Bart Simpson goes full frontal

The storyline of The Simpsons Movie has been kept under wraps.

To make it on the big screen you have to give people something spectacular. Something extraordinary. Something like Bart Simpson - full frontal.

It happens early in The Simpsons Movie, when the animated 10-year-old takes a dare from his goofball father, Homer, to skateboard naked through the streets of Springfield. Hidden by plants and picket fences, he whizzes along, past kids, down hills, through traffic lights ... until, in one shocking moment, little Bart flashes his little part to the entire world. Which may make this the first Hollywood film to show that kind of skin and escape an R rating.

In a season bursting with comedies, including major animated fare - Shrek the Third and the new Pixar film Ratatouille - The Simpsons Movie is both the least hyped and the most anticipated.

Since the show debuted in 1989 it has built a fanatical fan base, earned 23 Emmys and generated more than $2.5 billion in revenue, if you include the never-ending T-shirts. Now in its 18th season, The Simpsons is the longest-running sitcom in history and is broadcast in more than 70 countries.

Voters in a BBC online poll in 2003 declared Homer Simpson "The Greatest American." Number two was Abraham Lincoln. "Homer is what other countries think America is like," says writer-producer Al Jean, who has been with the show since the beginning. "Voting for Homer was like saying, 'Screw you, America.' It's probably part of our success."