‘The Simpsons’ Mother’s Day Short Poster

The Big Picture

• Disney+ is releasing a new Mother’s Day special for
  The Simpsons
  on May 10, 2024, featuring Marge and other moms on a galactic adventure.
• The poster and title of the short suggest it may pay homage to the Star Wars franchise, with Chewbacca making an appearance.
• The tradition of exclusive Simpsons shorts on Disney+ started as a way to reach new audiences unfamiliar with the long-running franchise.

Disney+ has announced a brand-new short for The Simpsons titled “May the 12th Be With You” in celebration of Mother’s Day. The promotional short will be available to stream on Disney + all over the world on May 10, 2024. The story will follow Marge Simpson (Julie Kavner) as she joins the other moms of Disney+ on “a special holiday outing that turns into an epic galactic adventure filled with heroes, villains, and a surprising old friend.”

Disney+ announced the latest short in The Simpsons franchise with a poster featuring Marge and an animated version of the Star Wars character Chewbacca. That, combined with the title of the short referring to the famous line “May the Force be with you,” hints at the fact that the Mother’s Day special might be paying homage to the Star Wars franchise.

This is not the first time that we’re seeing a celebratory release — Disney+ has previously released a couple of The Simpsons shorts exclusively This includes “Maggie Simpson in Rogue Not Quite One,” “Welcome the Club,” Emmy-nominated shorts “Billie Met Lisa,” and “The Force Awakens From Its Nap,” among others.

‘The Simpsons’ Shorts Have Evolved A Lot Over The Years

While the Disney+ exclusive shorts are a recent tradition, The Simpsons franchise actually started off as a series of short animated segments on The Tracey Ullman Showfeaturing the Simpson Family. These one-minute segments debuted in April 1987 and ran as part of the Tracey Ullman Show for three yearsbefore they were spun into a series of their own in December 1898 with the Christmas special “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.”

The franchise had stopped producing shorts altogether after this, until the release of The Simpsons Movie in 2007 when two theatrical shorts featuring Maggie Simpson, voiced by Nancy Cartwrightwere released. “The Longest Daycare” was released in 2012 with Ice Age: Continental Drift and “Playdate with Destiny” came out in 2020 with Onward.

After The Simpsons was added to Disney+, co-creator, and executive producer James L. Brooks decided to revive the idea of shorts as a way to promote the show and reach audiences who might not be familiar with the franchise. The first Disney+ exclusive short titled “The Force Awakens from Its Nap” was released on May 4, 2021in celebration of Star Wars Day. From The MCU crossovers to Star Wars parodies, and now the Mother’s Day special, Disney+ currently has a wide range of The Simpsons shorts, with the upcoming one also opting for Star Wars undertones.

The Simpsons’ Mother’s Day short, “May the 12th Be With You” debuts May 10, 2024, exclusively on Disney+.

Watch on Disney+