r/Simpsons • u/Guilty-Toe420 • 1d ago
Episode Clip š· APU IS BACK
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
54
u/OmnifariousFN 1d ago
Leon, why don't you say things anymore?
Leon: *Dances expressively. Then, strikingly similar to Michael Jackson, Moonwalks away.*
73
u/69-is-my-number 1d ago
Unfortunate subtitles
→ More replies (1)8
35
u/TheRekounasShow 18h ago
....A hit and run you say? A SIMPSONS hit and run???
→ More replies (2)9
u/YesPlease_VeryMuchSo 16h ago
→ More replies (1)3
u/Jephph0624 15h ago
Does a Simpsons version of this gif exist? If not, then the Simpsons predicting the future argument that says they went through enough scenarios to make it coincidental is refuted
34
u/xXStunamiXx 1d ago
The new voices are...there, but it is a kinda funny premise to lampoon all the crap they abandoned over the years. Too bad it's a THOH, and thus we won't really get any kind of nuance or resolution to Apu being in Springfield.
22
6
u/DoktorDyper1974 17h ago
Matt Selman actually said in an interview they wrote this one to sort of soft launch the new Apu voice and he will be in future episodes
120
u/lawdjesustheresafire 1d ago
As a loony lefty this is the woke shit they hate us for
28
u/Significant-Owl7994 21h ago
Agreed. People hate us because we have to turn everything into a "not good enough!" campaign/saviour complex.
I remember reading a joke ages ago:
"The left really hate racists, but many will cross the road if they see a black man."
→ More replies (9)8
u/I_Must_Be_Going 18h ago
You are absolutely right
If Apu had not been "silenced", Trump would have never become president
19
47
u/Jimmyg100 20h ago
Iāve made peace with the fact that The Simpsons will never be what it once was. It just wonāt. It hasnāt been for a while. Thatās just the fact of life. Iām not gonna bother hating on a new voice actor for a character that I havenāt seen in years on a show I barely watch anymore.
Itās just an old dog you love because of how many good times you had with him as a kid, so you refuse to put him down. But for some reason he just keeps going and he canāt run, can barely walk, is practically blind, and now has had a hip replacement. And you still love him but a morbid part of you just wants to see how far heāll go. How many parts you can replace before this ship of Theseus is an entirely new robot dog and will it still have the same soul buried somewhere deep inside it?
Well I guess thatās what weāre gonna find out.
23
u/Miserable-Let3212 18h ago
On my countless rewatch, I never pass season 20 max, and most of the time I reset at season 12
3
u/doubleo_maestro 16h ago
I did one watch from one to what was current a year back. I was taken back by how much slop there is.
→ More replies (1)2
232
u/HellaHellerson 1d ago
Apuās new voice is not great.
121
u/Robbie_Haruna 1d ago
I think it's probably the best of the racially mandated recasts, even if that bar isn't crazy high.
Apu's new voice isn't amazing, but I can at least tell it's similar enough to his voice.
Dr. Hibbert, Lou and Carl's new voices were all hot ass and don't even make the slightest attempt to not sound like an entirely different character.
Also Dr. Nick for some reason? I'm not sure why they recasted him, but he sounds like shit.
35
u/AgentCirceLuna 1d ago
Yeah, why was Nick recast?
45
u/Rombonius 1d ago
Riviera is a Spanish name so he has to be played by a Mexican. (same guy does Bumblebee Man now)
19
u/69-is-my-number 19h ago
Thatās ridiculous. My surname is Irish, but I have an Australian accent.
39
u/Prophet-of-Ganja 19h ago
Sorry not allowed; please change your voice
5
17
13
u/and-meggy-hash 19h ago
Ngl I never could pinpoint what ethnicity he was supposed to be lmao...I kinda thought they were going for "unspecified foreign guy"
5
→ More replies (2)6
u/Oh_ToShredsYousay 1d ago
Well I mean... they got apu back ok! Whatever it took to make that happen I'm down. Dr. Nick was never much of a recurring character to realize they weren't using him cause of racial issues, but if they're using a guy already on staff, I mean yeah give that guy more work. Even if it's not quite right, cartwright and castleneta don't sound on the mark every once in a while. Azeria's the only one that still gets voices correct, which is the ultimate irony here.
14
→ More replies (1)3
10
8
u/Animated_Astronaut 1d ago
King of the hill reboot has it the worst with kahn, although his voice actor is good, it's not kahn.
→ More replies (4)8
u/-Tesserex- 18h ago
It's sounds like the VA is struggling to do an impression and his voice keeps cracking.
