The 5 Best Studio Ghibli Dub Performances (Including The Boy And The Heron) Ranked
English dubs for anime are a contentious thing. For many otakus, subbing out Japanese original audio for an English translation is defilement. Yet as anime has become more mainstream in America, the quality of dubs has shot up as well, and it's honestly not hard to find good ones these days (the English version of "Cowboy Bebop" is rightfully legendary).
Some of those quality dubs have been done for the films of anime's greatest genius: Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli. When you're handling the work of a master, the incentive to do it right is all the more present. Not every single Ghibli picture is a Miyazaki joint, to be clear, but the director and studio remain pretty synonymous.
First, some history of Ghibli's English dubs. Miyazaki's earlier works in the 1980s and early '90s ("Castle in the Sky," "My Neighbor Totoro," "Kiki's Delivery Service") were mostly dubbed by the now-defunct Streamline Pictures. After Disney brokered a licensing deal with Ghibli in 1996 (ahead of the release of "Princess Mononoke"), the U.S. studio not only dubbed subsequent films ("Spirited Away, "Howl's Moving Castle") but also redubbed the earlier movies first distributed by Streamline. Disney's Ghibli dubs featured bona fide movie stars, akin to the casting of its in-house and Pixar movies.
GKIDS then took over theatrical and non-theatrical international distribution of Ghibli films in 2011. That brings us to the latest Miyazaki film, "The Boy and the Heron," which GKIDS distributed and dubbed with a superb English-language cast. And one voice actor in particular delivers one of the best performances in Studio Ghibli dubs
#5 Robert Pattinson as the Grey Heron (The Boy and the Heron)
"The Boy and the Heron" has an excellent English dub (I'm partial to Florence Pugh as spunky pirate Kiriko, and Willem Dafoe has an achingly sad scene as a dying pelican), but Robert Pattinson's performance as the titular Heron stands out as the cast member stretching themselves the most — not an easy task in a performing mode as limiting as voiceover dubbing.
The Heron boasts a grotesque design (it can transform into a half-human with the head bulging out of its beak), and Pattinson complements that with a squawking voice that sounds like Daffy Duck from Hell. The result? He's unrecognizable.
As IndieWire reports from a conversation with GKIDS President Dave Jesteadt, the first choice for the part was Danny DeVito. However, Ghibli informed GKIDS that the Japanese actor, Masaki Suda, is a young heartthrob, so the dub casting should pick a closer analog. Hence, Robert Pattinson, who was "giddy" about the part and worked hard to make a good first impression on Voice Director Michael Sinterniklaas.
As Jesteadt notes, the casting was inspired thanks to Pattinson stretching himself beyond his pretty boy looks in other roles. Refusing to be boxed in by "Twilight," he's played plenty of unlikable and disgusting characters since, including the grungiest onscreen Batman yet. The Heron is the latest example of this winning pattern.
#4 Christian Bale as Howl (Howl's Moving Castle)
Christian Bale has a role in "The Boy and the Heron" as Shoichi, the father of protagonist Mahito. He's quite good there, but his first, more involved Ghibli outing was as the titular character of "Howl's Moving Castle."
In the European-esque fantasy kingdom of Ingary, Howl is a childish wizard and conscientious objector to an ongoing war. While Howl is at the center of the film, he's mostly seen through the eyes of Sophie, a young girl cursed with the appearance of old age. Bale's performance strikes the right mix of aloof and charming, but he also knows the right time to drop the coolness and show Howl's immaturity. See the moment when he cries at accidentally dying his hair red and says, with the melodramatic conviction of a teenage girl, "I see no point in living if I can't be beautiful."
As Howl, Bale uses an American accent, while in "The Boy and the Heron" he sticks with his natural British one. I'm usually all for letting Bale show his English roots, but his American accent in "How's Moving Castle" makes for a smoother and more alluring performance. Howl is pure androgynous beauty and a deep Cockney voice wouldn't be quite the right match.
