Why Simpsons Characters Are Blonde In The First Season

Most characters from The Simpsons have gone through physical transformations, some more noticeable than others, and they definitely don’t have the same look they had in season 1. The first episodes of The Simpsons had many characters sporting yellow hair, very much like the members of the title family, but they changed not longer after. Created by Matt Groening, The Simpsons made its debut in 1987 as a series of animated shorts as part of The Tracey Ullman Show. After three seasons, the series was developed into a half-hour prime time show, officially debuting in 1989.

The Simpsons follows the daily lives of the title family (Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie) along with those of their friends, neighbors, enemies, and other colorful citizens from Springfield. The series’ success has been such that it’s currently enjoying its 31st season and has already been renewed for a 32nd one, becoming the longest-running American scripted primetime TV series. The Simpsons has also expanded to other media, most notably comic books and film, but the TV show continues to be the go-to for fans, even if its quality has been in decline for years.

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With The Simpsons recently celebrating its 30th anniversary, it’s inevitable to look back at the first episodes and how much the characters have changed. Aside from the overall design becoming cleaner, it stands out that there were a couple of characters that were blonde, just like the Simpsons family, among those Barney Gumble.

When revisiting season 1 of The Simpsons, fans will come across with a couple of surprises, among those that there were more characters that had yellow hair, matching their skin color. Homer’s best friend and town drunk Barney was one of them, and the intro in season 1 had two background characters with blonde hair too, one of them even with a spiky style like Bart’s. While there’s no concrete reason as to why some Simpsons characters were blonde in the first season, it’s very possible it had to do with some communication problems between Klasky Csupo (who animated the first seasons) and the South Korean animation studio AKOM, who were in charge of coloring and more – a mistake similar to what happened with black Smithers in season 1.

It’s also possible it was all part of the series’ trial and error phase, with the creative team toying with different styles while the series was still young. All those characters who were originally blonde were changed as Groening decided that only the Simpsons family should have yellow hair that matches their skin – same with their hairstyles, which is why the aforementioned background character in the intro was removed. These changes didn’t take long to be applied, hence why most viewers don’t remember that, at one point, there were more yellow haired characters in Springfield. Ultimately, making the Simpsons family the only ones with yellow hair helps them stand out, and those who had it in the first season are more memorable now that they have a different tone, as is the case of Barney.

Next: The Best Simpsons Episodes In Season 1



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