April 19th, 1987, 35 years ago this week, the original shorts for The Simpsons debuted on the Tracey Ullman Show. Seen as a quick gag that could book-end the aforementioned sketch show that was airing on the fledgling FOX network, the short-form format will always be considered the genesis of what eventually because the longest-running franchise is prime-time animation. Fast forward to today, The Simpsons have dominated merchandising, television, film, and even headlines on an almost constant basis. So, it makes sense, that Disney+ wants to do a bunch of these shorts inspired by The Simpsons because it keeps the franchise fresh and the content rolling for the streamer.
Enter in “When Bille Met Lisa”, a three-minute bit featuring Lisa jamming tunes with Finneas and Billie Eilish. Personally, I would’ve thought that I would have seen Billie in an episode of One Piece before I’d see her in an episode of The Simpsons, but, here we are and she comes with a Billie Eilish-mix of the classic opening theme of The Simpsons that might still be in second place for the best new rendition of the song this month. A few solid jokes jab in before the climax make this a delicious morsel of a snack though I do hope that Billie comes back in the future because it seems the gag department had a bunch of early fun with her that I think can be more fully fleshed out across 22-minutes.