Disclaimer: This blog post is a special one-time post about a special event that happened to me today and doesn’t really have to do with the rest of the posts.
I’ll start by saying this, if you do not know what my favorite movie is you do not know me. If you don’t know that I can quote this movie from start to finish or if you haven’t heard me quote parts of it, then you’re probably not my friend.
When I heard that this movie was coming out in 3D for two weeks only while I was going to be in Argentina, tears came to my eyes. I seriously contemplated flying back to the US just to see this movie. However, I found out it was also coming out in Argentina, I just had to wait a couple more weeks.
I now know why I started learning Spanish. It was for no other reason but to be able to watch The Lion King in Spanish and be able to understand and compare it. Today, I was able to fulfill my destiny. Here is my story:
I arrived at the theater 20 minutes before the movie started. I like to think of myself as a person who does what he wants to do regardless of what people think, however, even I felt a little embarrassed to ask for one ticket to “El Rey de León”.
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| That's 25 pesos haha |
When I went in I was the only one there. Score! Now I get to take the best seat! Sheldon would’ve been proud. (Big Bang Theory reference)
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| That's one cool cat...no pun intended. |
After a few more people entered, the movie started. A HUGE grin spread across my face. I was happy as can be. Now there were certain things that concerned me as I started watching my favorite movie of all time in another language. I know that when movies and tv shows are translated, some things get lost in translation. The 3 things I was going to pay attention to were 1. Songs 2. Voices 3. 3D experience and general observations.
Songs
Circle of Life – Loved it, this song sounds just as good in Spanish as it does in English.
I Just Can’t Wait to Be King – Mmm unfortunately I’d have to say this was my least favorite translated song. It just didn’t have the same jovial feel
Be Prepared – I had the most difficulty trying to compare this song because some of the vocabulary is hard in English so obviously I didn’t catch all the translations. Also, some parts don’t sound as intimidating in Spanish.
Hakuna Matata – This would be my favorite song in Spanish. As soon as it came on I started chuckling to myself and tapping my feet.
Can You Feel the Love Tonight – This one felt a little weird to me, like it was missing words. I guess this was the hardest one to translate rhythmically, but it was ok.
Voices
Mufasa – This was the most important voice as far as I was concerned. If Mufasa didn’t have a deep, manly, fatherly voice, I would’ve walked out during the first scene. The voice they chose was good, not as good as the original, but good enough.
Scar – he sounded evil, but not as scary as the English version. I remember when I was a kid Scar creeped me out, and I just didn’t get that same feeling in Spanish.
Zazu – sounded annoying. Check.
Young Simba – had no problem with young Simba, he sounded like a girl in English, he sounded like a girl in Spanish. Consistency.
Grown Simba – had a deeper voice than he did in the English version which is good because I think his voice shouldve been deeper.
Rafiki – Mmm didn’t like it. In English he sounded old, wise, but crazy. In Spanish just old and wise. The craziness makes this character.
Timon and Pumba – They both were accurate in my opinion so, Hakuna Matata.
Ed – Spot. On. Haha
3D and general observations
- It was pretty obvious that the original Lion King was not made in 3D. Some parts didn’t look great, but when Mufasa came out of the clouds it looked awesome. That’s all I cared about.
- Some of the jokes didn’t translate well, like when the hyenas were joking around when Simba, Nala, and Zazu went to the elephant graveyard. Pig latin doesn’t translate from Spanish. Or the jokes that Timon told when they first found Pumba
- I cried when Mufasa died again. It’s just as sad in Spanish.
- And can you believe that they changed the only Spanish words in the movie! Un-believable. (When the hyenas come in to Scar’s den after he’s king to tell him there’s no food. One whispers, “I thought things were bad under Mufasa, Scar hears and yells, “What did you say!?!” He replies, “Qué pasa”. For those who couldn’t recall)
Overall, I thought it was great and I really enjoyed as well as worked on my Spanish haha. For those who are wondering if I’ll see it again, I reply, Sí!
