The Simpsons season 37 recasts a supporting character with the perfect voice actor

“The Simpsons” is an institution, a series that redefines not only animation but also television itself. It’s a show full of memorable characters who populate the town of Springfield and bring it to life. These supporting characters are so unique and distinct that an episode devoted to telling side stories with them ranks among the greatest “Simpsons” episodes of all time (according to us).

That being said, “The Simpsons” has not been free of controversy. Like many other animated projects, the series cuts some costs by giving actors multiple roles, including giving white actors several characters of color — some of whom are little more than ugly stereotypes. This, of course, is not limited to “The Simpsons,” but has plagued animation since its inception, with iconic characters like Speedy Gonzales starting out as nothing more than a crude caricature. before Latin American audiences accepted the character as one of their own.

Since the pandemic, characters like Apu and Bumblebee Man have been relegated to the background, barely seen and even less heard. This makes sense, of course, and it’s a better choice than continuing to write them off as racist stereotypes. And yet, the latest episode of “The Simpsons” shows a better way, a way to not only keep these characters at the forefront, but to make them more relevant than ever and pay homage to their history.

It starts with a redesign of Bumblebee Man. Originally voiced by Hank Azaria from 1992 to 2020, the character was briefly recast with Eric Lopez voicing the character from 2020 to 2022. Now, at least for one episode in season 37, it was Humberto Vélez who voiced the character in his first-ever all-English role on the series – and he’s the perfect choice for Bumblebee Man’s future.

Humberto Vélez has been a voice actor for over 42 years. He is an absolute legend in the Spanish-speaking world, serving as the Latin-Spanish voice of Homer Simpson for the first 15 seasons of the series, and again since season 32. He also voiced Professor Farnsworth in the first four seasons of “Futurama”, Farquaad in “Shrek”, did the Spanish voice of Tony Soprano and Gomez Addams in the two 90s films and also “Wednesday”.

The casting of Vélez as Bumblebee Man is a perfect choice and hopefully something that will stick with the future of “The Simpsons.” The episode tells the untold origin story of Bumblebee Manexploring how he moved from Mexico to the United States to pursue the Hollywood dream – before finding himself stuck in Springfield. The episode aptly portrays the character as a comedy superstar, a TV icon as big as Krusty (but not as faded) who is beloved not only by Spanish speakers, but even Homer and Bart – who enjoy the international parlance of the crotch shot in a comedic way.

Having someone like Humberto Vélez, who is an institution unto himself in the Spanish-speaking world, bring Bumblebee Man to life in his first big episode, is a great choice. This makes the episode a love letter to Latin American fans of the “Simpsons” and also validates the voice actors’ dubbing skills as proper voice actors by giving Vélez the first Bumblebee Man-centric episode and the first episode where the character speaks primarily English. This casting choice, along with the character’s new origin, makes Bumblebee Man a deeper, more nuanced character than just a guy who speaks in short Spanish phrases and gets hit in the face with a pie.