It�s arguably the most anticipated animated movie EVER. It�s been a whopping 20 years and 400 episodes since the TV show started, and now Marge, Homer, Lisa, Maggie and Bart are regularly welcomed into homes across the world. After conquering the TV schedules, music charts (Do The Bartman, anyone?) and merchandise stalls, the lovable cartoon family are taking on the big screen in The Simpsons Movie.

Creator Matt Groening and producer Al Jean came to Leicester Square, sat in a mock-up of Moe�s Tavern, and played a short excerpt of the movie to a theatre packed full of UK journalists. Afterwards they quickly answered a few of interviewer Danny Baker�s questions and a couple from the audience. Murmurs echoed round the queue outside wondering whether the film would live up to expectations, as internet forums are rife with concern and disappointment about the direction the TV show has headed in. 

The movie brings in huge contemporary themes such as the environment, via the show�s moral compass, Lisa, and shows the town�s residents at a fundraising concert dancing to (in one of many cameos) Green Day. When the music stops and Billie Joe steps to the mike to speak about the environment, the townsfolk turn on him; throwing litter in anger, which causes the band�s floating stage to sink in a scene that beautifully parodies attitudes we�ve all been guilty of, as well as, hilariously, Titanic.

At the Q&A Matt Groening spoke about his decision to �come at each big theme or issue from both sides� and as much as they take into account the serious realities of climate change through Lisa�s character, The Simpsons is an entertainment show trying to make the audience laugh. And they do; later in the movie they reference �An Irritating Truth� which cheekily pokes fun at Al Gore�s recent documentary.

By coming at these issues from each side, it�s easy to offend the movie�s more sensitive viewers. Although the stories may not be on South Park�s �shock value� level, The Simpsons has a wider audience and surely has more scope to offend.

�In the US, there�s someone willing to pretend to be offended by everything� Groening stated with a wry smile. He and Jean went on to discuss how they always seem to anger the populations of countries foreign to the US with the obviously stereotyped characters that they employ. Groening remembered how an episode where Homer got addicted to medicinal marijuana garnered no complaints, and then when Homer was attacked by monkeys in Brazil, the government of Rio threatened to sue. He makes a short reference to how it was probably for publicity� but it seems this is just another day at the office for The Simpsons, and I suspect many TV shows.

As an animated show that lives within an elastic reality; �we�re able to stretch it, then pull it back,� the multi-faceted lives of our televisual neighbours, The Simpsons, are likely to offend if they�re seen to go against our beliefs because we�ve grown up with them. This also accounts for some of the devoted fans� upset as the show has developed and the storylines have become more outlandish, due to most reality-based ideas having been written and screened.

How on earth do they remember all the storylines and ideas that have come and gone so that they don�t repeat them? It turns out the old-timers such as Groening and Jean rely on the new writers who have grown up with the show, and have a fanatical knowledge of episodes, storylines and jokes that they have previously used. It�s still difficult to be under such scrutiny from fans, so Groening has a fall-back plan, �If we repeat ourselves � it�s a running gag, okay?!�

Another comedic reference in the film concerns the influx of penguin movies lately, especially in animation. Are you finding them really annoying? You�re not alone. �There�s one penguin in The Simpsons Movie, and something really bad happens to it��  Groening laughs.

So what�s the one lesson to take out of The Simpsons this summer? Out of the ten minutes I saw, I could write out lots of lines on the school blackboard showing what I have learned�
I will not skateboard naked�
I will be careful with hammers on roofs�
Not every Irish musician�s son has a Dad called Bono�
I will not illegally download this movie (yes, that�s the line Bart�s writing out this time)�
The Bible has no answers�

No, the movie summed up in one sentence, spoken by Simpsons creator Matt Groening himself is;

�A man should listen to his wife��