Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Have any American movies besides Disney been dubbed in Icelandic?

I know dubbing isn麓t very common in Iceland (or any of the Nordic countries) since most people speak English, but have any other American movies (or TV shows) been dubbed into Icelandic besides Disney movies?








I mean dubbed, with Icelandic voice actors. Not subtitles.|||Movies and TV shows for kids are usually dubbed in Icelandic, whether they are made by Disney or not. Documentaries are sometimes dubbed in Icelandic too. Movies and TV shows that are aimed at older audiences are however usually not dubbed in Icelandic. We use Icelandic subtitles instead.





Most Icelanders prefer to hear the original voices. Practically everyone in Iceland is used to subtitles and most Icelanders also understand a lot in foreign languages (especially English and the Nordic languages), so we don't really need or want dubbing. We find it more fun to hear the original voices and the original text. A lot of things (especially jokes) get lost in translation, plus many people get annoyed when the sound doesn't match with the lip movements of the actors. We're not used to much dubbing and there is very little demand for it in Iceland, except for kids, so few things are dubbed here.





Iceland is such a small nation too, so it would be expensive to dub movies and TV shows with decent actors for such a small audience. Since there is very little demand for dubbing and since most Icelanders would probably still prefer to watch without dubbing, there don't exist very many movies or TV shows with dubbing. I can't think of a single one, except for stuff that is aimed mostly or partly at kids, like Disney movies, some Dreamworks movies, cartoons and such.





When children movies are shown in cinemas in Iceland, they usually show them both with Icelandic dubbing and the original voices, so that people can choose which one they prefer. If people are not taking their kids with them or if the kids are old enough to read well, they usually choose the show with the original voices.|||I doubt the reason is that a lot speak English, but because it is not economic enough.


They dub all children movies, so at least the children can watch movies in their native language, and since the smaller ones could not yet read or probably understand English well enough.


so that is not only Disney movies.


IMHO it is a pain, I would have given a lot to see the lord of the rings in Icelandic :)

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