MovieChat Forums > Tonari no Totoro (1990) Discussion > English dub haters please get over yours...

English dub haters please get over yourselves.

posted 12 years ago by JockeyFullOfBourbon
54 replies | jump to latest

I love all of Miyazaki's films and Spirited Away is my all time favorite film. However it seems like every time I look at a board for one of Miyazaki's films there are like five or six threads on how bad the English dubs are and that if you don't listen to the original Japanese mix you're not getting the "full experience".
Well I'm sorry but when I watch a Miyazaki film I like to actually watch the stunning visuals on the screen and not the bottom subtitles the whole time. I feel that if you spend the whole time reading the subtitles you can't get the full experience.
So please all of you people who think you are so high and mighty that you can't possibly listen to an English dub because it ruins "the true intentions of the film" stop acting like such pretentious snobs and just enjoy Miyazaki's fantastic storytelling and wild visuals.

"What" ain't no country I've ever heard of. They speak English in What?

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 11 years ago

Yes, agreed. And ALL animated films are dubbed, hello!

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

[–] NeutralWord 10 years ago

There is a big stigma from using dubs instead of subs when it comes to especially japanese animations.
Do think that the average quality of the dubs to a certain extent justify this, if you only watch the biggest miyazaki movies your likely not aware of how much the quality drops when they dubs normal tv serie animes.
When it comes to miyzaki movies you can get away with using the dubs that kind of quality dubs are not the standard they are they extreme outlier quality and should not be used to make a argument.
Its very common for subs to be "fan made" since there just isnt a official version or its much to slow, if your interested in japanese anime/manga sooner or later you switch to subs or learn japanese there just isnt a choice.

[–] Relatively_Confused 10 years ago

Dubs are generally intended for little kids who can't be bothered to read subtitles (I'm not mocking anyone, these are Miyazaki's exact words). And sometimes dubbing is fine. For instance I saw the dubbed version of Spirited Away and it was great, not too different from the original at all. But the real problem is, people who provide the English voices are usually not instructed by the director himself so a lot of eloquence is lost. The manner of speaking is more important than people think.
That's why the dubbed versions is almost never on par with the original.
But honestly watch Totoro with subtitles because the Dakota Fanning dub is *beep* awful.

[–] JTurner82 8 years ago

But honestly watch Totoro with subtitles because the Dakota Fanning dub is *beep* awful.

Well I liked the Disney dub of Totoro. It's not the FOX dub, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Plus, there's nothing majorly wrong with it. The only drawbacks may come from overfamiliarity with the FOX dub which is an understandable reason, but does that justify napalming the newer version? No, it does not.

Stripped of comparisons, the Disney dub works well for the most part. The only issue I had were with the OP/ED songs, but otherwise I found nothing else offensive about the Disney dub. Both the Disney and FOX dubs are solid in their own ways. Neither is better or worse. Only different.

[–] Gwasgray 9 years ago

I know, how can it really be much better listening to Japanese voice actresses squealing gobbledegook (which it will be to anyone who hasn't learned Japanese) with subtitles that are equally if not more clumsily translated than the English dub script?

It's a cartoon, it's fine to dub a cartoon.

[–] andrewmichaelandrade 9 years ago

First off it is not a cartoon. It is Anime.

I recommend watching the movie twice. First in Japanese with subtitles and then in English Dubbed.

It is a different experience. Personally I really enjoyed the Japanese with subtitles a lot more. Even though I don't understand Japanese, the emotion, enthusiasm, and energy in the character's voices is much higher.

To the OP: Not being able to read the subtitles and watch the visuals of the movie at the same time sounds like a personal problem. Wonder what else you have trouble doing.

[–] Gwasgray 9 years ago

Cartoon, animated film, whatever.

[–] andrewmichaelandrade 9 years ago

If you don't mind being incorrect, whatever.

Cartoons = Tom n Jerry, Bugs Bunny ect
Anime = this film, Spirited Away, Akira, ect