perfection is the real reason why things go wrong not only once, but three times. Yep, this is pretty much three films in one overall despite the really short runtime of 70 seconds. Blink and it is gone. I think it was an okay watch and the last shot is something we kept seeing in this show for a long long time, probably still today. Overall, a cautious thumbs-up. Only really worth checking out if you at least like the world's yellowest family. It's still better than the Oscar-nominated Maggie short for sure. Oh yeah, by the way this short here and many others premiered on The Tracey Ullman Show and it's kinda ironic how nobody (at least here in Germany) knows Tracey anymore today, but the Simpsons are still incredibly famous, even if most people say they have gone south to an extent where you don't really need to see the new episodes anymore.

One Of The First Shorts That Changed Cartoon History Forever (SPOILERS)

[I_Am_The_Taylrus · 10/10 · 1 June 2007]

SPOILERS

As you know, the Simpsons is my favorite show of all time. Well, this was one of the first things ever that had the Simpsons on it. Family Portrait. This is one of my favorite Tracey Ullman shorts mainly because it created so much for the series. Actually, every single one of the shorts are masterpieces in their own way.

Here is the plot. The Simpson family tries to take a picture. Every time they try to take a picture something happens that is witty and humorous. Homer gets in the way, Bart makes deformed faces at the camera, and they all become too squished together. Finally Homer says that the last photo will be the finest. Bart makes faces, Homer strangles him, and the photo of the finest picture is taken. Overall, it was only two minutes, but this along with about fifty other shorts made the Simpsons famous.

10/10