Well, it’s that time of year again: when Disney+ dusts off its Simpsons blender, tosses in all of its corporate IP, and hits puree. This time, it’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, a two-minute Halloween-Christmas mashup featuring the series’ most iconic villain, Sideshow Bob.
This simple short showcases Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer), who—on behalf of Disney+—introduces us to the most wonderful time of the year: Halloween. He’s captured the Simpsons family, but pivots mid-murder to break into a twisted parody of the classic Christmas carol, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” As Bob belts out his ode to gore, a slew of baddies from Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars show up to sing along.
That’s it. That’s the short.
This unnecessary short encapsulates everything wrong with modern Disney. It’s an IP-gobbling leviathan that devours every property it can get its hands on, regurgitating it as soulless sludge. Disney went to such great lengths to acquire The Simpsons, but instead of honoring its legacy, it uses them as a springboard to shoehorn Mickey’s minions into Springfield every chance it gets. Disney might think the final result is comedy-gold, but it’s a lame cringe-fest.
The short is neither novel nor clever. It’s a shameless corporate crossover to desperately flaunt Disney’s villain roster. (“Hey, remember Scar?” “What about Loki?” “Go rewatch our stuff!”) Meanwhile, The Simpsons‘ own villain roster—Mr. Burns, Sideshow Mel, Itchy, Scratchy, Snake, Kang, and Kodos—gets benched. With 36 seasons under its belt, you’d expect a few nods to the fans who stuck around this whole time. Instead, Disney ignores Springfield to pathetically pander to the Disney fans.
The animation is really terrible. Converting some of the Disney character designs doesn’t work in The Simpsons style. At times, the animation looks amateurish and clunky—take the scene of Tiana kissing the frog, for example. It’s such a noticeable departure from the typical Simpsons quality that you wonder whether the team outsourced this to the cheapest animation house they could find to save a few pennies. (Maybe they knew this was like polishing a turd, not worth the effort.)
There’s no reason for The Most Wonderful Time of the Year to exist—a wonderful time it is not. It’s another attempt by Disney to constantly pad the Disney+ content library to justify its existence. Do yourself a favor and skip this short. Instead, go back and watch the golden era of The Simpsons —seasons 1 through 10. Trust me, you’ll need the help of Bartman to wash the taste of this corporate misfire out of your mouth.
½ ★
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is available exclusively on Disney+ on October 11, 2024.
