| The Simpsons in Plusaversary | |
|---|---|
 Promotional image featuringHomer Simpson andGoofy | |
| Directed by | David Silverman |
| Written by |
|
| Based on | The Simpsons byMatt Groening |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Taylor Allen |
| Music by | Bleeding Fingers Music |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Disney+ (Disney Platform Distribution) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 4 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Simpsons in Plusaversary, or simplyPlusaversary, is an Americananimated short film based on the television seriesThe Simpsons produced byGracie Films and20th Television Animation, debuting on streaming serviceDisney+'s 2nd anniversary in 2021. It is the fifth short film inThe Simpsons franchise, and the third promotional short produced for Disney+.[1] The short was directed byDavid Silverman and released on November 12, 2021 –Disney+ Day.[2][3] In the short film, there is a Disney+ party atMoe's Tavern and everyone is invited except Homer.[4]
Several Disney, Pixar, Marvel,Star Wars, andSimpsons characters are lined up to enter Moe's Tavern, whereMaleficent is checking the guest list to enter, and Homer is complaining that he is not on the list. However, whenGoofy appears, he forces him to be his +1.
At the Tavern,Darth Vader is drinking a beer,Doctor Strange is playing pool along with Carl and Lenny, Homer and Goofy are drinking beers,Elsa is creating some ice in a bucket that aFantasia's broom is filling with beer, whileBuzz Lightyear andThe Mandalorian are having an arm wrestling contest, that Buzz loses, and Moe thinks thatDonald Duck is choking, so Barney tries to do a Heimlich maneuver on him.
At the table, Homer and Goofy are discussing, while Happy is complaining how the party stinks before complaining to Grumpy, and they get divided byLisa who comes to the Tavern to collect Homer, who gets his beer struck byBB-8. Lisa then cheers the place up with a song about Disney+.
After the song,Mickey Mouse's shadow appears over the door to the Tavern, overjoying everyone as the boss is arriving, butBart appears instead, dressed as Mickey, telling them to get back to work, and dragging Goofy away, while Barney drags Homer the other way.
Plusaversary includes a number of non-vocal cameo appearances from variousDisney properties.
AdditionallyDisney characters,Baymax,Beast, aBroomstick,Cobra Bubbles,Cinderella,Heihei,Clarabelle Cow,Ferdinand,Jiminy Cricket,Cruella de Vil,Elsa,Gaston,Hades,Pinocchio,Captain Hook,Jafar,Lady,Maui,Mowgli,Mulan,Olaf,Wreck-It Ralph,Scar,Sebastian,Snow White,Tiana,Tinker Bell,Tramp, theWhite Rabbit and theOne Hundred and One Dalmatians make an appearance.
Ant-Man,Loki andDoctor Strange appear from theMarvel Cinematic Universe. ThePixar charactersBao,Joe Gardner,Hamm,Jessie,Miguel Rivera,Sulley,WALL-E andWoody also appear.Star Wars characters,BB-8,Lando Calrissian,Darth Vader,The Mandalorian,Max Rebo,Ahsoka Tano and multipleStormtroopers make an appearance.
Rich Knight ofCinemaBlend rankedThe Simpsons in Plusaversary first in their top ofThe Simpsons Disney+ shorts, stated it manages to be the best short film from thefranchise, praised the humor and the gags, and complimented the film for satirizing Disney and its characters.[5] Mike Celestino ofLaughingPlace.com gave a positive review, writing, "The Simpson clan has been part of the Disney family for about two and a half years now, and it's good to see the powers that be at the House of Mouse letting them run amok with familiar characters like this. And as a franchise,The Simpsons has become something of an in-house court jester for The Walt Disney Company, skewering their otherwise straightforward takes on treasured properties like Marvel andStar Wars".[6]
John Schwarz ofBubbleblabber gavePlusaversary a five out of ten stating "Personally, I thinkFamily Guy andSouth Park over the years has beatenThe Simpsons to this punch on a number of different and much funnier occasions. While the other shorts did a better job of really showcasingThe Simpsons' writers influence on Disney characters, this one seemed the most hands-off because, as we know, Disney seldom understands comedy."[7]
Luke Savage ofJacobin wrote a scathing review in which he attributed the short to amass media landscape in which a small number of conglomerates controlled the majority of content. He disapproved of having Lisa Simpson sing a song endorsing Disney+.[8] Jeremy Brown ofWhat'sOnDisneyPlus.com gave the short 1.5 out of 5, writing that "This seems to have no real purpose other than trying to shoehorn as many characters into one six-minute short as possible [...] overall this is just kinda dumb. It feels like Disney patting itself on the back for providing the service, but there's no real reason to do that".[9] Jamie Sylvester ofInside the Magic.com was disturbed by the portrayal of Goofy as a drinker complaining about his work, and was thankful that the short was not marketed towards children.[10]
