As some of you know the DVD was released last week and I thought it deserved its own thread.
In particular I wanted to compare the sub (which I saw for the first time on the DVD) and the dub.
I thought the dub was decent enough but not as good as the sub. I thought the Japenese Chihiro and Yubaba/Zeniba in particular were better than their American counterparts.
One of the thing that puzzled me about the film when I saw it first (dubbed) was the sudden change in Zeniba’s character from the first scene in Yubaba’s room to the second scene in her own home. In the sub she is much more consistent across the scenes. For some reason they fiddled with the text and voice-acting in the dub and made the Zeniba character ,in her first scene, sound a lot nastier.
Then there was the scene where Chihiro remembers Haku’s name and they fall down. It was too sappy in the dub; much less so in the sub; again a combination of the text and voice-acting.
There were a lot of other minor changes most of which didn’t affect the film much and some of which improved on the orginal.
Overall I think the dub lost some of the magic of the original though.
As for the rest of the DVD the making-of documentary with its inside look at Miyazaki and Ghibli at work was great though I wish it had been longer and discussed more of the technical details like the digital work. Some more discussion about the film itself and its interpretation would have also been nice.
When I saw it in theaters, I thought it had the best dub I’d ever heard. I haven’t compared it lately with the japanese audio, but I’d agree the original is better still. For one thing, Chihiro’s growth from whiny and frightened to confident and self-possessed seemed more subtle, and thus more believable.
Chapter One’s pep-rally intro still baffles me. I’m more amused than annoyed that the (skippable, thank goodness) trailers on the disc are for the other two Miyazaki discs simultaneously released–which a large percentage of purchasers, I suspect, also bought simultaneously as I did.
I haven’t looked at the second disc yet, can’t speak to that.
Which bits of the dub version did you think improved the original?
Can I just say that I adored this film when I saw it in the theaters last week. My SO absolutely hated it, and said that I was being pretentious when I said I liked it, because how is it possible to like a film like that? The best reason I could come up with was that it captured the feeling of being a kid better than anything I had ever seen. And that the creator’s imagination was stunning. I need to hear some better reasons of why this was a good film!
Drastic:,
The improvements were several minor line changes which I don’t remember exactly. One example is the line where Yubaba says : “I see you failed to bring my baby back” just before the baby is dropped from the air. The English line sets up a surprise bettter than the Japanese one: “You brought Baby back with you, right?”
Ouisey:
Your SO is in a distinct minority. Spirited Away has been very popular both among critics and IMDB where it is the highest rated animated film. As for additional reasons to like it there is the excellent music by Joe Hisaishi and the beautiful background artwork and character designs.
Here, I get to watch Spirted Away with the original Japanese audio. People who watched the dubbed Chinese verison says it sucketh. Plus somehow listening to unidentifiable Japanese adds to the magic…;-]
I’d seen the sub previously, so when I watched the DVD last night I decided to try the dub. I didn’t like the girl’s voice from the start, I found it very grating. When Yubaba came on I had to change it. She really mangled it. I really dislike disney’s practice of finding some random ‘famous’ person for voice roles. They are totally hit and miss. The Kiki dub, for instance was really good IMO, way way better than Spirited Away. I usually watch the sub with any movie, but when my daughter wants to watch we go with the dub, so I’m really disappointed. I was really looking forward to watching it with her, as she loves Kiki and Totoro.
I also detested the John Lasseter moment before the movie. Ick! And “the Art of Spirited Away” was cringeworthy. It’s so bad I’m afraid of what they put on the second disc. ouisey Liking a children’s movie make you pretentious? Weird. I would have to ask your SO how it’s possible not to like it. It’s so good on so many levels and in so many ways.
I love all Miyazaki’s work I’ve seen so far - Mononoke, Kiki, Totoro, Spirited Away, Lupin and Laputa. I really think the man’s a genius.
:"And “the Art of Spirited Away” was cringeworthy.
Doesn’t the guy who presents it (the Haku voice actor) sound like a total phony?
“It’s so bad I’m afraid of what they put on the second disc.”
Don’t worry; the making-of documentary in Japenese is excellent. It’s not just promo material but gives you a real look at the process of making the film.
Yes! He sounds like a used car salesman, or a top 40 DJ.
Thanks for letting me know, I’ll watch it tonight.
Didn’t “The Art” make you feel like you were watching a thinly veiled advertisment designed for second graders? “We thought they meant a real seal! Ha ha ha!” I wanted to scream. Why didn’t you get someone with two brain cells and some kind of understanding of Japanese culture to help you translate a Japanese film, you empty headed morons?!
