The Simpsons is making a splash on social media, with fans calling for a boycott of the series after its creators announced it would be adapted into an animated film.
The film will follow the lives of Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa as they navigate the ups and downs of adulthood, with a focus on family and friendship.
Its creators, the writers and producers behind the hit sitcom The Simpsons, have been trying to convince audiences that the film will be an extension of their hit series.
They have even gone as far as making an advertisement featuring a cartoon character to promote the film.
It’s all part of a larger campaign to stop the film’s release, as well as a social media campaign aimed at keeping fans from buying tickets to see the film when it opens in select theatres on July 16.
On Monday, a Twitter user with the handle @Mangrok posted an ad in which he asked for people to boycott the film because it would make people “like them even more”.
“The Simpsons is a show where you have to pretend you like people even more,” he wrote.
“The film makes you want to like them even MORE.
It makes you wish they’d actually like you even more.
It’s a show about you being a little bit like everyone else.”
In the ad, a young girl is shown reading the newspaper and asking if everyone’s like her, to which she is met with a hearty “yes”.
“I’d like you to think of the way we all make decisions, like the way our parents make decisions and the way the world makes decisions,” the girl says.
“We’ve all made bad decisions, and we all need to work on our own, but we can all agree that if we don’t get together and make our own decisions, we’ll never be happy.”
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has called the film a “travesty” that will “hurt” families.
“I’m a big fan of the Simpsons.
I’ve been a huge Simpsons fan since the very beginning,” he said in a statement.”
There’s so much I want to say about the show, and I’m sorry if that’s going to cause any pain to anyone who watches it.”
But there’s no shame in making a film that’s not a perfect movie.