2011-07-08
Arrietty's Optimum UK Trailer (Possible Spoilers!)
Optimum UK has released this terrific trailer for the British release of Arrietty. What's most surprising to all is that they have produced a unique English-language dub for this version. It is not the Disney soundtrack. That's very interesting. I really hope this movie is successful when it arrives in theatres. You may not have Studio Ghibli to enjoy forever. You should enjoy these movies while you can.
Given that Mary Norton's novels are the basis for Ghibli's adaptation, it sounds better with a British voice cast. It adds a sense of authenticity to the movie, which is transposed to modern suburban Japan. The Disney voice cast will no doubt have that Southern California, Disney Channel vibe. That's not necessarily better or worse, just different. It's going to be very interesting to compare the two different soundtracks next year.
Right now, I'm guessing the Optimum UK dub won't be included when Disney publishes Arrietty on Blu-Ray here in the States, and vice versa. I wouldn't guess the issue would become a deal-breaker for Ghibli fans on either side of the pond; as long as the dubs are written and performed well and hew to the original Japanese script, we'll be happy. And the die-hard collectors among us always enjoy any excuse to justify buying yet another version. We'll end up owning three or four different versions of Arrietty before all is said and done!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
Awesome little movie! Just a week ago I received the Blu-ray (with English subtitles) from Japan. It’s expensive but really worth the purchase. I recommend the movie to everyone.
I did see the Japanese version with English subtitles, and it's a wonderful film. And the best Ghibli film from a non-Miyazaki (Hayao)/Takahata director since Whisper of the Heart. I really disliked The Cat Returns and Tales from Earthsea. This may sound silly, but the thing that impressed me most about Arrietty was the use of sound. It truly gave a sense of scale that I haven't seen before in other movies with "small" characters.
It would be tempting to import the UK English release. However, I want to send across the message that people in North America do like Studio Ghibli. And since I can't afford to three Blu-Ray discs of the same film, I will buy the Disney version.
British newspaper The Guardian has a (very short) article about the director of Arrietty: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jul/07/first-sight-hiromasa-yonebayashi
I wouldn't watch that trailer if I were you. It gives away the entire film.
The beauty of Arrietty is its distinctly Ghibli and Japanese style of being slow and taking its time to explore itself.
In typical western fashion, they're so eager to get into ADD people's pants that they only show the fast paced portions and major plot points.
Please consider giving a warning, because I feel this is Ghibli's best film since Spirited Away.
Ack! I didn't realize that trailer gave most of the movie away. I hate it when movie trailers do that. Doesn't it pretty much defeat the purpose of watching a movie when the entire thing is just given away? It's a goofy logic.
I'll add a "possible spoilers" to the title of this post.
Daniel, they are only interested in getting you into the theater and spending your money. They don't care how they do it, even if it means showing you the entire movie in a few minutes. This isn't the first time it's been done, and it won't be the last.
Anyways, I totally agree with you from an artistic point. Why spend years making something to surprise people only to spoil it in a few minutes before it's even released?
The best part about ghibli movies is that there is always so much that it's almost impossible to spill it all in the trailer. I kind of wish that the UK would make their own dubs for all of the Ghibli films- I'm kind of hating Disney in how they choose their voice actors *cough cough Ponyo cough*.
@just8: Thanks for the heads-up on the Guardian article. I fired off an email to them asking about the (possible) Porco Rosso sequel. I'll wait on writing a post until I have some more news to pass along.
@john smith: In all fairness, a movie trailer is only a commercial. And the movie studios have marketing people who will produce mountains of data showing that people won't go to a movie unless they know everything beforehand. They're very easily intimidated by unknown movies.
Personally, I love the old Hollywood movie trailers, which were mini-spectacles in themselves. But that's just me.
I am hoping that Arrietty will be successful in the UK. Nearly everybody seems to love the movie, which is always a good thing.
I don't mind the Voice acting as the usually choose decent or similar sounding people to the Japanese counterparts for the most part ( save for some of the recent voice acting jjobs.. some of them I highly dislike.. as like in Howl. Howl himself is Welsh.. I certainly didn't hear any Welsh accent there Christian Bale!! (bugger >.<)). But it's really like in The End of Ponyo how the made the actual theme into a damn Miley Cyrus song!! WTF Disney... just...... WTF!?!? o.O God.. I swear I hope osmeone will crack down on stuff like that in the near future.. makes most Ghibli enthusiasts I think facepalm themselves and shake thier heads in utter shame. Just my oppinion tohguh. Thanks for hearing the rant. Ciao fellow Ghibli-freaks! XD
amen chealseaanderik, amen! (don't you love John Lassetter telling Miyazaki it's something he can be proud of..... yeah not so much.)
I saw it. Not as weak as "Gedo Senki" or "The cat returns", but way weaker than all other Ghibli's movies. Nice backgrounds and nothing much more. The main problem for me it's not the story but the characters; except perhaps for Arrietty, they are all flat and insipid.
I really can't wait to see this Ghibli film, especially on a big screen. It seems a little sad though that Ghibli now relese very fantastical children's anime such as this film and Ponyo(still brilliant for adults to enjoy) instead of the slightly 'darker' more adult themes explored in classics such as Grave of the Fireflies, Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke. Is that because Disney have some weird control over Ghibli now?
Neither here nor there for me really, I just booked my ticket for Friday, in the original language with subtitles. Although the more Western themed Ghiblis like Howl's and Arrietty do very much suit English dubs, so I'm not being a sub-snob, it's just I wanted to avoid loads of noisy kids on the opening release day, so asked for one of their Japanese audio/english sub screenings. I don't think you get a choice in the multiplex cinemas, but I'm going to the Cornerhouse in Manchester, a small 'arthouse' cinema.
I'm very supportive of Optimum for choosing to redub instead of buying it off Disney though. It's cheaper for them for a start, and it is only fair that English actors get a chance to lend their talents to Ghibli. Why should English people always have to listen to American accents for Japanese anime? And let's face it, Disney have made as many bad casing choices as they have good ones. Ponyo was simply awful in English... the whiny Cyrus/Jonas combo killed the film's spirit. That's what comes with letting the producers CHILDREN choose the lead roles (which is true... and unbelievably silly.) The Fanning sisters did a great job with Totoro though, and Howl's Moving Castle has a great dub... as does Porco Rosso.
i like original jap tracks as they come of as inevitably the more natural and truer sounding in most ghibli cases. the movie was perhaps the first i watched in hd (a thora torrent 720v) and its beauty is was supurb- i feel sad that having all current movies on dvd is now irrelevant- but i question the sanity of 'super hd' its a real hard ware killer (1080-and even 4k) with not much improvement in quality unless you happen to look like a borrower when standing next to your tv....
as for the movie, the plot is simple but life as a borrower will require a scrutiny that makes just walking to the kitchen an indiana jones parady. the need to just portray how someone so small gets around is fascinating in itself and is key for this movies credit- ghibli movies are famed for their artistry and this movie is like looking at one under a looking glass. the situation the characters create for themselves makes for a sad end but also a lesson in the necessity of being unseen- watch for cat-bus homage!
Post a Comment