Only one thing could rouse a reviewer from vacation bliss in the wake of underwhelming selection at the box office the prior weekend: a film 18 years in the making. A film that transfers a group of characters, so firmly ingrained in our culture, they’ve usurped everyone from the Nelsons, to the Cleavers and the Huxtables to become America’s first family. Some thought it would never happen (myself included); others thought that if it did happen, it’d suck by an unimaginable proportion.



Perhaps the biggest surprise about The Simpsons Movie is not the fact that it got made or the fact that it’s not unpleasant to watch, it’s that the film succeeds at taking the Simpsons to the next level while being familiar as any of the over 400 episodes of the originating series. The story is justifiably huge and not something that seems cobbled together out of three or four episodes worth of scripts (like the direct to DVD effort featuring another animated family I can name, but won’t). The animation is a little sharper, the scope is a little bigger, but this is the Simpsons as we’ve come to know and love them.



Some of you out there reading this are undoubtedly the type of Simpsons’ fan that complains bitterly about how the last five years of the show are nothing when compared to the uniform genius of the first five. Certainly arguments can be made about declining quality in a 19-year-old series, but I define anyone to name a show that is still this sharp after nearly two decades, let alone when compared to 90 per cent of the other so-called comedies currently on the airwaves.



In the very best tradition of the show, the film’s plot starts out one place and ends somewhere you never expected it to go. To explain the plot would be pointless, its intricacies is half the fun and most of the jokes should be discovered for yourself. Needless to say, it involves an environmental crisis in Springfield, another act of untimely and unfortunate stupidity by Homer and several direct and indirect jabs at all facets of American culture from politics to pop culture. The focus of the 90 minute film is the family, but there are several smart appearances from all your favourite supporting players too, from Abraham “Grandpa” Simpson to the ubiquitous Wise Guy (also known as Sarcastic Guy, who pops up in several odd jobs).



The movie is a little more linear then fans who favour the show’s sometimes gonzo approach to comedy may appreciate. There’s even a truly heartbreaking scene were Marge leaves Homer for reasons related to his characteristic selfishness and the main plot of the movie. Another subplot deals with how Bart realizes that his father isn’t really a good dad and how Flanders with his listening skills and his hot coco is a much better role model.



Of course all this spirals out of an elaborate game of truth or dare and a skateboard streaking incident where we get full frontal Bart. The makers of The Simpsons realize that their playing in the PG-13 world of cinema and not the censor-filled world of network television. Homer flips some Springfieldianites the bird at one point and Marge uses some un-TV friendly blasphemy. Initially all this is a little jarring, like hearing Fox Mulder tell Martin Landau that he’s full of $#!T in The X-Files movie, but then we’re thrown a gag about the heavy-handed publicity of the Fox Network and all is right.



The Simpsons Movie doesn’t boll you over with belly laughs that have you rolling on the floor with hysterics, but it does have solid wall-to-wall chuckles of vary degrees of ticklishness. If the worst you can say is that it’s a longer episode of the TV series, than to me that’s not such a bad thing. And to assuage any second thoughts, Matt Groening and company give you a convenient in-joke right at the top. Another Simpsons’ trademark is the celebrity cameo, and in the movie they don’t stiff the audience by giving us Green Day, Albert Brooks and Tom Hanks. (“I'm Tom Hanks. Should you see me in person, then please, leave me be.”)



This is a don’t miss for Simpsons fans and an absolute can’t miss for Simpsons fanatics. All the years of waiting and half-truth rumours finally pay off and what we’re given is the most solid Simpsons episode we’ve had for a long while. And if that’s still not enough for you, then you’re advised to stick around during the credits for Maggie’s second spoken word. That aught to hold those SOBs.