Why was the acting so good in the 3 movies?

[Bansho64]

I noticed that the acting in the 3 movies done by the ocean is pretty good compared to the actual series. Does anyone share this opinion and have an answer?

[jjgp1112]

A completely different approach and direction, pretty much. I'm not sure to what extent Funimation was involved in the script and direction.

[Kakacarrottop]

It's because the films were most likely produced by the people at Pioneer. Ocean's previous DB dubs were written and voice directed by Barry Watson and the FUNimation crew. The Westwood dub, while separate from FUNimation, still used their crappy scripts and also had other problems like a rushed production schedule.

Better writters + voice directors = better acting

[DBZAOTA482]

Probably because they were dubbed after FUNimation abandoned them but before they stopped caring altogether.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I noticed that the acting in the 3 movies done by the ocean is pretty good compared to the actual series. Does anyone share this opinion and have an answer?

Yes and yes.

Here's the thing...it's my belief that actors get way too much flack for things that are not entirely their fault. They're not faultless, but there are a lot of things that affect how a performance will be received that are not at all in their control, and these include (but are certainly not limited to):

-The director's direction.
-How well the script was adapted.
-How good the provided translations are.
-How well the engineer mixes the audio.
-Which of the multiple takes the director and engineer decide to use.
-How much time the producers and upper management give the staff to complete the dub.

So, the reason the three movies had generally better "acting" than the TV series from the Ocean cast is because it wasn't really the acting that improved, but rather, all of the factors that I've mentioned above. FUNimation, while still technically the producers, pretty much handed the dubbing of the movies off to Pioneer. Different people in charge meant better results, in this case. They had great translations, which led to great scripts that didn't "talk down" to the audience, the sound mixing was great, and the dub director for those movies, Karl Willems, was--and for that matter, is--one of the most respected directors in the Canadian voice acting business (he also directed the dub for Death Note, which is generally considered to be one of the best English dubs an anime has ever received).

If anything, the Pioneer/Ocean dubs of the first three movies are proof of how the acting can improve due to factors other than the actors involved.

[eledoremassis02]

Probably because they were dubbed after FUNimation abandoned them but before they stopped caring altogether.

Is this true? If thats the case I would have loved to see Pioneer dub the series!

[Bansho64]

I noticed that the acting in the 3 movies done by the ocean is pretty good compared to the actual series. Does anyone share this opinion and have an answer?

Yes and yes.

Here's the thing...it's my belief that actors get way too much flack for things that are not entirely their fault. They're not faultless, but there are a lot of things that affect how a performance will be received that are not at all in their control, and these include (but are certainly not limited to):

-The director's direction.
-How well the script was adapted.
-How good the provided translations are.
-How well the engineer mixes the audio.
-Which of the multiple takes the director and engineer decide to use.
-How much time the producers and upper management give the staff to complete the dub.

So, the reason the three movies had generally better "acting" than the TV series from the Ocean cast is because it wasn't really the acting that improved, but rather, all of the factors that I've mentioned above. FUNimation, while still technically the producers, pretty much handed the dubbing of the movies off to Pioneer. Different people in charge meant better results, in this case. They had great translations, which led to great scripts that didn't "talk down" to the audience, the sound mixing was great, and the dub director for those movies, Karl Willems, was--and for that matter, is--one of the most respected directors in the Canadian voice acting business (he also directed the dub for Death Note, which is generally considered to be one of the best English dubs an anime has ever received).

If anything, the Pioneer/Ocean dubs of the first three movies are proof of how the acting can improve due to factors other than the actors involved.

If only those factors could've been included in the TV series.... They were at their best in the movies. They even kept the Kikuchi music in the movies which really keeps the atmosphere like it was in the japanese version.

[Man-Child]

I never really noticed a big a shift in acting, as opposed to the scripts just being that much better than on the show.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I never really noticed a big a shift in acting, as opposed to the scripts just being that much better than on the show.

That can make the acting seem better, though. I think sometimes people think they "hate" a voice actor's performance, when in reality, what they really hate about it is all the corny stuff they're given to say, and they subconsciously attribute it to the actor.

[ABED]

A good director and the right material can make all the difference. I've seen actors that I thought were terrible give good performances because they had the right material. Conversely, I've seen bad directors and bad writing drag down great actors. Just imagine what season 3 would have been like if everything else stayed the same except if they kept the original music, but hired a good director and had good scripts.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Just imagine what season 3 would have been like if everything else stayed the same except if they kept the original music, but hired a good director and had good scripts.

