When something gets dubbed into a language it wasn't originally in, that's when the trouble starts for this trope. The actors have to lipsync along with the old footage, which is tricky if they don't want to turn it into a HongKongDub. Contrary to popular belief, the people who need to deal with LipLock are not the voice actors (who only act out what is written in the script) but the people who translate/write the dub script (sometimes the translator and the script writer are the same person, sometimes not). Script writers usually read lines out loud while writing, to make sure that they fit the mouth flaps.

If the translator doesn't pay attention to match the lip flaps, the result is that the new actors are forced to speak at strange tempos in order to better fit the lipflap. The main ways in which this is manifest are:
* Speaking with an odd, enunciated slowness, as if every word were capitalised. In extreme cases, this results in the character sounding like a cartoonish WilliamShatner. See: anything dubbed by [[FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]], particularly ''[[OnePiece Dub Piece]]''.
* Speaking in a very rapid, unnatural manner with no pauses. See: ''SpeedRacer''.
* Speaking at a normal speed, but with extremely unusual emphases on seemingly random syllables. This is to fit moments where the character's mouth is slightly wider open. See: ''[[DragonBall It's Over Nine Thousand]]''.

In {{anime}} the Japanese studios create the animation first, and then record the voices. This means that characters' mouth often just moves up and down, however, the larger the animation budget, the more effort animation studios make to make the lip flaps match the dialogue (''HoneyAndClover'' is a good example with mouth flaps that match the lines perfectly). With American cartoons, the voices are recorded first and the animation is built around them. This means the mouths move in a manner much more consistent with the dialogue, at the cost of making it more difficult to translate into another language. This difference can be very clearly seen in the English dub of ''{{Akira}}'', a Japanese animated movie which, unusually, recorded the voices before the animation and took pains to make the mouth flaps match the dialogue. The result is that the English version looks distinctly off. Ironically, live-action dubs are easier to write because the natural movements of the mouth while speaking are a lot less clear-cut than in cartoons.

The most depressing thing about this is that no translator and voice actor can avoid the curse of Lip Lock. A skilled translator can make it a lot less noticeable, but can't do away with it entirely.

There are, however, ways of avoiding it, but all have their own disadvantages:
* Editing the footage so that the MouthFlaps match the new dialogue. This is expensive in animation so it's ''very'' rarely used. It's also ''never'' used in live-action dubbing, because it's well-nigh impossible. It's a lot cheaper in video games, where all you need to do is edit the facial animation instructions, which can be handled by software, and tends to be used more often there. See [[http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=D4uvf1u4RwM this 20-second clip]] from ''KingdomHearts II'' for an example. Doing it for ''in-engine'' scenes like this is simple; redoing a pre-rendered cutscene is effectively just like redoing an animated production.
* Rewriting the dialogue so that it fits the MouthFlaps better. This is what usually happens, sometimes leading to meaning being lost, or useless fluff being gained. This is an unavoidable product of every translation. The degree to which it's done varies but most translators try to find a compromise to match the lip flaps but also get the meaning across. (Unless [[TheyJustDidntCare they just don't care]].)
* DontLookAtTheCamera! When there's no lipflap to mouth to, say the character is talking off-screen or standing with his back to the camera, the translator's work is a lot easier. ''Forcing'' a dialogue off-screen, however, isn't really doable; even if it can be done, it screams of cost-cutting, despite the intention, and [=4Kids=] can once again demonstrate that it doesn't always work.
** A related, and largely more effective method is when the character has NoMouth, so the translator just needs to match the length of time. (Lord Zedd from Power Rangers is an example of this, and was voiced by a scriptwriter.)
* [[SubbingVersusDubbing Subtitles.]]

Considering the flak companies tend to get for playing with the original footage, it's best to just avoid it as much as possible by using good translators (or script writers, if it's done by a different person) to keep the worst of the effects at bay. Of course, this does rely on the companies' ability to find good translators. This is the hard part.
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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

