''The Good, the Bart, and the Loki'' (also known as ''The Simpsons: The Good, the Bart, and the Loki'') is an American

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

short film based on the television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' produced by

Gracie Films Gracie Films is an American film and television production company founded by James L. Brooks in 1986. The company is primarily responsible for producing its long-running flagship animated series ''The Simpsons'', as well as the films ''Big'', ' ...

and

20th Television Animation 20th Television Animation (formerly Fox Television Animation) is an American animation studio that creates, develops and produces adult animated television series and specials. It is a unit of Disney Television Studios, a subsidiary of Walt Disne ...

for

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

. It is the fourth short film in ''The Simpsons'' franchise, and the second promotional short, after ''

The Force Awakens from Its Nap ''Maggie Simpson in "The Force Awakens from Its Nap"'' is an animated short film based on the television series ''The Simpsons''. The short was released on May 4, 2021, on Disney+ in celebration of ''Star Wars'' Day. It is the third short film ...

'' (2021), that ties in with Disney+'s brands and titles. ''The Good, the Bart, and the Loki'' is directed by David Silverman and celebrates the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

, particularly its television series ''

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

'', with

Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is an English actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starting with ''Thor'' in 2011 and most recently in the Disney+ series ''Loki'' in 2021 ...

reprising his role as

. The short was released on July 7, 2021, on Disney+, alongside the fifth episode of ''Loki''.

Plot

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

banishes

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, where he lands at the

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

' home.

Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' ...

welcomes him inside, and while at dinner, Loki banishes

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

to Asgard. There, Lisa comes across Mjolnir, granting her the powers of

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

. Lisa returns to Springfield with the "Springfield

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

" (other citizens dressed as various

characters) to exile Loki, who has since switched guises with Bart, resulting in Bart being exiled. Later that night while in Bart's room, Loki changes back, and is happy to finally be part of a functional family. In a

mid-credits scene A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...

, Loki disguised as

Moe Szyslak Moe Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor and bartender of M ...

gives patrons at

Moe's Tavern Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...

free drinks. In two post-credits scenes,

Ralph Wiggum Ralph Wiggum is a recurring character on the animated series, ''The Simpsons.'' He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Ralph, The son of Police Chief Wiggum, is a classmate of Lisa Simpson and is noted for his frequent non-sequiturs and humorous beh ...

as the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

smashes Loki similarly to a scene from ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

'' (2012), and Loki stands before Ravonna Renslayer at the

Time Variance Authority The Time Variance Authority (TVA) is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted as a group of timeline monitors. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Chronicoms, based on the lower-ran ...

, where she finds him guilty of his various crimes, such as crossing over to the ''Simpsons'' universe.

Cast and characters

Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short "G ...

Barney Gumble Barnard Arnold "Barney" Gumble is a recurring character in the American animated TV series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Barney is the to ...

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Perform ...

Yeardley Smith Martha Maria Yeardley Smith ( ; born July 3, 1964) is an American actress, artist and writer. She currently stars as the voice of Lisa Simpson on the long-running animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Smith became an actress in 1982 afte ...

Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child and most accomplished of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in ''The Tracey Ullman Sh ...

Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...

: The ruler of

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...

, father of

, and adoptive father of Loki, based on the mythological deity of the same name. *

Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...

as Ravonna Renslayer: A judge at the

. *

: Thor's adopted brother and the god of mischief, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name.

Production

Development

When ''

'' was added to

, co-creator and executive producer

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...

had suggested the creation of a series of short films in which the Simpsons would "invade the rest of Disney+" as a way to promote ''The Simpsons'' and reach viewers who may not have been familiar with the series. By April 2021, which was the end of production on the first short, ''

'', executive producer

Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...

felt the then-upcoming

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

series ''

'' would be a good candidate for the next crossover short and was hopeful to get

to reprise his role as

. In June 2021, ''The Good, the Bart, and the Loki'' was announced, with Hiddleston attached. The short's title is a parody of the

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...

film ''

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...

'' (1966), and was directed by David Silverman.

Writing

Jean felt choosing which

residents would be which members of the

was "the most fun thing".

was chosen to become

as a reference to

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

Jane Foster Jane Foster is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was introduced as a love interest of the superhero Thor Odinson until becoming a superhero in her own right. Created by writers Stan Lee an ...

becoming Thor in '' Thor: Love and Thunder'' (2022), with Jean noting the parallels between Thor and Loki and Lisa and

were "pretty clear". The creative team had hoped to include a cameo from

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, but were dissuaded by

who informed them they no longer feature Lee in cameos following his death. The team also wanted to include a "ridiculous amount of post-credit sequences for a four-minute short". The post-credits scene from ''Loki'' was based only on the first episode of the series, with the team having a week to complete it and add it to the film.

Casting

Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki in the short. Marvel helped the ''Simpsons'' team get Hiddleston "on board", who recorded his part remotely in England. Regular ''Simpsons'' voice actors

, and

reprise their roles as

, Bart Simpson, and Lisa Simpson, respectively, while

voices

, and

voices Ravonna Renslayer.

Music

Marvel Studios provided the music from ''

'' (2012) composed by

Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Back ...

to feature in ''The Good, the Bart, and the Loki''.

Release

''The Good, the Bart, and the Loki'' was released on Disney+ on July 7, 2021, alongside "

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stori ...

", the fifth episode of ''Loki''. The promotional poster for the short was inspired by the poster for '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019).

Reception

Max Marriner at ''GameRant'' gave the short 2 out of 5 stars, saying it "embodies The Walt Disney Company at its coldest and most corporate" and was disappointed it did not feature any of the series' "signature snappy satire and absurdity", calling the humor "tired and drab". He did enjoy the art in the credits and the ''Simpsons'' design of Loki, but ultimately felt ''The Good, the Bart, and the Loki'' lacked the same passion Marvel Studios gave to their projects. In April 2022, Rich Knight of ''

CinemaBlend Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

'' ranked ''The Good, the Bart, and the Loki'' second on their list of ''The Simpsons'' shorts, believing it to be funnier than ''The Force Awakens from Its Nap'' and called the several mid-credits scenes the short's best part.

References

External links

* *
Which Simpsons Character Is Which Marvel Hero (Approved By Disney)
at ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Good, the Bart, and the Loki, The 2020s American animated films 2020s Disney animated short films 2020s English-language films 2021 animated films 2021 short films 20th Century Studios short films American animated short films American comedy short films Animated films based on animated series Disney+ original films Fiction about body swapping Films based on television series Films produced by James L. Brooks Films produced by Matt Groening Gracie Films films Marvel Cinematic Universe shorts The Simpsons short films