Today was a long day. I have been working a lot. So I decided to take a break and spend some quality time with my family.

My boys love everything Pokemon, therefore I thought it'd be nice to take them to see the new Detective Pikachu movie.

I enjoyed the movie.. right up until the titular character started speaking.. in Thai..

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Yes, the movie LOOKED fantastic, but the story was lost on me.

Actually, I know enough of the language to catch most of the plot points. However, the finer nuances and and subtle wisecracks were beyond me.

To be honest, I knew what I was getting into. They do warn you that it's 'No sountrack!' before you buy the ticket, but I went ahead with it anyway.

I don't mind the fact that I couldn't understand 100% of what was being said. Some of my favorite movies are foreign films. I would never think of watching the English dubbed versions of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or Life is Beautiful

You see, I believe you can pick up a lot from the way things are said. Things like intonation, body language, certain gestures and facial movements are just as, if not more, important than the words being used.

And that's the point. The fact that Pikachu could talk was a novel take on the franchise. Unfortunately, the work and flair that Ryan Reynolds brought to the character were completely eliminated due him virtually being removed from the film through voice-over.

I understand that dubbing is meant to help a wider audience understand and enjoy the movie.But I would argue that the movies can best be understood and enjoyed when experienced in their native (unedited) state . (It might even help with language learning.. but that's a whole other story..)

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I guess I should give the industry a little credit. The dubbing has improved (slightly) in Thailand over the years. When I first got here, the ENTIRE soundtrack was dubbed. ALL the special effects, laughter, etc. was done by the same voice over actors, for EVERY movie.. It was unnecessarily horrible.

That being said, John Wick III is out in theaters now.. I wonder how good Keanu Reeve's Thai is..

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I know this was a one-sided rant but the title of this post says 'debate'. So, this is where you come in. What's your opinion on dubbing? Does it affect whether you will see a movie or not? Have you ever watched a movie that was dubbed in a foreign language? Let us know and get this discussion started! :)

Until Next Time..

_{* unsourced images are my own}