When Disney+ launched back in November, they formatted “The Simpsons” to a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, a big difference from the original 4:3 ratio. While the picture quality may be better, fans were unhappy how the 16:9 aspect ratio cropped out “many visual gags entirely,” The Verge noted.
Now, after many fans have spoken out, the company is going to format episodes back to the original 4:3 ratio, Disney+ announced on their Twitter account on Tuesday. The changes are expected to hit the streaming service by the end of May.
We appreciate our fans’ patience and are working to make the first 19 Seasons (and part of 20) of #TheSimpsons available in 4:3 versions on #DisneyPlus. We expect to accomplish this by the end of May.
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) April 2, 2020
When the revered show premiered back in 1989, it was in the 4:3 ratio. The change to 16:9 didn’t come until 2009, in the middle of the 20th season. In 2015, FXX network tried to abate the situation by announcing that the early season would be available on to stream in 4:3 ratio on the Simpsons World app, The Verge noted. Because of that change, many fans assumed the show would be in 4:3 ratio when it launched on Disney+.