Despite a few technical hiccups, the launch of Disney+ has been a fairly smooth and successful one with The Walt Disney Company
reporting 10 million sign-ups. The new streaming service presents Disney fans with a mix of original content, both classic and new. Among the library is all 30 seasons of
The Simpsons.
But what fans noticed very quickly was that the show had been reformatted for a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, cropping out many of the visual gags that could be seen in the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Here's an example of one:
The good news, Disney is listening. The bad news, it will be a while before a 4:3 aspect ratio becomes available. Disney issued a statement explaining their initial decision to present
The Simpsons in 16:9 on Disney+ while adding an option to view the first 19 seasons in their origial 4:3 aspect ratio will be made available in early 2020.
“We presented “The Simpsons” in 16:9 aspect ratio at launch in order to guarantee visual quality and consistency across all 30 seasons. 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.”
Only the first 19 seasons will be available to watch in 4:3 because teh show's 20th season in 2009 switched to the 16:9 aspect ratio.