Nowhere near worthy of the hype but you are not a sucker to have paid to see it

Rating: 8/10 (4 August 2007)

18 years in the making. The phrase featured in the trailer loses a great deal of momentum when seeing the finished product, that being The Simpsons Movie. It's difficult to describe why you are let down but it happens all the same. Maybe, it is simply this: A TV show that has been on for more than half of my life and has brought gut wrenching hilarity in more than 90 % of the episodes, it is extremely difficult to top what has gone before, even in a big screen format.
One thing you can improve upon is the visuals and here the SM does not disappoint. The backgrounds are spectacular and the character designs are as good as it gets. Some of the episodes of the TV-series featured freak character designs that gave you an unsettled stomach. Not so here. Also, the character traits are all carried over without many makeovers. Homer is as thickheaded as ever but you of course know that he is basically a decent Joe who will do right at the end. Marge has a scene that is a bit heartbreaking but is pretty much the same as well. The writing is top-notch as usual with as many puns, one liners and visual gags as a good, sillier Simpsons episode.
One problem is cramming all the supporting characters in Springfield into the movie's brief running time which reduces most of them to mere walk-ons or left out all together (No Duffman or Sideshow Bob - barely any Apu or Chief Wiggum and only a 1 minute cameo by Mr Burns).
And why do you ask. To make room for a super-villain in the form of what else? A government official voiced by A Brooks, who can be very annoying when given free range but even more sad, he is pretty much devoid of any humor here.
Tom Hanks as himself? Why not? The celebrity roster has pretty much run out. The only top celebrities who haven't done the show yet are to my recollection, Jack Nicholson (strange because he has been in three of James L. Brooks' movies), Tom Cruise (a big kahuna the producers have never been able to land) and Robert De Niro who to my knowledge has never even been approached, not even for a gangster character.
What it all adds up to is a satisfying extended version of an episode and a feast for the eyes but to add more kudos would be giving more credit than what is due.