Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" Dub Turns 15; Still Unreleased

[Robo4900]

Brian Drummond said in the Geekdom interview that the Blue Water dubs of Ball and GT were non-union.

I don't think he'd know for sure either way...
Any chance you could find the exact point he says it so we can work with the actual quote?

Though perhaps this would be better served in the misc. dub discussion thread.

That is interesting. I've never heard that, but if true it would make me wonder why Blue Water actors don't get a bit more credit considering Death Note's dub is so well regarded (and rightfully so I might add because it's utterly fantastic).

Yeah.
Death Note is one of the few times where I point it out as a show you can watch either subbed or dubbed, and it'll be just as good.
Though, it's worth noting that I don't think it starred any Blue Water voices, there were just a few among the secondary, tersiary, and minor cast, which I think it's been implied is what's happened with Kai.

Getting back to the subject at hand though. If dubs that good use Blue Water as well the fact this dub has Blue Water actors may not be a detriment if the producers picked the best of the best for their particular roles and if they were directed well (I have confidence if its Karl Williams he'll knock it out of the park).

Well, it's not like Blue Water is just a bunch of crap voices you get for cheap, it's just that the Vancouver talent pool tends to be the real cream of the crop. It's like Calgary is Texas or New York, while Vancouver is LA.
Anyway, I don't know if it's Karl Willems, but I'm sure whoever they got to direct it is one of the good'uns, and that the Calgary and Blue Water casts were chosen based on which one was simply right for the role. It sounds like a lot of work was put into this dub, and the actors generally speak quite highly of the work they did in it, so I doubt they'll have compromised on directors, casting, etc.

I suppose we'll have to see. We're in the butterzone when we should start getting news, I think, based on Shulman's timeframes.

Again though, as others have suggested, we should try to move the idle chitchat to the general dubbing discussion thread so as to not clog this one up, and give people false hope.

[8000 Saiyan]

It's likely Karl Willems who did this dub in my opinion. Ocean wanted this dub to be the very best it could be, so they likely wanted it to be helmed by one of their most esteemed voice directors.

I apologize if this is going off topic.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Brian Drummond said in the Geekdom interview that the Blue Water dubs of Ball and GT were non-union.

I don't think he'd know for sure either way...
Any chance you could find the exact point he says it so we can work with the actual quote?

It is 34 minutes and 34 seconds in. I put the time stamp in my message and it works on my phone and laptop, but for those it isn't working for Brian's response to why Ocean outsourced original Dragon Ball and GT to the Calgary studio (Blue Water) was:

"All I know was that in Calgary, they were working non-union out of Calgary, I believe. We were all union performers, you have to receive union rates on everything"

Of course, as you say Brian may be basing that on an educated guess rather than any access he may or may not have to information regarding whether Blue Water is union or not. We may never know unless a Calgary actor comes out and proclaims definitively what Blue Water's status as a dubbing studio is.

It's likely Karl Willems who did this dub in my opinion. Ocean wanted this dub to be the very best it could be, so they likely wanted it to be helmed by one of their most esteemed voice directors.

I apologize if this is going off topic.

Not off-topic at all, quite the contrary because you are talking about the approach Ocean may or may not have taken on this dub.

I sure hope Ocean wanted to make this dub the best it can be. Certainly, a lot of what we've heard has suggested it (faithful approach to pronunciations, characterization, etc) but like anything else we will never know until we see it, but fingers crossed anyway, who knows we may know by the end of this month with Wow's launch just around the corner

[Super Sayian Prime]

As far as Brian and other ACTRA actors are concerned, CLAC might as well not be union. ACTRA doesn't view them as a union.

[Robo4900]

It is 34 minutes and 34 seconds in. I put the time stamp in my message and it works on my phone and laptop, but for those it isn't working for Brian's response to why Ocean outsourced original Dragon Ball and GT to the Calgary studio (Blue Water) was:

"All I know was that in Calgary, they were working non-union out of Calgary, I believe. We were all union performers, you have to receive union rates on everything"

Of course, as you say Brian may be basing that on an educated guess rather than any access he may or may not have to information regarding whether Blue Water is union or not. We may never know unless a Calgary actor comes out and proclaims definitively what Blue Water's status as a dubbing studio is.

