The Simpsons Will Finally Stream On Disney+ In Its Correct Aspect Ratio Soon

While the release of 30 seasons of The Simpsons was one of the big selling points of Disney+ when it launched last November, there was some controversy over the format the episodes were available in. Every episode could only be watched in the 16:9 aspect ratio, meaning that older seasons were cropped from their original 4:3 ratio, affecting many visual jokes. Disney responded by stating that those first 19 seasons would be made available in 4:3 and the studio has now confirmed when this will happen.

Seasons 1 to 19--and some of Season 20--can be watched in their original ratio beginning Thursday, May 28. The news was confirmed in a tweet from Disney, which retweeted Simpsons producer and writer Al Jean. Jean himself had replied to a tweet he made back in 2015, when he announced the 4:3 release of the show onto FXX. Check it out below:

In November, Disney defended the decision to present those earlier episodes in 16:9 by stating "we presented The Simpsons in 16:9 aspect ratio at launch in order to guarantee visual quality and consistency across all 30 seasons." Nevertheless, it did confirm that it would "make the first 19 seasons (and some episodes from Season 20) available in their original 4:3 aspect ratio, giving subscribers a choice of how they prefer to view the popular series."

Also on May 29, Simpsons fans can watch the Oscar-winning short film The Longest Daycare, which was originally released in 2012. It joins the new short Playdate with Destiny, which arrived in April.

In related news, veteran Simpsons actor Hank Azaria recently spoke of his experiences of voicing many beloved characters over the past 30 years. In an interview with Conan O'Brien, Azaria revealed that the character he "loved the most" is Moe but that "the one I enjoy the most is Professor Frink," who he calls "the vocal equivalent of a peanut."

One character we won't hear Azaria play again however is Apu. In February, the actor stated that the accusations of racial stereotyping had led him to stop performing the role. "Once I realized that that was the way this character was thought of, I just didn't want to participate in it anymore," Azaria said. "It just didn't feel right."