A few fleeting seconds from The Simpsons 3D short The Longest Daycare arrived on the web today. Debuting in advance of Ice Age: Continental Drift on July 13, the dialogue-free 4 and a half-minute adventure will follow Maggie Simpson as she returns to the “Ayn Rand School for Tots.” Upon entry, our pint-sized hero is pegged as “Nothing Special” by a security/potential scan. Keeping with their pre-established motto of “Helping is futile,” she’s left to fend for herself in the school’s least savory wing; here she must truly develop the bottle within to survive a confrontation with arch nemesis Gerald (aka that baby with the unibrow). Hit the jump for a super-quick preview of The Longest Daycare…and seriously, try not to blink.

I can’t watch any modern-era Springfield hijinks without pining for the transcendence of the earlier seasons (That “rock and A Hard Place” gag from the family’s first big screen foray still sends a chill down my spine). That being said, Maggie Simpson has undoubtedly aged the best of her clan, still supplying some of the show’s biggest laughs when she gets a chance to participate.

Moreover, this adventure does represent a return to classic Simpsons territory, the Rand school having debuted in Season 4 episode “A Streetcar Named Marge”. That one contained a very Maggie-centric B-story in which she rebels against the oppressive ideals of her day-jailers and leads an uprising.  Needless to say, this short won’t rise to Season 4’s giddy heights, but I do look forward to seeing what the gracefully speechless Simpson can do with another moment in the spotlight.

via EW