Ah, cheers.
Yeah, he says "I believe." I don't think he knows for sure, and I'm pretty sure BW is union. It's just a different union with laxer rules, and it's commonly accepted that it's non-union, even though it is union. Well, that's what I've been told anyway; can't remember where I heard it now, but I remember distinctly that it was an incorrect common misconception. Anyway, no reason he'd have to know, since he's a Vancouver union actor. He just needs to know how his union works, and what he needs to know for the characters he's playing.

It's likely Karl Willems who did this dub in my opinion. Ocean wanted this dub to be the very best it could be, so they likely wanted it to be helmed by one of their most esteemed voice directors.

I apologize if this is going off topic.

No way to know.
Even if it isn't, I'm sure whoever they got is great. It's not like there aren't any other great directors in Vancouver.

[SX10]

https://youtu.be/ZGWMsfbF4K4

he's gonna make a fine Goku lol!

Also, I'm hoping some attendees of Kameha-con take the chance to ask Brian Drummond some good questions about Kai - also any video clips should be good for a watch. Exciting weekend!

[TheBlackPaladin]

As far as Brian and other ACTRA actors are concerned, CLAC might as well not be union. ACTRA doesn't view them as a union.

This. CLAC's status as a legitimate labor union is somewhat disputed in Canada, for several reasons.

-CLAC has a general reputation for consistently siding with employers in favor of lesser wages and working conditions. For example, there's a rule in CLAC's contract for voice actors that, if they are sick and can't come to a recording session, they need to be verified as ill by a doctor of Blue Water/Chinook Animation's choosing. In all fairness, I've read both CLAC's dubbing contract and ACTRA's dubbing contract, and ACTRA's dubbing contract also has a clause about having a doctor verify that the actor in question is sick...but it can be whichever doctor the actor chooses, not a doctor of the employer's choosing. That's just absurd, in my opinion.
-Canada's national trade union center, the Canadian Labour Congress (the rough equivalent of the U.S.A.'s AFL-CIO) doesn't officially recognize CLAC.
-Even CLAC refers to itself as an "independent" labor union.
-Brian Drummond also isn't the first actor I've heard refer to Blue Water as a non-union dubbing company. I've spoken to a Calgary-based Canadian voice actor who referred to Blue Water as, "A nice place to work, albeit non-union."

So, my guess is, when he says "non-union," he, at the very least, means the dubs aren't done under ACTRA contracts (which is true). As for whether CLAC is a "real" union or not...well, it depends on who you ask. Employers seem to consistently insist that it is, whereas employees seem to consistently insist that it isn't.

[Attitudefan]

https://youtu.be/ZGWMsfbF4K4

he's gonna make a fine Goku lol!

Also, I'm hoping some attendees of Kameha-con take the chance to ask Brian Drummond some good questions about Kai - also any video clips should be good for a watch. Exciting weekend!

He will. His voice might even give the impression, with a script written for a character like Goku, to come off hickish.

I also noticed in Peter Kelamis' recent interview with Geekdom on how Kelamis pronounces Goku the correct way (emphasis on saying Ku in the name), whereas Geekdom says it in a more relaxed "North American" way (I don't know how else to put this, with Go being emphasized more). It makes me wish Ocean was the official version or had an equal level of "officiality" and promotion as the Texas version.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I thought Geekdom was into the Japanese version more...I guess its easier in English to go GO-ku than Go-KUU.

Also more on topic. I know Marnie (That was the WOW's executives name wasnt it) knows Dragon Ball puts butts in seats! Brazil in Particular had 3 MILLION PEOPLE WATCH THE SUPER PREMIERE ON CN. Yes that required Caps. Even in the USA where CN is dying and only doing 500k Dragon Ball Super pulls 1 million butts in seats EVERY WEEK. I hope "Marnie" knows that.

[Robo4900]

I thought Geekdom was into the Japanese version more...I guess its easier in English to go GO-ku than Go-KUU.

