Simpson's Movie Poster ©Fox

Rated PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout

Run Time: 87 minutes

Starring: The voice talents of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer.

Homer and Bart ©Fox

So The Simpsons finally get a big screen adaptation of the long running Fox television show. Is it worth the LONG wait from when the show debuted? I could argue both ways.

The Simpsons movie starts out with a pollution problem in the lake. Soon, the town turns around and cleans up the lake together. Meanwhile, Homer has adopted a pig which is creating tons of waste. Marge instructs Homer to get rid of the waste and he soon gets sidetracked and dumps the waste in the lake which causes animals to mutate. The EPA(environmental protection agency) soon arrives and seals the town off with a huge dome, leaving the town to go crazy. The Simpsons soon escape and then return to save the town.

Overall, the movie feels just like the TV show. If you are a fan of the TV show, I'm sure you'll dig this movie. I happen to be a sometimes fan of the show. There are lots of episodes of The Simpsons that I have enjoyed over the years, but I have rarely turned on the TV to watch a Simpsons episode since the 10th season. Thus, I was interested but not pounding down the doors to watch this movie. I soon found that the show plays very much like the TV show. Having 11 of the main show writers work on this movie over many years, I would have thought that the movie would be extraordinary. That is unfortunately not the case.

Springfield Town Mob ©Fox [Click to enlarge]

From the opening bits to the ending, a lot of it felt like they were trying to keep all the fans happy by creating scenes and sequences where different characters could be featured. This wasn't always a bad thing as they used it to craft some really funny jokes. The Simpsons movie has lots of laughs in store as they spend most of the movie running from one joke to the next. The problem is it feels a bit mashed together. Some of the issues that are presented, are resolved quickly and easily to keep the pace going. One example is the long running father son dynamic between Homer and Bart. At first it feels real but soon is just another quick joke that moves the story forward.

I enjoyed watching the movie but felt that it was more of an extended episode than a special movie event. So the good news is they stayed true to the original show, however the bad news is they stayed true to the original show. I wanted something more out of this movie. As after all, Homer starts the movie telling the audience we are all suckers for paying money to see something we could see for free on TV. It's a funny joke, but also very true.

If you are a fan of the Simpson's, this movie is for you. If you don't like the TV show, you won't like the movie. If you 'kind of' like the show, you will probably enjoy the movie but it won't be your favorite thing ever. In conclusion, I am thrilled that the creators of the show made a movie that stayed true to the show after all these years, however I am disappointed in the overall experience, as I wanted it to be more than a blown-up, made-for-TV special.

Marge, Maggie, Lisa, Homer, and Bart ©Fox

As always, see it for yourself and share your comments here. The Simpson's Movie is playing at Cinema 3 Theatres in McCook, Nebraska at 7pm and 9pm nightly. Check out www.fridleytheatres.com for more information and showtimes.