Dubbing and voice-over technology in LazyTown episodes

[LazyPooky]

I used to watch German television because that's where the movies were shown that I wanted to see because they didn't showed up on television in our country. I never had any problems with the German dubbing. It was always done so professionally that you sometimes had the feeling that the people were actually speaking German (that's what I always thought as a child. I didn't understand it then). I think that's why I find the language dubs so interesting. Some countries aren't very good at dubbing, like some Eastern Bloc countries, but they have become quite professional in recent years as you can hear in the dubbing of the last two LazyTown seasons.

[DrFauligstein]

Definitely with you on that one. Even if Michael Pan's singing voice probably does not come close to Stefán's, he nontheless put his heart and soul into giving Robbie Rotten (or Freddie Faulig as he is called here) his spunk and personality. I most definitely pity some countries that simply had normally spoken dialogue over the full English track like the Ukranian and Lithuanian one. Or the Kazakh one, that is a whole other can of worms lol.

[chuft]

that simply had normally spoken dialogue over the full English track

That had what? Is there an example I can see online somewhere?

[LazyPooky]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB_F3JIvcr0

[chuft]

Thanks. Weird!

[Buzz]

I used to watch German television because that's where the movies were shown that I wanted to see because they didn't showed up on television in our country. I never had any problems with the German dubbing. It was always done so professionally that you sometimes had the feeling that the people were actually speaking German (that's what I always thought as a child. I didn't understand it then). I think that's why I find the language dubs so interesting. Some countries aren't very good at dubbing, like some Eastern Bloc countries, but they have become quite professional in recent years as you can hear in the dubbing of the last two LazyTown seasons.

German dubbing is considered above average in international comparison for several reasons...The practice of dubbing in Germany has its roots in the 1930s when the fascist regime wanted to curb foreign influences...this led to the development of a professional dubbing industry...




the German-speaking film market is one of the largest in Europe, justifying higher investments in high-quality dubbing...in Germany, almost all foreign-language films are dubbed, leading to high acceptance and expectations from the audience...the German dubbing industry has developed strict quality standards...texts are carefully rewritten to match the actors' lip movements, and voice actors pay close attention to timing and emphasis...in Germany, there are numerous specialized positions in the dubbing process, such as takers, cutters, and specialized voice actors, which contribute to the quality...
the dubbing method commonly used in Germany, which involves short takes of 6-8 seconds, allows for more precise and higher quality work compared to other methods like the "bande rythmo" technique...in contrast, many other countries, especially those with smaller markets, often rely on subtitling or less elaborate dubbing processes for cost reasons...this explains why German dubbing is perceived as particularly high-quality in international comparison...

[chuft]

Interesting!

[LazyPooky]

German dubbing is considered above average in international comparison for several reasons...

Thanks for the explanation!

The negative aspect of the language dub is that you always hear your own language and you can’t familiarize yourself with other languages, especially when you are young, when it's important to hear a variety of languages. It makes you lazy. Understanding other languages becomes more difficult. Compare this to hearing the original language and reading the subtitles. On the other hand, as a child it's not always easy to follow the subtitles. I remember I used to say short sentences that I heard on TV but had no idea what they meant. 😊

[DrFauligstein]

Cheers Pooky for giving a source to Chuft

Many of my friends told me due to my deep voice, which most have grown fond of - besides guessing my age to be consistently over 30 funnily enough - that I should become a voice actor. Given my studies at the moment, that could probably be a sweet side gig. As someone who is fully bilingual, due to binge watching English YouTube videos in my childhood, I prefer to stay as such. Only other peculiar thing is that I can pronounce things from other European languages quite well, which is why I sometimes sing along to other dubbed versions of LazyTown songs. But boy am I happy to live in a country with such a rich industry.

Unfortunately, the Classic Era of Doctor Who, which is a favorite of mine (60s to late 80s) only enjoyed such things shortwhile. As it is the predecessor to the 2005 reboot, which most modern fans watched, it is relatively unknown. The sixth and seventh Doctor era was fully dubbed already in the 80s, but had shortcomings due to the native mono audio track with background music being either removed or replaced and footsteps being made very audible. Then Polyband Media and Pandastorm Pictures took over the rights of certain Eras of respective Doctors to dub them, but that only began in 2014 and ended in 2024, when they realized that the demand was far too low to warrant further efforts and sales. I of course bought all German-Releases lol. So in the dubbing department, the Classic Era has massive episode gaps, which I fill with the regular English releases.

[chuft]

Tom Baker is my favorite

[DrFauligstein]

I myself love all of the eras, but I do have Soft spots for Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Colin Baker and McCoy.

[Buzz]

Thanks for the explanation!

The negative aspect of the language dub is that you always hear your own language and you can’t familiarize yourself with other languages, especially when you are young, when it's important to hear a variety of languages. It makes you lazy. Understanding other languages becomes more difficult. Compare this to hearing the original language and reading the subtitles. On the other hand, as a child it's not always easy to follow the subtitles. I remember I used to say short sentences that I heard on TV but had no idea what they meant. 😊

you're welcome...this also applies to Spain and Italy btw. because of



I am willing to watch English-language videos in their original form, but when they speak quickly and with a dialect, I understand almost nothing, so I end up turning on subtitles again... then the constant reading annoys me (>_<)

[LazyPooky]

Oh right, I see a pattern there.

