The Simpsons Movie

It's taken 17 years for the "World's Favourite Family" to make the
transition for small to big screen (a fact not ignored in the opening gag of the film: "Why did we pay to see something we can see for free on TV?!"). The plot, such as it is, is that the river of Springfield is facing an environmental disaster due to excessive pollution dumping from various areas of Springfield's community. When Homer decides that the best place to get rid of his "Pig Crap" silo is in said river, the town is doomed and placed in a plexiglass dome to contain the spill.

The jokes come so thick and fast in the opening half hour that the second act dips a little as storylines that have already been explored in the show are mined here once again (Homer and Marge's marriage, Bart's reliance on Flanders to provide more of a father-figure), but that's scant criticism when the laugh-out-loud moments are so unrelenting and the relationship between Homer and "SpiderPig" so entertaining ("Maybe *we* should kiss to break the tension?").

Whilst not as much as a "reboot" for the show as South Park The Movie was (and obviously nowhere near as profane, though there are at least two PG pushing moments from Bart and Homer respectively!) this is a superbly entertaining summer movie, though I'd be slightly wary of Maggie's *second* word as the credits roll...

Released 26th July 2007 by 20th Century Fox.

Written by Simon Cole.