Disney announced today that episodes from the first 19 seasons (and parts of the 20th season) of The Simpsons would be available to stream on Disney Plus in their original 4:3 ratio starting May 28th.
That’s a big deal for Simpsons fans. The series switched from 4:3 to 16:9 back in 2009, but Disney Plus streams every episode in the latter aspect ratio, meaning consequential visual cues from earlier episodes have been cropped out. That can make jokes confusing and even muddle certain story details. Here’s a good example:
All the classic Simpsons episodes on Disney+ are in cropped widescreen format — this means you miss out on tons of great visual jokes, like how Duff, Duff Lite and Duff Dry all come from the same tube. pic.twitter.com/cTy9adulFl
— Tristan Cooper (@TristanACooper) November 12, 2019
Fortunately, Disney heard the collective cries of Simpsons fans everywhere and is making the first 19 seasons of Simpsons stream in 4:3. Seasons 20 and onward will still stream in 16:9 as intended. It’s been six months since the streaming service acquired the rights to the cartoon and began streaming episodes, but better late than never, right?
Another big boon for the Disney-owned streaming service is The Mandalorian, and the news that Timothy Olyphant is joining season 2 rocking Boba Fett’s iconic armor. That followed equally compelling reports that Rosario Dawson would be playing Ahsoka Tano, filling out the series already excellent cast with even more big-name talent.
