Part of the appeal of the film is that it feels like you're watching a long episode of "The Simpsons," and yet what you're watching is unmistakably a genuine film. For one thing, the animation's changed; computers were used in part to animate the film. It hasn't changed too much, though; fans may rest. Otherwise, though, everything you love about "The Simpsons" remains intact: all your favorite characters, from Apu to Chief Wiggum, all your favorite places, from Springfield's church to Monty Burns' estate, and all that moronic yet inexplicably brilliant humor.

Like the episodes of the series, the plot of "The Simpsons Movie" takes a number of absurd twists and turns, but in its most nonsense-resistant form, it involves Homer Simpsons polluting Springfield's water to the point where the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) places an indestructible dome over the town, trapping its colorful residents within. It doesn't sound like it could last through a feature-length film, but there's more than enough jokes and similar ridiculousness to keep you laughing well through the film. In fact, very, very few of the jokes fall flat, a worry of those fans who admit that the series' hilarity has been decreasing over the past few years. Truthfully the film may have been funnier had it been released 10 years ago, but as far as a "Simpsons" movie goes, it can't be much better than this.