She is a good actress. That's why she got so many roles and was praised so much before she started getting "overexposed". You may not like the fact that she's everywhere, but there's a good reason for that, and that's because she's simply that good.
The whole reason she's become "overexposed" is the same reason all child actors do...she's aging out of her "cute kid" period, and thus is getting cast in every movie that requires a young girl in it. Will she be able to break the child actor curse and continue on to "adult" roles? I certainly hope so. She is talented, both as a VA and an actress.
I'm in the camp that prefers the Fox dub of My Neighbor Totoro. Dakota Fanning is cool and all, but I absolutely abhor whoever sang The opening and ending themes. I guess she was trying to out preform the original, but ended up overdoing things and sounding obnoxious and ruining it (in my opinion) in the process.
I'm in the camp that prefers the Fox dub of My Neighbor Totoro. Dakota Fanning is cool and all, but I absolutely abhor whoever sang The opening and ending themes. I guess she was trying to out preform the original, but ended up overdoing things and sounding obnoxious and ruining it (in my opinion) in the process.
As much as I "appreciate" Princess Jasmine's version they should have stuff closer to how the original dub did it. It DOES sound they were trying a little too hard in the Disney version.
As much as I "appreciate" Princess Jasmine's version they should have stuff closer to how the original dub did it. It DOES sound they were trying a little too hard in the Disney version.
It wasn't Lea Salonga who sang the opening and ending songs. It was by Sonya Isaacs. I agree that the new opening theme sounded a little too gung-ho, but I thought the ending theme was handled fairly well.
Anyway, I apologize for bumping up this thread, but I came across a post that really got under my skin: a post demanding that the currently existing dubs of Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service be banished alongside "Warriors of the Wind" and that "better" dubs should be made for them.
If I sound like I'm going to be overemotional, I apologize, but I really found this post distasteful. Yes, there are some shortcomings with both Castle and Kiki, but they're not BAD dubs at all. "Warriors of the wind" quality? Nonsense. Ghibli was appalled by what was done to Nausicaa, and they APPROVED both of these two dubs. Which isn't to say that these two dubs are perfect; they're not without their faults. But there is nothing inherently horrible about either dub.
In fact, seeing more of the older dub of Laputa only proved to me how better Disney's version is. Despite not altering the last part of Sheeta's speech, just about EVERY voice in the older dub was so hokey or emotionless that they grated on my ears; certainly nowhere nearly on par with Disney's version. I haven't heard samples of Carl Macek's dub of Kiki, and I'm sure that is a fine dub (since it was done by the same folks how did the older dub of Totoro), but that wouldn't change my appreciation for the current version.
Yeah, anyone who would want to ban ANY of the Disney Miyazaki dubs seriously need to be slapped. Even their worst dub (Princess Mononoke, IMHO) is still lights years ahead from being a TRULY AWFUL DUB. All their dubs are of high quality and despite some discrepancies from the originals they each stand well on their own. Anyone who wants them to change are a bunch of stuck-up spoiled purists who think their opinions are the end all be all of how anime should be done in English.
Yeah, anyone who would want to ban ANY of the Disney Miyazaki dubs seriously need to be slapped. Even their worst dub (Princess Mononoke, IMHO) is still lights years ahead from being a TRULY AWFUL DUB. All their dubs are of high quality and despite some discrepancies from the originals they each stand well on their own. Anyone who wants them to change are a bunch of stuck-up spoiled purists who think their opinions are the end all be all of how anime should be done in English.
Definitely. The guy in question also has a link for "Download these fansubs".
I actually thought Mononoke was one of their best dubs, but to each their own. Seriously, though, even a lesser Disney dub is nowhere near, say, a 4-Kids quality dub. Just "least excellent". That's all. Meaning it's still good, just not as good as others.
Definitely. The guy in question also has a link for "Download these fansubs".
I actually thought Mononoke was one of their best dubs, but to each their own. Seriously, though, even a lesser Disney dub is nowhere near, say, a 4-Kids quality dub. Just "least excellent". That's all. Meaning it's still good, just not as good as others.
Thing is though, we hold Disney to a justifiably higher standard. We SHOULD expect "better than 4kids" dubs and arguably we should also expect better dubs than your average anime dub from Funi or Bandai or what have you. Thing is, I just don't think Disney's dubs are at a higher level than your typical anime dub. Some Disney dubs are good and some are just okay. I guess the best you could say is that none are truly terrible (although *I* certainly think some of them are a bit subpar).
This has been an interesting thread to read. I own most (but not all) of the Disney dubs of Miyazaki on DVD. I have to round out the rest of my collection soon.
