The cartoon TV show many of us have been watching for years is finally going to have its own movie! For those that dont know, the Simpsons are a family in a town called Springfield, that is somewhere in the US of A. They seem like your average American family, yet always seem to get caught up in more excitement in a week than most families do in a lifetime.

Details on the movie are very hard to find at the time of writing. In fact, if some reports are correct, they are still working on the storyline as I write. With that in mind, whatever I say about this movie is likely to be incorrect by the time you are reading it. The only parts that people seem willing to share at this point is that Homer does something to make the rest of the town so mad they form a mob with flaming sticks to go after him and Bart runs round the place in the nuddy. Then again, how much does that matter? If you love "The Simpsons" you'll go see this movie; if you hate "The Simpsons", why are you even reading this? We'll see Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Lenny, Karl, and just about every other character you could name. Apparently there are 94 speaking parts, so you are likely to see your favourite character. How big a role will they play? Well, you'll just have to watch the movie and find out.'

Alan Bennetts play, on which this film is based, generated a massive amount of good press when it premiered in London. Numerous awards, brilliant word of mouth, and followed up with national and international tours. Enough about that, you say-what's it all about?

Well, in terms of plot, it's about a group of boys who are approaching their Oxbridge exams at a boys' grammar school in the north of England. To this end, they are placed under the tutelage of two men with wildly different teaching styles: one emphasising learning for learning's sake, the other focussing on what is most likely to get the boys through exams.

It's about much more than history. It's about the time when young people are moulded by the adults around them, what they take from them and what they cast away, and what this will mean for the people they will later become. It looks at the idea of education, and all that this entails. The play was very open in its depiction of the two teachers, demanding that the audience form an opinion on both.

The film retains many of the original London theatre cast members, as well as the director, so it promises to be quite faithful to Bennett's vision. For those of you looking for a way to procrastinate actual schoolwork but who still feel guilty about it, here's some education-related entertainment. For the rest of you: come and be stimulated. It's Alan Bennett.'