Bale doesn't often play romantic leads — he's most famous for transforming his body time and time again to look less handsome — but his turn as Howl shows it's not for lack of capability. His deep, breathy voice is just the right tool for it, sweeping both Sophie and the audience off their feet (literally, for Howl can fly).
#3 Minnie Driver as Lady Eboshi (Princess Mononoke)
One of the best Miyazaki characters is Lady Eboshi, an antagonist of "Princess Mononoke." Many great villains think they're the hero of the story, and Eboshi almost convinces you of it as well.
In Muromachi period Japan, Eboshi is the founder of Iron Town, a settlement that forges firearms. An early capitalist in a country still gripped by feudalism, Eboshi styles herself as a benevolent ruler, and to her subjects, she is. However, industry inherently ravages nature and in a horrifying march for progress and civilization, Eboshi plans to kill the god of the forest itself.
The "Princess Mononoke" English dub, translated by Neil Gaiman, has some strong performances (see Gillian Anderson as wise wolf god Moro). However, the standout is Minnie Driver as Lady Eboshi — and not just because she has the most dynamic character to play. Driver's Eboshi is prickly yet charismatic, authoritative, and totally self-assured. Her casting is also an example of how dubs can sing when conveying a work's meaning in a way that's culturally resonant for the adapted audience. To English-speaking Americans, British accents carry connotations of regality. Driver's accent therefore reflects back on and accurately informs the perception of her character. After all, Eboshi's ambitions are ultimately to make herself a queen — or at least as rich as one.
#2 Mark Hamill as Colonel Muska (Castle in the Sky)
Mark Hamill appears in "The Boy and the Heron" as Mahito's granduncle, creator of the film's fantasy world setting. A wise but regretful old man, Hamill employs the gravitas (and gravelly voice) that age has brought him for a sad character.
"The Boy and the Heron" is not his first outing with Studio Ghibli. In the 2003 Disney dub of "Castle in the Sky," he voiced the evil Colonel Muska, who is out to find the titular floating castle and use the secrets (and robots) within to bring the world to heel. Hamill's performance is easily the highlight of the dub — it pays to cast a trained voice actor.
As Muska, Hamill is smooth and deceptively charismatic; you know he'll bite you if you get too close, but you can't help but keep listening to him. It's not as exuberant as Hamill's early work as the Joker on "Batman: The Animated Series," but the way his voice slithers is definitely comparable. Muska's deep but not raspy voice is also apiece to Hamill's later work as Fire Lord Ozai on "Avatar: The Last Airbender." No matter the character, give Mark Hamill the chance to voice a villain and he'll prove why no one does it better.
#1 Michael Keaton as Porco Rosso (Porco Rosso)
My editor Jacob Hall has made an executive decision that Michael Keaton as Porco Rosso must be #1 on this list. I can't argue with him. I admit I went into "Porco Rosso" without great expectations — a pig flying a plane? Frankly, it seemed like the wrong side of childish. How wrong I was, for "Porco Rosso" is no less moving or beautiful than any other Miyazaki film.
The 2005 Disney dub of "Porco Rosso" is another strong one. Susan Egan (who you might remember as Meg in "Hercules") is well cast as the unlucky-in-love Madame Gina, but the star is the Crimson Pig himself, voiced by Michael Keaton. To be clear, Porco (real name Marco) is a human, an Italian seaplane pilot in 1920s Italy, but he's been cursed with a pig's head. Even so, he's ardently opposed to the real pigs (fascists) in his country.
A pudgy man with a pig's head? It sounds like a caricature, but Keaton approaches the role with the same respect that the film treats Porco. He sounds downright cool, and he'd be dashing if he weren't so cynical. Keaton also knocks it out of the park during an emotional climax late in the film; Porco recalls flying through a cloud before he was cursed and muses that God might've shut him out of Heaven. Even as he stays guarded, you can hear the regret and sadness seeping into his voice. Michael Keaton as Porco Rosso proves celebrity voice actors don't have to be bad — all it takes is a little effort.
"The Boy and the Heron" is playing in theaters. The Studio Ghibli library is streaming on MAX.