Publication Date: 04-30-2026

Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson (2017) review

Dir. Morgan Spurlock

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★

 Remembering Morgan Spurlock 

 1970 – 2024 

The Simpsons, its characters, and its impact are so ingrained in the fabric of American culture that a documentary about the show’s patriarch becoming a renowned baseball superstar shouldn’t make anyone bat an eye. Recounting the events so humorously shown in the episode “Homer at the Bat” (season 3, episode 17), Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson is an hour-long documentary, made exclusively for Fox, that gives us the prelude, the events, and the aftermath of Homer Simpson’s unforgettable mark on America’s favorite past-time.

The documentary, directed by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me, 30 Days), illustrates the rivalry between neighboring towns of Springfield and Shelbyville that boils over when both of the town’s nuclear power plants square-off in a showcase of dominance. Desperate to win at all costs, the owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, billionaire Montgomery Burns, decides to recruit nine baseball legends to serve as his starters to assure there’s no way he can lose against his competitor. He enlists in the help of Jose Canseco, Steve Sax, and Ozzie Smith, to name a few, all taking over the starting positions that keep beloved misfits like Homer Simpson on the bench.

Homer is cheered on by his loving family, including his wife Marge, who happily films and announces all of Springfield’s baseball games (their 2-28 regular season record stands as their best). The only thing (or person) standing in his way from taking the diamond is Darryl Strawberry, a right-fielder who any baseball fan knows needs no introduction. It isn’t until unique misfortunes occur in the hours leading up to the big game between Springfield and Shelbyville that sideline most of Burns’ elite group of starters. Follow that up with a classic chant that irks Strawberry and Homer is put into the game, struck in the head on the first pitch he faces, and gifted with a walk in the bottom of the ninth that led to Springfield taking home the W.

Throughout the documentary, aforementioned baseball legends are interviewed, in addition to famous announcers such as Bob Costas, Bob Uecker, and Joe Buck all chiming in for spirited commentary. How simultaneously seriously and jokingly these performers play their roles shows they’re good sports when it comes to doing something completely out of the ordinary for a TV show that more than deserves something like this. Neil deGrasse Tyson chimes in at one point to put a pleasantly scientific spin on what we’re watching, and townspeople of Springfield pop up intermittently to tell us how exhilarating it was to see Homer succeed. Moe Szyslak, owner of Moe’s Tavern, claims one of the keys to the success of Homer and the boys at the nuclear plant was they took the popular mantra “practice, practice, practice” and added a fourth “practice” at the end, which tied it all together.

Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson is charming and brief enough to warrant a watch from someone who isn’t even an avid viewer of The Simpsons as it continues to break records well into its 29th season. Spurlock is a spirited director, always one to muster up engaged enthusiasm in his subjects, animated or in-the-flesh, and this is another link in a filmography of diverse works. It’s fluffy indeed, but favorably so, light enough to warm the hearts of anyone perhaps too quick to complain that there is nothing good on TV anymore.

Directed by: Morgan Spurlock.