The Simpsons to stream in the correct aspect ratio on Disney+ next week

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The Simpsons has been around for decades, meaning that we've seen the series evolve and change several times over, and the biggest visual change was the shift from the 4:3 aspect ratio to widescreen half-way through its 20th season. Unfortunately, the previous seasons, which consist of more than 400 episodes, have frequently been re-reun in a cropped 16:9 ratio, which destroys many of the series' visual gags.

The entirety of The Simpsons can be found on the Disney+ streaming service, but once again, those early episodes were the cropped widescreen versions. At the time, Disney+ said, "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." Disney+ is about to make good on their promise as Simpsons writer/producer Al Jean took to Twitter to announce that the 4:3 versions will finally be available on May 28th.

This is very welcome news to this Simpsons fan (and Disney+ subscriber), and I'll definitely be revisiting the series now that it's in its original form.