It probably still would have been the low point of the in-house cast just because a lot of the actors were new, but still, this "low point" would have been a huge upgrade from the low point that actually came to be.

[Man-Child]

That can make the acting seem better, though. I think sometimes people think they "hate" a voice actor's performance, when in reality, what they really hate about it is all the corny stuff they're given to say, and they subconsciously attribute it to the actor.

Very true. I don't think any actor couldve taken some of the awful dialogue from that era and made it sound good, which is why I try not to blame Ocean for their work on the show at the time. Barry Watson on the other hand...

[ABED]

Just imagine what season 3 would have been like if everything else stayed the same except if they kept the original music, but hired a good director and had good scripts.

It probably still would have been the low point of the in-house cast just because a lot of the actors were new, but still, this "low point" would have been a huge upgrade from the low point that actually came to be.

I get that, but my point was like your last statement, compared to what we got it would've been FAR better. I think instead of an F for that season, we could have gotten as high as a D+.

Very true. I don't think any actor couldve taken the dialogue from that era and made it sound good, which is why I try not to blame Ocean for their work on the show at the time.

In the years since I first saw it, my opinion has changed a little. I think many of those performances are very good in spite of some awful dialog. It's odd, sometimes a good/great actor can look awful with a terrible script and bad direction, but sometimes they can mitigate some of the damage.

[Lord Beerus]

Better direction, scripting, translations and acting. That's all there is too it.

[Kunzait_83]

The first three DBZ Movie dubs are the only glimpse we'll ever get into an alternate universe where Pioneer had gotten the full dubbing/distribution rights instead of FUNimation, and released the whole series as a straight to video release same as other "legitimate" anime of the time (ala Ranma, Patlabor, Urusei Yatsura, Evangelion etc.) instead of on television as a chintzy hatchet job "Saturday morning kids' Pew Pew!" effort (ala Robotech, Voltron, Ronin Warriors, Sailor Moon, the whole 4Kids oeuvre, etc).

This makes a HUGE difference on the end product as those are two wildly opposing approaches to anime dubbing which cater to two entirely different types of audiences altogether, particularly within the context of the 90s.

If anything the three Pioneer movie dubs, well handled as they were, were still hobbled somewhat by needing to retain a number of questionable casting choices (and naming/translation conventions) from the Saban-produced syndicated series of the time. If Pioneer did the entire thing from scratch from the getgo, the dub that would result of that would very likely still be different from what is currently seen in the 3 DBZ movies. As those stand, they're the closest approximation we'll ever get into that sort of "what if" scenario of FUNimation (or another TV-dependent company like FUNimation) never being a part of the picture at all whatsoever.

From my own vantage point, as someone who'd already been an active anime/DB fan well before the Cartoon Network days, I'd have much, MUCH preferred if things had turned out that way instead: with Pioneer just releasing the whole series first to VHS, then shortly thereafter to DVD as just another of the era's domestic anime video releases, and Dragon Ball never having to have been a part of the atrocious 90s American children's television industry in any way, shape, or form.

In that scenario, there'd have been at the bare minimum a very passable dub along with dual language releases from the jump. That's it. No fuss, no muss, no bullshit overwrought fanboy drama. Just another set of anime tapes/discs on the Suncoast, FYE, and Mom & Pop video store racks alongside all the other stuff at the time from AnimEigo, Central Park Media, Viz, ADV, etc. without in any way needing to consider the completely ridiculous, nonsensically puritanical whims of what is seen as "appropriate" for mainstream American children's television as being a factor in the slightest.

There'd have likely been a ton of other fallout from this as well: no Cartoon Network DBZ airings, possibly even no "Toonami anime phenomenon" at all as well. I'm also just as fine with those possibilities as well: but again, that's coming from someone who never in any way “needed” those things as a “gateway” to have gotten into anime or Dragon Ball at all in the first place.

[ABED]

But who knows if we would have gotten all of the series given its sheer size. Yeah, it sucks that DB went through what it did, but I'm not sure we would have ever gotten the whole series legally subbed. Plus, I wouldn't give up the Kai dub for anything. As an added bonus, Kelamis is no longer Goku.