"Its been such a long time
I think I should be going, yeah
And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rolling"
Boston said it best in Foreplay/Longtime. I think I'll be back at least for a little while.
David
August 13, 2009
August 12, 2009
Regarding Hayao Miyazaki's Newest Film
Woah, it's been a long time, and I know I shouldn't be thouching this blog anymore, but there's just this one thing that has been bothering me for the last few days, and, if you read the title (if you haven't, it's right there), it is about Miyazaki's newest masterpiece: Ponyo (on the Cliff by the Sea (this is the full title, I just refer to it as Ponyo)) .
Now, don't get me wrong, Ponyo is a brilliant movie, and everyone of you should definitely check out. But wait, you say you don't like anime? This movie, as well as Miyazaki's other creations, are a step above anime, and shouldn't even be compared to shows such as Naruto, Bleach, whatever.
So we've established that Ponyo is a great movie, so what's bothering me? Well, everything was great until Disney decided to ruin the English dub (where they 'dub' over the voices) by choosing a horrible, dreadful, absolutely unspeakable cast. So you're asking, what do you mean, they did pretty well with Spirited Away's dub! (okay, none of you asked me that, but now you have to listen to my answer)
Before we get to that, let me give you some background on Ponyo (I know, I'm jumping all over the place, stay with me now). It's about a mermaid-girl who is found by this boy, and they become friends, but their friendship causes an imbalance in the nature, Ponyo's father, knowing of this imbalance, tries to take her back. Anyways, it's a great movie, and it has a nice song too. Ponyo is this innocent girl voiced by an innocent girl in the Japanese version, and the boy who finds Ponyo is also cool. In fact, all the characters are voiced brilliantly, no problems.
Okay, now that you have some knowledge, I can now explain what is bothering so freaking much. Where was I? Oh yes, Disney chose the worst imaginable cast to voice the English version of this movie, guess who they are. Ponyo is voiced by Noah Cyrus. No, it's no coincidence; she is the sister of one of the worst musicians, that's right, Miley Cyrus. And that's not all. Guess who the voices the boy? Frankie Jonas. That's right. His last name is enough to make me writhe in loathing; he is a brother of the infamous Jonas Brothers. You see where I'm going? But sure, just because they cast is bad doesn't mean the movie will be bad, right? WRONG. That is as far from the truth as possible. Here, let me give you an example: as I mention before, Ponyo has a theme song, and here are links to the Japanese version, and then the English version. Listen to both of them, see what I mean.
Japanese - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trm4roeuZ54
English - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Gh760tGmU
Have you watched both of them? No? Don't worry, I'll wait.
Done? Good, how was it?
If you want, there is more you can compare, the voices of the characters can be heard in the movie trailers, and, although most of you may not understand what they say in Japanese, I can assure you it's more meaningful than the English counterpart.
So, in the end, what can we learn from this horrible abomination Disney has spawned? Well, for one thing, the English dubs, or voice-overs, are usually worse than just having subtitles, although there are a few exceptions. Shows like Naruto, anything by 4Kids, and a lot of others, including the English version of Ponyo coming out August 14th (why that's tomorrow!), are just a few examples of poor voice acting.
What else have we learned? Is that it? Oh wait, the fact that Disney, a one very honest company, doesn't care anymore about the quality of their products, but instead that it appeals as much to prepubescent American girls as possible? What? We already knew that didn't we? It's obvious, just look, the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, all those horrible shows on Family; unless you've been living under a rock on the ocean floor (cough), it would be extremely apparent that Disney has become a greedy monster. Disney could have chosen anyone with even an ounce of talent, but, instead, they decided to ride on the 'success' of their teen 'idols' and chose siblings of their 'stars'. But, I digress, enough about Disney, I'll save the details for another post.
Well, in the end, not everyone will agree with what's been said. In fact, there are people out there who would explode with rage after reading this, as, unfortunately, there are people out there devoid of a sense of music, and oblivious to the world around them other than what Disney feeds them. Of course, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is a fantastic movie, but what Disney has done is outright unacceptable. Please, is you want to see this movie, if it kills you, do not watch the English version. You'll be thankful you watched the sub.
