Does the voice acting in Simpsons sound different recently?

K

Kagura

New member
I just watched all 3 Season 21 episodes back to back, and I can't help but feel as if all the characters voices sound slightly different than usual.

Is this something being done by the actors or is Fox playing the episodes at a slightly increased speed?
 
I've noticed this to, I think its just the voice actors are forgetting how to make there voices as great as they used to be. Lets face it, doing a show this long can make you tired of working with the same characters over and over again. This is just a theory of mine though.
 
Only people I notice are marge and bart marge sounds more like a brooklyn mom she says Va-cation to contrast to when she normally said vacation. Bart sounds more higher pitch.
 
She's actually been voicing Lisa since 1987 when the original shorts started airing on the Tracey Ullman show.

So, 22 years for not just her but many of the other actors too. Not exactly at the length of legendary VAs such as Mel Blanc and Clarence Nash (who voiced the same characters for 50 years) but nothing to sneeze at either.
 
Probably because they've been in better quality, especially recently. The voice recording stuff now wasn't like it was in the 90's.
 
Actually I've noticed ever since Season 16 that Marica Wallace's Edna voice has been a deeper then usual. She dosen't have a lot of lines in most ep (except the one over a week back) so it isn't terribly noticable. But she defintley soudns different in the last 6 or so seasons then she had in the earlier run of the show.




Actually speeding up the episodes has been used for the syndicated reruns of the show in order to give time for more commericals. Along with a couple of scene cuts. And it's been something that's been done for years as well. Compression 9which is what they call the slight speed up) has been around since at least season 8 or so I believe.

You can tell the VAs are different then they have been since first starting the show but I don't see a major difference between them from season 20 to season 21. In fact the only really big difference the VAs has had recently is that pay increase to 400,000 dollars an ep for the main four Simpsons leads. So really with them being paid so much you'd think they'd be stressing more on how to make the voices sound as good as possible.
 
the only way that i've noticed change is the obvious ones- and more to do with the evolution of the characters as they were fleshed out. homer of course had the lower, grumbly walter matheau sounding voice in the first few seasons until he began changing to the voice he has now. grandpa in his first apperances had a much more weak, tired voice which has changed to the higher pitched almost screaming voice he always uses. comic book guy had a more street tough, new york accent sounding voice which changed to the snooty, proper one.... maybe i haven't been paying enough attention, but recently i havent really noticed any change within the past few years. they seem pretty consistant.
 
There is a definite difference between then and now.

One particular character who has changed a lot, and not for the better, is Marge. Watch a season 4-7 episode and then compare it to a season 17-20 episode. There's much less intensity, speed, and range to her voice. You won't hear anything like her chewing out the family at the end of "Scenes From the Class Struggle in Springfield" nowadays, or trying to weasel her way out of talking about her father in "Fear of Flying". It just doesn't happen. The exception is the movie, but even there, the only bit that really stood out to me was her tape to Homer. Whether this is simply because of Kavner's vocal inflections changing over the years, or the directors who don't know how to direct her, or the writing not giving her much to work with, that's unknown (personally, I think it's all three). But there is a difference.

Another is Skinner. We never hear him raise his voice much anymore. Even in an episode like "The DeBarted", when he threatens the school assembly after being pranked, it just sounds flat. You don't feel threatened by the guy at all. Compare that to "Whacking Day" when he expels Bart, or "Bart the Murderer" when the goons corner him in his office and he remains indignant, or heck, even a Scully offering like "Brother's Little Helper" when he yells "BART SIMPSON!" after Bart floods the gym. In those instances, you can feel the anger.

Lisa's voice is different, too. While it hasn't gotten bad, per se, there is a difference if you compare an episode from seasons 5-8 with something now. Heck, even the jump from season 8 to season 9 yielded a difference in line reads!
 
I personally think the voice actors have gotten to a point on the show where they're just on auto pilot. There doesn't seem to be any sincerity in any of the dialog any more. A lot of it sounds like the actors are constantly doing shtick or a routine and not legitimately putting their soul into what they're doing. But that's what happens when all the dialog exists only to set up a joke or allow characters to spout their catchphrases. The heart is gone, and with it goes goes the effort to create something worth enjoying.

Then again, if I made as much as the Simpsons cast does just to stand in front of a microphone to do the same thing I've been doing for over 20 years already...well...I probably wouldn't be putting much effort into it either. Is there any point in trying when you make that much money and the show is in no danger of going away? Just playing devil's advocate, as much as I dont agree with it.
 
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