The nightmare before dubbing. Song translation for dubbing animation films from Disney factory

Abstract

The music industry is not usually associated with translation activities, but songs playing a part in plots from cinematographic works must be translated. In the case of dubbing, translated song lyrics must meet the requirements of the original melody, but they also should correspond to the scene during which the piece is sung, the purpose for which it was conceived, the lip movement of every character and those specific features related to a particular audience. It goes without saying that it is not an effortless challenge. The volume of demand could be considered significantly increasing, since it reveals some importance in terms of the market surrounding animated films and musical theatre. For that reason, translators should become aware of those strategies frequently applied as regard to professional projects. We have selected songs from Disney animation films because this company establishes the most representative example of song translation for dubbing, as most songs from its movies are dubbed, in contrast to other companies, whose songs, in general terms, are subtitled when it comes to animation films. We provide an analysis of both English and Spanish versions based not only on translation techniques, but also on syllabic structures, emphasis, rhyme and methods which can be applied to song translation. Finally, we conclude in outline that rhythm and musicality take priority over literal meanings. Besides, discursive creations, functional equivalences and the fact of keeping the same number of syllables and the musical accent in the same place contribute to achieve a positive translation.