D’oh–nut for Springfield!
Monday 16 July 2007, 9:34AM
By Springfield
9812 views
Doh nut Credit:
Springfield
The Simpsons Movie launch was celebrated in Springfield, Canterbury, New Zealand today.
Bart and Homer arrived on the TranzAlpine Express to entertain excited children and unveil a new icon for the town - a giant pink donut - a gift from the moviemakers Twentieth Century Fox and Gracie Films.
It’s about as far away as possible – in every respect - from the fictional Springfield in the United States where disaster is about to strike, but it put on a warm country welcome all day for Homer Simpson and his dysfunctional brood.
And, with those distinctive snow-capped mountains in the background, could this have been the place the movie was actually filmed?
The tiny picturesque town of Springfield, nestled at the foot of the Southern Alps is in the scenic heart of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s already well-known to moviegoers as a location for spectacular scenery, made memorable in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Narnia The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and a slew of other Hollywood blockbusters.
Months of planning from local residents went in to today’s festivities and Springfield Township Committee president William Townshend says the town of 300 swelled to around 3000 for the party.
Even the Springfield Hotel was transformed into a Kiwi version of Moe’s, with Duff beer on tap. The Old Bowling Green was turned in to a market square and the local school sold 1000s of decorated donuts as a fundraiser. The day included a Maori welcome, vintage car and fire engine rides around the town, and Alpine Jet Boat rides.
Like The Simpsons' Springfield, the Canterbury town is only a few kilometres from a gorge - the Waimakariri Gorge - and has a primary school of about 30 pupils, but said there is definitely no nuclear power plant – New Zealand is nuclear-free.
“This is really putting Springfield on the map,’’ says Mr Townshend, who has lived in the town for the past 12 years. “This is a great place with good community spirit.’’
It is also the gateway to many alpine visitor attractions and the last town on the Great Alpine Highway before the Southern Alps. It’s just a 50 minute drive west from Christchurch International Airport.
Springfield, because of its close location to the Porters Ski Area, the Korowai/Torlesse Tussockland National Park, Castle Hill Rocks and the Waimakariri River, provided visitors with easy access to a wealth of tourism adventures.
For information about Springfield contact Springfield Visitor Information Buro at the Springfield Railway Station go to www.springfieldinformation.co.nz email: info@springfieldinformation.co.nz.
For more information about Christchurch and Canterbury go to the official visitor information site www.christchurchnz.net
Bart and Homer arrived on the TranzAlpine Express to entertain excited children and unveil a new icon for the town - a giant pink donut - a gift from the moviemakers Twentieth Century Fox and Gracie Films.
It’s about as far away as possible – in every respect - from the fictional Springfield in the United States where disaster is about to strike, but it put on a warm country welcome all day for Homer Simpson and his dysfunctional brood.
And, with those distinctive snow-capped mountains in the background, could this have been the place the movie was actually filmed?
The tiny picturesque town of Springfield, nestled at the foot of the Southern Alps is in the scenic heart of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s already well-known to moviegoers as a location for spectacular scenery, made memorable in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Narnia The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and a slew of other Hollywood blockbusters.
Months of planning from local residents went in to today’s festivities and Springfield Township Committee president William Townshend says the town of 300 swelled to around 3000 for the party.
Even the Springfield Hotel was transformed into a Kiwi version of Moe’s, with Duff beer on tap. The Old Bowling Green was turned in to a market square and the local school sold 1000s of decorated donuts as a fundraiser. The day included a Maori welcome, vintage car and fire engine rides around the town, and Alpine Jet Boat rides.
Like The Simpsons' Springfield, the Canterbury town is only a few kilometres from a gorge - the Waimakariri Gorge - and has a primary school of about 30 pupils, but said there is definitely no nuclear power plant – New Zealand is nuclear-free.
“This is really putting Springfield on the map,’’ says Mr Townshend, who has lived in the town for the past 12 years. “This is a great place with good community spirit.’’
It is also the gateway to many alpine visitor attractions and the last town on the Great Alpine Highway before the Southern Alps. It’s just a 50 minute drive west from Christchurch International Airport.
Springfield, because of its close location to the Porters Ski Area, the Korowai/Torlesse Tussockland National Park, Castle Hill Rocks and the Waimakariri River, provided visitors with easy access to a wealth of tourism adventures.
For information about Springfield contact Springfield Visitor Information Buro at the Springfield Railway Station go to www.springfieldinformation.co.nz email: info@springfieldinformation.co.nz.
For more information about Christchurch and Canterbury go to the official visitor information site www.christchurchnz.net