Reviewed by Brannavan Gnanalingam

The Simpsons is the greatest TV show of all-time. No question. Not a doubt about that statement. No television programme has matched it for longevity, layered humour or social commentary, and all the other comedy greats in recent times have been left scrambling in its wake. Admittedly, the show has peaked, and current seasons are pale shadows of what they once were, despite still maintaining the occasional moment of hilarity. And the movie unfortunately as a result, is simply ten years too late. That’s not to say this movie isn’t funny though – it most certainly is. But we are so used to the purposefully two-dimensional characters by now, especially since the show has rung humour out of their two-dimensionality for years – Homer does stupid things, Moe is a loser, Grandpa is senile etc. – that this big screen version suffers from over-familiarity. Ardent fans of the show will be able to point plot structures and characters to older episodes – Spider-pig replaces Mr. Pinchy, Russ Cargill is a Hank Scorpio etc. Or how many times have we seen Homer do something stupid, Marge get angry and threaten to leave, and Homer tries to make amends (essentially the plot of this movie)?