(Re) Creating Language Identities in Animated Films: Dubbing Linguistic Variation

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN TRANSLATING AND INTERPRETING
SERIES EDITOR: MARGARET ROGERS
(Re)Creating
Language
Identities in
Animated Films
Dubbing Linguistic Variation
Vincenza Minutella
Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting
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School of Literature and Languages
University of Surrey
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Vincenza Minutella
(Re)Creating
Language Identities
in Animated Films
Dubbing Linguistic Variation
Vincenza Minutella
Department of Foreign Languages
and Literatures
University of Turin
Turin, Italy
Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting

ISBN 978-3-030-56637-1 ISBN 978-3-030-56638-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8
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To Emanuele and Marianna
Preface
The idea of this book developed out of my experience teaching a post-

graduate English language and translation course at the University of
Turin in 2016. I explored with my students the features of the English
language spoken in Anglo-American animated films and the translation
strategies adopted in Italian dubbing to tackle various elements of film
dialogue. Animated films were chosen as a subject of study because of
their popularity, the dual audience they are targeted at (children and
adults) and their playful use of the resources of language to convey char-
acterisation and humour. Reading Lippi-Green’s ground-breaking anal-
ysis of Disney films in “Teaching Children How to Discriminate (What
We Learn from the Big Bad Wolf )” (1997) and analysing various films,
students were fascinated to discover that language varieties and languages
other than English were used by animated characters to convey specific
connotations and often stereotypes. The use of language variation as
a quick way to provide characterisation and the strategies adopted by
dubbing professionals to recreate this characterisation in Italian dubbing
aroused great interest and awareness in my students. I hence decided to
investigate the issue of the translation of linguistic identities, language
vii
viii Preface
variation and multilingualism in animated films from a wider perspec-

tive—not focusing on individual case studies. Instead, I explored a large
number of films produced by different production companies—not just
Disney. By analysing a corpus of contemporary films distributed in Italy
within a 16-year time span (2001–2017), I hoped I would find regular-
ities in filmic representations of language varieties and languages other
than English in the original films and in their translation for dubbing.
As a result, I now find myself writing a book on the dubbing of language
variation and multilingualism in animated films in order to systematise
my findings.
Turin, Italy Vincenza Minutella

Acknowledgements
My gratitude goes to all the people who have supported this project.
I would like to thank all my students at the University of Turin, espe-
cially those attending my courses in 2015–2016 and 2019–2020, those
I supervised for their final dissertations and students taking the MA
in Audiovisual Translation (MAVTO). Thank you for your enthusiasm
about the topic of this book, for sharing ideas and for helping me with
the transcriptions.
Thanks go to the publishers and the editors Cathy Scott, Alice
Green and, most of all, to Professor Margaret Rogers for challenging
my research with her feedback and wise comments and for being very
supportive. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their
insights and suggestions and Ms Zobariya Jidda for her kind help.
My deepest gratitude goes to Roberto Morville and Elena Di
Carlo who generously shared their knowledge of the dubbing world and
their vast professional experience, discussed several translation issues with
me and provided precious comments.
ix
x Acknowledgements
I am extremely grateful to all the dubbing professionals who have

