The Simpsons- Season 34

7/10

This is the thirty-fourth, 34th!, round of the misadventures of the Simpsons family and the other residents of Springfield.

This is another of the recent Simpsons quality revival seasons. (To lay out the timeline, there was the first two or three seasons where the show was finding itself, the next five or six seasons that was the golden age, the Jerka** Homer era where the show lost its magic and focused on celebrity appearances and shenanigans happening, plus Homer'd gotten too dislikable, then we got the reform seasons where Homer (voiced by Dan Castalenetta) was made nicer than he has ever been, and remains that to today, and focused more on character-based storylines which started strong but then felt at a loss for new emotional situations to put the characters in, and finally now.) No, this season isn't as good as the classic years, but it has better stories than it has had in a long time. There's a bigger emphasis on trying new stuff and not doing the same-old, same-old and giving other characters than the Simpsons more of the spotlight. There's also a lot more satirical episodes with solid targets. 

We even get one of the strongest Treehouse of Horror episodes in a long time (it's been a string of diminishing returns up until now), plus a bonus Halloween episode that's pretty good. I also highly recommend Lisa the Boy Scout, one of the funniest things they've done in a while. Even a lot of the less stand-out episodes aren't too shabby.

There are a few things I disagree with. I found Lisa's storyline in One Angy Lisa to be a terribly one-note to the extreme Lisa-can't-catch-a-break story. There are two Fat Tony (voice by Joe Mantegna) episodes that feel too similar to each other. Flanders is still too, well, "flanderised" with him being a religious conservative and less of the nice guy he'd been, and Skinner is too much of a mama's boy and the complete opposite of where the character started.

Animation remains strong. There's nothing complex about the look of the Simpsons, but I love the color usage in recent seasons. There's an anime style sequence in the Treehouse of Horror episode that is pretty sleek looking.

Recommended. Show's still no longer the king of comedy, but this is a solid and fairly entertaining season.

The Simpsons in Plusaversary

 

6/10

In this five minute special made specifically for Disney+ Day, Homer Simpson (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) and other residents of Springfield hang out with various Disney-owned characters.

This entry is sadly weak. There are three pretty good jokes in this but as a whole the writers surprisingly couldn't do a lot with all these Disney properties. Also, the whole thing ends in an odd place that just doesn't work.

On the plus side, I'm impressed how the Simpsons managed to feature multiple big name Disney cartoon characters. I'm really surprised the company gave the go ahead, especially considering that it features these children's characters hanging out and in Moe's Tavern and actually drinking beer. The best part is probably seeing Goofy (Hank Azaria) hang with Homer as they weirdly work well together.

So, yeah, this isn't must-see Simpsons. However, it's an interesting curiosity if only to see Disney+'s equivalent to Warner Bros.'s Space Jam: A New Legacy in terms of shameless self-promotion.

The Simpsons: The Good, the Bart, and the Loki

7/10

In this short on Disney+, Loki (voiced by Tom Hiddleston) is banished from Asgard to Springfield and ends up staying with the Simpsons.

Loki and the Simpsons work well together. There are several good jokes, including one from Homer that feels like The Simpsons during their prime.

On the other hand, the plot does at times feel like the writer or writers trying their best to squeeze in as much Marvel stuff as they can in six or so minutes, and the short ultimately doesn't leave that much of an impression. (Specifically it's the non-Loki stuff that's the weakest.) All the during or after-credits scenes are really weak. The last one actually feels problematic.

I'd recommend this. Not perfect, but it's got it's charm, (and Hiddleston is definitely playing ball here.)

Maggie Simpson in The Force Awakens from its Nap

 

8/10

In this new Simpsons short on Disney+, Maggie Simpson is put into a daycare that takes place in the Star Wars universe.

This is a fairly amusing quickie (only 3 minutes). Not a whole lot of complexity, just a bunch of good-spirited Star Wars visual jokes. If I'm not mistaken, the director and writers are all from the Simpsons golden-age and this short has that classic satirical, smart feel it did back then. The short's not afraid to even poke one light jab at the franchise.

Now my memory could be playing tricks on me, but the animation doesn't feel as ambitious as the last two shorts. This is probably because it was always meant for television and not to be shown on the big screen. Definitely seems to have the same animation as the show. I do miss the perspective coming from Maggie's point of view and the adult characters' faces mostly hidden. Still, I guess it can't be helped in order to utilize the Star Wars characters.

How does it compare to the other two Maggie shorts? It isn't as strong as the The Longest Daycare, the clever first one which set up this film series, but is more original than Playdate with Destiny. Overall, I recommend it. It's an amusing, and like I said it doesn't take up too much time.