There's no Sideshow Bob. Mr. Burns is criminally underused. And on some level, any version of The Simpsons Movie was bound to be a disappointment, if it wasn't the funniest movie ever made. Yet there's something sinfully satisfying about replaying the best jokes in your head afterwards. There are ten or fifteen moments in this movie as good as anything The Simpsons has ever produced, which mean that they occupy the highest, most rarefied levels of comedy. (I'm also drooling at the prospect of the inevitable DVD. With its deleted scenes and ultimate commentary track, there's a good chance that this will be the greatest DVD ever released.)

I don't normally quote other critics on this blog, but I'd say that A.O. Scott gets it about right: "The Simpsons Movie, in the end, is as good as an average episode of The Simpsons. In other words, I’d be willing to watch it only—excuse me while I crunch some numbers here—20 or 30 more times."