spider pig spider pig…

spider pig, spider pig…..

There is a sense of nostalgia that hangs over the movie. There’s something thrilling about seeing these familiar characters on the big screen, and, for the most part, the screenplay remains engaging. But the new film does reflect the experience of watching one of the more recent episodes: things start out very well (the first 20 minutes of the movie were very lively and funny), then things fall off rather dramatically. And, predictably, The Simpsons Movie conjures up many of the motifs and plot twists we’re used to seeing: angry mobs, Homer’s stupidity, Marge and Homer on the rocks.

For any of its shortcomings, however, The Simpsons Movie is generally pleasing. It is not as great as many of the best-written episodes, but it’s got enough surprises to make it worth seeing. Simpsons, Inc., hasn’t quite been dragged back over the shark, but this feature makes up for at least some of the bad taste left by the past few seasons