The Simpsons Movie

The Simpsons Movie begins as an extended Lisa episode — she undertakes a one-girl effort to save Lake Springfield from pollution Then the movie flips into a Homer episode, as the befuddled patriarch adopts a pig, whose voluminous leavings contaminate the lake and get the entire town isolated under a dome.
Voice cast—Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer—are in great form, as they’ve been for close to 20 amazing years. All of Springfield is on hand, but some beloved residents—Krusty the Clown, Principal Skinner, Apu, Barney the drunk—get slighted in their big-screen debuts. And one (deliberately) annoying character will likely never be seen again, except in syndication.
When it comes to The Simpsons, longevity is an asset few can ignore. 18 years old and counting, the TV series has carved its niche into pop culture. Most of today’s high school students hadn’t been born when The Simpsons debuted as filler on Tracey Ullman’s variety show. It’s no longer as fresh, as acerbic, and as popular as it once was, but could one expect anything else from a show that has turned out about 400 twenty-two minute episodes?
The Simpsons Movie was worth the wait. A sequel may be a long time away, but fans with Homer-sized appetites can take comfort knowing season 19 is in production and this essential TV family shows no signs of stopping.