 British newspapers The Guardian and The Times both gave the film four out of five stars . The Times ' James Bone said that it " boasts the same sly cultural references and flashes of brilliance that have earned the television series a following that ranges from tots to comparative literature PhDs " . The Guardian 's Peter Bradshaw stated that it " gives you everything you could possibly want " and that he thought , " Eighty @-@ five minutes [ was ] not long enough to do justice to 17 years of comedy genius " . Ed Gonzalez praised the film for its political message , likening the Itchy & Scratchy cartoon at the beginning to President Schwarzenegger 's situation later on , as well as the film 's visual gags . Randy Shulman praised the cast , and described them as having " elevated their vocal work to a craft that goes way beyond simple line readings " , and particularly praised Kavner who he said " gave what must be the most heartfelt performance ever " . Roger Ebert gave a positive review , but admitted he was " generally [ not ] a fan of movies spun off from TV animation " . He called it " radical and simple at the same time , subversive and good @-@ hearted , offensive without really meaning to be " . Richard Corliss of Time said that the film " doesn 't try to be ruder or <unk> , just bigger and better " . 
