Even though we're in the last few weeks of 2017, some of the biggest stories in entertainment are just showing their heads, with Disney sitting front and center. Not only is Star Wars: The Last Jedi earning much moolah, but the House of Mouse dropped an even bigger stack of cash in buying out much of 20th Century Fox. The longtime Fox hit The Simpsons, which has poked much fun at Disney in the past, now (more or less) belongs to the entertainment juggernaut, and show co-creator James L. Brooks offered up a perfect Simpsons-y reaction to the news.
After almost 30 years of delivering pop culture parodies and snarky riffs, The Simpsons hasn't ever really pulled any punches, though its punches aren't quite as scathing as those of other satire-driven shows. In this case, we're not dealing with punches so much as Homer's signature chokehold, which is usually meant solely for Bart's neck. But we all know that Homer's aggression is always fleeting and never results in permanent damage, so it's probably not too insulting to welcome Disney into the fun by throttling Mickey Mouse's throat. Probably.
We're as interested as anyone to see what big changes, if any, will be introduced to 20th Century Fox's currently airing TV library (as well as everything on FX, which Disney now owns). It seems like one of the easiest adjustments to be made would come in the form of a memo to the Simpsons offices that simply states, "Don't joke disparagingly about Disney's animation history or Marvel superheroes or Star Wars." But is that the kind of thing that Disney execs would do? Hopefully not. Although if The Simpsons had predicted it would go that way, it would.
It wasn't that long ago when The Simpsons actually devoted a full extended couch gag to different animation and music styles from Disney's classic eras. To be fair, this was more about showing reverence to Disney than making fun of the company, but still. You can watch it below!
The Simpsons (and its big screen venture) isn't the only James L. Brooks project that is ostensibly changing hands with Disney's Fox buyout. Brooks co-created one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which is part of the 20th Century Fox TV library, as is the Brooks-crafted spinoffs Rhoda and Lou Grant. And since 20th Century Fox's film side is also part of the deal, Disney now controls Brooks' excellent 1987 comedy Broadcast News. Sadly, that didn't get an amusing tweet devoted to it.
The Simpsons is currently in its winter hiatus, but it'll be back on Fox on Sunday nights starting on January 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see when everything else will be back in the new year, head to our 2018 midseason premiere schedule.