* 4Kids' tendency to do this is parodied mercilessly in [[http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=K5UfIRmkv28 this]] GagDub of ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'', along with the {{Macekre}}'d dialogue and premise.
-->'''[[strike:Keiichi]] Casey:''' GET out - my way! I'm - going - to - a - FEE-ey-staaaa!
* [[http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oY16Xmx622w Here's]] a clip from the ''OnePiece'' dub. Luffy suffers heavily from Lip Lock here:
-->'''Luffy:''' You and your NAVY...are ruiningCoby'slifelongDREAM!
** ''One Piece'' is also a key example of one of 4Kids's more... interesting translation tendencies. "Devil Fruit" becomes "Cursed Fruit", with "cursed" (normally one syllable) yanked out into "CUR-sed" (technically not wrong, but rather archaic/poetic). This odd pronounciation is seen in a ''lot'' of 4Kids properties.
* Besides the normal edits to the dialog necessary for timing, the North American dub of ''[[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]'' used a video editing system ([=WordFit=]) to tweak the mouth-flaps.
* The 1986 movie dub of ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' suffered from this a lot, though not as much as some of the other titles.
-->'''Raoh:''' See... It's different now... I'm a king... and a king... must demand respect from everyone.
* The dub of ''BoboboboBobobo'' actually engages in some LampshadeHanging regarding this. In episode 53, Bobobo states "Now I'm going to tell all of ya where we're...going. I just hope by the time we arrive I can speak without weird pauses."
* As mentioned above, the Ocean Group dub of ''DragonBall Z'' has quite a few notable examples, the first being the (in)famous scene where Vegeta, voiced by Brian Drummond, is asked by Nappa what his scouter says about Goku's growing power level, at which point he takes the scouter off and growls "It's over nine thousa-aaaaaand!" before crushing it in his hands. This has since become an [[MemeticMutation internet meme]]. Another instance of this elongated delivery is when Vegeta has Gohan by the scruff of his neck and says "I'm going to crush you like a grape in the palm of my hand, you understa-aaaaaand?!" in an especially raspy tone. It can be viewed [[http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=W9tKNw9eEgM here]].
** Also parodied in the World Tournament arc of DBZ with the ([[{{Understatement}} slightly]] inaccurate) reenactment of the Cell Games, where the lip flaps are [[StylisticSuck deliberately]] [[HongKongDub completely mismatched]], a CrowningMomentOfFunny for DBZ.
*** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rw1opAbbPU&feature=related#t=8m27s "I've had enough OOOOF....YOU-YOU-YOOOUU-YOOOOOOUUUU!]]
* In ''Gankutsuou'', this actually resulted in the somewhat trite "Wait and hope!" of the original ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' being rendered into a memorable CatchPhrase uttered at the end of each OnTheNext Week's Episode teaser: ''"Bide your time, and hold out hope!"''
* The dub of ''DeathNote'' had the very {{Narm}}-inducing line (which was also both of the original creators' favorite part in the series): L whispering [[spoiler:"I-just-wanted-to-tell-you, I'm L!",]] translated from a considerably shorter Japanese sentence, had the former line been spoken at a normal pace.
* The dubbing of ''TransformersEnergon'' was notably bad about this; whenever there was an additional syllable needed, the dub had the characters say various things that sound like they were made up on the spot causing a constant stream of "what?", "uh?", etc. (or as tfwiki.net calls "[[DrinkingGame The Pain Count]]"). ''TransformersCybertron'' suffered less from this and had a better dub script overall.
* ''GashBell'' suffered from this immensely during the musical numbers, in which the dubbers would insist on having the [=VAs=] sing along to the lip flaps at the expense of any sense of harmony and timing. A good example is the infamous "Very Melon" tune, where the lip flaps did not [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5Q8Gs-w-z8 match at all in the original]], but in the VIZ dub they painstakingly made the voices match, which [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJeLfe7Hjc8 ruined the rhythm of what might have been a nice tune]].
** Most of the "Very Melon" song was in {{Gratuitous English}} anyway, so what exactly ruined the rhythm? The 'Yeah!'s being added fit the rhythm better, I thought, and the few lines that weren't in English originally didn't have any lip flaps to be locked into.
* ''SpiderRiders'' (of which an actual Japanese version may or may not exist) appears to feature this in spades, to the point where it takes several full episodes to get over the fact that most of the characters come off as having serious mental illnesses. Luckily, it seems like the actors (or the sound editors) get better and better as the series rolls on, so gratuitous pauses grow more and more rare. Strangely, some characters seem almost entirely exempt from this throughout the show.
* ''HeroicAge'' has a rather hilarious example in the third episode when Age says that he likes to paint then enunciates it, so the dub has to act like "paint" has three syllables ("pa-ain-tu").

