The Simpsons Movie

For our printed Handbook, film critic Dexter Lee had to preview the film armed only with a couple of clips and brief synopsis. He hoped it was going to be good but worried that the lack of available information might just be hiding the awful truth that it was crap. As he couldn’t bear to find out if this was the case, I was given the task of finding out what it was actually like. So armed with a 7-year-old fellow fan, (the Simpsons delivers across age ranges as well as football and Doctor Who in my house), I headed to the Brighton Odeon. On the way, we heard a radio reviewer complaining that it was just a triple length version of the TV show. Our reaction to the thought of a 90- minute Simpsons episode? - Bring it on!

Dexter needn’t have worried. Groening delivers a fantastic film packed with the dysfunctional characters we’ve come to love, plus new stars including President Schwarzenegger. The large screen and extra time also allows him to develop them as never before. OK, Homer blunders around as usual, but this time the consequences are global, and his actions lead to Springfield being cut off from the rest of the world, whilst the family flee to Alaska. There’s also time for a pending ecological disaster, for Marge to analyse the reality of her relationship with Homer, and for Bart to start seeing Ned Flanders as a father figure. But best of all there’s Spider Pig. Don’t miss it.  NW