Also more on topic. I know Marnie (That was the WOW's executives name wasnt it) knows Dragon Ball puts butts in seats! Brazil in Particular had 3 MILLION PEOPLE WATCH THE SUPER PREMIERE ON CN. Yes that required Caps. Even in the USA where CN is dying and only doing 500k Dragon Ball Super pulls 1 million butts in seats EVERY WEEK. I hope "Marnie" knows that.

Marni, actually.

And I'm sure she's aware of Dragon Ball's popularity.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I thought Geekdom was into the Japanese version more...I guess its easier in English to go GO-ku than Go-KUU.

Also more on topic. I know Marnie (That was the WOW's executives name wasnt it) knows Dragon Ball puts butts in seats! Brazil in Particular had 3 MILLION PEOPLE WATCH THE SUPER PREMIERE ON CN. Yes that required Caps. Even in the USA where CN is dying and only doing 500k Dragon Ball Super pulls 1 million butts in seats EVERY WEEK. I hope "Marnie" knows that.

Well seen as how Marni asked if Fox owned the distribution rights to "the Evolution movie" I would say she at the very least has heard mumblings about it or has been in on conversations where people have talked about it. If she's aware of the series history with Canada and the following there is for the Ocean cast I think Kai will be in good hands. And I think she is aware because of all the likes her tweet responses have got. I guess all we can do is wait, news about Wow should be just around the corner, and maybe, just maybe the day we will finally get to see this dub.

[Jean0987654321]

I wonder what score they'll use in this dub?

[8000 Saiyan]

I wonder what score they'll use in this dub?

A brand new one.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I wonder what score they'll use in this dub?

Aa far as we know its getting a new score from Team Keenlyside.

[Nia]

https://youtu.be/ZGWMsfbF4K4

he's gonna make a fine Goku lol!

Also, I'm hoping some attendees of Kameha-con take the chance to ask Brian Drummond some good questions about Kai - also any video clips should be good for a watch. Exciting weekend!

Ocean Kai Goku meets Ocean Super Goku Black... that is all I could think of watching this for some reason.

[SX10]

https://youtu.be/ZGWMsfbF4K4

he's gonna make a fine Goku lol!

Also, I'm hoping some attendees of Kameha-con take the chance to ask Brian Drummond some good questions about Kai - also any video clips should be good for a watch. Exciting weekend!

Ocean Kai Goku meets Ocean Super Goku Black... that is all I could think of watching this for some reason.

Perfect! Haha

[Forte224]

I wonder what score they'll use in this dub?

Aa far as we know its getting a new score from Team Keenlyside.

A replacement score in 2018? I thought we were past those days.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I wonder what score they'll use in this dub?

Aa far as we know its getting a new score from Team Keenlyside.

A replacement score in 2018? I thought we were past those days.

This dub has been in pre-production as early as 2009, so the decision to replace the score was likely made around that time. Also, for better or for worse any chance we have of Wow airing Ocean Kai will be increased by the fact it has a Canadian musical score.

[Super Sayian Prime]

This dub has been in pre-production as early as 2009, so the decision to replace the score was likely made around that time. Also, for better or for worse any chance we have of Wow airing Ocean Kai will be increased by the fact it has a Canadian musical score.

How so? There's no doubt in my mind that Keenlyside and Mitchell will be reusing tracks, so it's going to be about as dated as the Kikuchi music, haha. If you're talking about Cancon, that isn't a significant hurdle anymore as most channels have successfully petitioned to lower the amount they're required to air. A replacement score doesn't even make it count more as Cancon. Years ago, there was an attempt by Corus (the owners of YTV/Teletoon) to get re-scored shows to count more towards their quotas, but the CRTC denied that request over fears of it devaluing fully domestic productions.

[Valerius Dover]

Replacement scores are somewhat rarer these days, with Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh being holdouts for tradition's sake. But it still happens every once in a while, like with Glitter Force and Stitch. And there was the LBX dub which Keenlyside's group did not too long ago. Incidentally, while some of these tracks were reused from the Mega Man shows, most of the score was actually original, and pretty decent in my opinion. Not as amazing as that godly Japanese score, but it felt more like an anime score than a cartoon score, is what I'm saying. If it's anything like that, this could be pretty interesting. It would at least be more varied than Kikuchi's score in Kai.