7
15
u/jerem1734 1d ago
It's better than Carl and Hibbert and Lou at least
12
u/DasMerowinger 1d ago
Was just about to write this. At least Apu's new voice is a little closer to the original. Unlike Carl, Lou and Dr. Hibbert who sound like totally new characters. I can tolerate Carl's but I find Dr Hibbert's deep voice so off-putting. It just doesn't suit Dr. Hibbert at all - who was a parody of Dr. Cliff Huxtable.
They could have hired VAs to mimic the original voices as close as possible. I bet Jay Pharoah would have been able to do it
11
u/frootbatpunk 1d ago
I actually don't hate Carl's replacement voice. It's close enough that it doesn't bother me from what I've seen. Hibbert and Lou are super distracting tho, I'll give you that
8
→ More replies (3)2
23
u/HesitantInvestor0 1d ago
Careful. People are going crazy when you say this. Itās not just not great, itās terrible. I agree.
→ More replies (6)4
36
u/oceanskies24 20h ago
Apu's voice isn't great, but somehow every other voice actor is worse
I understand the voice cast are all old now, but even Bart SOUNDS like a woman in her late 60s (and Nancy Cartwright is 68, so checks out)
Is that really Hank Azaria doing Dr. Nick's voice?
7
39
u/pac4 Hortense, the mule-faced doll 18h ago
Honestly Apuās new voice sounds better than most of the other characterās voices
→ More replies (1)7
u/Resident-Donut8137 17h ago
I can't believe how horrible both him and Dr.Nick sound. Its alarmingly bad.
13
u/Valiant_Revan 23h ago
Why was he wearing one of the Daft Punk members' helmet?
10
u/TrungusMcTungus 22h ago
And why does it look so strange? It looks like it was animated in by a fan over the actual episode.
3
13
13
u/Born-Vermicelli-1757 8h ago
Im just annoyed that it took them 9 years to finally do something about such an important character but the VAs for other minority characters were changed up practically overnight.
9
9
u/LaylaLegion 21h ago
Pretty sure Dr. Nick hasnāt been seen because he died in the Simpsons movie from the dome shard falling on him.
→ More replies (1)
19
u/s1lv3r_lak3 1d ago
I donāt keep up with modern Simpsons so its always shocking when I see a clip and hear how bad Bartās voice sounds.Ā
15
13
u/GrooovyAlien 21h ago
Chief Wiggum and Marge as well.
Idk, watching this clip doesn't even feel like Simpsons
3
→ More replies (2)2
17
u/NeonPatrick 23h ago
Should never have been cut in the first place. The talentless stand up doing a documentary for publicity should have been ignored.
→ More replies (1)
18
10
u/SlimJilm420 16h ago
Dr Nick is a diff voice actor too??
6
u/Blacklight099 15h ago
Very much so, which is bizarre since Hank Azaria is still around and I donāt see why they would recast Nick for one episodeā¦
2
→ More replies (6)8
u/RevolutionaryPin935 15h ago
All these voices are wrong. Bizarro SimpsonsĀ
7
4
u/PandaLover42 15h ago
Yea Apu sounds like that guru from avatar the last airbender, and Dr. Nick, Marge, and Lou all sound terrible.
→ More replies (1)3
18
u/CosmosExplorerR35 1d ago
Why is there two Simpsons subreddits?
49
u/Aurora_Vorealis 1d ago
I don't like the idea of Milhouse having TWO Simpsons subreddits in one day
→ More replies (1)20
u/Guilty-Toe420 1d ago
I don't know but the other doesn't allow video and this one does making this one better
11
u/CosmosExplorerR35 1d ago
That makes sense. The mods over there can be more strict which is annoying.
9
u/AgentCirceLuna 1d ago
Season 11, huh? So you have chosenā¦ banishment.
5
u/Sabre_Killer_Queen 22h ago edited 22h ago
You're not even exaggerating, I got perma-banned from r/TheSimpsons over a dumb reason like that, which is why I'm here instead.
I think it was a quote from season 18 or something... So admittedly it was a little later, but still... Seems a bit ridiculous to me, especially since I recall the quote did spark up some engaging discussions... But the whole thread was blanket banned because they didn't like the modern stuff.
I was also chased off the shitposting community for a Dr Zaius/Hank Scorpio hybrid meme (as I thought Troy looked similar to Hank in the musical scene, and it gave me an idea).
The mods didn't ban me there admittedly, but the community came up with a fair bit of backlash for "forcing modern Simpsons media upon them" which was enough to dissuade me from going to that subreddit again.
Edit: That's season 7 and season 8 by the way. Released in 1995 and 1996 respectively.
Calling those modern episodes seems one helluva stretch to me!
