Chinese Project Notes 9.5: Getting Exact Movie Dialog Transcripts for Japanese and Chinese
OK, I’ve had it! There’s got to be a way of getting a copy of exactly what was said in a movie. I could go through some movies myself, painstakingly copy down every word of dialog, and then post it here, but who wants to do that, when:
1) There may or may not be copyright issues, and
2) Someone, somewhere, already has an actual copy of that script anyway; because something had to be written down to give those (voice) actors. So in the overall scheme of human work, I am doing unnecessary duplication unnecessary duplication..
So, today, I’ve decided to call Pixar and find out who has the scripts for the Cantonese dubs of all those Disney/Pixar movies, and how I can get my hands on them. I already tried the Disney corporate websites for both Hong Kong and the US, but no phone numbers were to be found, anywhere…it’s almost as if they don’t want to talk on the phone (!) 
. I love Disney and they are very nice people. And kind. And good-looking. And forgiving of snide remarks. And good-looking. Anyway, I’ll let you know what happens as it happens.
Wow! Have you been working out? You know, you always were a kind, generous, good-looking person. That's why you want to click on the picture below, and donate a few coins to keep this site growing for you! ANY amount will do! ANY amount is worth it! 50 cents? $1? $5? $50? Any donation is always welcome!
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David Hallgren said,
May 2, 2008 @ 2:23 pm
I’ve used http://www.shooter.cn/ to find quite a few copies of subtitles, which often are exact copies of those on DVDs. For example I just tried searching for a few Disney movies (e.g. 阿拉丁) and there were a number of different versions to choose from. I’ve only looked for 简体-version so I don’t know if they have Cantonese version as well but wouldn’t be surprised if they do.
I’ve written a short entry on my (unfortunately never updated) blog on how to use it and format the .srt files to get the text into a nicer format: http://www.davidhallgren.se/polyglottony/?p=8
Alec said,
May 2, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
Yeah! I like your initiative-taking, hehe. Be sure to report back.
wenhailin said,
May 2, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
Whenever I watch a Chinese movie, I get the subtitles from http://www.subom.com
Mark said,
May 2, 2008 @ 9:12 pm
Yeah - please ask them about the Japanese subs/scripts while you’re at it
Mark
Mark said,
May 2, 2008 @ 9:17 pm
BTW- here are some Disney phone numbers:
http://studioservices.go.com/disneystudios/contact.html
Don’t know if they are useful…
Mark
Louis said,
May 2, 2008 @ 10:29 pm
There is! I’ll write up a guide for you =)
mashuu83 said,
May 2, 2008 @ 10:56 pm
Ask about Korean too~!
Thanks~
All Japanese All The Time Dot Com » Chinese Project Notes 9.5.1: Status Report/Getting Through To People said,
May 3, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
[…] Big thanks to Mark for that Disney phone directory! […]
sarius24 said,
May 4, 2008 @ 12:51 am
I know this is off topic…but has anyone become fluent yet since this site has been up?
khatzumoto said,
May 4, 2008 @ 6:00 pm
Good question. This site first went up in August 2006, got deleted due to my poor choice of webhost (Dot5Hosting = no usey) but got back up again in…October 2006. I don’t know if that’s enough time. I do know some kids have gotten really good by using an SRS and switching to learning real Japanese. I’d be interested in hearing back from people, too.
Marty Drury said,
May 12, 2008 @ 8:29 pm
Hi. Great blog. I speak a little Japanese but your blog has really helped me improve. Thought you might be interested in my blog: http://www.joinmartin.wordpress.com. I’m a UK based journalist and I’ve set myself a challenge: learn as many languages as possible in just one year. Check it out. Best wishes, Martin.