Disney+ to Fix ‘The Simpsons’ in Widescreen in Early 2020 After Backlash

Disney+ is the exclusive home of the first 30 seasons of The Simpsons, after Disney merged with Fox earlier this year, taking control of the latter’s film and TV studio, along with National Geographic and a 30% stake in Hulu.

As for The Simpsons, fans of the show have probably noticed it’s streaming in widescreen format in a 16:9 aspect ration, instead of its original 4:3 ratio. The result? Parts of the show are cut off, as many early streamers noticed.

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

Now, in a statement to The LA Times, Disney confirms The Simpsons will stream in its proper 4:3 aspect ratio in early 2020, for the first 19 seasons and some episodes of the 20th season. Disney+ customers will get to choose between widescreen or the original 4:3 aspect ratio:

“We presented ‘The Simpsons’ in 16:9 aspect ratio at launch in order to guarantee visual quality and consistency across all 30 seasons,” a Disney+ spokesperson said. “Over time, Disney+ will roll out new features and additional viewing options. As part of this, in early 2020, Disney+ will make the first 19 seasons (and some episodes from Season 20) of ‘The Simpsons’ available in their original 4:3 aspect ratio, giving subscribers a choice of how they prefer to view the popular series.”

Why did Disney+ launch The Simpsons in widescreen? The company says it was to ensure “visual quality” across all seasons.

Since launching this week, Disney+ has garnered over 10 million sign-ups according to the company, despite login and connection issues at the start.

Click here to sign up for Disney+ in Canada—there’s a free 7-day promo period and after it’s $8.99 CAD/month or $89.99 CAD/year.