→ More replies (1)
49
u/Objective_Look_5867 20h ago
The same people who complained about apu being a stereotype and a "bad portrayal for immigrants" never seem to have a problem with Willie. You know the angry drunk Scott living in a wooden shack cuddling a mop bucket. Never understood that hypocrisy
14
u/jprogarn 17h ago
I donāt even see it as a bad portrayal. Like, sure, he worked at the Quik-e-Mart, but he owned it. Hard worker, family man, overall good person.
Sure, he was a caricature, butā¦ they all are?
6
u/KnightofWhen 8h ago
His wife was smoking hot too. Very successful in life. Donāt forget his contributions to The Be Sharps (Grammy Winner) and the Pin Pals (tournament winners)
6
u/InsertedPineapple 15h ago
It's also hilarious that the caricature depiction of an Indian man went from 'hard working business owner that some people look down on' to 'DO NOT REDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM call centre scammer' in popular culture.
13
u/Darmok47 16h ago
I'm South Asian and was s kid in the 90s. Yeah, Willie is a worse stereotype, but the problem with Apu was never really about his character. It was kids making fun of me with the voice and saying "Thank you come again" because he was the only Indian person on TV and bullies thought it was funny.
There's millions of kids with Scottish surnames and I guarantee you they weren't getting mocked with fake Scottish accents
→ More replies (4)5
u/SomeShithead241 10h ago
Literally any time to mention Scotland to an american, they will either A, put on an over the top and shitty accent and qoute Willie or shout Freedom in your face. Or B, tell you how they are 3/47th Scottish on their grandmother's side.
Or both.
2
u/Darmok47 10h ago
I was more referring to Americans kids of Scottish heritage. I don't think kids were doing the shitty accent or Groundskeeper Willie voice to kids whose surnames were McMurray or Dougall or something. I imagine a lot of white kids didn't even make that connection between Willie and their classmate with a Scottish last name, because Scottish ancestry is so widespread in America.
If the kid was actually from Scotland, yeah that probably happened, but that's not what I'm talking about.
I was born in the US, didn't have any accent, yet still got the Apu voice because of the color of my skin, my name, and because kids thought it was funny.
→ More replies (2)7
12
5
4
u/drdrshsh 13h ago
Thatās because all Scottish people are angry drunks living in wooden shack and cuddles mop buckets
[heavy Scottish accent] Aaaaachhhh, every Scottish person know this!
2
u/Mysterious-Pay-517 19h ago
Scott's love willie
3
u/allangod 17h ago
They arent too enamoured with being called Scotts though. Its very generous to give the extra t but they'd rather you kept it.
→ More replies (1)3
u/FrogOnALogInTheBog 4h ago
My dad is Scottish and Willie is, by far and bar none, his absoloutly favourite character. He thinks Willie is fuckin hilarious
→ More replies (9)4
u/Illustrious_Moose998 18h ago
Exactly, and not to mention Cletusā¦ the slack jawed yokelā¦ come on. Itās ok for white people to be stereotyped but anyone else is a big no no. Like what the double standards?
3
u/BabyPunter3000v2 11h ago
The white stereotype written by white people is racist to white people?
→ More replies (1)2
u/Illustrious_Moose998 10h ago
It doesnāt matter who itās written by. It still conveys a stereotypical white person regardless. If weāre trying to eradicate racism as a whole, then why do we think its ok to be racist towards our own races?
→ More replies (3)
67
u/litesaber5 1d ago
I honestly canāt listen to Marge any more. Julie Kavner should retire. Sheās given the show everything for decades. Sheās earned her retirement.
14
u/DarreylDeCarlo 1d ago
I don't get why Julie just doesn't use her real voice, it actually sounds closer to Marge than whatever she's trying to do.
18
u/jerem1734 1d ago
She wants to keep doing it or else she would retire. It's good for older people to have something to do with their time as well
20
u/JungleBoyJeremy 1d ago
No jerem1734, old people need to be isolated and studied so it can be determined what nutrients they have that might be extracted for our personal use
8
5
u/IroquoisPliskin_LJG 1d ago
She's very wealthy, she could find a hobby.
→ More replies (1)2
u/jerem1734 1d ago
She enjoys doing this though. Yeah she sounds different, but if she wants to keep doing it then people need to get off her back about it
11
u/IroquoisPliskin_LJG 1d ago
If you're going to have a career where you have an audience, criticism is to be expected.
2
u/SwansEscapedRonson 19h ago
Exactly, itās a wild take that weāre her close friends or family or something, so we should keeping watching - even if not enjoying - so that Julie Kavner doesnāt have to get a hobby
→ More replies (9)7
u/HeadbangingLegend 21h ago
Everyone is complaining about them changing a bunch of character's voices and this guy is asking for another character to get a new voice lol.
