Disney+ is going to be adding the celebrated animated short Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" to its expansive Simpsons library.
The short follows Maggie Simpson in the dystopian Ayn Rand School for Tots as she tries to protect a caterpillar from her nemesis, Baby Gerald. The short was noteworthy for its storytelling, which was done entirely through visuals, with Maggie as a silent protagonist. The short was written by Simpsons creator Matt Groening, show producers James L. Brooks and David Mirkin, showrunner Al Jean and writers Joel H. Cohen and Michael Price. It was directed by David Silverman, who had directed 24 Simpsons episodes since the first season as well as 2007's The Simpsons Movie.
Shown in theaters before screenings of Ice Age: Continental Drift in 2012, The Longest Day was a critical success and, in fact, was better received than Ice Age: Continental Drift itself. In 2013, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, which was the first time the franchise ever received an Academy Award nomination.
The success of the short inspired further experiments with Maggie as a silent protagonist such as a subplot of the episode "Puffless" titled "Maggie's Extraordinary Animal Adventure," and a 2020 short, Playdate with Destiny, which preceded screenings of the Disney-Pixar film Onward and is currently available on Disney+.
Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare"Â will be released on Disney+Â May 29.