After 16 years and still more to come, it seems the masterminds behind the hugely successful Simpsons television show are setting their sights at the theatres. Rumored for years, it  seems this project may actually get off the ground afterall.

So, are Homer, Marge, Maggie, Bart, and Lisa headed to a theatre near you? Nancy Cartwright (otherwise known as the voice of Bart Simpson) had this to say in a recent BBC interview:

"You know what? We've just done the table read for The Simpsons movie, so although we've been promoting that we're going to do it, now we're actually doing it and are in production. I don't know the name of it, and I can't go into details about it, and we'll just have to see how it goes, but I think it's going to be great and the fans are going to dig it!"

With the television show continuing to do so well season after season, creator Matt Groening finally decided just to move forward, instead of waiting until the show ends its television run before moving into theatres.

This is exciting news for the millions of Simpsons fans. I for one am interested to see just how well the show translates to the 2 hour format.

Stay tuned for more details on estimated release date and timeline...

September 22, 2005 - No one ever said The Simpsons was breaking new ground in animation; but then, it's never had to. However, the simplistic cel artwork we've grown to love over the last 16 seasons (and counting) is going to get a bit of a makeover when the new Simpsons movie arrives. Exactly how it will look, though, has not been decided.

"We're looking at various tests to get the right look," producer Dave Mirkin told the Houston Chronicle. "We're taking it into the realm of cinema but not too far from how it looks on the show."

Mirkin added that the movie is still just in the writing stages, with no production or release date scheduled. "It's all about the quality – the writing – which we're working on now. We are very quality conscious, and we don't want the series to suffer because of the movie."

they said that they were going to end the simpsons TV run because they were just rehashing old material/ideas...

This weekend, 20th Century Fox surprised moviegoers with the first teaser for The Simpsons Movie which played in front of Ice Age: The Meltdown on many screens. The studio has scheduled a July 27, 2007 release for the anticipated big screen adaptation.

The teaser aired during Sunday's episode of The Simpsons on Fox, and you can now watch the clip online in Flash format here!

In related news, Variety says that executive producer James L. Brooks and his co-conspirators are in the storyboarding stage following two years of script drafts and three covert cast readings.

"We've taken script security to the point of lunacy, though it helped that we wrote it in Aramaic," quipped Mike Scully, who wrote the script with creator Matt Groening, Brooks and series veterans Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder and Jon Vitti.

David Silverman, the "Simpsons" supervising animation director who co-helmed 2001's Monsters, Inc., is set as director.

Deals are done with show regulars Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden and Tress MacNeille.

"We've also set Albert Brooks, Minnie Driver and the real Erin Brockovich, so you should be able to deduce the plot just from that information," said Jean, who is running the show in its 17th season.

I have to say - The simpsons suck.

I much prefer anime to boring, dumb american garbage!!

What a narrow-minded comment. Why do you say it sucks?

Bearing in mind that it happens to be the longest running sitcom in history.

Yep 15 seasons ongoing atnd the onmly prime time animation show since the Flintstones!

I have to say - The simpsons suck.

I much prefer anime to boring, dumb american garbage!!