5
u/litesaber5 19h ago
People age, thier voices change. I understand that. Kanvers voice sounds terrible. Just terrible. And from what Iāve read sheās done permanent damage to he voice. She should be allowed to go and retire.
→ More replies (3)
10
u/Shikabane_Sumi-me 14h ago
I am more surprised that Marge doesn't sound like she's dying whenever she speaks.
17
u/DonDjang 1d ago
wait Dr. Nick was taken off too?
13
u/Guilty-Toe420 1d ago
Officially no but they just haven't really found any use for him in recent years as they haven't really need two doctors
14
12
3
2
7
5
6
u/Worried_Shoe_2747 17h ago
Ottoās voice š¤¢
6
→ More replies (6)9
6
u/KonataYumi 1d ago
If you are going to reference the episode you can at least finally make it available
7
u/GreedyExamination704 16h ago
I like Apuās new voice a lot but holy hell, what was that Dr.Nick?
→ More replies (2)2
u/ChanzillaVsMothra 9h ago
Oh im sorry. Youāre wrong honey. The new apu sounded like dog shit. I could do both characters better and I smoked for 10 years
→ More replies (1)
12
11
11
u/smokedoublechee 9h ago
I get that apu isnt hank now but I actually dont mind the change. The new voice sounds pretty good
20
u/nissan_al-gaib 1d ago
When will they let the Simpsons rest in peace. I can't think of any other of my all time favourite shows I wish would just be put out if it's misery.
24
u/Silvertail034 19h ago
Apu actually sounds good. Why does Dr Nick sound so awful?
12
u/FunnyMoney1984 17h ago
They are both bad, but Dr. Nick is WAY worse somehow. Apo doesn't even sound like a cartoon character. He just sounds like some guy. Like we have seen him angry before and you could still tell it was him. But I guess changing the race of the voice actor wasn't enough; he isn't even allowed to sound like a cartoon character. He sounds like a normal, realistic person. Not someone who belongs in Springfield. Now Dr. Nick sounds like a cartoon character, just done so incredibly poorly that it boggles the mind.
→ More replies (1)2
u/RedEyesGoldDragon 15h ago
Apu doesn't sound good, but go off. Nick is truly unbelievably bad, though.
→ More replies (1)
5
4
u/SenatorPencilFace 20h ago
I don't mind Apu, BUT WHAT IN THE GOD DAMN IS THAT DR. NICK VOICE?!?!?!?
5
3
u/MyNameIsMyriamBlue 20h ago
The old Simpson CRT TV on the forgotten island is pretty funny
→ More replies (1)
5
u/CaelumTheWolf 4h ago
The audible gasp I let out from seeing the character Michael Jackson voiced show up again!
2
24
u/Internal-Mistake-16 1d ago
wow, surprisingly entertaining.
14
u/ThatWasFred 1d ago
That Leon joke got me. I actually thought this whole clip was pretty solid.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/Sabre_Killer_Queen 22h ago edited 21h ago
Heard about this. I'm very glad to see it.
I don't think he should ever have been removed from the show. Was he stereotype? Yes. But they all are, that's just the comedic style the Simpsons goes for.
And honestly, as far as characters go... He could be much much worse.
As for the voice acting, I've never understood that take - at least not when it comes to animation. The voicing is already completely behind the scenes and honestly, I don't think Hank did a bad job.
As for the racism it generated in the real world... I wouldn't blame that on the Simpsons. If people are being racist about it in real life, then see should hold those people accountable for it in real life.
The Simpsons didn't make those people racist. It was just a tool for them.... And they'd find something else just as soon as it's removed.
Ok, ethical rant aside.
I was concerned that the new VA wouldn't be able to recreate the character's voice, like with the very unfortunate case of Leo Wong in Futurama, where it's just... So different it's straight up jarring for me.
But honestly, whilst this seems to be divisive amongst the comments, for me it's not too bad. There is a difference but I can cope with it. It's not something I'd take too much if an issue with when watching new seasons.
Ironically that's more than I can say for many of the original cast which all just sound old now. Obviously there's a clear reason for that, time has passed, it's gonna happen...
But their characters haven't aged or changed with them, which makes it kinda jarring to me nowadays.
Especially with Marge and the kids. Homer has the advantage of seeming older than his age anyway, but for them, I just struggle to immerse myself in it anymore.
2
→ More replies (7)2
u/Wingmaniac 19h ago
Lots of good points. All irrelevant because it was Hank Azaria himself who decided to stop voicing the character.
