40 of 43 people found the following review helpful

Absolutely beautiful, 27 Aug 2011

This review is from: Arrietty [DVD] (DVD)

I saw the Japanese language version with subtitles - always the best way to go with Ghibli. The quality of the drawing and animation is absolutely stunning; I went to a 9pm showing (remember this supposedly a kids' film - in reality it works for everyone) and there were some scenes - e.g. the first sight of the interior of the dolls' house - where almost everyone in the cinema (all adults) was gasping something along the lines of "Oh, wow". The drawing is so wonderful. I never thought I'd say this, but I think it gives Spirited Away a good run for its money, certainly in terms of the production, if not the imagination of the script (I never read The Borrowers, so I don't know how closely this stays to the book). This really is a must see - and get the Bluray version to see all the incredible detail in those frames.

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Showing 1-5 of 5 posts in this discussion

Initial post: 24 Dec 2011 13:24:16 GMT

I. M. Knowles says:

The dubbing on ghibli films is always top quality, theres absolutely no reason to watch subtitled unless something has a terrible dub or you speak fluent japanese.

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In reply to an earlier post on 28 Dec 2011 11:04:08 GMT

Philadelphus says:

Hearing the characters speak English with American or English accents partly destroys the illusion for me and distracts from the film.

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In reply to an earlier post on 28 Dec 2011 17:04:53 GMT

Algae-none says:

Sorry but I disagree. There's every reason to watch subtitled, regardless of the quality of the dubbing. A film loses something of its essence without the natural flow of the original tongue.

Can't wait to see this film based on the few reviews here.

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In reply to an earlier post on 14 Mar 2012 09:20:58 GMT
Last edited by the author on 14 Mar 2012 09:21:47 GMT

H. Spanner says:

I agree with Philadelphus. "Howl's Moving Castle" was spoilt for me by Billy Crystal's voice &c. I can't see that Ghibli need the 'draw' of well-known US or British voices, so I can't think why they don't get Japanese actors to do the dubbing - plenty of them must speak English. Then one could watch the DVD sometimes with subtitles, to hear the music of the original language (but miss the nuances of the dialogue) and sometimes dubbed (to get the nuances but miss the music).

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Posted on 25 Apr 2012 00:18:02 BDT
Last edited by the author on 25 Apr 2012 00:19:57 BDT

A. Tyler says:

I also agree about the subtitled version usually being superior.
I have always chosen to watch the subtitled versions of the Ghibli films, as these 'flow' so much better. They are put together so gorgeously that it seems like a crime to watch something that ruins the lip-sync. The dubbed version of Howl was indeed inferior.

That said, I did watch Arrietty in the dubbed version (as I was watching with my wife and she would prefer it that way) and was impressed by the quality of the voice cast. Also, maybe it was more palatable due to the English source-material...
Even so, I will be returning to the subtitled version for any subsequent rewatchings :)

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Review Details

Item

Arrietty [DVD]

(57 customer reviews)

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

�19.99 �9.00

Reviewer

Paul G

Location: Barnet

Top Reviewer Ranking: 127,882

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