4 minute Simpsons short attached to Ice Age: Continental Drift

From worstpreviews, Just recently, we learned that 20th Century Fox is planning to show a new 3D "The Simpsons" short, called "The Longest Daycare" and directed by David Silverman (The Simpsons Movie), in front of theatrical 3D showings of "Ice Age: Continental Drift," which is set to hit theaters on July 13th.

Entertainment Weekly now caught up with "The Simpsons" producer Al Jean to get some more information. "[Executive producer] Jim Brooks thought we should do an animated short - a la the ones Pixar does before their features," he explained. "We just wanted to do this as a way of saying, 'We appreciate how much people have stayed with the show and watched it for 25 years.'"

He went on to reveal that "The Longest Daycare" revolves around Baby Maggie, who returns to the Ayn Rand School for Tots, where her lone friend is a butterfly. "They put each baby through an airport security-style testing machine to measure their future and hers says 'Nothing Special,'" said Jean. "So they put her in an area that's not great. For a four-minute plot, it has a number of twists and turns. It's very sweet, but funny."

He continued: "It's hard to do a 20-minute Maggie episode, but in four minutes it's great. She's like Charlie Chaplin. Some family members are in it. There are people from The Simpsons universe, including Maggie's arch enemy."

Jean also spoke about "The Simpsons Movie" sequel, stating: "There are no immediate plans for a feature, although as you see with this, you never know. It certainly made us excited to think that if we did another feature, maybe 3-D would be the way to go."