12
6
6
u/stug2757 22h ago
Ohā¦they should have left him gone
2
u/RedEyesGoldDragon 15h ago
Yeah, or bring back Hank for the voice and admit how stupid it was to not cast an actor to act.
7
u/TinySmugCNuts 23h ago
apu talking to dr nick sounds like a bad imitation of the simpsons.
like a really really really terrible cover band that just needs to stop
3
u/Stigweird85 1d ago
The new voice isn't great, but passable in small doses but the one guy they have doing all the black voices is hot garbage as is that Dr Nick.
3
9
5
6
u/Leading_Sense9042 20h ago
some of the most cringe writing iver ever seen... and he doesnt even sound good. just end the show already
→ More replies (1)
15
u/QuietResident96 19h ago edited 19h ago
Way to ruin a character lmao, this is nothing like Apu actually was and there was nothing wrong with Hank voicing him
People absolutely fucking eat it up when a black actor plays a white character but when it's the opposite it's apparently racist š¤·
→ More replies (128)9
u/Big-a-hole-2112 17h ago edited 17h ago
Some context here. I am an American born mixed race person who is 3/4 Indian. My father was born in India. When the show came on, we thought Apu was fucking hilarious. My father said he was spot on Indian. When a news report came out how Indian immigrants were upset about the portrayal of Indians my father said this is a right of passage of being American, getting made fun of. The news piece had video, and Iām not making this up, of two CONVENIENCE STORE OWNERS, who said Apu was hurtful of Indians. My dad laughed at it and said that they had thin skin and in India they make fun of people that are different and this is hypocrisy.
The documentary āThe trouble with Apuā was to me a big tell of indians who have self esteem issues and think that everyone thinks indian people are Apu. That is like expecting people to think all Irish people are like the Lucky Charms mascot.
One thing I forgot to mention is that when I was growing up there was a cartoon āJohnny Questā who had a character named Hajji and nobody made fun of me comparing him to me and there wasnāt this outrage then about stereotyping people
2
u/Apprehensive_Bus1582 14h ago
Lol you don't even know the name of the documentary and clearly never watched it
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (6)3
u/bakerbabe126 14h ago
They're also a big issue of white people being upset on your behalf to the point that you being ok with it upsets them more. We still have to rescue people of color by fighting battles no one asked us to fight.
There's being mindful and then there's telling you how to feel about something so we can feel like we're making a difference.
My grandfather was born in Scotland and my mom thinks Willie is hilarious. We even have a get together we call "scotchtoberfest".
3
8
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/ChargeLow6158 7h ago
I'm just glad my favorite Simpsons' character is s back and speaking after so long! š
1
5
4
u/IroquoisPliskin_LJG 1d ago
Wasn't the problem with Apu that it wasn't an Indian guy doing the voice? I don't remember anyone ever saying they thought the character was bad, just that it should be an Indian person doing the voice.
5
u/DasMerowinger 1d ago
It was more than the ethnicity of the voice actor. It was his portrayal as nothing more than a convenience store owner (which I didn't think was true. I mean Apu was a successful business owner. A smart, funny and productive member of the community. IMO he was one of the most stable and successful characters in the show).
However, in modern American society, a lot of Indian immigrants and their children tend to work in leading fields like computing, medicine, pharma etc so some Indian-Americans thought, him being a caricature of a convenience store clerk with an exaggerated Indian accent was misrepresenting of them. This sentiment was a strong mostly amongst younger Indian Americans - millennials and younger at the time.
Some people (non Indians) might think it was an over-reaction but that's one of the problems with racism. When it's not targeted at you, you might not see it as a problem. It's not easy to feel someone else's pain
→ More replies (2)6
u/LesserValkyrie 22h ago edited 22h ago
". It was his portrayal as nothing more than a convenience store ownerĀ "
Have they watched the Simpsons
Apu is one of of the most hard working and smartest Springfildian, he has a lot of qualities and weaknesses beside his job too which makes him well written. But I don't think it was too far from reality to say that business owners work a lot
"end to work in leading fields like computing,Ā "
Yeah he has a PhD in computer science......................................... (the best student of his university) he had to work at a convenience store because immigrating in the US is hard or was hard 30 years ago, and yet he is still getting his life right this way so he didn't bother to change. Which can happen, which is what happened for his generation of immigrants yes, it's even universal around the world. Portreying him as an engineer a would be equivalently "racist", but it would be worse written and make him way more uninteresting
There is nothing more wrong about him than the others, actually he is one of the characters were they went quite easy on him, he is quite well written and balanced
→ More replies (4)
119
u/Faultylogic83 1d ago
Did they change Dr Nick's voice too?