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Mar. 12th, 2006 09:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miko2Saturday I was lazy. I slept in very late, goofed off the rest of the day, and eventually made it to Fred Meyers to buy some things. Along with a lot of groceries for the coming week or so, I picked up My Neighbor Totoro, Whispers of the Heart, and Castle In The Sky. These three movies, it turns out, were filed in the tiny anime section rather than in the section for Disney films, which is why I didn't find them before. Go figure. Anyway I spent more money than I probably should have, but now I'm just lacking Pom Poko and My Neighbors the Yamadas to complete my Studio Ghibli collection. Well, those and Only Yesterday of course, which Disney doesn't seem inclined to release. They also didn't release Grave of the Fireflies, another Takahata film that is more adult than most of Studio Ghibli's work -- that film was released by Central Park Media. Hopefully Omohide poro poro (Only Yesterday) will eventually be released by someone somehow.
By the way, I'd almost forgotten this, but did you know what film Studio Ghibli is working on right now? Tales From Earthsea. That's right -- based on the Ursula K. Le Guin books!
So I watched half if Totoro late last night. This morning I got up and watched the rest of it, then, as an experiment, I watched the first 10 minutes or so of the older Troma/Fox version of Totoro, and then the same section of the Disney version. My conclusions:
1. The Troma version is pan & scan. The Disney version is not. You might not notice the difference just watching the pan & scan, but compared side to side, even within the first ten minutes there are major noticeable differences. Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki are justifiably well known for their beautiful scenery, and a lot of that disappears when you move to the pan & scan version. Instead of breathtaking vistas and wide-open landscapes, you get shots that are more cramped and narrow and not as interesting. You don't know what you're missing until you see it how it was meant to be seen, and then you can't believe the difference it makes.
2. Opening Theme Song: I always thought this song was very stupid, but you know what? It only sounds stupid in the Troma version. The lyrics are not different, but the way the singer sings them is. In the Troma version, you get what sounds like a capable singer singing a stupid song. In the Disney version, you get a capable singer singing a perfectly normal (for a kid's movie) song. It's all in how the lyrics are sung -- in particular, the Troma singer tends to emphasize the words "let's go" which are repeated many times throughout the song. In the Disney version you don't notice how often those words appear, because of how the singer emphasizes the words she's singing. To me, that's the difference between a singer with a good voice and a singer who also really knows how to sing.
3. Voices (dubbing): Frankly, the Troma voice talents can't possibly match up to the Disney versions, that was a given. But for the most part, the Troma dubs were really pretty good -- at least, compared to what you typically get with anime dubs. I had less of a problem with the voice talent than with the translations they were using, what they were given to say and how they were directed and recorded. But of course, the Disney voices are better. They're chosen more carefully to fit the characters (the two girls are, in fact, sisters in real life, and this comes through in their performances). They're more talented as voice actors and actresses, and they're much better directed. The differences are mostly subtle but still profound.
4. Translation: Ack. No comparison. Troma gets the message across, but Disney actually fits the dialogue to the scene and characters and situation. Even within those first ten minutes that was painfully obvious. This includes things said and unsaid. For example, when the father stops and asks the neighbor boy where his parents are. His back is to you, so you don't see his mouth moving. In the Troma version he points and says, "They're over there, in the field." In the Disney version, he points and says nothing -- which is much more in character as he's portrayed as very shy of his new neighbors elsewhere in the film. Then when they arrive at the house and the two girls are excited about the new place, in the Troma version they giggle and say "Wow!" and "Look!" a lot, without communicating much. When they run up through the canopy of trees to the house they say nothing of any import. This is another point where you don't see their faces and don't have to match dialogue to their mouth movements. In the Disney version you hear Satsuke exclaim, "Wow, a tree tunnel!" or something like that. It adds quite a bit to the scene and to their sense of excitement. Also when they look down into the stream -- in the Troma version Satsuke exclaims, "Mei, come here! Look!" Mei comes and looks down into the water, and asks what the things swimming in it are, and Satsuke says, "I don't know, maybe goldfish?" In the Disney version, Satsuke says something like, "Mei, look, a river! There's fish in it!" The difference is subtle, but it's repeated in every scene -- in the Troma version there is a lot of "Look! Hey! What's this?" and giggling. In the Disney version, they actually communicate their excitement through the things they say, rather than just saying, "Wow!" And more often it's Satsuke making the pointed observations, which makes more sense anyway, Mei is only 4 years old.