kindly answered my questions and discussed the issues with me: Massi-
miliano Alto, Oreste Baldini, Stefano Brusa, Chiara Gioncardi, Marco
Guadagno, Fiamma Izzo, Leslie La Penna, Massimiliano Manfredi,
Marco Mete, Maria Grazia Napolitano, Serena Paccagnella, Alessandro
Rossi, Francesco Vairano and Carlo Valli. I would also like to thank
Claudia Gvirtzman Dichter for sharing her thoughts and experiences
regarding the dubbing world and for her comments on accents.
I would also like to thank my colleagues and friends who have helped
me in many ways. First, I am grateful to Frederic Chaume and Jorge Díaz
Cintas for being the first to believe in this project, for their precious
advice and for their constant, enthusiastic support; to Maria Pavesi for
her insights into my research, for being supportive and for helping me
find ‘patterns’; to Silvia Bruti for her feedback and support; to Giselle
Spiteri Miggiani for her encouragement and for help with translations,
issues of professional practice and comments on accents; to Christo-
pher Taylor for his help and comments about accents; to Tessa Dwyer
for her comments about Australian accents and stereotypes; to Rainier
Grutman for sharing references and for his comments on French Cana-
dian; to Julio de los Reyes Lozano for comments on Spanish accents
and Spanish versions of the films; and to Irene de Higes Andino, Irene
Ranzato, Serenella Zanotti, Ilaria Parini, Rosina Lippi-Green and Fabio
Rossi for sharing references. I would also like to thank Stefania Taviano
for her ruthless revision and Elisa Perego for her support.
I am grateful to my colleagues from the MA in AVT at the University
of Turin teaching for their encouragement and feedback on various issues:
Matteo Milani, Chiara Simonigh, Teresa Biondi and Luca Bellone; to
Antonio Romano for his precious comments on phonetic features; and
to Lydia Corbelli for her help with translations.
A special thank-you goes to my friends and colleagues: to Gerardo
Mazzaferro for being a living library and great advisor; to Aurelia Martelli
and Esterino Adami for welcoming me into their office and providing
warmth and advice; and to Pietro Deandrea for his encouragment and
sharing references. I would also like to thank Shan Hirst, Gerard Dorrity,
Guy Watts, Chris Owen, Nadia Caprioglio, Massimo Maurizio and
Susan Souza for their feedback on accents and languages.
Acknowledgements xi
I am grateful to Hilary Siddons for her language revision and trans-

lations. A special thank-you goes to Stuart Doherty for his dedication
to this project and his precious help with revisions, editing, comments,
tables and pie charts.
I would also like to thank Ape and Micol, Isabella, Miwa, Keiko,
Valeria, Cinzia, Bianca, Barbara, Debbie, Alessandra, Anna and Chiara
for the various ways in which they have helped me.
Last but not least, my immense gratitude goes to my family: to my
parents for their constant support; to my husband Fabio (my wisest coun-
sellor); and to my children Emanuele and Marianna. You have helped me
immensely with your love and patience. Thanks for watching the films
over and over with me, for encouraging me during such an exhausting
project which has taken my mind away from you, for cheering me up
and for keeping me sane. This book would not exist without you. Thank
you.
I am grateful to the editors of the following publications for permis-
sion to reproduce previously published material: Minutella, Vincenza
(2016) “British dialects in animated films: The case of Gnomeo and Juliet
and its creative Italian dubbing,” Status Quaestionis, 11, Special Issue
“North and South: British dialects in fictional dialogue,” edited by Irene
Ranzato; and Minutella, Vincenza (2018) “Translating non-native vari-
eties of English in animated films: The Italian dubbing of Madagascar 3:
Europe’s Most Wanted ,” Cultus, 144–157.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Methodology 8
1.2 Outline of the Book 13
References 15
2 Dubbing Animated Films: A Complex Collaborative

Process 19
2.1 Introduction 19
2.2 The Dubbing Process: Main Agents, Stages
and Texts 21
2.2.1 The Distributor and Its Dubbing
and Localization Department 23
2.2.2 A Key Agent in the Dubbing Process: The
Creative Dubbing Supervisor 25
2.2.3 Translation, Adaptation and Recording
Phases 31
The Translation and the Translator 32
xiii
xiv Contents
The Italian Adaptation/Italian Dialogues

and the Dialogue Writer 37
Recording the Dubbed Version
in the Dubbing Booth: Dubbing Director,
Dubbing Assistant, Dubbing Actors
and Sound Technician 39
Dubbing Actors 42
What Happens to the Italian Dialogues
in the Dubbing Booth? 43
2.3 One Film, Many Texts 45
2.3.1 English Dialogue List 47
2.3.2 Key Names and Phrases (KNP) File 50
2.3.3 Creative Letter 54
2.4 Choosing the Voices in Dubbing 55
2.4.1 Voice Tests and Standard Procedures 55
2.4.2 Star Talents 58
2.5 Concluding Remarks 66
References 67
3 Translating Language Varieties and Multilingualism

in Audiovisual Texts: Research and Conversations
with Dubbing Practitioners 75
3.1 Introduction 75
3.1.1 Translating Linguistic Variation
and Multilingualism in Audiovisual Texts 76
3.2 In Conversation with Dubbing Professionals About
the Language of Dubbing, Accents and Dialects 84
3.2.1 The Client Decides 85
3.2.2 The Language of Dubbing: A Language
that Nobody Speaks 89
3.2.3 Dubbing Strategies for Dealing
with Linguistic Variation 91
Main Language of the Film: Standard
Italian 91
Contents xv
Foreign-Accented English or Foreign

