Soon after bowing last November, Disney+ ran into complaints from one vocal group: Simpsons fans. They were (righteously!) angry that the first 20 or so seasons were not available in its original aspect ratio. The new streamer then promised they’d fix that…eventually. Cut to over half a year later, and there’s finally an option to watch them as they were originally intended. It just takes a little tutorial on how to do it.
Thankfully, a little how-to comes from The Verge, and it goes like this:
1. Open Disney+, on whatever device you’re watching it, and go to the Simpsons page.
2. Choose the details tab.
3. There’s a toggle switch for “Remastered Aspect Ratio.” It’s switched to “on,” meaning you’re getting the one that re-frames every image. Click on it to “off,” and voilá! You can watch classic Simpsons episodes in the original box shape in which they were created.
Complaints over the incorrect aspect ratio weren’t just an issue of purity, although it’s that, too. The “remastered aspect ratio,” first done by FXX and which streamed on the old, pre-Disney Simpsons site (with an option to watch the original version as well), often ruin or even eliminate visual gags. Watch the version censored to fit your modern widescreen TV and you’re missing jokes! But now that you know how to stop that, you will finally see the “Old Men Yells at Cloud” newspaper headline as God intended.
(Via The Verge)