BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: THE SIMPSONS MOVIE has truly become a worldwide phenomenon, emerging as one of the biggest international blockbusters in movie history. In this hilarious smash-hit, Homer must save Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the entire planet from a catastrophe he himself created.

FILM REVIEW: This film had a lot to live up to, and I'm not just saying that as a Simpsons fan. Even if you only watch the television show occasionally, you'll be familiar with the fact that this family has been with us for 19 seasons and at its best, serves up some of the wittiest, funniest and downright entertaining moments that satirise popular culture for this generation. Not to mention The Simpsons have their own off-beat charm. Sure, there have been other animated shows that have come since, but those shows weren't the first to do this, nor did they make the unheard of possibility of making an animated show a prime-time sitcom.

In many ways, a film was inevitable but the question was when. It certainly took the producers a long time. Was it worth the wait? Yes and no. In many ways, this film is a snapshot of the entire series - the first half is pure gold harkening back to the episodes featured up to and including Season 10, with the final half taking a small dive, representing the quality from Season 11 onwards when the TV series began to rely more on slapstick and silliness rather than clever humour. It could also be argued that this film is 10 years too late. Had it premiered back in the show's hey-day it would have probably been nothing short of brilliant. Instead, the film is a quality Simpsons episode, but not brilliant like their earlier shows.

First things first - unlike other television-show adaptations, The Simpsons Movie is an extremely faithful recreation of the show. They didn't screw with anything to update it for the silver screen. That's no surprise as all of the show's main producers over the years have combined forces to make this movie (you should see the screenplay credits). The results in the first half of the movie are just brilliant - every joke reminds you of what made The Simpsons so great in the first place, from Homer and Bart's dare competition to Homer's mispronunciation of the word 'Jesus' as 'Jeebers'. Or perhaps the best line goes to Ralph Wiggum. You'll now it when you see it.

There was a big attempt to include every Simspons character in to the film and with the exception of Patty and Selma, almost all of them get a spot. Seeing them all on the big screen was quite exciting. However, one character who only gets a cameo but is a series regular is Mr Burns. For some reason, he's relegated to only one scene (two if you count the end credits), and he wasn't chosen to be the bad guy as suggested in the trailers. For me, that's a completely wasted opportunity. Burns was nice and evil in the show (and even occasionally he was good!) and it just doesn't make sense that he wasn't the instigator of all that goes wrong in the plot. He does however get one of the best lines in the film, "so for once, the rich white man is in control!"

The treatment of the Burns character is where I feel the film falters. Instead we get the head of the Environmental Protection Agency who liaises with President Schwarzenegger to install a dome over Springfrield to protect the rest of the country from its pollutants. Not that this plot device isn't funny (with two scenes with Schwarzenegger hilarious) but it does take the Simpsons outside of Springfield and that's where the film starts to become less funny. The best episodes of the show centred around the Simpsons and their interactions with the other characters in Springfield and as a result, in the second half of the film, we're taken away from what works best. It also doesn't help that the comedy is dumbed down to the more slapstick variety.

The film looks fabulous on screen. Given a big screen budget, the director and animators insert some very filmic shots which instantly distinguishes the film from the television series, including some nice crane shots, wide panoramic views and better motion and backgrounds.

This is a really good Simpsons episode that unfortunately doesn't reach brilliance like the TV shows due to a few ill-judged decisions in the script. That said, it's highly enjoyable, entertaining and for the most part funny. What's surprising is that I've found people who are not Simpsons fans, or even who aren't in to the show find the movie quite entertaining. I guess on that level the filmmakers succeeded! And with all the money it's exhumed from the box office and DVD sales, I'm sure there will be another in the pipeline at some point.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: This high-definition cartoon has been translated perfectly to DVD. The picture is striking, with vibrant colours with good sharpness and contrast. The audio is likewise excellent - despite falling back on the tv series for inspiration, there was an effort to make a cinematic soundtrack and the transfer to DVD reflects that. Overall, an excellent disc.

EXTRAS REVIEW: This disc contains two extensive, scene-specific audio commentaries - one by the writers/producers/voice talent and the other by the directors. They are very insightful and offer a lot in relation to what went in to the making of the film. Unfortunately, these commentaries are all that we get as far as behind the scenes material. There's something about a normal documentary that is compelling and unfortunately we don't get that here (it does however fall in to line with the types of extras you get on the TV box sets of The Simpsons). There are also a number of deleted scenes which were quite rightly deleted, and a slightly alternate ending which doesn't really add much to proceedings. There are also all the trailers for the film and a number of short, and hilarious television spots (ie Homer introducing Americal Idol, The Simpsons judging American Idol etc). It's a nice collection of features but nothing really solid. The commenatries are really the meat so if you enjoy those then you're getting your money's worth.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection, but buy it when it goes on sale.