Language: Foreign-Accented Italian
or Foreign Language 95
Use of Italian Regional Accents and Italian
Dialects in Dubbing 103
Italian and Italian American 106
Star Talents With an Accent 109
References 113
4 Linguistic Variation in Animated Films from 2001

to 2017 123
4.1 Introduction 123
4.2 The Corpus of Animated Films 124
4.3 Language Variation and Linguistic Characterisation
in the Films Making up the Corpus 126
4.3.1 Language Variation in Atlantis: The Lost
Empire/Atlantis: L’impero perduto (2001) 128
4.3.2 Language Variation in the Shrek Films 130
4.3.3 Language Variation in Lilo and Stitch/Lilo
e Stitch (2002) 131
4.3.4 Language Variation in Finding Nemo/Alla
ricerca di Nemo (2003) and in Finding
Dory/Alla ricerca di Dory (2016) 133
4.3.5 Language Variation in Shark Tale (2004) 134
4.3.6 Language Variation in the Madagascar
Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012) 137
4.3.7 Language Variation in the Wild/Uno zoo
in fuga (2006) 139
4.3.8 Language Variation in the Cars Films
(2006, 2011) 141
4.3.9 Language Variation in Ratatouille (2007) 145
4.3.10 Language Variation in Ice Age 2: The
Meltdown (2006) and Ice Age 3: Dawn
of the Dinosaurs (2009) 146
4.3.11 Language Variation in Toy Story 3 (2010) 148
xvi Contents
4.3.12 Language Variation in How to Train Your

Dragon/Dragon Trainer (2010) 150
4.3.13 Language Variation in Puss in Boots/Il gatto
con gli stivali (2011) 151
4.3.14 Language Variation in Gnomeo &
Juliet/Gnomeo & Giulietta (2011) 153
4.3.15 Language Variation in Rio (2011) and Rio
2 (2014) 154
4.3.16 Language Variation in Rango (2011) 157
4.3.17 Language Variation in Brave/Ribelle-The
Brave (2012) 158
4.3.18 Language Variation in Rise
of the Guardians/Le cinque leggende
(2012) 160
4.3.19 Language Variation in Hotel Transylvania
(2012) and Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) 160
4.3.20 Language Variation in Turbo (2013) 161
4.3.21 Language Variation in Planes (2013) 162
4.3.22 Language Variation in Despicable Me
2/Cattivissimo me 2 (2013) 165
4.3.23 Language Variation in Mr. Peabody
and Sherman (2014) 167
4.3.24 Language Variation in The Book of Life/Il
libro della vita (2014) 168
4.3.25 Language Variation in Zootopia/Zootropolis
(2016) 171
4.3.26 Language Variation in Sing (2016) 173
4.3.27 Language Variation in Coco (2017) 175
4.3.28 Language Variation in Ferdinand (2017) 177
4.4 Trends in Linguistic Characterisation in the Films:
A Summary of Characters by Language Groups 180
4.4.1 Regularities in Native Varieties of English 180
General American English Heroes 182
Other Varieties of American English 183
British English 187
Scottish English 188
Contents xvii
Australian English 189

