Russian Simpsons Hit & Run bootlegger voices every character themself

Sometimes you have no choice but to admire hard graft, even if it's illegal graft. In this case, it's a Russian bootleg copy of The Simpsons Hit & Run which we're admiring, mainly because the bootlegger has dubbed every character in every cutscene. The result is magnificent and just really funny, to be honest.

Twitter user Emi Fisher downloaded a bootleg Russian copy of Simpsons Hit & Run, a cult classic from 2003, perhaps best described as a Simpsons parody of Grand Theft Auto 3. Bootlegs are always a bit jank, but she discovered this Russian copy had its own quirks. For starters, the left mouse key does everything, there is no brake button, and the bootlegger has taken it upon themselves to voice every single line (almost).

What we've got here, then, is an acting masterclass. Here's Bart and Millhouse and Jimbo in conversation. Ignore the fact that Millhouse and Jimbo sound incredibly alike and bask in the subtlety the bootlegger employs. Listen closely enough and you'll hear that Jimbo's dub is ever so slightly deeper in tone than Millhouse's.

My favourite bit lies in the clip below, where Homer and Barney demonstrate their bilingual skills. Homer's actual voice line emerges like an imposter among the ranks, but the bootlegger recovers the situation with some high-pitch dub for Barney. At one point Barney wails like normal Barney, then Homer suddenly goes deep Russian. For the most part, Barney sounds like a Russian Barney who's stubbed his toe.

I can't claim to have bootlegged any game, let alone the Simpsons Hit & Run. And after watching this, I'm still not sure I want to. However, I'd like to give this bootlegger all my money so he can continue doing God's work and join the Excellent Bootlegs Club.

Seriously, massive props to the fella who worked on this bootleg. Emi's full thread has more info.