[chuft]

When I watch Run Lola Run I always watch it in German with subtitles.

[Buzz]

ok...,but why for god sake...german isn't that beautiful and reading subtitles is annoying

[possessor]

1. It sounds like they're saying gibberish
2. No way am I watching a DUB of a Jacky Chan movie. [blech)

[chuft]

Same reason I watch Das Boot with subtitles, the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet etc. I want to feel like I'm there. I like authenticity and immersion. The native language has a different feel than English.

I think Alien Resurrection suffered because Jeunet didn't speak English at all at the time and the movie was done in English, so he couldn't hear how unnatural some of the dialog sounded.

When making Alien Resurrection, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet spoke very little English and required a translator to communicate with the cast. He would only understand the movie's story when he was given the DVD with French subtitles

[possessor]

A similar thing happened with Jackie Chan. While filming "Mr. Nice Guy" he understood more of the English because he wrote it to his level of understanding but since Rush Hour was a completely American production using American slang he didn't find the film funny at all

[DrFauligstein]

1. It sounds like they're saying gibberish
2. No way am I watching a DUB of a Jacky Chan movie. [blech)

Drunken Master, or as it is known in Germany "Sie nannten ihn Knochenbrecher" (lit. They called him Bonebreaker) had 2 dubs. The first one, widely considered by most to be the superior version was for the initial film release, but was heavily cut for unknown reasons. The second one was for the later TV release, which featured the fully uncut film. It is however far too silly and over the top. My DVD of the movie posesses both dubs, with the second dub taking over parts which the first one did not include. Either that or you could watch it fully in Cantonese, but I love my dubs.

[possessor]

Drunken Master, or as it is known in Germany "Sie nannten ihn Knochenbrecher" (lit. They called him Bonebreaker) had 2 dubs. The first one, widely considered by most to be the superior version was for the initial film release, but was heavily cut for unknown reasons. The second one was for the later TV release, which featured the fully uncut film. It is however far too silly and over the top. My DVD of the movie posesses both dubs, with the second dub taking over parts which the first one did not include. Either that or you could watch it fully in Cantonese, but I love my dubs.

Drunken Master is hard to find in full Cantonese (not anymore thanks to the Hong Kong Legends DVD), so I just watch the old English dub

"FIVE HOURS HORSE STANCE!"

I personally don't think fond of the second dub. They shortened Freddy's girly scream ):

[DrFauligstein]

But one instance where a 2nd dub triumphed in Germany, was the cult-classic American comedy show about a German PoW camp "Hogan's Heroes" (or known as "Ein Käfig voller Helden" (lit. "A cage full of heroes")). However, the first one was not very well received when it was broadcast late on Sundays and was canceled after 24 episodes. Then they turned to dubbing legend Rainer Brandt to devise a new dub, as the contractors had already bought the rights to all 168 episodes. The series is set in the fictitious German prisoner of war camp Stalag 13, which is located near the town of Hammelburg. Prisoners of the Western Allied forces, mainly US, British and French soldiers, are held in the Luftwaffe camp. Taking advantage of the cartoonish simplicity of their guards, the camp serves as the prisoners' own base from which they carry out numerous acts of sabotage and thus support the Allied war effort with their modest means.

In addition to the freer translation of the new dub, which is only roughly based on the original, the entertainment value of the episodes has been enhanced above all by the use of dialects. Colonel Klink (the supervisor of the camp) speaks Saxon, while Sergeant Schultz's joviality is underlined with a Bavarian dialect. It is similar with General Burkhalter (Klinks superior), who speaks with an Austrian, particularly Viennese, touch, as it is mentioned several times that he comes from Vienna. The actors playing Schultz and Burkhalter, John Banner and Leon Askin, were actually both from Austria. But Berlin, Cologne, Swabian and Platt were also used as dialects for some of the supporting characters, which only appear in one episode at a time, but always play an important role.

Klink's character is portrayed far more sympathetically in the German version; in the episode, protesting mildly against racist or otherwise bigoted resentment from his superiors. In general, dialogues in which he seemed like a German loyal to the state in the original are often completely omitted or taken ad absurdum. For example, Klink often starts rhyming for no reason or blaspheming about his housekeeper Kalinke. Frau Kalinke, Colonel Klink's Silesian cleaning lady, who is the subject of numerous jokes, is also a creation of the German version and does not appear in the American original. She is therefore not seen or heard in any of the episodes, although she seems to be well known to all the actors. The subject of the mostly raunchy jokes is that she not only runs Colonel Klink's household, but also has an affair with him. The German version also takes great liberties with the content. For example, the sabotage targets, which in the original mostly consist of weapons factories, ammunition transports and the like, are quickly turned into factories for schnapps, “synthetic toilet paper” and ready-made fried potatoes for the front.