new "My Neighbor Totoro" DVD

[Totoro Man]

so... I've heard here and there that "the new dub of 'Totoro' is terrible!"

when I got it in the mail, I wasn't expecting it to be very good... and y'know what? it's not that bad! it's an improvement over the earlier dub (Fox, I think). I didn't have any real complaints about it (certainly not the first half, which is all I've had a chance to see thus far). I mean, at least they sound like little kids in this version!

again... I was sorta dumbfounded by the "storyboards" extra DVD. I wish that they'd show other extras... like, geez, I dunno... behind the scenes production stuff, coloring backgrounds, character designs, some cultural/historical background for the stories and characters... guess you just gotta hunker down and buy the companion art books for that, I guess.

[Cephus]

Yeah, I thought the storyboard DVD was pretty stupid myself, I'm not going to watch something that is shot-for-shot identical to the movie, which is what it looked like in the first couple minutes that I saw.

Disney usually does a very good job with Miyazaki films, I can't think of any that I haven't liked the English dub on (which is amazing since I'm an adamant anti-dub guy) but that's because Disney can pay for decent actors (not voice actors... real actors who know how to act). Most of the time I just watch the subtitled version though.

[Spastic Minnow]

Didn't get the DVD but the new dub was shown on TCM (and later the subtitled for a comparison). The new dub certainly isn't horrible, the script is very good, I actually prefer the dub script to the subtitle script which seemed to take more liberties with what was being said than the dub. I expect the subtitles to be more literal but that just wasn't the case here.

As for the girls, I think I prefer the Fox VA's slightly. Dakota Fanning and little sister did an alright job but I feel like they didn't even bother with an audition- just "hey, we can get Dakota AND her sister, how cool" and didn't even bother trying anyone else who might have fit the parts a little better. I will say that I loved the younger Fanning's laugh and cry. I definitely preferred the other VA for the Dad to Tim (Superman) Daly, but again he wasn't horrible, just could have been better.

[Pikachu]

As far as I'm concerned the VAs for both Dad's were very similar. Tim Daily has a softer voice, which I think works for audiences. As for the girls, I like both. They both handled it in different ways.

Also, I agree, the dub actually was more accurate to the Japanese than the sub on the Disney version. I commend them on doing a fantastic job.

As for voice acting, the one that really bothers me was Vanderbeak for Pazu. He just didn't fit that character, at all. And Kudo to Michael Keaton on Porco Rosso, he was the closest sounding voice actor to the original Japanese of any dub in the entire history of dubs! You can switch between the Japanese language track and the English one and not know the voice actor changed. Now that's amazing.

The Whisper of the Heart dub was amazing as well. I would place it at the top just for timing, translation, and execution. Spirited Away and Howel's moving castle and Porco Rosso would be next for authentic dubbing which was on part to the originals.

Nausicaa, the Cat Returns, Totoro, Castle in the Sky, and Pompoko all follow suit. I hope they re-release Mononoke Hime with a more authentic translated dub. Gaiman's version is alright, but it's really different, and sticks out like a soar thumb if you are used to the Japanese.

Pika!

[Spastic Minnow]

The Whisper of the Heart dub was amazing as well. I would place it at the top just for timing, translation, and execution.

Can't agree because of one short scene. In the dub a section of dialogue is changed when Seiji lets Shizuku into the shop to see the Baron (before the Country Roads jam). A bit of plot is revealed in the dub that isn't revealed in the original script and takes away from what should be a mystery and messes up what was supposed to be this bit of serendipity/ grand coincidence that happens later.