Other dialogue notes: in the Troma version, Satsuke sees the house and says, "What a neat old place!" and Mei yells "AAAAAAH", then asks if it's haunted. In the Disney version, Satsuke says, "Wow, spooky!" and Mei yells "SPOOKY!", and then Satsuke says, "Maybe it's haunted." Subtle difference again, but the Disney version works much better, especially with Mei repeating what her older sister says, and the older sister being the one to suggest that the place is haunted. When they run around in the grass, the Troma version has them do nothing but giggle, while the Disney version has them singing "It's falling down, it's falling down". When the hired moving man is bringing in the big old radio, in the Troma version he asks, "Hey, where's it go?" but in the Disney version he asks, "Hey, where do you want your radio?" The father's response, "Here should be fine," is much more natural than the Troma version as well. In the Disney version he reminds the girls to remove their shoes before coming inside (this is more "off camera" dialogue where you don't have to match to any mouth movements) and then Satsuke climbs in and walks around on her knees. In the Troma version, the father says nothing. Clearly the Disney version adds that dialogue to point out that she's not suppose to walk on the floor with her shoes on, which is something Japanese viewers would just assume was proper, but Westerners wouldn't immediately grasp.
There's the dialogue about the acorns and where they're coming from... in the Disney version the girls say they're falling from the ceiling; in the Troma version their dialogue, while possibly more accurate to the Japanese version, is less helpful. "There's acorns all over!" "They're coming from up high." The father says maybe it's squirrells, or (in the Disney version) that it could be rats. To which Satsuke says, "Rats? No!" and Mei yells, "Squirrells are better!" In the Troma version the father says, "It could be some other creature, like a rat," (more cumbersome dialogue and less to the point). Mei yells, "I don't want a dumb old rat!" (also less to the point).
Finally, there was the point where, in the Troma version, the father says, "Mei, I can't open the door when you're in the way." In the Disney version he says something more like, "Mei, how can I open the door if you're sitting there?" Subtle difference, but the first just sounds rude when you compare them, less like a loving father.
All of the dialogue is like that. Fans of absolute literal dialogue translation are probably horrified that Disney does subtle dialogue rewriting to explain things or make the scene flow better. I know part of that comes from a fear of bad rewriting -- the kind that arbitrairily decides that Nausicaa should really be called Princess Zondra, and her fox-squirrell pet Teto should really be called Foxy. (As much of a completist as I am, I refuse to ever own the first official Nausicaa translation into English, "Warriors of the Wind", which I once owned on VHS but got rid of.) But Disney is not making stupid, arbitrairy decisions here -- they're trying to tell Miyazaki's story as well as they can in English. They're not just translating dialogue, they're translating the whole story, and matching it as seamlessly to the visual portion of the movie as possible. And, it should be pointed out, they've hired some of the most talented people available to do these things. They do a very good job.
Nausicaa.net
When I was at the store last night I found corned beef on sale for $1.50 per pound. It's always on sale this time of year, and I love corned beef. I actually bought two and put one in the freezer. The other I put in the crock pot last night, and it smells very good now. I got some cabbage and onions and red potatos to go with it. I didn't really sleep that much last night, I got up early and couldn't get back to sleep, but corned beef for breakfast sounded a little weird, so I cooked some eggs and diced potatos and had that with juice and tea while I was watching Totoro. I guess I'll have corned beef this afternoon/evening. ^_^
Another note: On the subject of word/phrase logic flaw mispellings (the kind that give you "web sight" for web site, and "deja view" for deja vu), I saw a good one today. On a sports site, some fan was speaking of their favorite basketball team and their powerful inside player and called him "a force to be wrecken with". ^_^
For those of you monitoring my LJ for such things, and by "those of you" I of course mean David and Gene, I did no writing yesterday. But do not despair, for today is another day!
