Alligator Online

After years of hype and almost two decades of shows, "The Simpsons Movie" was finally released. And it's exactly what you would expect.

It is warm and clever, reminiscent of some of the best episodes, but nothing too spectacular.

It is evident from the first scenes of the film that the writers have labored constantly to keep the jokes coming.

The films packs in every possible gag it can. The vehicle for this barrage of jokes involves Homer, voiced by the ever-perfect Dan Castellaneta, dooming Springfield by dumping a critical amount of toxic waste into the nearby lake.

This action alienates his friends, neighbors and even his family. Homer spends the rest of the film trying to fix it all. The movie travels from the comfortable center of town all the way to the far reaches of Alaska.

Overall the film manages to be smart, but not outstanding. This is the curse of being on the air for 18 seasons.

As intoned by a clever South Park episode ("Simpsons Already Did It"), nearly everything has been done by this landmark show, and as a result, it is nearly impossible for James L. Brooks and Matt Groening to top themselves.

One of the major problems stems from the nature of a feature-length film. In the final third, a bit of discomfort sets in. This is the manifestation of something I like to call the "two-episode effect" - the viewer can only really watch two episodes of any sitcom in a row before the jokes stop being funny, and they continue to watch merely for the sake of watching.

The voice acting from all our favorites - Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria and many more - return, meaning that practically every major character from the series makes one appearance or another (the two cameos from Professor Frink were my personal favorites).

The guest celebrity appearances are also fun.

Green Day sets the right tone for the film in the opening scenes and covers the classic Simpsons theme splendidly.

The movie is funny and coasts along nicely, but it's unfortunate that some of the greatest scenes were given away by the previews.

The movie is a fun tribute to the quintessential American family and is worth a watch. It reminds the viewer what was funny and clever about "The Simpsons" in the first place. Unfortunately, there is enough of that on DVD to keep the movie from being exceptional.