When the average viewer catches a new episode of The Simpsons for the first time in a while, they typically have one immediate complaint: What’s up with the voices? Listening to long-running characters like Otto, Mr. Burns, and Smithers in particular, it’s easy for viewers to wonder whether the show has hired new actors to play them. But no, they’re all still played by the same guy: Harry Shearer.

Harry Shearer who voices Otto, Mr. Burns, and Smithers, turned 80 this year.

So what’s the deal? Well, he’s gotten old. Shearer turns 80 this year, and after 35 seasons, his voice is getting tired. Even worse off in the cast has got to be Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge and the other Bouvier women, whose many decades of performing those raspy voices have taken their toll. “Marge sounds like she’s dying,” wrote one viewer on the Simpsons subreddit three years ago, and the complaints have only grown more common over time. Marge, who’s supposed to be in her late thirties, now sounds like an elderly smoker; when she talks, it’s hard not to wonder if Kavner’s in pain. For longtime Simpsons viewers who don’t want the show to end, it’s worth asking if the show should replace Kavner with someone new and, most likely, younger.

Julie Kavner, left, has been the voice of Marge Simpson for 35 seasons.

But many of those same fans think this idea is blasphemy. To many longtime or lifelong viewers, The Simpsons is not The Simpsons without the original voice actors at the wheel. Like the rest of the cast, Kavner is such an integral part of Marge that replacing her could lose so much of the charm and heart that endeared us to the character in the first place. Kavner’s been a core part of The Simpsons since its days as a recurring segment on The Tracey Ullman Show. After more than 35 years as Marge, surely no one could replace her, let alone mimic her, right? Without Kavner’s distinctive voice and her wonderful acting range, would any other version of Marge work?

One potential reason for the hesitance is that, despite some successes on other franchises, some of the show’s biggest fans have seen for themselves the damage a major casting change can do. One of the show’s most popular international dubs. The Mexican-produced Latin American-Spanish dub of the show, Los Simpson, recast nearly everyone, resulting in nearly two decades of worsened quality.

American viewers tend to consider the first eight seasons as the show’s gold, but Latin American viewers are more likely to extend that period to Season 15. That’s because, when they think of Los Simpson, they think of those first 15 seasons with the original Homero, Humberto Vélez, in charge.

As Homero, Vélez perfectly captures the character’s many moods, from his fits of giddiness to his fits of rage. His performance easily overshadowed both of the other Spanish-language Homer dubs, which were produced in Spain. So definitive was his take on Homero that Vélez’s popularity eventually rivaled that of Homer’s English-language actor, Dan Castellaneta. It was a remarkably high-effort performance, one that managed to overcome the less-prestigious reputation of dubbing in Mexico at the time and garner Vélez widespread acclaim; he eventually earned a level of fame throughout........

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