It's disconcerting to see The Simpsons wrapped in Disney clothing on Disney+

Vulture

One of the biggest flaws of the streaming era is the erosion of pop-culture history, says Jen Chaney. NBC put Friends and The Office on television, yet some consider them Netflix shows. NBC made Cheers and Family Ties massive hits, but they're owned by CBS Television and, thus, now available on CBS All Access. Twin Peaks is also a CBS-owned property, despite becoming a sensation on ABC. "Anybody who’s curious about the history of these shows can easily Google their way to a ton of information about how they began," says Chaney. "And ultimately, it’s important that anyone interested in TV history has a way to access those older shows. I’d much rather have a budding TV scholar be able to experience Twin Peaks on CBS All Access than not get to see it at all. But as streaming services proliferate and more shows start appearing in unexpected places, this kind of agnostic approach to pop culture could further blur the perception of certain shows and movies, as well as the public’s ability to ascertain their place on the artistic spectrum." Which is why Chaney finds it disconcerting that The Simpsons is now a Disney property. "This has been public knowledge for months, but my heart and head still cannot accept it," says Chaney. "It feels odd because The Simpsons — a show that once depicted Lisa getting strung out after drinking the water in a parody of the 'It’s a Small World' ride — has mocked Disney for years. Based on the Simpsons-related promotion around Disney+, it has no plans to stop. But The Simpsons being part of the Disney family is disturbing for reasons beyond that: As a work of animation, the ethos behind The Simpsons is the complete opposite of what Disney traditionally represented. Yes, the show has some genuinely poignant family moments, but it excels at sly, sarcastic humor that exposes the inherent hypocrisy and absurdity within American society. Disney animation has cuddly animals; The Simpsons has Santa’s Little Helper, a scrawny dog picked up from a seedy race track. Disney movies have wide-eyed, sweet children going on adventures; The Simpsons has Bart Simpson telling his father to get bent. Disney is Ned Flanders saying 'Okily-dokily!'; The Simpsons is Homer Simpson saying, 'Shove it, buddy!' It feels contrary to the spirit of The Simpsons to see it wrapped in digital Disney clothing, even more now that we know Disney+ is streaming the series in a cropped format." ALSO: The Simpsons fans had the same Disney+ cropping complaints when FX launched Simpsons World.