There was a time in movie theaters when a short animated film would play before the feature presentation. Many of the legendary Tex Avery cartoons started out their life this way, until, like most things in the film industry, shorts fell out of fashion with fickle audiences. The only studio that keeps that memory alive is Disney, which last year placed a Pixar-produced “Toy Story” short in front of “The Muppets” (Pixar has had a short precede all of their features since “A Bug’s Life”).
Fox has decided to join the Mouse House in this tradition, and plans to start releasing shorts centered around “The Simpsons.” The first short, titled “The Longest Daycare” and starring Maggie Simpson, will be in 3D and released in front of “Ice Age 4: Continental Drift." You can watch the short's trailer below and see the finished product on July 13th. Could this be setting a precedent for a second, 3D Simpsons movie? You'd be silly to bet against it. [Bleeding Cool]