'You see, this is why we should hate kids'

I'm very protective about my love for 'The Simpsons'. Rabidly proprietorial, you might say. Because I've been watching the show for nearly seventeen years now. Yep, I was there at the start (well, almost) and can still remember the joy of watching that first Christmas special with my folks. We were hooked instantly and in terms of TV, it's given me more hours of pleasure than anything else, made all the sweeter by the fact that many of those moments were shared with my family. I really do think 'being there' during the classic years of The Simpsons is the closest my generation will get to the thrill of hearing the latest Beatles single or watching Ali fight live. Yes, it's that good.

And whenever I see the latest rent-a-celeb on some clip show raving about how great the show is, I think yeah, but I was there first so neh-neh-neh. It's quite a reasoned and philosophical viewpoint, I know.

Anyway, after years of would they or wouldn't they, they finally have. Done a Simpsons movie, that is, and I went to see it today. With my folks. And it was great. A true work of art, beautiful animation, crammed full of corking gags and a plot mad enough to justify it's big screen outing. My favourite joke features the desire for either alcohol or prayer at a time of crisis - you'll know it when you see it. And, of course, you'll be singing the Spider-Pig song for weeks.

And yet... there's a nagging voice at the back of my mind, sounding uncannily like Marge, that says 'I just wonder what it would have been like if they'd made it during the heyday?' Because, great though it is, some bits either fall flat or feel like they've been done already on TV. Bart's bonding with Ned Flanders and Lisa developing a crush on a young environmentalist in particular feel all too familar.

But, as many reviews have remarked, if the worst you can say about The Simpsons movie is that it plays like a couple of really funny TV episodes back to back, then that's some movie.

Go see. Now.