It's bad enough that dubbing ruins one of the most basic aspects of a film - the richness of language! But just think how hard it is to understand a dubbed track when the film-goer is hearing-impaired. The words are completely different from the mouth movement. It's like some crazy ride.
shareHey hey, if Japan didn't want America buying their films, they wouldn't let them and would keep it all to themselves. But to tell you the truth, Hayao Miyazaki wants everyone to enjoy his films, no matter what language, he's still getting the money from all over the world.
I wouldn't think that movie theaters would use subbed movies because of hearing-impaired viewers, who would be, you must admit, a very small minority of film-goers. Sorry to say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpXwPdJIOJY
Best thing ever.
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First of all, I'll admit that I generally prefer subtitles to dubs, but at the same time... You realize that ALL animation is dubbed, right?
shareYeah, all animation is dubbed, but usually the original voice work is the work with the most heart in it. It is a rare occurance when a latter done dub track has the same level of soul as the original.
shareUNTRUE.
Most anime (including Ponyo) is dubbed when the vocals are recorded for Japanese AND when they're done in english. Many of the actors chosen for Ponyo are dedicated professional and fans of Miyzaki's work. I'm certain that if you're a fan of the director, you're going to do the best job you can. Furthermore, there's an entire US production team dedicated to the dub. These men and women indeed bring everything they can to ensure that the dub is done right and with as much heart and soul.
--Furthermore, there's an entire US production team dedicated to the dub. These men and women indeed bring everything they can to ensure that the dub is done right and with as much heart and soul.--
And right there is the problem... US Production Team = lame Americanized crap. Also, that is untrue, since they usually cast actors with big names for the dub, regardless of how suited to the roles they are.
In that case, pretty much all live action is dubbed as well. A great deal of dialog you actually hear in the movie is not what was recorded on set, but in a sound studio.
I think the context makes it clear that "dub" means a separate voice track for a different language.
That makes no sense. With anime they don't even write the final script until after they are done animating so the lip flaps don't even correspond to the dialogue. The only thing lost is the performance of the original seiyuu. But you can't truly get the full experience if you don't speak japanese anyway.
Your no bunny till some bunny loves you
"by blondiebear_17 (Sun Aug 16 2009 18:58:05)
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That makes no sense. With anime they don't even write the final script until after they are done animating so the lip flaps don't even correspond to the dialogue. The only thing lost is the performance of the original seiyuu. But you can't truly get the full experience if you don't speak japanese anyway."
So are you saying that there's nothing else to language and communication other than the words and grammar structures themselves. You DO speak a language, right? Perhaps you just don't understand it how it works.
But what am I doing, expecting a forum poster in yet another passive-aggressive 'dubs vs subs' debate to understand that empathy and wordless aspects of language are what truly drive meaning.
Disney's dubbing for Miyazaki films is some of the best dubbing you will ever find.
sharelook i usually prefer to watch the original japanese because i overall prefer the voices, but like the dude above said ghibli usually has great dubs, and there are a few shows that have good dubs as well. You just end up sounding like a jackass when you make comments like i straightline refuse to watch dubs, youd make a good politician.
shareBring a purist does not imply that one is a jackass.
share[deleted]
Roger Ebert has a good point about this in his Ponyo review. ALL ANIMATED MOVIES ARE DUBBED! The animated characters are not actually speaking!
shareYeah why are people such snobs about dubbed films? Unless you speak Japanese, I think it would be pretty boring to just read subtitles.
If you don't want to watch it dubbed, then don't see it.
http://www.fancorps.com/jimmyrobbins/view/21907|192595.jpg
LOL! That is not the point. The point is to hear the original acting work as it was intended by the film makers. WIth animation, it is easier to dub but sadly, a lot of English dubs are lackluster or have horrid Westernised animation trends inserted, such as wisecracks and sarcastic sidekick banter.
WIth subtitled live-action film, you don't need to understand an actors words in order to understand his or her heart in that scene. To just hear their voice and the emotion in it, is enough. I am sure that some dub tracks are great but the voices just aren't connected to the performances.
