Enjoyable even if it falls far short of the series at its best

Rating: Null/10 (13 August 2007)

Homer takes a pig into the family but, as much as it amuses him, it messes up the house and makes Bart feel even more isolated from his father. Meanwhile Lisa finds a soul-mate in her quest to educate the community in local environmental matters. However when Homer finds that his pig excrement problem is getting out of control, he dumps the silo in the lake  triggering an environmental catastrophe. On the orders of President Schwarzenegger, EPA director Russ Cargill seals Springfield in a plastic dome. Resources naturally run low and the town yet again turns on Homer and the Simpsons.
Out of a summer of mostly mediocre sequels and franchise movies, The Simpsons stood out as the one that many audiences were waiting for the most. I know I went on a weekend night (and I hate crowds  particularly noisy multiplex crowds) in my desire to see it. The film itself though, doesn't really live up to the expectation and, although funny, does come across like the faltering first steps of a baby  at times moving quickly but mostly looking like it is about to fall over at any moment. Part of the reason for this is probably that the bar is set too high  something that it did for itself. Of course being a brilliant TV series is hardly a criticism but it does work against the film, particularly as it struggles to fit into the 90 minute format.
It isn't so much the matter of having enough plot to fill it, because the Simpsons has always jumped around quickly  using one event to lead to another and then another. However doing it across this length of time is not quite the same. Strangely though it wasn't this I had the problem with, it was the way the film format meant that it did have to have more of a "narrative" feel to it with more talking and plot development. The problem with this is that it is such foreign territory that it stands out  it jars with the funny moments (of which there are plenty) and I found myself wanting more of the latter and slightly put off by the former. It is not that the plot is bad, but just it breaks up the normal tight and fast pace that I am used to with the episodes and I missed this.
Is it funny though? Well, yes, it is but just not as funny as the many, many brilliant episodes that I enjoy. It is rarely as smart and witty as the TV series. The style of humour is typical but at times it is a bit obvious and not as out and out clever as I would have hoped for  again perhaps a problem associated with the bar being set high by expectations from the TV series. This is not to say that it isn't funny because there are still plenty of great moments and lines but they don't merge into a great flow  rather they are asides from the main plot. In a way the attempt to have more of a "story" with character threads mean that there is less time for the quickfire material and it shows in the way that many characters are limited in their screen time. Of particular disappointment is Mr Burns being limited to just one scene  albeit one of the best of the film, complete with the most typically Simpsons line "ah, for once the rich, white man is in control". The voice cast are all great, despite some of the many, many characters having little to do; while guest stars are wisely limited to Green Day and Tom Hanks.
Overall then, it is a very funny and enjoyable movie that is fun despite the fact that it never really finds a consistent pace or flow. Fans will enjoy it as much as they are disappointed perhaps but it is still a good film that is one of the best films from a mostly lacklustre summer offering thus far.