That promo really pushed my buttons, can you tell?
Turn it around on him. Ask him “How is it possible to hate a film like that?” and make him justify himself … .
I think one reason that some people dislike SA is that it has a very strange story arc, so if you go in expecting certain things to happen in a certain way you’re going to be disappointed.
Normal stories have a conflict-complication-resolution structure. The protagonist is faced with a problem, he struggles against it, and he triumphs in the end.
SA sets the viewer up for this by throwing Chihiro into what appears to be a very scary and dangerous situation. You expect that she’s going to have to fight against the evil Yubaba to win. The story will get more exciting as it goes on, culminating in a climactic confrontation where Yubaba is defeated and Chihiro and her parents escape to live happily ever after.
But instead of building tension as the story progresses, Myazaki steadily dissipates it. Scary characters become friendly and harmless. When the natural moment for a big confrontation with Yubaba arrives it doesn’t happen – Chihiro has already left on the train. By the time she does rescue her parents Yubaba is almost sorry that she has to make Chihiro take the final test.
So if you’re expecting the normal heroic story arc, you’re going to find yourself frustrated by SA over and over again: “What’s going on here? Why’s she being nice? I thought she was a bad guy! Nothing’s happening! This is boring!”
I like what Myazaki has done, even though it confused me the first time through. In a way the whole story is a metaphor for moving to a new place. Initially everything is strange and scary, but if you work hard and are humble and friendly eventually the strange becomes familiar and the scary monsters can turn into freinds. It’s a very sweet and very odd message.
Interesting interpretation, Pochacco. It didn’t occur to me but it makes a lot of sense.
BTW what did you people think of the train ride ? I thought it was one of the most beautiful and haunting scenes I have ever seen but I am not sure what its meaning was.
Hmm. Well, disagreement there. The original line just works better for me–it keeps Yubaba established as someone observant (it’s rather obvious that they didn’t have a seven-foot tall sumo baby with them when they came back, just that “dirty rat” and odd little flying thing), but in a way that still misses important details until they suddenly burst right in front of her nose.
The train ride struck me as further expression of the film’s larger themes–that travel into an unfamiliar new place may not be done alone, but is always met alone. No-Face doesn’t really count; all the passengers–silent and passing anyway–had disembarked, and Baby and Bird were sound asleep in the final phase–leaving Chihiro alone in her awareness, being carried to an unknown future but having passed from rejection and fear of it to acceptance and willingness to meet it. (This being one of those themes that play out in most of Miyazaki’s films to one degree or another–most explicitly in Princess Mononoke when Ashitaka’s told “you cannot avoid your fate–but if you are strong enough, you may rise to meet it.”)
Isn’t anyone else going to point out the DVD’s most glaring flaw?
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN WIDE SCREEN!!!
Okay, I’m better now. But this whole full screen crap pisses me off every time it happens. And it’s particularly annoying in this case, where we’re shown clips from the real screen in the promos and then have to watch the edited version.
The train ride spooks me out too. The beginning also give me the willies (though other people I ask think I am…strange…for feeling so). Those scenes just seem to stir up the feelings of uncertainity that I feel as a child.
Each scene is vivid and memorable - a railway track surrounded by water, a lantern bowing, the deserted amusement park…
How’s the color on the US version? Does it have the infamous red cast? I have the Japanese version and after I heard about it, it started to bother me.
I think I’m going to go down in Board history as the Defender of the Dubs! I just don’t hate them as much as most other people seem to.
Having said that, I thought the Japanese voice for Haku was better than the English. It seems to me that in dubs they often use voices for boys that sound too old for the character. Haku’s voice sounded all right at first, til I watched the sub.
One of the other complaints I usually have about dubs isn’t the voice acting but the changes in dialog. I hate it when American writers replace the original dialog with dumb jokes (ok, 3x3 Eyes being the exception). For example, when the dragon Haku slashed the paper bird: Sub Zeniba: I’ve been careless. Dub Zeniba: Uh oh, a papercut! Or something like that. It just seems silly to me.
The sanitizing of the Shinto religion irritates me, too (Ooh, “gods,” that’s sacreligious, better change it to “spirits,” that’s less heathen). Heaven forbid children should be exposed to other cultures and points of view.
Oh well. I love either version of the movie and could watch it over and over again. The art work is amazing. I love the artist’s ability to express what the characters are thinking and feeling without having them speak a word. The sequence with the Stink God/River God is my favorite. I wish I could watch it again right now!
