great, above expectations

Rating: 9/10 (29 July 2007)

Great movie. It was completely beyond my expectations. I wondered how they were going to create a movie based around 400+ episodes and hundreds of characters. I was worried it would be a lame compromise trying to squeeze every character ever written and every type of Simpsons gag and quote into the movie. But they succeeded by not trying to squeeze all of that stuff in. A lot of movies based on television shows feel more like longer episodes than they do stand-alone movies, but the style of animation they chose (they incorporate 3D modeling) and the size of the conflict (the whole town of Springfield is at risk) make the movie truly cinematic. I would have liked a Duff Beer joke and more Moe but all in all it is still better than they last five seasons put together. I heard years ago that Groening said they'd never make a Simpsons movie. I am glad they finally did and can't wait to see more.