Watchdog

I saw the new Simpsons movie today. I liked it. You should see it. But Newsday has professional movie critics who can (and did) tell you that.

I'm writing here to vent about a pet peeve that has been driving me gradually insane over the past couple of years:

Why is it that with amusing and at times plot-relevant stuff now regularly inserted into the credits following many movies - usually comedies - 90 percent of the people who have paid good money for said movies insist on leaving just as the credits begin?

I figured there was approximately a 100 percent chance the pranksters who have written 'The Simpsons' for the past 20 years would have some fun with the credits, and they did, including the historic first word of Maggie Simpson.

Yet almost everyone had left the theater by the time she uttered it. Why? It wasn't all that long of a movie. Couldn't you wait another five minutes to use the facilities?

Please: Credits-skipping readers out there, explain it to me. I want to understand.

Stop the madness!

(Update: Loyal reader Peter T. has just pointed out in the comments section that Maggie did not utter her first word in the movie. He says that Maggie once said "Daddy'' with the voice of Elizabeth Taylor herself in a regular episode. According to Maggie's Wikipedia entry, this is in fact true, although she said it in an empty room. In the movie credits, her parents hear her. In any case, my apologies. I'm not up on old episodes because, as I've written before, I'm waiting until my retirement to catch up on the entire catalogue of 'The Simpsons' so I have something meaningful to do with my golden years. I'll focus on that and, of course, following the Imus story.)

Comments (19)

Posted by ronald | July 28, 2007 16:22

Perhaps Mr. Dietel or Chernoff was in the theater as well and you were able to ascertain some Imus news for us.

Posted by Peter T | July 28, 2007 17:42

I agree that people leaving during the credits is annoying, but they didn't miss Maggie's first word.

Maggie said "daddy" voiced by non other than Elizabeth Taylor in an episode some years back.

Posted by John Philips | July 28, 2007 17:43

I just got back from the theater and they did the same things as they did by you. My kids were annoyed that I wanted to stay, but were happy I forced them when the extra materials showed up. I too don't get why people insist on leaving.

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