By the way, I'd almost forgotten this, but did you know what film Studio Ghibli is working on right now? Tales From Earthsea. That's right -- based on the Ursula K. Le Guin books!
So I watched half if Totoro late last night. This morning I got up and watched the rest of it, then, as an experiment, I watched the first 10 minutes or so of the older Troma/Fox version of Totoro, and then the same section of the Disney version. My conclusions:
1. The Troma version is pan & scan. The Disney version is not. You might not notice the difference just watching the pan & scan, but compared side to side, even within the first ten minutes there are major noticeable differences. Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki are justifiably well known for their beautiful scenery, and a lot of that disappears when you move to the pan & scan version. Instead of breathtaking vistas and wide-open landscapes, you get shots that are more cramped and narrow and not as interesting. You don't know what you're missing until you see it how it was meant to be seen, and then you can't believe the difference it makes.
2. Opening Theme Song: I always thought this song was very stupid, but you know what? It only sounds stupid in the Troma version. The lyrics are not different, but the way the singer sings them is. In the Troma version, you get what sounds like a capable singer singing a stupid song. In the Disney version, you get a capable singer singing a perfectly normal (for a kid's movie) song. It's all in how the lyrics are sung -- in particular, the Troma singer tends to emphasize the words "let's go" which are repeated many times throughout the song. In the Disney version you don't notice how often those words appear, because of how the singer emphasizes the words she's singing. To me, that's the difference between a singer with a good voice and a singer who also really knows how to sing.
3. Voices (dubbing): Frankly, the Troma voice talents can't possibly match up to the Disney versions, that was a given. But for the most part, the Troma dubs were really pretty good -- at least, compared to what you typically get with anime dubs. I had less of a problem with the voice talent than with the translations they were using, what they were given to say and how they were directed and recorded. But of course, the Disney voices are better. They're chosen more carefully to fit the characters (the two girls are, in fact, sisters in real life, and this comes through in their performances). They're more talented as voice actors and actresses, and they're much better directed. The differences are mostly subtle but still profound.
4. Translation: Ack. No comparison. Troma gets the message across, but Disney actually fits the dialogue to the scene and characters and situation. Even within those first ten minutes that was painfully obvious. This includes things said and unsaid. For example, when the father stops and asks the neighbor boy where his parents are. His back is to you, so you don't see his mouth moving. In the Troma version he points and says, "They're over there, in the field." In the Disney version, he points and says nothing -- which is much more in character as he's portrayed as very shy of his new neighbors elsewhere in the film. Then when they arrive at the house and the two girls are excited about the new place, in the Troma version they giggle and say "Wow!" and "Look!" a lot, without communicating much. When they run up through the canopy of trees to the house they say nothing of any import. This is another point where you don't see their faces and don't have to match dialogue to their mouth movements. In the Disney version you hear Satsuke exclaim, "Wow, a tree tunnel!" or something like that. It adds quite a bit to the scene and to their sense of excitement. Also when they look down into the stream -- in the Troma version Satsuke exclaims, "Mei, come here! Look!" Mei comes and looks down into the water, and asks what the things swimming in it are, and Satsuke says, "I don't know, maybe goldfish?" In the Disney version, Satsuke says something like, "Mei, look, a river! There's fish in it!" The difference is subtle, but it's repeated in every scene -- in the Troma version there is a lot of "Look! Hey! What's this?" and giggling. In the Disney version, they actually communicate their excitement through the things they say, rather than just saying, "Wow!" And more often it's Satsuke making the pointed observations, which makes more sense anyway, Mei is only 4 years old.
