While it is no masterpiece, The Simpsons Movie is one of those few TV-show-turned movies that didn't want to make me gag and kick the TV screen (think Tom and Jerry: The Movie.) I feel that The Simpsons has gone down in quality in the last few years, so this movie pleasantly surprised me. It won't win any awards, but as a long time Simpsons fan, I was not disappointed.

The plot is a simple one which involves Homer indirectly causing Springfield to be enclosed in a giant dome. It is up to America's favourite yellow family to save the day.
The plot plays out like a regular episode, but it is slightly more surreal. Obviously, there is quite a bit of filler, but it is entertaining filler so I can forgive the film for that.

My only real major quibble with this film is that it is simply too odd at times. I remember The Simpsons as being a down-to-earth show, and there are sequences here that look like they have jumped right out of Balto II: Wolf Quest. They are funny sequences, but unnecessary.

What I like most about The Simpsons Movie is that it knows that it is nothing groundbreaking or spectacular, and it doesn't try to be anything different. If you are a fan, this is definately worth checking out, because it has more than enough replay value.

God this is a funny movie. That's what I thought at first. Apart from one episode, I hadn't watched any new Simpsons for perhaps eight years, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd heard lots of bad things - but this was hilarious. The machine-gun fast gags were as funny as I ever remembered them being. By the end of the movie, I was thinking, "wow - that was so funny!"

Then I looked at the DVD player, and discovered it was showing 27:50 mins. i.e, a bit longer than a regular episode.

I thought, "oh. wow. This film can bend time", and I persisted. And it got to 40 minutes, and I started thinking, "This thing has been going for hours, and it doesn't really have much of a story. It's still pretty funny, though."

At 61 minutes I thought, "Oh, God, I can't take any more of this. I'm getting old", and hit 'eject'.

And there's the rub folks. It's the same problem as 'South Park' and damn near any other movie based on a 22:30 min per episode TV show. Yes, the writing (by which I mean the jokes, not the plot) was great, but it just isn't meant to last for over an hour. It's exhausting. It has no space to breathe.

From the gag writing on display here, I suspect The Simpsons is still better than a lot of people have led me to believe, but you just can't stretch that format out into a feature film - especially with such an insubstantial plot.

The best I can say for it is that it's encouraged me to start catching the TV show again, but as a movie..... nope, sorry.

I would love to give this movie three stars, but it just didn't fulfill my expectations. The Simpsons is famous for its break neck speed, and pacing. This movie was relatively slow. It did have plenty original and hysterical gags, but as Serve With Chips, noted, the plot got in the way.

I really did enjoy The Simpsons movie, but to many things bothered me about it. Besides the poor pacing, there was a lack of, well, Simpsoness. Sure, you’ve got all the classic characters, but they don’t get much of roll. The villain was dry, and completely un-Simpsons related. Let’s face it, the subplot about Alaska was a time killer.

This really would have been a stellar two episodes, as it is it just disappoints.

Good movie...plays out as though it were simply a longer, more in-depth epsiode, which is more of a compliment to the TV series than a detriment to the movie. Without spoiling the plot, suffice it to say that Springfield becomes doomed thanks to Homer's ignorance, and it's ultimately up to this little yellow family to save the day.

With the freedom of a longer story to work with, unhindered by commercial breaks, the writers of The Simpsons movie were able to delve deeper into the social developments that Simpsons fans have come to know and love. For example, the role of fatherhood comes once more to the forefront, and Marge grows a spine that is stronger than I ever remember seeing in the series. I personally didn't think this movie was too controversial or too unusual...on the contrary I thought it was a well-made contribution to the Simpsons franchise. It was--of course--nothing that left me shocked and gasping for breath, but I walked out with a smile on my face, so I'm giving it three stars, and recommending it to you.

I saw this tonight. I went it not expecting much despite the positive feedback I've gotten from other viewers (sorry Brad!!). I came out pleasantly surprised.

The story is basically an 87 minute episode of the TV series with smoother animation.
Homer causes disaster, he and his family are forced to leave town, family leaves him, he comes back to save town etc.

It holds up quite well and there's a lot of laughs. I laughed out loud many times during the movie.

The animation is crisp and nicely done. It's fully animated in good ol' fashioned 2D animation. It was nice seeing hand drawn animation back up on the big screen.

So, all and all, a fun movie. It has it's flaws but the good ultimately outweighs the bad.

I give this movie and 8 out of 10.

After 18 years and 400 episodes, the little yellow gang made the jump to the big screen. The Simpsons movie definitely delivered some great laughs. Homer and a pig is always a recipe for laughs, but in this case, it was also a recipe for an environmental disaster leading to the doming of Springfield. D'oh! But, with a running time of 4x that of a normal episode, would the theatrical debut of the Simpsons be 4x as funny? Sadly no.

This movie is basically just a mish-mash of a bunch of Simpsons episodes with every character getting a scene or two. The Simpsons go on a Vacation (to Alaska), Burns releases the hounds, Comic Book Guy cites Green Lantern, Nelson says "Ha-Ha." The plot is basically pretty nonsensical, and most disappointingly, it probably could have all been done in a single episode or two.

I'm really torn on this movie because there were some great laughs. In one Austin Power'sesque scene, Bart skateboards in the nude with a shockingly funny conclusion. Also, as I mentioned above, the pig aka Spider-Pig made for some great scenes. Actually, the first 30 minutes of the film was great... until the story kicked in. The doming just didn't seem like a good enough story to warrant a feature film. What cements my opinion is that the only 2-parter Who Shot Mr. Burns is a far more epic and great story. While I have been with the Simpsons for all these 18 years, I just can't award this gang any more than a B.