What do you think? What are your opinions on this? Is Disney great, providing families with high-quality entertainment, or are they milking their franchises?
-Michael
goombainthepark@gmail.com
If you can's swallow it, don't follow it.
Now, don't get me wrong, Ponyo is a brilliant movie, and everyone of you should definitely check out. But wait, you say you don't like anime? This movie, as well as Miyazaki's other creations, are a step above anime, and shouldn't even be compared to shows such as Naruto, Bleach, whatever.
So we've established that Ponyo is a great movie, so what's bothering me? Well, everything was great until Disney decided to ruin the English dub (where they 'dub' over the voices) by choosing a horrible, dreadful, absolutely unspeakable cast. So you're asking, what do you mean, they did pretty well with Spirited Away's dub! (okay, none of you asked me that, but now you have to listen to my answer)
Before we get to that, let me give you some background on Ponyo (I know, I'm jumping all over the place, stay with me now). It's about a mermaid-girl who is found by this boy, and they become friends, but their friendship causes an imbalance in the nature, Ponyo's father, knowing of this imbalance, tries to take her back. Anyways, it's a great movie, and it has a nice song too. Ponyo is this innocent girl voiced by an innocent girl in the Japanese version, and the boy who finds Ponyo is also cool. In fact, all the characters are voiced brilliantly, no problems.
Okay, now that you have some knowledge, I can now explain what is bothering so freaking much. Where was I? Oh yes, Disney chose the worst imaginable cast to voice the English version of this movie, guess who they are. Ponyo is voiced by Noah Cyrus. No, it's no coincidence; she is the sister of one of the worst musicians, that's right, Miley Cyrus. And that's not all. Guess who the voices the boy? Frankie Jonas. That's right. His last name is enough to make me writhe in loathing; he is a brother of the infamous Jonas Brothers. You see where I'm going? But sure, just because they cast is bad doesn't mean the movie will be bad, right? WRONG. That is as far from the truth as possible. Here, let me give you an example: as I mention before, Ponyo has a theme song, and here are links to the Japanese version, and then the English version. Listen to both of them, see what I mean.
Japanese - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trm4roeuZ54
English - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Gh760tGmU
Have you watched both of them? No? Don't worry, I'll wait.
Done? Good, how was it?
If you want, there is more you can compare, the voices of the characters can be heard in the movie trailers, and, although most of you may not understand what they say in Japanese, I can assure you it's more meaningful than the English counterpart.
So, in the end, what can we learn from this horrible abomination Disney has spawned? Well, for one thing, the English dubs, or voice-overs, are usually worse than just having subtitles, although there are a few exceptions. Shows like Naruto, anything by 4Kids, and a lot of others, including the English version of Ponyo coming out August 14th (why that's tomorrow!), are just a few examples of poor voice acting.
What else have we learned? Is that it? Oh wait, the fact that Disney, a one very honest company, doesn't care anymore about the quality of their products, but instead that it appeals as much to prepubescent American girls as possible? What? We already knew that didn't we? It's obvious, just look, the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, all those horrible shows on Family; unless you've been living under a rock on the ocean floor (cough), it would be extremely apparent that Disney has become a greedy monster. Disney could have chosen anyone with even an ounce of talent, but, instead, they decided to ride on the 'success' of their teen 'idols' and chose siblings of their 'stars'. But, I digress, enough about Disney, I'll save the details for another post.
Well, in the end, not everyone will agree with what's been said. In fact, there are people out there who would explode with rage after reading this, as, unfortunately, there are people out there devoid of a sense of music, and oblivious to the world around them other than what Disney feeds them. Of course, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is a fantastic movie, but what Disney has done is outright unacceptable. Please, is you want to see this movie, if it kills you, do not watch the English version. You'll be thankful you watched the sub.
What do you think? What are your opinions on this? Is Disney great, providing families with high-quality entertainment, or are they milking their franchises?
-Michael
goombainthepark@gmail.com
If you can's swallow it, don't follow it.
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