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‘Simpsons’ shoots, and scores, on big screen

For 18 years, the cheerfully oblivious doofishness of Homer J. Simpson has seemed far too vast to be contained by a mere TV set.

Finally, this American icon is now wall-to-wall and treetop-tall — and “The Simpsons Movie” is everything we’ve come to expect from a show that continues to brilliantly meld cutting-edge satire and wacky slapstick with an endearing view of the modern nuclear family.

The standard torrent of sight gags and non sequiturs launches from virtually the first frame, with Ralph Wiggum cavorting on the 20th Century Fox logo.

There’s a classic “Itchy & Scratchy” toon that leads into a riff about suckers who would pay for something that they can see on television for free; a concert in Springfield that morphs into a spoof of “Titanic”; a brief view of some naughty bits when Bart (Nancy Cartwright) skateboards through Springfield naked; and Comic Book Guy cavorting in the pregnancy underwear once worn by Marge (Julie Kavner).

And that’s just the first 15 minutes.

Soon enough, the story begins, as it must, with Homer (Dan Castellaneta), a pig, and a silo full of the porker’s droppings.

In classic Simpsonian fashion, this innocuous premise blows into a full-tilt crisis when Russ Cargill (Albert Brooks), the evil, power-mad head of the Environmental Protection Agency, hoodwinks President Schwarzenegger (not a typo) into declaring Springfield “the most polluted city in the history of the planet.”

Cargill orders a huge, impenetrable dome airlifted over the entire town, cutting it off from the world. This sparks a “Lord of the Flies”-like devolution in which Moe the Bartender (Hank Azaria) ends up as the “Emperor of Springfield.”

When the townsfolk discover their misfortune is Homer’s fault, they want blood. The family slips out of the dome through a hidden sinkhole in their yard and goes on the lam, ending up in Alaska — a sequence that includes not only the funniest Disney spoof ever, but also one of my 10 favorite lines of the year, delivered by Homer: “Why does everything I whip leave me?”

Then Cargill ups the ante, dropping a timed nuclear bomb into the dome with the intent of eradicating the menace for good. It falls to Homer to try and rescue his fellow Springfielders — as he puts it, “risking my life to save people I hate for reasons I don’t really understand.”

If you harbor even a flicker of doubt about whether he succeeds, you’re not a true “Simpsons” fan. For devotees know that all the wild mayhem and wry wisecracks rest lightly upon two deep pillars of emotional resonance that shine as brightly as ever.

First is a message of tolerance. Springfield is home to a vastly diverse array of characters, and though they may butt heads from time to time, the show subtly and consistently delivers the message that people of all backgrounds, beliefs and colors — even bright yellow! — can get along.

Even more important is the heartwarmingly cockeyed vision of family. The fact is that while they definitely put the “fun” in “dysfunctional,” the Simpsons are one of the most loving and tight-knit fictional clans ever created for television or the movies.

Homer and Marge remain crazy for each other after all these years. And despite the occasional outbreak of father-on-son strangulation attempts, both parents adore their kids.

As creator Matt Groening has said, the show is a “celebration of the people who drive you crazy.” There’s no better description of the American family than that — and no better reason to keep laughing at, and with, “The Simpsons.”

4 stars. Rated PG-13. Opens July 27.