Will fans cry 'woo-hoo' or 'd'oh' over 'Simpsons Movie'?

LOS ANGELES -- For a cartoon comedy dependent on how much ruination one homely yellow family can cause, there's an awful lot of drama behind "The Simpsons."

Fans gripe that the animated show is nowhere near as funny as it was in the early glory years of the 1990s. Some predict the big-screen "The Simpsons Movie," opening today, will be similarly disappointing. Others wonder why it took so long for the show to make the leap to theaters.

And distributor 20th Century Fox has stoked speculation about the quality of "The Simpsons Movie" by keeping it under tight wraps, declining to show it to critics until a few days before its release.

That's generally taken as a sign that the movie is a stinker, though not always.

In June, Fox withheld critic screenings for "Live Free or Die Hard" until the weekend before its Wednesday opening, leaving reviewers expecting to hate it. Then the movie turned out to be a pleasant throwback to muscular old action flicks, earning solid reviews and becoming a $100 million hit.

Might the same hold true for the first cinematic adventure of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson?

Fox screened the movie over the weekend for a small group of entertainment reporters. The film delivered some laughs, but it certainly did not bring the house down.

The lure of seeing even just a passably funny Simpsons tale on the big-screen might be enough to draw fans who have tuned in over the show's nearly 20-year run, though.

Without giving away details, here's the basic story: Homer dumps waste from his new pet pig into an already polluted lake, causing an environmental crisis that prompts President Schwarzenegger and his evil aide (Albert Brooks) to seal off the town.

Escaping enraged neighbors, the Simpsons begin a new life in Alaska, but they eventually realize they must stand by their hometown of Springfield, which faces an even greater threat.

Along with creator Matt Groening, producers James L. Brooks and Al Jean and director David Silverman, the movie reunited key creative talent from throughout the tenure of "The Simpsons," which is entering its 19th season. Among the writers were such series veterans as Mike Scully, John Swartzwelder, David Mirkin and Jon Vitti.

"We wanted to give it an old-school buzz. Everybody or almost everybody who ran the show or was there at the beginning took part in the first meeting for the movie," Brooks said.

The main voice cast -- Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer -- is joined by other series regulars, one superstar celebrity and a major musical guest band.

Groening and colleagues say they were always too busy with the show to develop a film version, but once the cast signed a contract extension in 2001, the pieces began falling into place, with work starting in earnest by late 2003.

In a way, "The Simpsons Movie" allowed its creators to go back to the show's bawdier roots, when they could get away with more ribald humor. Partly because of the uproar over Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, TV censors have been more prudish in recent years, Brooks said.

"When it comes to doing the show, there are things we were able to do with Bart five years ago that we're no longer able to do anymore," writer James Brooks said. "There might be some brash joke that was suddenly outlawed, but that doesn't apply to our movie."

The movie is rated PG-13 for "irreverent humor throughout."

Trailers gave away clues to the story line, but the filmmakers and studio have been diligent about keeping details secret. Groening said he wants viewers to go into theaters the same way most sit down for a weekly episode of "The Simpsons."

"I think it's more fun just to go into the episode, into the movie without knowing what it's about," Groening said.