Maggie Simpson in "The Force Awakens from Its Nap" is a crossover short film between Star Wars and The Simpsons. It was released on May 4, 2021 on Disney+ to celebrate Star Wars Day.[2]
Official description[]
- In a daycare far, far away… but still in Springfield, Maggie is on an epic quest for her stolen pacifier. Her adventure brings her face-to-face with young Padawans, Sith Lords, familiar droids, Rebel scum, and an ultimate battle against the Dark Side, in this original short celebrating the Star Wars galaxy.
Plot[]
Marge Simpson brings her baby Maggie to Jabba's Hut Jedi Preschool where the two pass by a wailing baby version of Chewbacca, just as they encounter a Jedi using his Lightsaber as a demonstration of how to cut bread using a Lightsaber and later General Grievous changing a diaper for a baby. As Marge hands Maggie to Grievous, just before Marge leaves, Maggie sees Ahsoka Tano placing a toddler petrified in carbonite onto the time-out rack; seeing Maggie's pacifier, Grievous takes out Maggie's pacifier as Maggie feels shocked that she has no pacifier. She then suddenly encounters BB-8 who shows Maggie a hologram of her pacifier while Maggie places her bow on top of BB-8's head just as the two rush into a room full of BB-8 models just as Maggie chases after the BB-8 model wearing a bow being bumped by other BB-8 models. Maggie approaches the battered BB-8 model which gives Maggie her pacifier only for Baby Gerald dressed as Darth Maul to impale it with a Double Lightsaber.
Seeing what Gerald did to BB-8, Maggie grabs her pacifier and extends it to use it as a Lightsaber and then engages in a duel with Gerald dressed as Maul, passing by Lando Calrissian who is by the Cloud City Nap Room which Lando does not notice the commotion. As Maggie and Gerald continue fighting, they pass through a display of the Death Star which was supposed to be guaranteed unexplodable which Maggie taps it, causing the display to explode in a plan to repel Gerald just as Maggie and Gerald continue fighting in combat. The battered BB-8 model finds Maggie who is under the debris which Maggie rises out with Yoda-like ears, much to BB-8 feeling puzzled about this. Later, the "Star Wars Rules" texts scroll up in the style of the opening crawl where holograms of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Mace Windu, Yoda, Rey, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, Anakin Skywalker, and Boba Fett appear in the background. The sequence then cuts to Maggie and BB-8 watching a double sunset, ending the short.
Development[]
The idea behind a Star Wars short starring Maggie Simpson came up in January 2021. As the Disney+ The Simpsons library was well received, executive producer James L. Brooks proposed to do a series of shorts where the show interacted with other franchises available in the streaming service. Showrunner Al Jean, a long-time Star Wars fan, pitched the idea of making a Star Wars-centric short in which Maggie is send to a Jedi preschool. Two shorts starring Maggie, The Longest Daycare and Playdate with Destiny, had been previously produced in 2012 and 2020. Both Lucasfilm and Disney+ showed enthusiasm for the idea, and asked The Simpsons crew to have the short ready for May 4, 2021, given the "Star Wars Day" is celebrated in that date.[3]
Jean wrote the script along with Joel Cohen and Mike Price and The Simpsons director David Silverman directed the short. The first draft for the short was ready by January 18. They worked closely with Lucasfilm during throughout the short's development, providing suggestions and making sure that The Simpsons crew used the full universe of their characters. Among the characters included in the short is a "Darth Maul Baby" and BB-8, but Grogu was only referenced yet not included, as Jean felt that the character, best known as "Baby Yoda", is probably the most demanded to Disney, so they understandably didn't want him to be overexposed. The Lucasfilm team also helped them to translate the Aurebesh writing correctly on a chalkboard. The short was finished on April 30, four days before its release date.[3]
Trivia[]
- At one point during the film, some Aurebesh writing can be seen on a chalkboard. When translated, it reads:
GOOD JOB, NERDS
YOU FIGURED IT OUT. - The character Bongo the Rabbit from Matt Groening's other work, Life in Hell, makes a cameo appearance as a plush toy.
- The force spirits of some of the most prominent characters in the Star Wars franchise appear in the background towards the end of the short, which include Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Mace Windu, Yoda, Rey, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, Anakin Skywalker, and Boba Fett, and in front of the characters features an opening crawl that reads the following:
STAR WARS RULES
1) Beloved characters never really die.
2) No handrails.
3) Droids do not need to be plugged in.
4) Every episode must have at least 2 sunsets.
References[]
"The Force Awakens From Its Nap": Behind-the-Scenes of the Surprise Star Wars Day Simpsons Short on StarWars.com (backup link on Archive.org)
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Maggie Simpson in "The Force Awakens From Its Nap" credits
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tweet by @starwars: In a daycare far, far away… but still in Springfield. Maggie Simpson in “The Force Awakens From Its Nap” is streaming tomorrow, May the 4th on #DisneyPlus.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Schneider, Michael (2021-05-03). ‘The Simpsons’ Producer Al Jean on How the Show’s New ‘Star Wars’ Short Came to Be — And If Marvel Is Next. Variety. Archived from the original on 20210504011216. Retrieved on 2021-05-05.
External links[]
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