Princess Mononoke

[CarlottaVonUberwald]

Basically, I have seen this film several times before and was looking at buyign a copy now. My question is that general with beautiful films like this I prefer not to use subtitles as i can't focus on the screen fully then however I have heard the dubbed version is awful? Can anyone enlighten me as to which to go for: Dubbed or Subtitled.

Carlotta

 

[HareBrain]

If you don't know what the dubbed version is like, have you always watched with subtitles?

Anyway, the DVD will give you both options.

I usually prefer the Japanese track in anime, and Princess Mononoke is no exception. I dislike the Mononoke dub more than most. I think Billy Crudup does a truly dreadful job with Ashitaka, and I can't bring myself to listen to it. Most of the other voices also sound bland and flat, especially the big she-wolf (whose name I've embarrassingly forgotten).

 

[Mouse]

The she-wolf is Morrow, I think. And (been a while since I saw it) but doesn't she have a male voice?

I have the dubbed one and I reckon it's ok but then I've not seen it with subtitles.

 

[HareBrain]

The she-wolf is Morrow, I think. And (been a while since I saw it) but doesn't she have a male voice?

I have the dubbed one and I reckon it's ok but then I've not seen it with subtitles.

It's odd you should say that, Mouse, if you've only seen the dubbed version. Moro (I looked up the spelling) is voiced by Gillian Anderson (X-Files Scully) in the dubbed version, but in the Japanese version Moro is indeed voiced by a man (though his voice is very peculiar and sexless -- I think he belongs to a particular tradition of Japanese theatre) and the effect is brilliant.

It's definitely worth seeing the subtitled version.

 

[Mouse]

Ah, yeah I remember it was Gillian Anderson now. I must've seen some of the subtitled version then. (I know I've not seen all of it!)

 

[HareBrain]

Slightly OT, I just remembered a DVD series called Fantastic Children where I hated both the English dub and the Japanese track -- but it had a fantastic French voice-track, so I watched it in French with subtitles.

Mind you, I suspect most things would sound better in French. A shame TV doesn't have that option.

 

[The Judge]

Mind you, I suspect most things would sound better in French.

As shown by Miss Piggy and Charles Aznavour (not sure if this will work YouTube - How to seduce a woman )

Er... I'd get this post back on thread, except I know nothing about the film...

 

[chrispenycate]

Slightly OT, I just remembered a DVD series called Fantastic Children where I hated both the English dub and the Japanese track -- but it had a fantastic French voice-track, so I watched it in French with subtitles.

Mind you, I suspect most things would sound better in French. A shame TV doesn't have that option.

They don't. OK, I haven't had TV since the beginning of the year, but I've seen enough serials dubbed from anything into French (done a few, too) and very few came out improved by the experience. (Benny Hill, yes)

But the French have truly taken the art of dubbing to heart as few other races. How come the rythmo is not adopted world wide, as the best technique for getting synchronisation and emotion? Because the French invented it the Anglophones and Italians have to reject it as useless, for national pride.

 

[Thadlerian]

Basically, I have seen this film several times before and was looking at buyign a copy now. My question is that general with beautiful films like this I prefer not to use subtitles as i can't focus on the screen fully then however I have heard the dubbed version is awful? Can anyone enlighten me as to which to go for: Dubbed or Subtitled.

Carlotta

It is a true horror indeed. Not only is Clare Danes' rendition of San the whiniest and most helpless you can imagine, Neil Gaiman (who wrote the dub) decided to add a few jokes of his own design, to fill in spaces where there is no dialogue.

But the subbed versions I've seen have in fact been "dubtitles" - that is, they've taken the English dub and printed it as subtitles. Which can be even more annoying, when you get to read dialogue even when no one's talking.

You can't win, essentially. But I would go with Japanese audio, which does San a little more justice as the strong, independent woman she actually is.

 

[Mele Kalikimaka]

It's not my favorite out of the Ghibli movies, but it's still not bad (I watched the English dub, BTW)

 

[HoopyFrood]

Ah, I love Princess Mononoke. After watching the likes of Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle (which is my favourite) it was unexpectedly violent and bloody. Whoa. And it's all about the subtitles, I can't stand dubbing. The original voices just fit so much better. And the dubbing for this one is especially bland; Gillian Anderson's trying to recreate that restrained, old, powerful feel of Moro, but she just ends up sounding a bit flat and quiet.

 

[HareBrain]

Neil Gaiman (who wrote the dub) decided to add a few jokes of his own design, to fill in spaces where there is no dialogue.

But the subbed versions I've seen have in fact been "dubtitles" - that is, they've taken the English dub and printed it as subtitles. Which can be even more annoying, when you get to read dialogue even when no one's talking.

There is a moment I always cringe at when watching Neil Gaiman's subtitles with the Japanese voice-track, when Ashitaka gets to the heart of the mysterious, beautiful, primeval forest and in a moment of perfect quiet the words "This place is magical" pop up on the screen.

No ****, Neil! Magical? You really think so? Gosh, thanks for pointing it out, it would have completely passed me by otherwise (etc)

The effect is even more marked in Castle in the Sky, where whole conversations seem to take place in the subtitles with no one speaking. I wouldn't be surprised if English speakers have a reputation around the world as complete chatterboxes.

 

[Mouse]

I never notice that! In either Mononoke, or Castle in the Sky. I'll have to look out for it. Should probably watch them with subs too.

 

[Thadlerian]

The effect is even more marked in Castle in the Sky, where whole conversations seem to take place in the subtitles with no one speaking. I wouldn't be surprised if English speakers have a reputation around the world as complete chatterboxes.

Oh yeah, that's horrible. The whole start of the dubtitled Castle in the Sky includes a slew of new dialogue to inform the viewer that "Dola's gang" are the ones attacking the zeppeliner. Originally, they're supposed to be a little mysterious, so that you can piece it all together on your own as the movie progresses.

The far worst example from that film, however, is when

**********

MID-MOVIE SPOILER ALERT:



Sheeta is welcomed as a crew member on Dola's airship, and dressed up in the pirate mom's old clothes. In the English dubtitles, she is advised to practice some "pirate language".

Sheeta: "Shiver me timbers."
Dola: "That's more like it."

Whereas this moment passes without a word in the original Japanese dub.

Sweet consternation.

 

[Doctor Crankenstein]

This is one of the few films he has made that I haven't seen yet...

I'll have to get it out at the video store some time.

 

[Constantine Opal]

I always watch all of the films with subtitles... I just find the dubbing sounds almost jokey, as if they're trying to sound as stupid as they possibly can. I find Japanese to be a beautiful language, and watching them with their original soundtrack just makes the films more beautiful too.

 

[Doctor Crankenstein]

Agreed. Dubs can be pretty bad at times... The Ponyo dub is pretty ordinary.

 

[HareBrain]

I actually prefer the Spirited Away dub, though. The revelation of Haku's identity (my favourite scene) just seems to lack energy in the original.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

I found the dubbed version of Princess Mononoke fine, but it is a very personal choice.

 

[Michael01]

Just watched Princess Mononoke again recently, with my son.

I've always been in the middle of the dubs/subs debate. I like both. There are some things that just don't have the same clarity (if that's the right word here) in dubs. If characters use words in the original, for example, that are pronounced only slightly differently but have very different meanings, it doesn't often come across very well in a dub. On the other hand, I find subs distract me from the rest of the experience; so, as long as the acting isn't vile (thereby distracting me in a different way), dubs can be quite enjoyable too.