Can he swing, from a web? No, he can't-he's a pig.

The Simpsons Movie is funnier than the show has been for about 10 years. But...well, probably not coincidentally, early this morning Comedy Central ran South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. This served as a reminder that here was a movie based on an animated series that was actually about something. While also being at least as funny as The Simpsons Movie-and one of the best movie musicals in years, to boot.

You can't help thinking (I can't, anyway): What if they'd made a Simpsons movie around 1994 when, IMO, the show was at the height of its powers? Again, this movie is well-made and the extra time they were able to take with it surely does show.

It will probably be staggeringly popular at the box office, and then again in DVD sales. People will want to look for the sight gags or lines of dialogue they missed while people were laughing. And I was laughing right along with them-this is a keenly-made comedy, and I don't want to lose sight of that.

I guess I have no choice but to doh! this movie with faint praise. It's good, but after almost 400 episodes, there's just very little they can show us about the characters we haven't seen.