Critics are overwhelmingly pleased by The Simpsons Movie, even if they agree it doesn't push the envelope further than usual. By all accounts, rapid-fire sight gags and one-liners keep diehards and casual fans alike in giggles. Even naysayers, like the LA Times, don't argue it's not funny, just that it doesn't go far enough: "It doesn't take the gloves off."
Roger Ebert doles out three stars, one for each of the movie's biggest laughs, and the Washington Post praises the highbrow-lowbrow hybrid as a "cross between the early mayhem of the Bugs Bunny cartoons and dialogue by Edward Albee." The review wraps up with newspaper-ad-friendly proclamation that it's "one of the best movies of the year." (More movies stories.)