Dub Talk Presents: Summer at the Movies (Season 5) - Mirai

Brief Summary

This podcast episode reviews the English dub of the anime film "Mirai" by Mamoru Hosoda. The hosts discuss the film's themes of childhood, family dynamics, and the challenges of parenthood. They praise the voice acting, particularly the performance of the child actor playing the main character, and analyze the film's strengths and weaknesses in terms of storytelling and character development.

• The dub is generally solid, with some standout performances.
• The film explores themes of childhood, family, and parenthood.
• The hosts discuss the film's strengths and weaknesses.

Intro

The podcast episode begins with a disclaimer that it is a review of the English dub of the film "Mirai," not the full film. Listeners are encouraged to support the official release, available on DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix, and HBO Max. The podcast may contain strong language and spoilers for "Mirai" and other movies. The opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire Dub Talk podcast.

Podcast Introduction and Summer at the Movies

The hosts introduce themselves and the "Summer at the Movies" series, focusing on the works of Mamoru Hosoda. They discuss the challenges of raising children and how the film "Mirai" explores these themes. The film delves into the good, bad, and in-between aspects of raising children, suggesting that parents are sometimes just big kids themselves, winging it as they go.

About Mirai

"Mirai" is about a four-year-old boy named [ __ ] who is adjusting to being a big brother. The movie incorporates time travel, allowing [ __ ] to meet family members from different time periods, including his baby sister Mirai as a high school student. These encounters teach him valuable life lessons. The story is influenced by Hosoda's personal experiences, reflecting his life stage when he made the film.

Genre and Influences

The hosts discuss a subgenre of anime that idealizes parenthood, comparing it to Hallmark movies. They mention examples like "Kakushigoto," "Clannad After Story," and "Sweetness and Lightning." However, "Mirai" distinguishes itself by portraying the child as intentionally difficult and highlighting the less idealistic aspects of childhood. The film is compared to "Where the Wild Things Are," emphasizing the monstrous side of children.

Dub Direction and Production

The English dub of "Mirai" was produced by NYAV Post, with Michael Sinterniklaas as the main director and Stephanie Sheh as the scriptwriter. The direction is praised for capturing the movie's mix of screaming and tender moments. The cast includes diverse actors, including live-action performers and actual child actors, which is considered refreshing. NYAV Post is known for casting actual child actors in their dubs, which is challenging but rewarding.

Casting Choices and NYAV Style

NYAV dubs often feature actors from live-action backgrounds, which can be a good or bad thing. The directing is consistent, although one actor's performance is considered less impressive. Hosoda was inspired by 70s and 80s Toei movies that focused on children and animals. He wanted to create a movie that starred a young child as its center point, which is rare in American animation.

Scriptwriting and Focus

The scriptwriting captures the characters' intentions well. Unlike many American animated movies, "Mirai" primarily takes place within the family's home and yard, similar to an episode of "Spongebob Squarepants." The script writing captures what the characters meant in Japanese pretty well.

Grandparents and Great Grandparents

The hosts discuss the actors who voiced the grandparents and great-grandparents. Eileen Takei plays the grandma, Victor Brandt plays the grandpa, Valerie Arem plays the past grandma, and Daniel Dae Kim plays the young great-grandpa. Daniel Dae Kim's character is a standout, radiating cool guy energy.

Grandparents Dub Performance

Eileen Takei and Victor Brandt deliver grandparent-like dialogue. Valerie Arem, as the young grandma, brings a level of intimidation to her voice. Daniel Dae Kim sounds very cool as the great grandpa. The vignette of [ __ ] meeting his grandpa is interesting.

Dog and Robot Characters

The hosts transition to discussing the dog and robot characters. Crispin Freeman voices the family dog, Yuko, and Joe J. Thomas voices the Tokyo station robot. Crispin Freeman brings a fun, bitter charm to the character. Joe J. Thomas gives the robot an ominous flavor.

Crispin Freeman as Yuko

Crispin Freeman's character is not bitter, but he is just like everybody got the attention. The hosts discuss the mcdonald's anime promo. The hosts talk about the fact that the dog got his good dog food again.

Robot Character and Design

The CG looked a lot better on the robot because it was way more stylized. The robot is definitely supposed to represent the um like this this could be a future where uh you know you are not wanted anymore. The robot is representing like a lost child conductor.

Parents and Past Mom

The hosts introduce the actors who voiced the mom and dad: Rebecca Hall as the mom, John Cho as the dad, and Madigan Kacmar as the past mom. Madigan Kacmar was also in the mad house film oko's inn.

Madigan Kacmar and Rebecca Hall

Madigan Kacmar does a great job as little mom. Rebecca Hall is not familiar with pre-lay acting. She is delivering the line but she is rushing to fit the a lot the flap and the timing.

John Cho as Dad

John Cho makes the dad extremely endearing and fun. John's entire delivery is uh it's like he retains his cool even when he's stressed out. John has a warmth and sincerity to this character.

Child Actors: Jaden Waldman and Victoria Grace

The hosts discuss the child actors: Jaden Waldman as [ __ ] and Victoria Grace as future Mirai. Jaden Waldman plays the co-starring character Peter Rific in the pbs series Pinkalicious. Victoria Grace has experience in other anime before.

Evan Smith and Jaden Waldman

Evan Smith has experience playing dreamy high school characters. Jaden plays [ __ ] with a genuine honest energy. He is a small child who is trying to learn about himself.

Jaden Waldman's Performance

The entirety of the strength of this dub was going to rely on how believable [ __ ]'s English voice actor was. They seem to actively go out of their way to work with children for their dubbing process and it worked out really well with this.

Final Thoughts on the Dub and the Film

The dub is not perfect, but it is still pretty solid with a couple of entertaining and surprising performances throughout. The hosts discuss the film as a whole. The movie adds up to a bunch of really great vignettes a lot of strong segments that were not glued together very well.

Recommendations and Outro

"Mirai" is currently streaming on Netflix and HBO Max. The home video release has a lot of good bonus content on it. The hosts thank their patrons and share where to find them on social media. They also plug the next movie in the franchise.