Christians should go see The Simpsons Movie simply because it will help them learn how to be better Christians. For all the worries about how this film was going to make fun of Christians and bash Christianity—and those elements are certainly there—what we also get is an example of what real Christianity should look like. Of course, The Simpsons Movie also serves up a bunch of laughs, insightful satire, and plenty of Homer’s stupid antics. Surprisingly, this film also has some very touching moments and although it’s really not all that different from any episode on TV, it’s still a lot of fun.

Now, it might seem strange to start a review of this movie by proclaiming that Christians could learn how to be Christians by going to The Simpsons Movie, especially when The Simpsons has such a reputation of mocking Christianity. Yet, Ned Flanders is exactly the type of neighbor that anyone would want to have and the epitome of the Christian ideal of loving your neighbors. He’s kind, considerate, giving, sharing, selfless, forgiving, encouraging, always there in times of trouble with a helping hand, and he’s also a Christian. Sure he can be a little quirky and even nerdy at times, but he’s the type of guy we’d all like to have around in times of crisis: reliable, caring, and helpful. S

adly, many of Ned’s best qualities are sorely missing in some of today’s Christians, which is why watching The Simpsons Movie may help Christians remember what it looks like to act like a Christian and to truly love their neighbors. In fact, one of the lessons learned by Homer is that part of being a good neighbor is the willingness to sacrifice our wants for the good of of others. You might say Homer learns to be a little bit more like Ned; not too much like Ned, but just enough to help save Springfield.

If you’re curious as to why it would take eighteen years to bring to the big screen a no-brainer like The Simpsons Movie, part of the problem was trying to find the right story, a story that would warrant a longer, bigger episode of The Simpsons on the big screen. While that’s certainly a good idea, especially considering how many TV shows have done a really poor job in translating to the big screen, this particular story doesn’t really fully warrant the big screen treatment. This story still feels like it could have been just a special, longer episode of the show. In fact, total running time really isn’t that much longer than a two-part episode (maybe a three-parter when factoring in commercials); and that may play a part in deciding when to go see this movie. Do you really want to pay full price for a film that’s barely longer than an hour? Sure they pad the running time with tons of previews, but that’s not what you’re really paying to see. Despite its short running time, or perhaps because of it, The Simpsons Movie moves at a breakneck pace which means you’ll probably need more than one viewing to catch all the gags: yet another reason to consider a matinée.

The only real flaw I found in this movie was a pointless sub-plot where Lisa falls in love with a little boy who loves music and is concerned about the environment just like she is. Considering the abbreviated length of the film, it’s kind of surprising that all the writers (eleven in all) decided to keep it in there instead of using that time for events more directly related to the overall plot.

But other than that, this is some of the best Simpsons we’ve seen in awhile. There’s an extremely touching moment between Homer and Marge, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments that had one guy in our row almost falling out of his seat, some great guest star cameos, and Homer is reminded of why it’s important to care about others. The voice acting is, as expected, top notch, and the animation uses some very subtle CG to help make the Simpsons and Springfield look better than ever. While it would have been fun to spend more time actually in Springfield with the many, many characters that have been introduced during the previous eighteen seasons of the show, The Simpsons Movie is bound to please fans, sure to entertain new comers; and it may even have a few lessons to pass along as well.