I can't see how any serious film lover would want to see actors perform with other people's voices. We were all pissed off enough when Milli Vanilli dubbed their way into music fame. Despite the absense of subterfuge, dubbing in film is the same thing.
Reading subtitles is the 'tax' you pay (though I have no trouble at all with them) for wanting to enjoy foreign film. Watching a foreign film but objecting to the foreign language and/or cultural references, seems very ironic.
I can't believe there are so many snobs who take the issue of dubbing so seriously and won't watch a movie translated into another language because that somehow "ruins" it.
The English dub of this movie is good, all the actors did a good job. Just watch the damn thing. Ugh...
thank you jace-18. you took the words right out of my mouth.
http://www.fancorps.com/jimmyrobbins/view/21907|192595.jpg
I also wonder if anti-dubbing people have seen this film? There is dialog, but not really that much. The major emphasis is on visuals.
shareIt makes it easier for you to call me a 'snob'. It means you don't have to understand my point of view and that saves you from challenging yourself. Whatever. You call me a snob but that clearly is not true. Perhaps if you had read what I wrote with an open and understanding mind, you might have come out of this exchange intellectually richer.
share"Yeah why are people such snobs about dubbed films? Unless you speak Japanese, I think it would be pretty boring to just read subtitles. []
If you don't want to watch it dubbed, then don't see it. "
Thank you for putting in that rolling eye emote for me. Unless your whole post is sarcasm, the eye rolling is misplaced.
Not everyone finds reading to be "boring".
And while many settled for dub, I for one, went subbed, and am happy with my decision.
Here's one way to look at it: If there were no English dubs, how many people would bother even watching foreign films? Unfortunately, it'd be few.
Here's what I find interesting- People who "prefer subtitles" go on and on about the "original filmmakers intention"
However, the film's directer, Hayao Miyazaki has said that:
a) He prefers that audiences watch movies in the language in which they speak because he would rather they enjoy the visuals completely than have to spend time reading subtitles (this probably also comes from the fact that the Japanese movie is dubbed too, and the Japanese actors go through all the same as an American voice actor)
b) He not only prefers that people watch his movie on the big screen but said something to the effect of "I don't care if people watch my movies a hundred times on video. It means nothing if they haven't watched it on the big screen.
Therefore, to the elitist folks that feel they are somehow honoring Miazaki-San and his original intentions, watching the dubbed version in the theater is the TRUE way to honor his film.
Watching the subbed version that you illegally downloaded actually DIShonors the filmmaker. So please get off your high horse- you don't even belong up there.
I dishonored Miyazaki by watching Ponyo in theater with subtitles. What are you going to do? Alfred Hitchcock has also said that movies lose less in translation when dubbed but I'm not going to wait someone to dub all the movies in world in Finnish so I could watch them. Besides Hayao Miyazaki only directs the Japanese voice actors for his movies.
shareyou are free to watch a movie however you choose, but don't think you're doing the original filmmakers any favors or somehow seeing their vision "better" by watching it in a way that is different than how they intended you to see it.
Watching a Hayao Miyazaki movie with subtitles is the exact same thing as watching a movie that is filmed in 2.35:1 widescreen on a pan-and-scan 4x3 television. You're watching it in a way that makes YOU happy- and is OUTSIDE of the directors original intention.
"Here's one way to look at it: If there were no English dubs, how many people would bother even watching foreign films? Unfortunately, it'd be few."
The vast majority of foreign films released to US cinemas are with subtitles, not dubs, and they find a substantial audience. 'Hero', for example, was #1 at the box-office when it was released in the US, and there was no dubbed option. 'Pan's Labyrinth', 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', 'House of Flying Daggers' were all released in mainstream US Cinemas without dubs, and there were far more than a few people who "bothered" to watch them.
Now, would Ponyo have made more in the US with the original language track? Considering its a "kids" movie, probably not, but that does not mean people don't bother to watch subtitled films.
When a filmgoer is hearing-impaired, an animated film in any language is going to be a major problem. Disney might be the only production house that one might be able to read lips. The deaf Japanese have no chance whatsoever, as mouth moving equals talking.
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