Credit: Disney PlusDisney+ has confirmed a second Simpsons/Star Wars animated short coming to the streaming platform on May 4. But will it be just as bad as the last one?
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Before the Walt Disney Company bought them, The Simpsons earned an Oscar nomination for the animated short The Longest Daycare (2012). The adorable five-minute short centered around Maggie Simpson surviving a rough day at her daycare while trying to protect a caterpillar who is turning into a butterfly. Then, almost ten years later, Disney rehashed the short but with a Star Wars theme.
The Force Awakens from Its Nap (2021) has a similar premise: Maggie is trying to survive a day at daycare, but this time it’s filled with Star Wars references up the wazoo. The short wasn’t as original as the first one, and the story could be considered lazy as it was just an excuse to cross-promote two franchises that Disney now owns. It was as if the studio was saying, “Look what we can do now! Isn’t this fun?”.
The same thing can be said for many of The Simpsons’ shorts that are on Disney+. There’s the one where the Simpson family crosses paths with all of the Marvel characters from the MCU, and even several shorts where the Simpsons interact with all the classic Disney characters from their library. The stories in the shorts never feel fleshed out, but rather just a gimmick to have Homer interact with Goofy and Lisa meet with Disney Villains. While the shorts are humorous with a bit of charm, gone are the days when The Simpsons cleverly referenced (or made fun of) these other franchises. Instead, they feel forcibly blended into them, which comes off as cheesy.
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Maggie Simpson in “Rogue Not Quite One” is the title of the next Disney property mashup, which seems to be a continuation of the adventures of Maggie. The title is a play on Rogue One (2016) and the fact that Maggie is an infant who isn’t even one year old yet. If the writers have decided to take things in a new direction, not just copy what they’ve done before, it could be a fun short to watch.
Fans of Star Wars and The Simpsons can stream the new short on May 4 for Star Wars Day.
“I bent my Wookie!” What’s your favorite Star Wars reference on The Simpsons? Let Inside The Magic know in the comments.