I'm surprised nobody has commented on Ponyo, which is still in the theaters. I've seen this movie three times now, having pre-screened it for my three year old daughter, and then taken her to it twice now. I thought Noah Cyrus brought a nice innocence to this role. She was alive and energetic when she had to be, sleepy when she had to be, etc. The character is a lot of emotional extremes. In many ways I think she played the role a little younger than age 5, which isn't so much a stretch considering she's literally a "fish out of water". I also like Frankie Jonas a lot too. The Sosuke character is more serious and subdued than Ponyo, but that helps balance them out.
Other kudos go out to Tiny Fey as Lisa, who pretty much nailed her young mom character and Cloris Leachman's cantakerous Yoshie. Casting Cate Blanchette as Gran Mamare is pretty much like casting Cate Blanchette in anything, especially powerful magical characters. You get the best every time. Betty White made Noriko funny and charming. Matt Damon and Lily Tomlin were kind of wasted in this effort, but neither character (Sosuke's father Koichi and Toki, respectively) really contributes much to the story so it's not their fault really.
As for Liam Neeson, I'm kind of torn. Not that he's not a great actor or that this wasn't fine work. It was. But his voice is so distinctive that it's one of those voices that constantly screams "I'm Liam Neeson". Still, there are a lot of worse actors you could have cast for this role.
Again, sorry for bumping up this thread, but I found an article summing up the love/hate reactions that surround the Disney-Ghibli dubs. It's from Anime3000.com.
A debate where there lay both supporters, ardent naysayers, and those who just shrug their shoulders in an indifferent “eh”, the argument over Disney’s dub prowess emerges from a variety of perspectives. There are those who call Pixar’s voiceover work to attention when demonstrating the merit of Disney’s dubs, but that view isn’t entirely supported. Pixar is much more involved in the voiceover process than Ghibli, mostly due in part to the fact that that scripts for their films are written in English. Voiceover work is an intrinsic part of the creative process for Pixar, as it doesn’t involve the pesky middle man known as localization. The most we’ve ever heard from Disney about Ghibli’s involvement in dub work is that Miyazaki “likes them”. So the argument here, for the most part, is unfortunately unsubstantiated.
On the other hand, those who decry Disney dubs as nothing more than “a way to market the film”, are already reading against the proverbial grain. Proponents of subtitle purity generally claim that casting A-list actors serves only to further advertise the film through big names, and can restrict the creative potential of dub since these actors may be inept at voice acting. “Subtitle snobs” may see the name and already have an opinion brewing deep in their loins. This mindset leaves many subtitle-goers who watch Disney dubs with an unfair and negative predisposition. They’re bound to hate it, either way.
So where do you stand? What’s your take on the people who are people who argue for either side? If you are one of the many on either side of the debate and/or champion one of these arguments, where do you stand? Why am I wrong?
I always prefer the subs but Disney dubs are quality. The celebrity acting is usually offset by superb voice direction. Although in the one case of comparison I do prefer The Fox Family dub of My Neighbor Totoro. Most of the cast are bland although I think Elle Fanning is just about one of the best criers I've ever heard. The Dubs English end credits song is a travesty as well.
(oh wait, I guess you could also compare dubs of Nausicaa and Warriors of the Wind... but the less said about WotW is best)
Among the dub scripts though there is one example of what I think is a huge crime in the rewriting of a script and that is in Whisper of The Heart. In the dub when Seiji lets Shizuku into the shop to look at the Baron they add a line
in which he tells her that the Baron is part of a pair and the other is missing. He is NOT supposed to know that and it ruins the "magical" aspect of the story when she writes her story and gives The Baron a mate.
The voice talents in the cast are great though and mainly devoid of really big names.
I always prefer the subs but Disney dubs are quality. The celebrity acting is usually offset by superb voice direction. Although in the one case of comparison I do prefer The Fox Family dub of My Neighbor Totoro. Most of the cast are bland although I think Elle Fanning is just about one of the best criers I've ever heard. The Dubs English end credits song is a travesty as well.
(oh wait, I guess you could also compare dubs of Nausicaa and Warriors of the Wind... but the less said about WotW is best)
Among the dub scripts though there is one example of what I think is a huge crime in the rewriting of a script and that is in Whisper of The Heart. In the dub when Seiji lets Shizuku into the shop to look at the Baron they add a line
in which he tells her that the Baron is part of a pair and the other is missing. He is NOT supposed to know that and it ruins the "magical" aspect of the story when she writes her story and gives The Baron a mate.
The voice talents in the cast are great though and mainly devoid of really big names.
