It’s been a crazy day in Disney news. As you’re probably already aware, the multimedia conglomerate The Walt Disney Company took control of a big chunk of 21st Century Fox and its holdings, including– amazingly enough– “The Simpsons.”
The long-running animated sitcom (currently in its 29th season on the FOX television network) welcomed its new mouse overlord the only way Homer knows how– with a temper-tantrum choke-hold akin to the way the Simpson patriarch mistreated his son Bart for much of the cartoon’s early run. Don’t have a cow, Mickey.
The lovingly-rendered doodle– signed by “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening– was shared on Twitter by executive producer James L. Brooks and other members of the show’s creative team this morning, as a tongue-firmly-in-cheek way of acknowledging their new boss.
Simpsons say “hi” to Mickey with respect (he’s a lot older than we are) pic.twitter.com/bD6wTZebas
— james l. brooks (@canyonjim) December 14, 2017
UPDATE: “The Simpsons” producer / animator David Silverman clarified the origins of the drawing in a public Facebook post.
It will be very interesting to see how Disney treats “The Simpsons” going forward, considering how much fun American’s favorite yellow-skinned family has poked at the House of Mouse over the years. Though as a number of sources have pointed out, “The Simpsons” also predicted the Disney/Fox merger a long time ago…