HALF-HOUR episodes of The Simpsons are pretty special things - frequently hilarious and incredibly quick-witted, particularly considering they come from our American friends.

A feature-length film, on the other hand, is a little bit much.

Political satire so sharp you could slice a finger and some fantastically funny one-liners are still present in spades, but the gaps in between stretch on, and the story - of Homer's foolish and selfish actions resulting in the downfall of Springfield and his own family - could almost certainly have been covered satisfactorily on the TV.

But then that, of course, is part of the joke. Compounded by Maggie's first ever word at the end of the film... "sequel!"