Homer, the dimwitted but lovable patriarch on The Simpsons, sounded much different in season 1, despite being voiced by the same actor. When it comes to animated characters, few are as iconic as Homer Simpson. So widely beloved is Homer that many would rank him at the top when it comes to best TV dads of all time. Sure, Homer often makes mistakes, but his heart is usually in the right place, other than times he specifically sets out to break the rules.
However, Homer, like many classic characters, didn't emerge fully formed right out of the gate. That was actually true for a lot of aspects of The Simpsons, as season 1 had a very rough-looking animation style, Lisa was more like a typical kid than the genius she is now, the show's focal character was usually Bart instead of Homer, and in one odd instance, Smithers was black in his first appearance, then changed to white - or its Simpsons equivalent, yellow - from then on. That last one was due to an error during the animation process that couldn't be fixed.
For younger Simpsons fans who weren't around when season 1 aired, going back and watching those early episodes can be quite a shocking experience, especially due to the changes in Homer. Here's why Dan Castellaneta changed Homer's voice after season 1.
The Simpsons: Why Homer's Voice Changed After Season 1
During The Simpsons season 1 - and in the Tracey Ullmann Show shorts that first featured the characters - Dan Castellaneta based his Homer Simpson voice on famously gruff-sounding actor Walter Matthau. When compared to Homer's normal voice, season 1's Homer sounds much lower pitched, and draws out his words much longer. The early Homer character also wasn't nearly as dumb, and seemed more like the standard put-upon sitcom dad. By season 2 though, Homer's voice started to become higher-pitched and his cadence faster, which continued for a few years until settling into the most well-know iteration around season 5.
As for why the change was made, Castellaneta has said that doing the voice for long periods was becoming difficult for his throat to endure. Plus, as the character himself changed and developed, the gruff Matthau voice seemed less appropriate. The standard Homer voice is based on Castellaneta's father. While The Simpsons has never tried to explain the change in Homer's voice, they have made fun of it a bit, such as a moment in season 28 where Homer encounters a voice-activated door. He speaks, but it tells him his voice doesn't match a sample from 1989. Homer then reverts to the Matthau-esque voice and is allowed to proceed.