I didn't know that that detail was there in the original, but it didn't grind on me at all, as I thougt that dub was well done overall.
As for Totoro, I like both the Disney and FOX dubs equally, although I do have to give Elle the nod for her Mei.
I've also mentioned that I HAVE seen parts of the older dubs for Kiki and Laputa; the older dub of Kiki is good, but I wouldn't say it's better than Disney's dub--only different, although it is interesting to note that there are no musical alterations in either older dub, and Jiji in the old Kiki dub is a bit more lighter in tone than Hartman, only without the memorable one-liners (which fans either love or hate, but always crack me up). I found it interesting, too, that Lisa Michelson, who played Satsuki in Totoro, also voiced Kiki. In fact, the staff behind the old dub of Totoro produced this very dub.
Laputa's older dub, on the other hand, well, it simply DOESN'T compare to the Disney version, especially where the supporting cast is concerned. While the leads in the Disney version are at the short end of the stick, I thought they did better than the older dub's counterparts, and Dola and Muska's VAs are just plain bad compared to Leachman and Hamill--the older dub of Laputa DIDN'T have a very good direction or quality to go along with it, and it shows. (This was the primary reason why Macek wanted to do the Totoro dub, because he thought this older dub was terrible.) So I definitely have to say that Disney's version of Laputa, despite its faults, is the better dub.
I haven't seen Porco Rosso's older dub. As for WotW, well, the less said about it, the better, as even Miyazaki himself wants to forget about that. (I will admit, though, that a little bit of it I heard definitely gave me the impression that it was simply nowhere nearly on par with the current version.)
As for WotW, well, the less said about it, the better, as even Miyazaki himself wants to forget about that. (I will admit, though, that a little bit of it I heard definitely gave me the impression that it was simply nowhere nearly on par with the current version.)
The dubbing of WotW was actually not bad in itself. The voice direction was better than the older Laputa dub but not as good as Disney's dubs.
The rewriting of the plot and the cutting out of key plot scenes is what made it so bad.
To be honest, the only Disney dub of any Miyazaki movie that's really bothered me was Castle in the Sky. I'm talking about Pazu and Sheeta's voices; I couldn't stand them. The characters didn't even look like they were in their teens, and they got actors who were too old for those roles. I know that people have complained about them before, but Anna Paquin's inability to decide whether or not to use a British accent was awkward.
The other voice actors were amazing, though. I really thought Mark Hammil fit the calm and collective tone of Muska's character to a tee, even if he kept slipping into his Joker voice. And even if he's one of Disney's most overused VAs, Jim Cummings was great with his minor role as the general.
The leads in Castle in the Sky are often considered the weak link in the dub by a number of fans, but I didn't think they were SO awful. They DO sound mature, yes, but I think both still provide competent performances overall, although the main reason I adore the Castle dub is for the supporting characters certainly; those guys are the REAL stars of the dub. It's not a perfect dub; it does have its flaws. But it's not at all bad, and it's CERTAINLY better than the older dub, which, while less loose, was pretty much a poor fandub grade quality all around. Here's a clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw4cbFHwfPM
I commented in this thread before that I watched all of Miyazaki's movies dubbed - I still do, mostly, but minus Castle in the Sky. The over-mature voices just began to grate on me, so I switched to the sub for a second and decided to just stay there. Not only does the Japanese version have more accurate portrayals for Sheeta and Pazu, they've got pretty decent replacements for Mark Hammil and the rest of the supporting cast.
Meh whatever. They never bothered me in the least, and I'd rather hear Hamill and the rest of the cast any day.
Also, I will confess that while I DID like Laputa in Japanese, I'm not so attached to it, and I don't necessarily think Pazu or Sheeta are better voiced in the original, only different. I was, however, shocked at how shrieky and high-pitched they sounded (although they were nowhere nearly as lifeless as Barbara Goodson or Lara Cody's takes in the older dub). I really didn't remember Pazu or Sheeta sounding that shrilly; I actually find it hard to listen to the Japanese version of this film. While the mature-sounding voices may be a problem for some viewers, it wasn't for me, and when the rest of the dub is top-notch, then who am I to dislike it? It just seems... not very fair.
I wish Imgur wasn't allowed on this forum until the time is right for a return since it's been unavailable in the UK since last September, so I don't see why people use links from the site for here when it's no longer available in the UK and I'm really angry that their parent company made this stupid decision.
MeTV Toons is a great channel when it comes to classic cartoons, but we know it can be way better. The Duck4Real (me!) elaborates on this in his latest YouTube vlog. Watch it!
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