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Ignored and spoofed in ''KungPow: Enter The Fist'', where the writer/director/main actor went out of his way to write joke lines for the actors to speak so he could dub over them later. For instance: The main character says calmly 'I implore you to reconsider', even though it's very obvious on the screen that he's shouting.
** A bonus audio track on the DVD reveals that the line being dubbed over was "''[[spoiler:I'M SOMEBODY'S MOMMY!!]]''"
* The English dub of ''{{Godzilla}} Raids Again'' (as ''Gigantis the Fire Monster'' ) went to extreme lengths to make the English dialogue match the mouth movements of the Japanese actors, which has the unfortunate side effect of making the actual content of the dialogue almost incomprehensible.
** An example of which was a Japanese word translating to 'stupid fool'. As the lips still had to be in sync, it was replaced by 'banana oil', which makes for a very nonsensical insult.
** And ''Mothra vs. Godzilla'' involves the great line "Yeswealwayskeepourpromises." Apparently, the equivalent Japanese word is really really short.
* Can be noticed a few times in the otherwise excellent English dub of ''Film/SkyBlue'', where Korean sounds don't match well with their English equivalents.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''FinalFantasyX'' occasionally suffered from this, because of the fact that a fixed, 'rhubarb-rhubarb' mouthflap loop was being used. Yuna, in particular, was injured badly - her voice was already soft and shy. Thankfully, the sequel smartened up the lip sync.
** But the sequel only re-synced the lip flaps on certain shots of certain scenes. 90% of the time, you're watching the "rhubarb-rhubard" flaps (and more worryingly is the gazed expression on their faces while doing it). However, Yuna's voice actress still spends less time trying to fit the voice flaps exactly.
** ''FinalFantasyX'' actually uses technology to ''speed up'' the voice clips if they're a little too long. Most of the time this isn't really noticeable, but if I quote the words [="WithYunabymyside"=] I'm sure someone will recognize it.
* One pivotal scene in ''FinalFantasyXII'' is rather deralied by the ringing declaration that a certain individual "Is not thetypetotake . . . . BASEREVENGE!"
* The game ''Yakuza'' suffers from this really badly with towards the end, possibly as they ran out of budget. Without warning characters will suddenly start using every trick in the book, enthusing random syllables, pausing in the middle of lines and speeding and slowing their speech at random. It’s even more painful as the game has a high quality voice cast, rendered unable to act by insanely strict lip lock.
* The Codec dialogues in the original ''MetalGearSolid'' were surprisingly well-synced to whoever was talking. [[VideoGameRemake The remake]], ''The Twin Snakes'', however, suffered from a lazy fix of making the character's mouth move based on how many letters were displayed on the screen, paying no attention to pauses. Most egregiously, VisibleSilence caused the characters' mouths to jabber meaninglessly while they said nothing.
* (Almost all) Early {{Playstation}} games with voiced cutscenes suffered from this. With no budget or space to modify the scenes, and no budget to hire experienced voice actors, LipLock was either ignored (leading to a HongKongDub) or the delivery was completely ruined. Examples include Zero's "[[{{Narm}} [=WhatamIfightingFOOOOOOOOOOOOR=]!]]" in ''{{Mega Man X}}4'' and ''{{Xenogears}}'' (all of it.)
* Since ThereIsNoSuchThingAsNotability, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFoLni5RIc4&feature=response_watch This]] otherwise surprisingly good ''KingdomHearts'' FanDub suffers from this at a few places.
-->'''Ven:''' We're friends. Therefore, I wanted to ask you...something.
* ''[[JeannedArc Jeanne d'Arc]]'' contains quite a few anime sequences, but nearly all the text sounds ridiculously rushed. Even worse than usual because most characters speak in various strengths of French accents.
* In the ''{{Ghostbusters}}'' game for the PS3, none of the characters' mouths ''ever'' synced with what they were saying. Considering that they managed to get almost the entire cast of the movies involved in the voice acting, it's really disappointing that the animators couldn't have done a better job.
* The infamous Megaman's [[DisneyDeath death scene]] from ''MegamanNTWarrior''. As dying, Rockman originally had, as final words, "Ne...tto...kun...". As far as adapting goes, this was a tricky line for the dubbers. First because Netto's English name is the monosylabic "Lan", and second because the lips were carefully animated in said scene. The dub opted for the "De...le...ted...", which just seems random and loses most of the emotion.
* ''{{Dissidia}}'' suffers heavily from this. Every other cutscene have the characters talking with random punctuations ("I mustn't ruin. Everybody's hopes.") making some of the dialogue sound uncomfortably awkward.
** They did better with certain characters: Garland, Golbez, Exdeath, Gabranth, and Dark Knight Cecil [[NoMouth all have closed helms]], making it easier to make good-sounding sentences, due to the lack of lips to sync.
***Though there's still the scene with Dark Knight Cecil saying, "I must. (Minute-long pause.) Do this."
***And everything [[FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] says is a variant on "I just... (rest of sentence)."
* ''KingdomHearts'' went from being an example at the top of this page in the two main installments to a lip-locked mess in ''[[KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Re:Chain of Memories]]'' and ''[[KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]''.

!!Exceptions:

* Pixar has handled the dubbing of some anime imports, such as the films of Miyazaki. They tend to be meticulous in [[{{Woolseyism}} reworking the dialog to fit the lips and the meaning of the original script]], even doing several takes in dubbing to see what works. Getting good voice actors doesn't hurt. Or the fact that the original creator has told Disney in no uncertain terms that gratuitous changes to the movies were to be avoided.
** NeilGaiman, who wrote the English script for ''PrincessMononoke'', said in an [[http://www.hollywoodgothique.com/gaiman.html interview]], "People have been asking if we reanimated it. There are two schools of thought coming out from the film. School of Thought #1 is that we reanimated the mouth movements. School #2 is that they must have made two different versions at the same time."
* ''{{Half-Life}} 2'' and games based on Valve's Source Engine, have a phoneme editor built in. It takes the written script and the recorded dialogue, and makes a near-perfect set of facial animation instructions for the character. So, changing languages, at least for languages built on the Latin alphabet, is as painless as feeding the game new scripts and new sounds.
* ''ShadowHearts II'' eliminates liplock in cutscenes by having the characters ad-lib or grumble for or in-between certain lines. The effect makes the dub sound much more natural than in most video games.
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