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Disney+ aspect ratio hides some of ‘The Simpsons’ visual gags

Disney+ features the first 30 seasons of the iconic sitcom

Homer Simpson crying

One of the main selling points of Disney+ at launch was the service’s ability to stream the first 30 seasons of The Simpsons.

However, with Disney+ now available in Canada, the U.S., and the Netherlands, users have quickly discovered that streaming The Simpsons is less-than-ideal.

That’s because Disney+ displays episodes of The Simpsons in an aspect ratio that actually cuts away from some of the show’s signature visual gags.

When they were originally broadcast, the older episodes of the sitcom were displayed in 4:3 format that fit TVs in the pre-HD era. Now, though, Disney+ is showing episodes in widescreen 16:9, resulting in a cropped picture that leaves out some imagery.

For example, one of the series’ episodes features a joke about the Duff brewery selling three types of beer that are all just the same alcohol. With a 4:3 aspect ratio, the viewer can see one large Duff tube funnelling the beer into three distinctly-labelled pipes. In 16:9, the big tube is cut off, so the gag would be missed entirely.

This is just one example that was pointed out on social media, but there are surely many more that could be mentioned, given the series’ decades-long history.

When asked if a 4:3 ratio option will be added in the future, Disney declined to comment, according to The Verge.

It’s currently unclear if this aspect ratio issue affects any other shows or movies on Disney+.

Image credit: Disney

Source: Disney+

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