Kiki English dub...?

I watched Kiki's delivery service for the first time in Japanese the other day and noticed something very strange......Half the music was missing! In the English dub there is a really nice bit of music when Kiki is flying with the wild geese. In the Japanese dub this bit is silent! It's the same in the bit where she goes to the bathroom after her first night at the bakery. In the English version there's a little cute soundtrack whereas in the Japanese there's nothing again.
Are these sections of score added by Disney? It's a shame because they really add to the film and the disney dubs are NEVER as good as the Japanese ones. It seems very mysterious.
Actually, I have to confess I actually preffered the English voices this time ok kick me if you like but the Japanese voices were just a bit too sparse for me, there are so many bits where nobody talks etc. It's not that I have a short attention span or anything, I was just surprised that so much of the English dub was added!

Hi Aliceface,
There is no mistery about that. Just Disney traslate and change things a little to make it the way they think that people outside Japan will like it.

In ghibli movies there are many silent moments. They think people form Europe and USA are not going to like it, so they add voices and music to fill those moments.

Oh, ok. So are all the English Ghibli dubs the same? I mean, does Disney change the dialogue drastically every time? Eeep, I think I may have to watch em' all again with subtitles.

I guess this matters movie from movie. I've seen dubtitles for Kiki and Laputa and I was completely horrified - they, like, wouldn't stop talking for a second! I actually enjoyed the silent scenes in both films a lot, and I think they greatly add to the film atmosphere. But this is a matter of taste, and if you like the Disney translation, well, I guess good for you.

That said, it seems that e.g. the Mononoke translation was pretty good (it's Neil Gaiman, after all) - I couldn't get full version with Japanese audio yet so I can't compare (managed to download just 2/3 of the movie with JP audio track), but from what I've seen it appears that the translation is pretty faithful to the original atmosphere. (But I actually don't enjoy the dub either, this time it's the voice casting I couldn't really identify with. And any Ghibli movie dubbed in English just feels strange and unnatural to me anyway. Nothing can help me anymore, I think.

So far Kiki is the only Ghibli movie that I have seen in English. Before having the chance to get hold of the Japanese R2, there had been a lot of complaints about the English dub floating in the web. Frankly, these complaints were the very reason I got interested in the version with an English track. I just wanted to see how drastically the changes were, and had the dub really "lived up to" its notorious reputation.

After seeing it, I found that the English dub was not really as horrible as what many claimed. In fact, everyone except Jiji stays acceptably close to the original dialogues, while Phil Hartman's voice-acting of the black cat and his humorous extra comments spice up the movie a bit.

What disappointed me most were the changes in the soundtrack. My favourite orchestral piece of Umi no mieru machi is chopped into pieces. Some later tracks are also used to fill up the earlier silent moments, which break down the emotional mood. By the time they should appear, the audience has already get used to them and these tracks has lost their impact (eg The track of Shoushin no Kiki). Some other sound effects, like the Disney-fairy-esque sound (appears whenever Kiki takes off), is somehow annoying.

Still, I can see where they are from in making such changes. After all, the English dub was made for a release that targets at the general Western parents and kids (which are known to have short attention spans), instead of hardcore anime fans.

Usually I don't care much about the dubs as long as they have included the original tracks. But I have to say the Kiki English track is very well-done, and my viewing experience as a whole is enjoyable. All my above rants are merely nitpicking of a fan that has gotten too used to the original stuff and tends to criticize anything not "original" enough. If Kiki was produced in US/UK, and the Disney dub was the original dub, I would probably choose it over the Japanese one.

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Wow! I never realised Neil Gaiman did the Mononoke translation! What a multi talented guy he is...
I agree whole heartedly with pasky, the dub for laputa was really really dire.
Yeah, Jiji didn't really have much to say in the japanese dub of Kiki, I preffered the Japenese voice (so cute!) but I like the sarcastic comments of the Diney Jiji.

I still enjoy the japanese versions alot better than the english dubbed version...little pieces of music aren't important...it's the voices of the characters.

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Evil Enough For You?

The Japanese voices tend to be a lot younger in general. I like Haku's Japanese voice. It makes you realise he is a young boy. His Disney English voice was terrible. Sounded ten years older and also like the guy who announces the rides at Disneyland. Too commercial. Yuck...

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Omoide no oku ni
yuragu hohoemi wa
toki no hajime kara no
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-- Why did Chihiro have to let go of Haku's hand? Why Chihiro do you make me cry buckets of tears?... sob--

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Lol. I never saw it in english. I was too afraid of what it would sound like. But thanks for telling me, now I'll never watch. =3

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Evil Enough For You?

I remember reading something that Miyazaki did not allow any cuts to any of his movies. That was the agreement that was made for Disney to release any of the Ghibli movies. But I still found the lines they ADDed to be a bit annoying.

__________________
Omoide no oku ni
yuragu hohoemi wa
toki no hajime kara no
sekai no yakusoku. - Promise of the World

-- Why did Chihiro have to let go of Haku's hand? Why Chihiro do you make me cry buckets of tears?... sob--

Please report pirated Ghibli/Disney products: tips@disneyantipiracy.com or the confidential Antipiracy voice mail hotline, 818-560-3300.
Please protect Mr. Miyazaki's works.

My Howl's MC viewing addiction - final theatre count: 11 showings

Post last edited by howl_chan_wa_kawaii on 10.11.2005, 01:35 AM.

I like the japanese Jiji much better, and the japanese calcifer to! Haku is horrible in the english dubb! he's played by a twenty-something year old, come on that's like twice as old as the japanese actor!

The only ghibli movie where I like the dubb as much as the japanese is My Neighbor Totoro.

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one day I tried to explain Spirited Away to Tess (who doesn't watch anime)...

Tess: but see that's just weird! I mean what would you think if your boyfriend suddenly turned into a dragon?

Me: (short pause) THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!!

yeah^^ I like Haku's voice in Japanese and Howl too.. I think Howl's voice in English sounded like a bit old.

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[I] general Western parents and kids (which are known to have short attention spans),

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