Aladdin

Aladdin is one of Disneys most famous animated films and thus we may encounter
many translations, in different languages each having their own personal style. On that note,
when translating, especially a cartoon, or an animated film, one is faced with a certain amount
of problems. To better exemplify this, I have chosen an excerpt from Disneys Aladdin, most
specifically a song that shows the princess, Jasmine and Aladdin falling in love.
The main problem when dealing with a translation for children is age appropriate
language. In this type of translation, we must always keep in mind that the lines that appear on
the screen must not be too long, or too confusing. The language must be creative, allowing
children to associate a certain word with the image on the screen. The best example for this is
the manner in which the song begins: I can show you the world/Shining, shimmering,
splendid. The sentence creates a certain visual effect in the minds of the young ones; they
expect to be shown many places and wonders of the world during the song, which the movie
provides. While trying to translate it into Romanian, I wanted to re-create the same visual
image the English version provides. As a result, I tried to use words that are simple, concise
and that attract interest as in: Pot s-i art lumea/Strlucind, sclipind, splendid.
Another problem that I have encountered here consists in trying to implement the
same style as in the main script: I can open your eyes/Take you wonder by wonder/Over,
sideways and under/On a magic carpet ride. In these lines we can observe a type of dialog
that suggests an invitation to a discovery of a new way of life. Bearing in mind that the
speaker is Aladdin, a thief, his linguistic style is simple, but truthful. After he is given a new
way of life and access to magical items, like the magic carpet, his style changes: he can now
provide the object of his affection with a new perspective of the world and its wonders. With
my translation: Pot s-i deschid ochii/ S te duc printre minuni/Pe sus, pe lng, pe jos/ Cu
covorul magic, n zbor, I tried to capture the same spirituality that the English version offers,
to maintain the poetical style, that a romantic song is required to have.
The usage of the metaphors was another problem that I was confronted with. Due to
the fact that Aladdin is a childrens film and that some of the lines suggest a further usage of
imagination and discovery, I tried to maintain the same relevance of the symbols and of their
meanings. A whole new world, I can open your eyes, Through an endless diamond sky
are one of the few examples of phrases that suggest a metaphorical essence. At this point I felt
that the Romanian translations must be as accurate as their counterparts: O ntreag lume
nou, Pot s-i deschid ochii, Printr-un cer de diamant nesfrit.
On the note of the idiomatic versus semiotic, I must mention that I have focused on the
semiotic translation, considering that this is something that a child might read and later on
interpret and that in our language, some of the words might have lost their symbolism if they
would have been translated in a literal manner: No one to tell us no or where to go, Nimeni
s ne opreasc s mergem unde vrem. However, there were cases that the idiomatic
translation was the best choice when trying the preserve the meaning: Or say were only
dreaming S ne spun c doar vism.
One of the main problems that I was expected to find myself in front of, was the frame
system, because you can have a perfect translation, but after you put it into frames, you
discover that you have more that the average spaces per line. However, in this case, I
discovered that this was not an issue for me.
As a contrast to my subtitles, I have searched for another Romanian translation to
verify, but also to introduce myself with another persons style and view of the film. On what
I could observe after a close reading, the other translation was a little more poetical than mine
and as far as I am concerned, a bit too technical.
As I have mentioned in the beginning, I started working on it bearing in mind the idea
that this film would be presented to a younger audience; and in accordance to that, I played
with phrase and ideas to make it more creative and interactive.
One of the principles of translating that I have observed in the Romanian translation
found on the internet was that they tried to replicate the idea of a song in our language: I
could observe the appearance of inversions: Lumea pot s-i art, Ochii s nu-i nchizi
As a conclusion, I would like to say that choosing to translate a part from an animated
film has opened my mind to new horizons, I could finally notice that, as a translator, the
audience the one you are working and the goal must be tailored to suit their needs, as long as
the main engineers of the films script are not forgotten.