Don’t worry, Simpsons fans. Disney has heard your complaints and it has a plan. While Disney+ only showsThe Simpsonsin 16:9 widescreen at the moment, you’ll have the ability to switch some episodes to their original 4:3 aspect ratio sometime in early 2020.
In a nutshell, the problem is this: Early episodes ofThe Simpsonssimply weren’t designed for widescreen. The show is over 30 years old; when it premiered, the 4:3 aspect ratio was the industry standard. As such, when the first 19 seasons ofThe Simpsonsare converted to 16:9, the top and bottom of the image are cut off. Episodes might fit better on modern televisions, butyou won’t be able to see a number of jokes.
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)June 04, 2025
Some of these gags are important, too. As formerSimpsonsshowrunnerBill Oakley told Digital Trends, widescreen cropping removed about “15 to 20% of the value of the show” and obscures some of its best jokes, including a vital clue in the two-part mystery, “Who Shot Mr. Burns?”
“I’ve seen dozens of these online,” he told us.
According toThe Verge, which obtained a statement from Disney, Disney+ customers will be able to watch The Simpsons in its original aspect ratio “in early 2020.” If you still prefer the widescreen versions, you’ll have access to those, too. It sounds like Disney will allow users to toggle between the two aspect ratios, letting them watchThe Simpsonsin their preferred format.
This isn’t the first time this has happened. When FX first launchedSimpsons World, a website where you could stream The Simpsons, all episodes were limited to a 16:9 aspect ratio. FX eventually released the affected episodes in 3:2 as well.
The Simpsons snafu is just one of the many problems plaguing Disney+, which had a rocky launch this week. The service, which debuted on Tuesday, was quickly overloaded as new users logged in, leading toa series of glitcheswhen customers tried to access its content.
