The Longest Daycare (2012)

Maggie Simpson spends the day in the Ayn Rand School for Tots.

Director:

David Silverman

Writers:

James L. Brooks, Matt Groening,

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Storyline

Maggie Simpson spends the day in the Ayn Rand School for Tots.

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Plot Keywords:

mallet | toddler | cocoon | no dialogue | day care | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild rude humor

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 July 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gracie Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

5 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is Fox's first animated short film to be based on a TV series, and to be in 3D.

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Crazy Credits

No butterflies were harmed during the making of this motion picture, although two kids were pretty banged up.

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Connections

Featured in The 85th Oscars (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Vesti La Giubba"
(from I Pagliacci)
Written by Ruggero Leoncavallo

User Reviews

Not Short Enough

The question The Longest Daycare raises is "what is the point?" Overall, it's an interesting enough experience, and it is certainly an antidote to the spectacularly awful standard of the television show for the last few years. But as a standalone experience, it just seems kind of pointless.

For starters, the story isn't exactly the most original ever conceived. We see Maggie being dropped off at daycare by Marge, and she is then left to fend for herself against her arch-nemesis, baby Gerald. Let alone the fact that this kind of story has already been done in various different ways a couple of times, it has also been done much better. The television episode "A Streetcar Named Marge" deals with Maggie being sent to Daycare, and we've seen baby Gerald several times also, so there really isn't many new ideas raised here.

Also, Maggie is actually quite a strong character considering she rarely, if ever, talks, but despite this she is the one Simpson that tends to be forgotten about, so a short based solely on her probably was never going to work particularly well anyway.

It does, however, allow the writers to work without dialogue, which is an interesting idea that we haven't seen from the Simpsons before, and is the strongest aspect of the short, and is certainly the best way to deal with a story based on Maggie.

Unfortunately, this doesn't save the story from being weak, and the adventure Maggie embarks on in daycare is pretty lacklustre and not particularly exciting or entertaining. Couple that with the brand-new animation, which I firmly believe only reminds us that this isn't the same show that was so legendarily hilarious and of such high quality back in its prime, and we're left with merely another hollow shell of what The Simpsons used to be.

The Longest Daycare is another example of the traps the show has fallen into these last few years. The new-age animation can't make up for poor stories, unfunny scenarios and wasted characters. This kind of material is fine for low-rated, low-quality shows struggling to get by, but it shouldn't be enough for The Simpsons.