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A classic episode of The Simpsons featuring Michael Jackson has been omitted from Disney’s new streaming service .
The pop star voiced a character and wrote a song for the 1991 season three premiere, entitled “Stark Raving Dad”.
He played Leon Kompowsky, a man who meets Homer Simpson in a psychiatric hospital and claims to be the King of Pop.
While the full Simpsons library is available to stream for the first time in the show's history on Disney+, Jackson’s episode is missing.
The Independent has contacted Disney for a comment regarding why the episode has not been included.
The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+Show all 25 1 /25The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Star Wars: The Mandalorian (2019) This $100m series created by Jon Favreau is one of six originals teased by Disney for the launch of the streaming platform (with more to come in the future). It’s set between the fall of the Empire and the emergence of the First Order and follows the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), “a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic”.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Lady and the Tramp (2019) Disney is banking on the nostalgic pull of the likes of Lady and the Tramp – and the buzz of a live-action reboot – to attract subscribers. Tessa Thompson, Justin Theroux, Sam Elliott, Ashley Jensen, Janelle Monáe and Benedict Wong voice the canines while Kiersey Clemons, Thomas Mann, Yvette Nicole Brown, Adrian Martinez and Ken Jeong all appear in human form.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Encore! (2019) Another original, Encore! is led by host and executive producer Kristen Bell. In this reality series, high school students are tasked with re-creating a performance of a musical they all performed together back in the day.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019) Speaking of high schools and musicals, Disney is reviving the franchise that propelled Zac Efron to global fame in 2006. This scripted mockumentary series is set in a fictionalised version of the (real) East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, which served as a filming location for the original films. A (fictional) former cast member begins work as a drama teacher at the (fictional) school and decides to stage a performance of – you guessed it – High School Musical: The Musical.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Almost all the Star Wars films you could possibly want Disney’s making the most out of its 2012 $4bn purchase of LucasFilm by including The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens on its launch catalogue. More Star Wars offerings will follow at a later date.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) The first Disney film ever created is surprisingly hard to stream in the US . While it’s not unusual for pop culture classics to be available to rent at a low price on various platforms, for example, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is only available for purchase at $14.99 – about the same price as a DVD (remember DVDs?). This makes the 1937 classic a desirable component of Disney’s back catalogue, which might help bring new subscribers to Disney+.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Pinocchio (1940) The situation for Pinocchio is the same as for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: this Disney classic isn’t available to stream cheaply on other platforms, meaning it’s a strong pick from Disney’s back catalogue. Besides, it’s November and people need something to do between the end of Spooky Season and the official start of the holiday period – and rewatching Disney classics is as good an option as any.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Fantasia (1940) This classic – Disney’s third-ever animated feature film – isn’t available to stream legally on any other platform in the US, making it another desirable addition to the Disney+ catalogue.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Both Dumbos (1941, 2019) If you’ve ever wanted to do a deep dive into the heartbreaking tale of the circus elephant born with too-big ears, now’s the time: the 1941 animated film and Tim Burton’s 2019 live-action remake are both featured on Disney+’s launch catalogue.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Some Marvel films – including Endgame If you’re trying to watch all of Marvel’s films in the order of release, Disney+ has your back – partly. Iron Man, Iron Man 3, Thord: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame have all joined the platform.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Frozen (2013) Ahead of the release of Frozen 2 on 22 November, viewers will be able to brush up on Arandelle’s history by revisiting the first installment in Elsa and Anna’s adventures.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Ducktales (1987, 2016) Both the 1987 series and the first season of the 2016 reboot will be available on launch day. Did someone say “woo-ooh”?
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Lady and the Tramp (1955) Before you watch the live-action reboot, you can revisit the love story of perhaps the most famous Cocker Spaniel and Schnauzer mix in animated form.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Bambi (1942) The fifth animated feature film released by Disney was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2011 – in case you needed an excuse to rewatch it.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ The Princess Diaries (2001) Meg Cabot’s young adult novel of the same name was so great that it’s nothing short of a miracle that the 2001 film adaptation, starring Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway, did it justice. Eighteen years after its release, it has become a certified classic.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Cinderella (1950) Another Disney classic that’s hard to stream elsewhere, Cinderella has been added to the treasure trove of vintage films supporting the Disney+ launch.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ WALL-E (2008) A moving animated film featuring one of the most adorable robots in the history of cinema AND delivering a much-needed warning about environmental neglect? WALL-E has all the makings of an instant classic.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Aladdin (1992) The 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin wasn’t the monumental success it could have been (“This Is Not What You Wished For”, read one New York Times headline), so why not revisit the 1992 version with Robin Williams as the Genie?
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) Kuzco was selfish, narcissistic, spoiled… and hilarious. The Emperor’s New Groove lives on as one of Disney’s most quotable animated films.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ Lizzie McGuire (2001) Disney is giving the iconic sitcom starring Hilary Duff as a shy middle-schooler a second life – which makes sense, given that Duff is reprising the role in an upcoming reboot of the franchise that will be featured on Disney+.
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The 25 most anticipated movies and TV shows on Disney+ World’s Greatest Dogs (2016) This documentary unveiled by National Geographic focuses not just on dogs, but on extraordinary dogs. Enough said.
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In the wake of Leaving Neverland – a documentary in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck accuse the singer of sexually abusing them as children – in March, the episode was removed from TV broadcasts.
At the time, the show’s executive producer James L Brooks said “it feels clearly the only choice to make” to withdraw the episode.
Brooks added that his fellow executive producers Matt Groening and Al Jean agreed with the decision. “The guys I work with – where we spend our lives arguing over jokes – were of one mind on this,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
“This was a treasured episode,” said Brooks. “There are a lot of great memories we have wrapped up in that one, and this certainly doesn’t allow them to remain.”
He added: “I’m against book burning of any kind. But this is our book, and we’re allowed to take out a chapter.”
Jackson’s estate has vehemently denied all allegations of sexual abuse by the singer.
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