Simpson Spanish Voices Lobby to Keep Jobs

washingtonpost.com ^ | 1/13/05 | MORGAN LEE

[paltz]

MEXICO CITY - Marge Simpson is near tears, and the normally menacing Mr. Burns is full of warmth and gratitude.

The union actors who dub "The Simpsons" into Spanish are asking their Mexican audience for help as they fight for their livelihoods in a labor dispute that could silence the original Spanish voices from the 15-year-old animated comedy.

[steveo]

Ay ay ay! It is not good!

[RWR8189]

If they learned English this wouldn't be a problem at all.

[olde north church]

If they learned English this wouldn't be a problem at all.
Yeah, it would be problem. They are dubbing the cartoon from English into Spanish. They would be unemployed English speakers instead of unemployed Spanish speakers.

[NewRomeTacitus]

If the Spanish-listening audience identifies with the characters by their voices as strongly as their images (like we do here) Matt Groening would be wise to intervene for these actors who've helped make his product popular around the world. Won't happen - he's a gutless Socialist comfortable with his vast Capitalist earnings.

[El Conservador]

Probably some of them don't speak English...

Translators have a copy of the episode's script, and they simply rewrite it in Spanish to account for slang and idioms.

Then the dubbers do their job, regardless of knowledge of the English language.

[El Conservador]

A sample of Homer's Spanish voice

[olde north church]

As a cartoon aficionado, I should have realized that. Thanks for the heads up.