Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" (2012)

I heard of this short film because it was screened about 6 times in one day in the UK when it was released and the weekend paper informed me that it was one of the animated shorts up for the Oscar this year, so I figured I should give it a look. The plot sees Maggie enrolled in daycare only to find another baby in the "meh" class is smashing butterflies. Maggie saves a caterpillar from a similar fate and tries to keep it safe until it can become a butterfly. The plot is simple but it is played out wordlessly and with a sense of operatic melodrama that is clever despite not totally working.It is clever, but not as clever as it should have been; it is funny, but never as funny as it should have been and it is sweet, but never as heartfelt as expected. The biggest problem it has is the stable that it comes from, because the legacy of The Simpsons is a massive shadow to escape, either generally or specifically. I say specifically because this short film is in the shadow of not only the golden era of the show but it isn't even the best "Maggie in the nursery" that the show has produced, since the Great Escape sequence in the Streetcar episode was stronger and funnier than this.It is still good though and it is worth a look even if it isn't up to Simpsons at its best but then, in fairness, what is?

'THE SIMPSONS: THE LONGEST DAYCARE': Three Stars (Out of Five) A 'SIMPSONS' animated short that was actually nominated for a 2013 Oscar! It's 5 minutes long and focuses on Maggie Simpson's adventures at an Ayn Rand Daycare center. As she's placed with the normal kids, she longs to join the gifted children but then makes it her mission to save a butterfly cocoon from an evil Baby Gerald instead. The movie is somewhat humorous if you get a kick out of Maggie but nothing really special. It's just like a 5 minute segment of a 'SIMPSONS' TV episode. It was directed by David Silverman, who also directed 2007's 'THE SIMPSONS MOVIE' (and written by many of the same writers). It also played in theaters before 'ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT'. Why this is up for an Oscar is beyond me but if you like the 'Simpsons' you're almost sure to enjoy.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6yq7kwUUDQ

This is a short (5 minutes) film featuring Maggie at her daycare centre: denied the stimulus of contact with the brightest kids, she is placed with her nemesis, the thuggish monobrowed baby who, in this story, kills butterflies.There is no dialogue, just a simple story, loaded with sight gags, and with a terrific payoff. It is in the familiar Simpsons animation style, albeit in 3D which is reasonably effective but far from essential. It works well, as an ice-breaker (pun deliberate) for the 4th Ice Age movie, which it precedes.A minimal, but welcome, addition to the Simpsons canon.

The Longest Daycare is a fantastic short that shows before Ice Age 4.I t was great to see these characters on the big screen again,even if it was just Marge and Maggie.Matt Groening has confirmed that there will be more Simpsons shorts in the future,and I'm delighted to hear this and I hope its gearing us towards a sequel to The Simpsons Movie.I enjoyed how we saw Maggie as the main role in this because it was silent and it reminded of Charlie Chaplin and the old Mickey Mouse cartoons.Marge sends Maggie off to the daycare for the day and Maggies enemy,Gerald,the baby with one eyebrow,is cruising butterflies for fun.Maggie friends a butterfly that resembles her blue bow,and must free the butterfly before Gerald gets near it.