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On Disney+ Day, The Simpsons got to celebrate in their own way: with their new short “The Simpsons in Plusaversary.” The short sees Springfield playing host to a slew of Disney characters, from The Mandalorian and Cinderella to Donald Duck and Loki. Although The Simpsons themselves can now count themselves among Disney’s expansive roster, Homer finds himself shut out of the party — until, at least, he convinces Goofy to let him tag along as his plus-one.
Speaking to CBR, “The Simpsons in Plusaversary” writer Al Jean shared what it was like to Simpsonify these iconic Disney characters. He discussed his collaboration with Disney and some of the ground rules they laid out for the short, including their parameters on Mickey Mouse and which characters could — and couldn’t — drink alcohol. He explained why Homer and Goofy made a perfect pair and why he hopes they’ll team up again someday. He also pointed out his favorite Easter egg, broke down the joys and challenges of short-form storytelling and more.
CBR: Which Disney character were you most excited to Simpsonify, and why?
Al Jean: I was really excited to use the dwarfs because I worked at Disney and wanted to do a series with the dwarfs and they said no, the dwarfs can never appear, except in the original Snow White movie, and we got them! We got them in ours! We have this sort of subtle joke where you see the guest list includes people like Scar and Cruella and even Aaron Burr because Hamilton is on Disney+, but Homer can’t even get on the guest list, so it was a real case of tile envy. You know, they all have tiles — Marvel, Disney, Pixar — but we don’t. So it’s just our demand: please, please give us a tile. It’s been two years. What better Plusaversary gift for The Simpsons?
Tell me a little about convincing your voice cast to do Disney character impressions, and how you think they did in the end.
I thought they hit it out of the park! For example, we asked Dan Castellaneta to do Donald Duck, and he goes, “I’m not sure.” Then he did it perfectly! It was really, really funny. Hank Azaria was Goofy. Nancy does a great Mickey Mouse laugh and Maleficent is Tress MacNeille. We went and played the Maleficent from the movie and it was letter perfect. She could have been that that actress!
Were any Disney characters off-limits to you? Was there any one character they wanted you to use? How hands-on were they?
He said use whatever one you want. The one that’s off-limits and has been from the beginning is Mickey Mouse, but we prefer to have Bart being Mickey and say things like, “Party’s over! Get back to work!” [laughs] That’s our Mickey, so we’re fine with that.
They were great! They were really great. You’ve never seen that group of people in this one room, you know? It’s like the big photo they had years ago of all the stars at MGM, all the animation stars in one room.
What do you think it is about Bart that made him such a convincing Mickey to the rest of the Disney characters?
Well, if you look at the shorts at Disneyland, they play Steamboat Willie and the other original Mickey pictures. He was a little wise-ass, if I may say, at the beginning, and that’s what Bart is. That’s what made him such a hit. With Bart, we can just have him say kind of obnoxious things and be kind of a jerk, which we love. [laughs] Not that that’s the real case at Disney, of course.
I noticed a lot of pairings in this episode — the way Disney characters and Springfield’s citizens ended up grouping together, like Barney, Lenny and Carl hanging with Gaston, for instance, and Cruella with Santa’s Little Helper in the credits. Tell me a little about the discussion leading up to those.
We know Gaston’s a heavy drinker. I mean, you know it! We always wanted to do a little thing with Lisa as a Disney princess, which we did. So we did the two classic Disney princesses. We have the bunch from the different eras in the bar. Then we just thought we would want to see the Disney characters that would be fun to have in Moe’s Bar. It’s not the party the A-listers, like Minnie Mouse, get invited to. It’s the fun party.
Naturally, “The Simpsons in Plusaversary” includes its very own Disney musical number. How did you approach that, and what made Lisa the right Simpson for that piece?
Well, Yeardley [Smith]’s got a great voice. We’ve done a lot of songs with her on the show. They asked us to put a song in and that was their only request — not what the song was about. So we just said, “Let’s make a kind of a shot at Disney!” [laughs] And they were a-okay with it. We recorded it. It was written by the people at Bleeding Fingers Music, who do music for the show, and Yeardley did a fantastic job. I’d also single out Chris Ledesma, who directed her singing, and David Silverman, who directed the whole short, did an amazing job.
Obviously, the most notable pairing was between Homer and Goofy, and Goofy maybe isn’t exactly what we expect him to be. Why was it important to you to subvert the audience’s — and Homer’s — expectations this way?
One of our writers has suggested that we pair off Homer and Goofy… and I think it’s great, because Goofy — if you look at the shorts — is a lot like Homer. I mean, he’s an adult male with a kid. He’s kind of a loser like Homer, but he’s always trying and he’s upbeat and fun to watch, so we thought they’d be a magical team. I’d love to do more! You know, Goofy did a famous “How to Fish” short and I’d love to do Goofy and Homer teaming up for more adventures.
What is the future of this Simpsons collaboration with Disney+? Now that there have been a few, should we expect this to be a regular thing?
We’d love it. We have another short, not with Disney+, that’s going to be Spanish language only that I’m really excited about. I can’t say more now. We have a lot of ideas — I’m not saying we’re doing them — She-Hulk and Obi-Wan [Kenobi] are coming out next year. We’re too late for Boba Fett, which I’m excited about as a viewer. Yeah, it’s the greatest. I mean, literally, if you said to me, “What characters do you like in the fiction of popular culture?”, they’ve got them all! [laughs] It’s really quite impressive.
The short is, obviously, loaded with Easter eggs. Which one is your favorite and why?
I pitched the joke where Moe says, “Sorry, Grumpy,” and he goes, “I’m not Grumpy; I’m Happy. That’s how bad this party is!” As I said, I loved using the dwarfs and I loved making Happy Grumpy. It was a fun thing to do.
What does this short-form storytelling allow you to do, that perhaps you couldn’t in a full-length episode?
When we did the first Maggie short, “The Longest Daycare,” I was so thrilled to do that format, because you’re in and you’re out and it’s all visual. Obviously, this has that a lot. I can see why cinema started in the short form, not just because it was less expensive, but just because you can really make a point powerfully, like a short story. So I love doing them. I would do as many as we could.
On the flipside, what’s one of the greatest challenges you face in trying to cram a whole expansive universe into five or so minutes?
This was one of those projects that just sailed through. I mean, Jim loved the first draft and had some great ideas. Joe Earley at Disney+ immediately endorsed it. They had a request not to make a character who’s a hero to young kids — like a princess — drink, which I totally agree with. I think actually most of the princesses are like 16, anyway! [laughs] So Moe would lose his liquor license (if he has one). It just was really blessed in that sense. I hope people enjoyed as much as we enjoyed making it.
What is something that one of your collaborators brought to the table that surprised or delighted you?
Well, we rotate the staff on them, and they’re always great. Then, with the directing with David and his group, every time you send David an idea, he comes back with a drawing that’s 10 times funnier than you expected it to be. I mean, he’s so great. He’s been doing that for 30 years. He goes, “What do you think of this?” and I always go, “This is great!” I’m not being, you know, ass-kissy; I’m just going like, “This is really great.” They’re really funny drawings, and it’s really a pleasure. Everything he puts in is just really clever.
“The Simpsons in Plusaversary” is now streaming on Disney+.
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