Haters of the Disney Ghibli dubs
This is another post about Ghibli, but not for the reasons that you'd expect. It's about the dubs that Disney made for them. Speaking for myself, I love the Disney Ghibli dubs. Every one of them. My favorites? Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and Whisper of the Heart. These dubs, while not perfect, are still very much worth watching. And yet there are some Ghibli fans who seem to oppose them as if they are the worst things in the world that "butcher" Miyazaki's work, despite the argument that the director approved of the dubs in the first place, and yes, any change made to them.
Case in point: the soon-to-be released Arrietty dub by Disney is already getting a lot of flak by people even BEFORE it's released, with many declaring that a different dub made in the UK will be the superior version and Disney's will be the terrible version no matter what. This isn't the first time I've ever seen people be so vehemently against Disney's dubs. Even when KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE was released, a lot of fans railed against it. I remember one time when I was telling a friend in school (a hardcore Anime fan who HATED everything Disney at the time) about seeing KIKI, and he went into a rant on how he hated that Disney was getting Anime, and even told me that they should "shut down the animation department!" I know, I shouldn't take it personally, but still, it really hurt me deeply.
One of the most stabbing arguments I've ever heard fans make is when they say how better the non-Disney English dubs were, when, as a matter of fact, I didn't find them so. CASTLE IN THE SKY, KIKI, PORCO ROSSO, and MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO all had pre-existing dubs (the latter of which was released on FOX video), and many fans napalmed the new Disney dub of TOTORO from the start. Why? Because they knew the FOX dub was perfect and that Disney could never improve on it, so they ripped it apart. Never mind what it actually does RIGHT. Similar atmospheres occurred for KIKI and CASTLE; mainly from fans who opposed the casting choices from the start and the alterations of music, despite the asset that CASTLE's dub had Joe Hisaishi himself - yes, THAT Joe Hisaishi - produce the whole rescore for LAPUTA. No matter how it turned out, fans still hated the new score, condemining it as a "crime against all humanity" and tried to push other people into avoiding the Disney dub. Still other fans also claimed that the '80s dub of CASTLE was "perfect" and "better" than Disney's "poor, trainwreck" dub. But listening to the '80s dub myself, I could not understand what those people were talking about. The older dub of LAPUTA, as I have mentioned in other forums, was absolutely HIDEOUS and lifeless, with everyone sounding just horrible. Disney's dub cast may have the leads sound older and more dialogue, but I always have and always will maintain my view that of the two dubs for CASTLE IN THE SKY, Disney's is the better of the two. But standing behind this view has not been easy for me; fans of the '80s dub tried to use every argument they could to "prove" to me that there was nothing good about Disney's dub and that the "80's" dub was "sooooo much better". None of which were valid. Some have even called me a "Disney whore" and told me that I was wrong to like the Disney dub and that no one loves it; all they wanted was the "REAL" version, which was the '80s English dub. Needless to say, I have since decided to distance myself from such fans, and not even care what they have to say.
I have not heard the PORCO ROSSO older dub, but I was told it wasn't very good-although somebody said it was better than Disney's dub. KIKI'S older dub is good, too, on par with TOTORO's older dub. But NAUSICAA and LAPUTA's older dubs are nowhere near quality dubbing, unlike their Disney counterparts. (Actually, NAUSICAA's older dub is hardly a proper dub at all, but a 30-minute edited travesty of Miyazaki's film, NAUSICAA. Disney didn't even do that one, and frankly, Miyazaki was disgusted at it, because the changes were done WITHOUT his permission, unlike the Disney dubs, which didn't cut even one second from the films).
Two years ago at a con I also ran into a man with his daughter who both told me they hated PONYO's dub because they hate Cyrus.
So believe it or not, fans like those do exist. But do you have to listen to them? Does what they say count? Of course not; these dubs are the best in business, none of them are bad in any way, and if Ghibli doesn't have a problem with them, who are others to say Disney ruined them? Think about it.
Case in point: the soon-to-be released Arrietty dub by Disney is already getting a lot of flak by people even BEFORE it's released, with many declaring that a different dub made in the UK will be the superior version and Disney's will be the terrible version no matter what. This isn't the first time I've ever seen people be so vehemently against Disney's dubs. Even when KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE was released, a lot of fans railed against it. I remember one time when I was telling a friend in school (a hardcore Anime fan who HATED everything Disney at the time) about seeing KIKI, and he went into a rant on how he hated that Disney was getting Anime, and even told me that they should "shut down the animation department!" I know, I shouldn't take it personally, but still, it really hurt me deeply.
One of the most stabbing arguments I've ever heard fans make is when they say how better the non-Disney English dubs were, when, as a matter of fact, I didn't find them so. CASTLE IN THE SKY, KIKI, PORCO ROSSO, and MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO all had pre-existing dubs (the latter of which was released on FOX video), and many fans napalmed the new Disney dub of TOTORO from the start. Why? Because they knew the FOX dub was perfect and that Disney could never improve on it, so they ripped it apart. Never mind what it actually does RIGHT. Similar atmospheres occurred for KIKI and CASTLE; mainly from fans who opposed the casting choices from the start and the alterations of music, despite the asset that CASTLE's dub had Joe Hisaishi himself - yes, THAT Joe Hisaishi - produce the whole rescore for LAPUTA. No matter how it turned out, fans still hated the new score, condemining it as a "crime against all humanity" and tried to push other people into avoiding the Disney dub. Still other fans also claimed that the '80s dub of CASTLE was "perfect" and "better" than Disney's "poor, trainwreck" dub. But listening to the '80s dub myself, I could not understand what those people were talking about. The older dub of LAPUTA, as I have mentioned in other forums, was absolutely HIDEOUS and lifeless, with everyone sounding just horrible. Disney's dub cast may have the leads sound older and more dialogue, but I always have and always will maintain my view that of the two dubs for CASTLE IN THE SKY, Disney's is the better of the two. But standing behind this view has not been easy for me; fans of the '80s dub tried to use every argument they could to "prove" to me that there was nothing good about Disney's dub and that the "80's" dub was "sooooo much better". None of which were valid. Some have even called me a "Disney whore" and told me that I was wrong to like the Disney dub and that no one loves it; all they wanted was the "REAL" version, which was the '80s English dub. Needless to say, I have since decided to distance myself from such fans, and not even care what they have to say.
I have not heard the PORCO ROSSO older dub, but I was told it wasn't very good-although somebody said it was better than Disney's dub. KIKI'S older dub is good, too, on par with TOTORO's older dub. But NAUSICAA and LAPUTA's older dubs are nowhere near quality dubbing, unlike their Disney counterparts. (Actually, NAUSICAA's older dub is hardly a proper dub at all, but a 30-minute edited travesty of Miyazaki's film, NAUSICAA. Disney didn't even do that one, and frankly, Miyazaki was disgusted at it, because the changes were done WITHOUT his permission, unlike the Disney dubs, which didn't cut even one second from the films).
Two years ago at a con I also ran into a man with his daughter who both told me they hated PONYO's dub because they hate Cyrus.
So believe it or not, fans like those do exist. But do you have to listen to them? Does what they say count? Of course not; these dubs are the best in business, none of them are bad in any way, and if Ghibli doesn't have a problem with them, who are others to say Disney ruined them? Think about it.