I would agree that the english voice casts for Miyazaki's films have been pretty stellar for the most part. Having said that, I find Phil Hartman's voice performance as the cat in Kiki's Delivery Service completely intolerable. A dire case of miscasting to be sure. And I'm a big fan of Hartman. Of course, I actually don't usually watch the dubbed versions, but used to work in a video store, where we would play such things in english so as not to scare away the philistines.

Oh, man, agreed! Phil Hartman totally ruined that movie for me. That's the only Miyazaki movie I hate and I think it's because of that voice making the first impression.

Do you guys remember how fucking cool Christian Bale's voice was in Howl's? That said I don't dig on anime.

I've got a kid who totally digs the Miyazaki flicks, so we've been watching them dubbed for the most part. She's learned to read in the last couple of years though, so maybe I should test the waters with a subtitled screening of Spirited Away.

I would like to point out… and this is a peeve of mine… ALL animation is DUBBED. It doesn't matter what language. So "cinema elitist" who rail against animation dubs are in fact idiots. Yes, I know the voices are often recorded first. But it is still a drawing/render dubbed with a voice. You the viewer are not missing out on that amazing cartoon's performance as with a live action film that is dubbed.

SaintNoir – for the me the issue is that when movies are dubbed or redubbed in a different language, the words often have to reshaped to fit the new language, meaning the meaning changes. Subtitles have less of that problem, although of course translation is rarely literal even there. But for me, it's about getting closer to the movie's original meaning.

SaintNoir, were you actively thinking in a Star Trek nerd lisp when you posted that?

If you want to call someone an idiot, no need to fabricate an argument. Just do it. It'll hold about as much weight either way.

Phil Hartman was reprimanded.

SaintNoir, the reason I prefer the original language is because that is the performance that was supervised by the film's director.

AKIRA was animated to fit the japanese words. As above, the director directed the japanese performances. Japanese voice artists are outstanding and have a far higher emotional range in the booth than even big name Hollywood voices. The scripts to all the Miyazaki films have been rewritten to fit the new english wording (one has to be careful to get the subtitled editons with correct subtitles derived from the original script, not the dub script). So, you're a cunt. How about that?

Not a fan of English anime dubs myself, but have put up with them when there's been no other alternative (like VHS or tv screenings). The English vesrion of Akira is dreadful, as is the non-Disney dub of Ghibili's otherwise-brilliant Grave of the Fireflies.

The Disney-backed dubs of other Miyazaki films have been generally excellent, but I still prefer the original Japanese.

Damn Liam Neeson… dude never even tries to sound like anything but a bored Liam Neeson when he speaks. His Aslan was unispiring. Now, back when Brian Cox was going to voice Aslan… that was exciting. Damned exciting, actually. He would have rocked the shit out of Aslan. Instead of making him sound like a bored Irish guy. Everyone else in Ponyo's cast is great, though. Especially if they let Betty White add in a little of her Lake Placid color to the dub. "Officer fuck meat" indeed…

I am one of those philistines who find the Cowboy Bebop English cast superlative. I tried the Japanese original when I bought the DVDs and I don't think I lasted for 5 minutes. The guy for Spike sounded…weird (which I think is blasphemy to admit because he's considered an awesome voice actor…or something).

Christian Bale did an amazing Howl. Billy Crystal annoyed me.

English Bebop cast ruins the whole show. The guy playing Spike sounds like a used car salesman.

am i the only person who read nick's comment and thought it was hilarious?