'It cannot happen': Why Quebec fans and actors fought to save their own version of The Simpsons
Quebec’s identity, language and creative livelihoods are preserved through the dubbed show
Growing up in Quebec, Joshua Biasotto fell in love with watching The Simpsons after discovering the version of the show that's dubbed in the French dialect, Québécois.
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that → happen → dialect
He says he not only lived for the long-running American animated sitcom’s quirky characters, irreverent humour and satirical take on life, but he also "developed a big love for Quebec dubbing."
"I've done my research," said Biasotto.
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Biasotto → say → research
"I know which actor is doing the voice of which character."
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actor → know → character
But last August, after 35 years, Corus Entertainment’s Télétoon, which held the Canadian broadcast rights to the show and oversaw its dubbing, decided not to renew those rights for the 36th season.
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which → hold → season
This put Les Simpson in jeopardy.
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This → put → jeopardy
Distraught, Biasotto sprang into action, creating an online petition on Change.org called Sauvons le doublage québécois des Simpsons — “Let's save the Quebec dub of The Simpsons.”
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's → spring → Simpsons
“I was like, it cannot happen,” said Biasotto.
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Biasotto → happen → ?
“It’s a part of our identity that we lose.”
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we → ’ → that
The Quebec version, he says, was adapted to incorporate local expressions and cultural references that made it feel uniquely theirs.
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it → say → expressions
For example, the characters spoke in regional Quebec accents, including joual, the colloquial dialect associated with working-class Montreal, while U.S. people and places were swapped out for local references.
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people → speak → references
In one episode, a sketch involving upstate New York — including the cities of Utica and Albany — is replaced in the Québécois version with the Lac-Saint-Jean region and the towns of Jonquière and Alma.
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sketch → involve → Jonquière
Ian Lafrenière, Quebec’s deputy premier and a longtime Simpsons fan, even wrote in a Facebook post that the Quebec version must be saved, describing the cultural and geographical references in the show as "sublime."
And the public outcry to save Les Simpson tapped into something bigger than just nostalgia.
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outcry → write → nostalgia
Dubbing is part of a long tradition in Quebec to adapt entertainment from around the world to reflect the province’s language, humour and culture.
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Dubbing → adapt → language
Dubbing as Quebec identity
In Quebec, watching American and other English-language shows and films in French has long been part of the culture, says Daniel Béland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada at McGill University in Montreal.
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Béland → dub → Montreal
A dubbing industry emerged in the province after the Second World War, he says, allowing audiences to experience international entertainment in their own language, along with voices, expressions and cultural references that felt familiar.
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that → emerge → voices
Although French-language content from France was readily available, Quebec’s distinct culture and language meant that those productions could often feel foreign to local audiences.
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productions → mean → audiences
“For people to shift from the Quebec version to the French version from France would be really a culture shock,” said Béland.
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Béland → shift → France
Dubbing, he says, is also about more than translating dialogue word for word, particularly when it comes to humour.
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it → say → humour
Some jokes simply don’t land when translated directly, so they have to be tweaked or replaced with references that local audiences can relate to.
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audiences → land → that
"It will not be the same experience," he said.
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he → say → ?
"“Humour, like poetry, is really hard to translate."
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Humour → translate → poetry
Quebec, is home to the vast majority of Canada's French speakers, with 84.1 per cent of the province's population speaking French, according to Statistics Canada’s census in 2021.
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cent → speak → 2021
Keeping the dubbing industry, says Béland, is also a way of preserving the province’s mother tongue.
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Béland → keep → tongue
“There's a sense that Quebec is a French island surrounded by an anglophone sea, so there's this sense of a vulnerability of the French language.”
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Quebec → be → language
For the voice actors, it was personal
The possibility that Les Simpson might not return spurred a reaction in Quebec that seemed like “an earthquake,” says Thiéry Dubé, who has voiced Québécois Homer Simpson, the famously bumbling patriarch of the family, since 2017.
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who → return → 2017
“Because for [Quebecers], it's something like poutine, you know?
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you → know → poutine
The news had also come during a particularly difficult year for the Quebec dubbing team, says Dubé.
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Dubé → come → team
Béatrice Picard, who voiced Homer’s wife, Marge, died in December at 96.
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who → voice → 96
A few months later, in April, Benoît Rousseau, who voiced several prominent characters, including Grampa Simpson, Mr. Burns and Duffman, and served as the show’s main adapter, also died.
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who → voice → adapter
Dubé says the uncertainty over the show’s future made an already difficult period even harder.
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period → say → future
“We were living day-to-day and waiting, and it was crazy for me, because one day couldn't pass without having somebody just stopping me in the street and saying, ‘Are you guys going to come back?’”
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guys → live → street
It was the fans’ fierce loyalty that offered some solace.
“[They said] I don't want it to be in French from France, and it was very touching, having all the people cheering for it.”
Bringing Les Simpson back
The campaign worked.
Biasotto’s petition drew more than 35,000 signatures, and Les Simpson was revived in May after Bell Media struck a deal with Disney Entertainment to broadcast the show.
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Media → offer → show
The new season is set to premiere Sept. 9 on Noovo.
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season → set → Noovo
“It had a bigger impact than I could imagine,” said Biasotto.
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Biasotto → have → impact
The return was also welcome news for difuze, the largest French dubbing facility in Canada, which has studios in Montreal and Toronto, and dubs Les Simpson.
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which → have → Simpson
Elizabeth Pélissier, vice-president of dubbing at difuze, says the studio is happy to be a part of bringing back the show in the language Quebec audiences know and love.
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audiences → say → Quebec
“We're just proud to make sure that we can call back all the actors and be part of the art process,” she said.
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she → make → process
Les Simpson is returning at a time when Quebec’s dubbing industry is busier than ever.
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industry → return → time
difuze, founded in 2018, has seen the volume of content it dubs increase, says Pélissier.
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Pélissier → found → content
As streaming platforms such as Disney, Netflix, Amazon and Crave release more television series, the French studio has taken on more work than it once did with films alone.
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it → stream → films
…and 7 more, not listed.
