The Simpsons To Return To Big Screen

The animated comedy went feature-length for the first time, and became a box office smash with earnings of more than $500 million (GBP250 million) worldwide.

So Groening is returning to Springfield for a follow-up - but he warns fans they have a long wait ahead, as the first film took four years to make.

He says, "It will happen at some point, but I have no idea when. The first one took us four years - mainly because we don't like to work any harder than we usually do."

Last year (07) marked the 20th anniversary of the Emmy Award-winning animated franchise.