If you'd told me this morning that I was going to enjoy this movie so much, I'd have laughed at you.

From the opening "Itchy and Scratchy" sequence to the closing chorus of "Spider-Pig" (as sung by half the people in the audience with me) this was a thing of beauty.  I haven't laughed that hard at The Simpsons in years.  It's like they saved up all the A material over the last few seasons and used it here instead, which in fact probably was the case.

The only real problem I had with the movie was how often the team seemed to forget they were making a movie.  The transitions between the standard scene blocking ala a typical episode and the grandiose details they could do on a wide screen were kind of jarring.  (Mini-cheer: this worked to great effect in the Alaska wide-shot, going from their little quibble to Great Big Shot.  So yay.)  The art was a notch better than the show's usual, with a better color blend than the small screen generally allows.  And again, the wide shots were pretty, even when they were jarring.

Geek moments: Ralph at the beginning, the slow evisceration of Springfield and the quick destruction by fire and then collapse of the Simpsons' home, Flanders as he pointed out the "bordering" states, Blinky shoutout.  Disturbing moments: "maybe we should kiss just to break the tension," the forest creatures disrobing Homer and Marge.

Drunk!Bart missing fake-dad Flanders was much funnier than he had any right to be.  Bart being wistful over Flanders came across as very sweet -- a little OOC considering their past, but whatever -- when it could have been cloying.  Speaking of heartwarming, Margie's heartbroken good-bye to Homer felt very real and very overdue considering all he's put her through over the years; I'll accept the swift reconciliation for the same reason.  And Lisa got a boyfriend who was nice and not a jerk and didn't go away by the end!  Hooray!

Obviously there wasn't going to be time to give everyone their due, not without making this "87 Short Films About Springfield" instead.  (Though with Maggie's second word, we have hope.)  Back when the series was in its second or third season, a reviewer pointed out that at its core, The Simpsons was always about the family coming together at the end, which the reviewer thought made them a much healthier role model than equivalent TV families on other programs (Roseanne, Married With Children).  Recent seasons of the show have gotten away from that; with this film, the writing team remembered where they came from, and didn't drop the development the characters have seen along the way.