Feb 28, 2020

New 'Simpsons' Short Film Will Debut Before Pixar's 'Onward'

Pixar's name was once a never-fail brand guaranteed to draw audiences, but in recent years the studio has lost some of its luster due to inconsistent film quality and an over-reliance on sequels. The studio's reputation has been so damaged that The Walt Disney Company announced today that it will run a new Simpsons short prior to the release of "Onward" next week.

This marks the second time a non-Pixar short has been shown in front of a Pixar feature. The first time happened in 2017, when Walt Disney Animation Studios' short "Olaf's Frozen Adventure" was paired with "Coco."

According to Disney's official Simpsons account on Twitter, the new short is titled "Playdate with Destiny" and stars Maggie Simpson.

Maggie Simpson is speechless... Playdate with Destiny, the new Simpsons short before Disney & Pixar's Onward. Theaters only! #TheSimpsons pic.twitter.com/3090Zv8uYE

- The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) February 28, 2020

The Simpsons executive producer Al Jean Entertainment Weekly, told Entertainment Weekly that the short story "began when two writers, Tom Gamil and Max Pross, proposed the basic idea as part of a Simpsons storyline several years ago. When we made that episode, (executive producer) Jim Brooks thought we could turn that part into a theatrical short. So we decided to postpone that episode and air it on April 19."

The short, which Gene describes as "very romantic," was directed by David Silverman. Maggie Simpson's theatrical short The Longest Daycare, also directed by Silverman, was released in 2012 as a prelude to Fox/Blue Sky's Ice Age: Continental Drift. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2013.

The combination of Simpson and Pixar was made possible by The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets in 2018. Among the assets Disney acquired through its $71.3 billion expenditure was ownership of The Simpsons.