Disney Plus officially launched in November with a collection of solid programming, but not everyone was pleased. As many viewers pointed out, something was very off about The Simpsons episodes they were streaming: They’d been cropped to fit into the 16:9 widescreen format, resulting in missing visual gags.
Now, following backlash from customers, Disney Plus has announced it will fix the aspect ratio problem next month. “We appreciate our fans’ patience and are working to make the first 19 Seasons (and part of 20) of The Simpsons available in 4:3 versions on Disney Plus,” reads a tweet posted on Thursday. “We expect to accomplish this by the end of May.”
We appreciate our fans’ patience and are working to make the first 19 Seasons (and part of 20) of #TheSimpsons available in 4:3 versions on #DisneyPlus. We expect to accomplish this by the end of May.
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) April 2, 2020
The Simpsons debuted in 1989 using the 4:3 ratio, and continued to do so for the next 19 seasons. It then switched over to 16:9 around the 20th season. When announcing their programming plans last year, Disney Plus said it chose to go with the 16:9 format “in order to guarantee visual quality and consistency across all 30 seasons,” per The Verge.
While Disney Plus customers have gotten crisper quality, countless visual jokes have been rendered null, like the one seen below. As you wait for this aspect ratio remedy, check out our guide on other noteworthy TV and film available to stream on Disney Plus this month.
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
Simpsons streaming only in widescreen on Disney+ pic.twitter.com/Bx8GZnYcfp
— Hannah Woodhead (@goodjobliz) November 12, 2019
Disney Plus Promises to Fix The Simpsons’ Wonky Aspect Ratio in May
Lake Schatz