Other dialogue notes: in the Troma version, Satsuke sees the house and says, "What a neat old place!" and Mei yells "AAAAAAH", then asks if it's haunted. In the Disney version, Satsuke says, "Wow, spooky!" and Mei yells "SPOOKY!", and then Satsuke says, "Maybe it's haunted." Subtle difference again, but the Disney version works much better, especially with Mei repeating what her older sister says, and the older sister being the one to suggest that the place is haunted. When they run around in the grass, the Troma version has them do nothing but giggle, while the Disney version has them singing "It's falling down, it's falling down". When the hired moving man is bringing in the big old radio, in the Troma version he asks, "Hey, where's it go?" but in the Disney version he asks, "Hey, where do you want your radio?" The father's response, "Here should be fine," is much more natural than the Troma version as well. In the Disney version he reminds the girls to remove their shoes before coming inside (this is more "off camera" dialogue where you don't have to match to any mouth movements) and then Satsuke climbs in and walks around on her knees. In the Troma version, the father says nothing. Clearly the Disney version adds that dialogue to point out that she's not suppose to walk on the floor with her shoes on, which is something Japanese viewers would just assume was proper, but Westerners wouldn't immediately grasp.
There's the dialogue about the acorns and where they're coming from... in the Disney version the girls say they're falling from the ceiling; in the Troma version their dialogue, while possibly more accurate to the Japanese version, is less helpful. "There's acorns all over!" "They're coming from up high." The father says maybe it's squirrells, or (in the Disney version) that it could be rats. To which Satsuke says, "Rats? No!" and Mei yells, "Squirrells are better!" In the Troma version the father says, "It could be some other creature, like a rat," (more cumbersome dialogue and less to the point). Mei yells, "I don't want a dumb old rat!" (also less to the point).
Finally, there was the point where, in the Troma version, the father says, "Mei, I can't open the door when you're in the way." In the Disney version he says something more like, "Mei, how can I open the door if you're sitting there?" Subtle difference, but the first just sounds rude when you compare them, less like a loving father.
All of the dialogue is like that. Fans of absolute literal dialogue translation are probably horrified that Disney does subtle dialogue rewriting to explain things or make the scene flow better. I know part of that comes from a fear of bad rewriting -- the kind that arbitrairily decides that Nausicaa should really be called Princess Zondra, and her fox-squirrell pet Teto should really be called Foxy. (As much of a completist as I am, I refuse to ever own the first official Nausicaa translation into English, "Warriors of the Wind", which I once owned on VHS but got rid of.) But Disney is not making stupid, arbitrairy decisions here -- they're trying to tell Miyazaki's story as well as they can in English. They're not just translating dialogue, they're translating the whole story, and matching it as seamlessly to the visual portion of the movie as possible. And, it should be pointed out, they've hired some of the most talented people available to do these things. They do a very good job.
Nausicaa.net
When I was at the store last night I found corned beef on sale for $1.50 per pound. It's always on sale this time of year, and I love corned beef. I actually bought two and put one in the freezer. The other I put in the crock pot last night, and it smells very good now. I got some cabbage and onions and red potatos to go with it. I didn't really sleep that much last night, I got up early and couldn't get back to sleep, but corned beef for breakfast sounded a little weird, so I cooked some eggs and diced potatos and had that with juice and tea while I was watching Totoro. I guess I'll have corned beef this afternoon/evening. ^_^
Another note: On the subject of word/phrase logic flaw mispellings (the kind that give you "web sight" for web site, and "deja view" for deja vu), I saw a good one today. On a sports site, some fan was speaking of their favorite basketball team and their powerful inside player and called him "a force to be wrecken with". ^_^
For those of you monitoring my LJ for such things, and by "those of you" I of course mean David and Gene, I did no writing yesterday. But do not despair, for today is another day!
