Simpsons fans in the UK mad at Disney+ for altering classic episodes

From Digital Spy

Disney+ has finally launched in the UK, but fans of The Simpsons are still struggling with one element of the show on the streaming service.

As subscribers to the streaming service in the US, Canada and Australia found out after its launch last November, while the first 30 seasons of the animated classic are included on the platform, the first 20 have been stretched out into the widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, meaning a whole universe of visual gags on the outskirts of the shot are being cropped out.

This is because The Simpsons only adopted the widescreen format during season 20, but surely Disney should've learned from the mistakes of FXX, which still airs episode marathons in a similarly frustrating way.

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Following the earlier disappointment voiced by Disney+ users last year, Disney released a statement saying it would make the episodes available in the original 4:3 aspect ratio in "early 2020".

"Over time, Disney+ will roll out new features and additional viewing options," the company said back in November (via Variety).

"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."

In the statement, Disney also confirmed that the episodes were launched with the 16:9 ratio "in order to guarantee visual quality and consistency across all 30 seasons".

Now that the service has launched in the UK, The Simpsons' loyal fans are finding that there's still no 4:3 ratio option, and have taken to social media to also voice their displeasure.

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"Enjoying what I'm seeing so far but disappointed that the aspect ratio on the Simpsons hasn't been fixed yet. That 16:9 is brutal on the older episodes," one user wrote.

"Love #DisneyPlusUK so far but when will classic #TheSimpsons get shown in their proper 4:3 aspect ratio as promised?" another asked.

Reactions from US viewers last year are below:

Disney+ is now available in the US and the UK.

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