How do you feel about subtitles?

With animation I do prefer the “original“ voice track, I however recognize that I have nowhere near the amount of reasons for doing so as I have with live-action movies. After all an animated character, unlike an actor, does not have an intrinsic voice that belongs to them and one voice track may indeed be as good as another, though there is something to be said for the original voice track being directed by the original creators of the movie.

Still, with animated movies I just have a preference, it's not something I'm particularly prepared to argue for, since as you pointed out, most of the reasons why I really dislike live-action dubs are null and void when it comes to animated ones. This also means that I don't really dislike dubs of animated movies in general, I just don't much watch them. With live-action movies on the other hand, I actively dislike watching a dubbed version, though I should probably point out that everyone else is obviously free to watch their movies however they like. It doesn't bother me as long as no-one forces me to watch too. :p

Also, since most of the animated movies I watch are originally in English or Japanese, I'm getting to the point where the question is fairly moot to me, since I've been living and studying Japanese in Japan for about a year now and I mastered the comprehension of English a long time ago, though my application of the language may still leave a little something to be desired.

edited 31st Jul '12 5:11:26 AM by Mathias

Subtitles are a necessary evil at best. They're a distraction to what's happening onscreen.

Also, many languages have very different rhythms and tones to English, and I find that somewhat off-putting. It's fair enough if the work in question is set in the country where it was made, but if not, it's a bit weird.

No weirder than British accents being used for characters from outside Britain, but that's not as ... discordant to my ears.

I watch foreign films on an almost weekly basis, most often with subtitles. While I do not have any problem with subtitles, there are situations where dubs are vastly preferable.

I can't really deal with them in live action works, just because the lip movements being off is kind of uncanny valley for me, but in animated works, I always prefer a high quality dub to subtitles. First, comedic timing and other speech nuances do not translate to written text. Second, if you are focused on reading, you are bound to miss some of the subtler things happening on set.

I like subtitles; they allow me to enjoy the original actors' voices while still understanding the dialog (I know English pretty well, but sometimes accents confuse me, for example with Brave's thick Scottish accents.) Sometimes I watch dubs just to see how they compare to the originals; Disney in particular has some very good Spanish dubs.

It's worth noting that good subbers will still preserve comedic timing.

I don't mind subtitles. If a character is supposed to be speaking a language foreign to the audience, then sub away, but if the characters and setting imply that they shouldn't speak the language of production (it's not live-action film, but I'll cite Gunsmith Cats as an example), then a dub is more appropriate.

What about something like A Fistful Of Dollars? That movie is set near the America/Mexico border, and all the characters are able to understand each other, even though the lead actor spoke English, most of the other actors spoke Spanish, and the original audio track was in Italian?

edited 1st Aug '12 6:10:24 PM by RavenWilder

Don't remember where, but I once read that English-speaking audiences were relatively tolerant of subtitles in their foreign movies, and that many other nationalities were far more insistent on watching dubbed versions. Anyone aware of sources that could confirm/deny this?

Regarding foreign films, I'll always prefer subtitles to dubbing. Dubbing always feels horribly fake to me. It always comes across as crudely pasted over the top of the original dialogue.

As for English-language films, I like to first watch them without subtitles then sometimes enable them for subsequent re-watches to catch anything I may have missed. I'm looking forward to the DVD release of The Dark Knight Rises for that very reason.

I prefer watching movies and television with subtitles, even when I understand the language.

(Is watching Paprika in Japanese, with English subs)

Can't say it bothers me much at all, really.

I tend to watch everything with subs, simply because there is always a chance to get burned on a dub that's truly horrible.

If I know beforehand that the dub is good, however, I may watch it with the dub.

Also, if there is a Russian dub done way back in the Soviet times, I tend to watch those. Say what you want about USSR, but they did some pretty amazing Russian dubs.

I prefer subtitles, and it's what I'm used to - I'm from Israel and here only movies/shows made for children are dubbed. Ah, and commercials.

Also, I think dub for live-action is way more distracting than subtitles. When I watch dubbed commercials it drives me crazy that the voices don't match the lip movement...

I agree with Raven how a language you don't have any experience can sound like music. This is true with myself and Eastern European languages, Russian, and the native tongues of the former USSR satilite nations.

Arabic and Urdu used to sound musical until I actually started studying them. Sometimes, in the right context, they still do.

I use subtitles all the time, even if watching something I already know the language for. I don't like having to constantly change my volume to accomidate my poor hearing or when my ears go dyslexic and confuse the words. My boyfriend and I were discussing how some movies, regardless of their audience's competance still need subtitles, like "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels".

I prefer no dubbing, but in some cases it can add to the fun such as with "M D Geist". That movie is a riot and a half and the dubbing (English) is just halariously awesome!

It makes for great quotability! :)

I love subtitles, and hearing a foreign language (another reason why I love Inglourious Basterds). The only problem I have is that in anime, they tend to render the dialogue as rather convoluted due to overly straight translations.

Forgot to mention, the movie adaptation of "Nightwatch" did a really awesome trick by intergrating the subtitles into the visuals of the movies.

It's clever, atmospheric, and fun!

Really? My girlfriend and I had to turn on the subtitles manually, and then it was just your standard white font across the bottom. Maybe we missed something...

I had an American copy, so it may have been a regional thing. But I activated the subtitles through the DVD's menu.

Anytime the vampires speak it comes out red and drips out like blood in water, among other things.

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