A new Simpsons short is here that crosses over with the best Walt Disney Animation Studios movies, and once again, the Disney Villains are getting time to shine. The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year has Sideshow Bob once again taking his revenge on the famous animated TV family, and this time he has help from the baddest baddies from the House of Mouse. But I want to talk about the way I gasped at one mention of 1942’s Bambi!
During the short, now streaming on the Disney+ subscription, Sideshow Bob parodies the popular Christmas song “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” with the help of some Disney Villains. In one particularly shocking moment, The Simpsons shows truly nothing is off the table, as the death of Bambi gets a twisted shoutout. But when I talked to the short’s writer/producer Al Jean, he revealed the sweet reason why the reference was actually made. In his words:
Of the Disney Classics, [Bambi] might be my favorite. I mean it's just so emotional and I have two daughters. They both adored it and were traumatized by Bambi's mom. So to put it in the short and to be able to make fun of that is just crazy. Along with Darth Vader and Thanos and all the other characters.
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In the new version of the song, Sideshow Bob sings “with a cat barbecuing, and poison a-brewing and shooting a deer.” During that last phrase, Bambi’s shooter is in sight, having the time of his life as Bambi’s poor mom is on target. Sideshow Bob is wearing a bib of Bambi, too. As a longtime Disney fan, I felt incredibly triggered by the small moment, but I loved what Al Jean had to say about getting the joke in the short.
During our interview, Al Jean also added that The Most Wonderful Time of the Year actually isn’t the first time Bambi’s mom getting killed has been referenced. (I guess it’s time for me to binge the original show again!) I respect that the moment was actually added because Jean loves the animated movie. And hey, the fact that this singular moment affected me so much speaks to how effective the classic movie is.
Along with the amazing Bambi reference, all the classic Disney villains are there. Plus, there's Star Wars big bad Darth Vader and Marvel’s most terrifying character, Thanos. Also, the addition of Agatha Harkness of WandaVision and Agatha All Along makes her first Simpsons appearance in the background, while leading the Disney+ charts with her new series at the same time.
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year is such a fun short for Halloween time and a solid reminder that one of the most terrifying villain of all time in Disney history we never see the face of.