4.4.2 Foreign-Accented English or Non-Native
Varieties of English 190
French-Accented English: French
and Canadian Characters 192
Spanish-Accented English: Spanish
and Latino Characters 193
Italian-Accented English and Italian
American: Representations of Italianness 197
German-Accented English 198
Russian-Accented English and Russian
Characters 199
Brazilian Portuguese-Accented English
and Brazilian Portuguese 200
Indian-Accented English 201
Undefined Eastern European-Accented
English 201
4.5 Foreign Languages/Languages Other Than English 202
References 204
5 Americans, Brits, Aussies, Etc.: Native Varieties

of English in Italian Dubbing 217
5.2 British English Varieties: Is British English Always
Neutralised? 219
5.2.1 Evil Characters: British Upper-Class
Villains Speaking RP (Received
Pronunciation) 220
5.2.2 Refined, Posh, Rich or Aristocratic
Characters 223
5.2.3 British vs American Characters 231
5.2.4 The Lovable
Rogue/Thieves/Criminals/Ambiguous
Characters 236
5.3 Scottish English 240
xviii Contents
5.4 Australian English 247

5.5 Social and Regional Varieties of American English 250
5.5.1 Southern American English 250
5.5.2 African American Vernacular English
(AAVE) 254
5.5.3 New York/Brooklyn Accent 259
5.6 Exceptions or When Dubbing Uses Italian
with an Accent 262
5.6.1 English-Accented Italian in Dubbing 262
Historical and Literary Figures,
Well-Known Living People and British
Symbols 263
Britishness Referred
to in the Dialogues/Plot 263
English Accent Due to the Marketing
Strategy of Using Star Talents 266
5.6.2 Italian Regional Accents
for British/American Characters 267
References 271
6 Languages Other Than English/Foreign Languages

in Italian Dubbing: Preservation, Neutralisation,
Reduction or Adaptation? 279
6.2 Atlantean and French in Atlantis: The Lost Empire
(2001) 281
6.3 Spanish in Toy Story 3 (2010) 285
6.4 Preservation Strategy for Russian, French, Japanese,
Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish 287
6.5 Neutralising Foreign Identities: French in Planes 291
6.6 Dealing with Italian in the Cars Films 294
References 300
Contents xix
7 Non-native Varieties of English in Italian

Dubbing: Does Foreign-Accented English Become
Foreign-Accented Italian? 303
7.2 Characters Speaking Spanish-Accented English 304
7.2.1 Hypercharacterisation of Spanish-Accented
English (Spanish/Latino/Mexican
Characters) 305
7.2.2 Reduction and Neutralisation
of the Spanish Accent in Dubbing 313
7.2.3 A Different Approach: From
Spanish-Accented English to Romanesco 317
7.3 Characters Speaking French-Accented English
(French and Canadian Characters) 319
7.3.1 Preservation and Hypercharacterisation
of a French/Canadian Identity 320
7.3.2 Reduction and Neutralisation: The Case
of Ratatouille 325
7.4 German-Accented English Characters:
Hypercharacterisation in Dubbing 332
7.5 Russian-Accented English Characters: Preservation
and Hypercharacterisation in Dubbing 335
7.6 Other Foreign Accents 340
7.7 When Dubbing Erases Difference: The Case of Gru
in Despicable Me 2 and Rochelle in Planes 342
References 346
8 (Re)Positioning Italianness in Animated Films: No

Accent, Foreign Accent, Regional Italian or Dialect? 351
8.2 Italian American English and Italian-Accented
English in Animated Films 352
8.3 Italian-Accented English: Foreign-Accented Italian
in Madagascar 3 354
xx Contents
8.4 Italian-Accented English and Italian American:

Regional Italian or Italian Dialect 356
8.4.1 Vinny in Atlantis 357
8.4.2 Don Lino and Sykes in Shark Tale 359
8.4.3 Mr Big in Zootopia/Zootropolis 361
8.4.4 Luigi in the Cars Films 362
8.4.5 Francesco Bernouilli in Cars 2 363
8.4.6 Leonardo and Mona Lisa in Mr. Peabody
and Sherman 366
8.4.7 Creative Transformations, or When
Dubbing Adds Italian Regional Dialects 367
References 371
9 Conclusion 375
References 386
Appendix 1: List of Films Analysed (in Alphabetical

Order) 389
Appendix 2: List of Italian Dubbing Experts Consulted

About Their Professional Practice
(2015–2020) 397
Index 399
List of Tables
Table 2.1 English Dialogue List 47

Table 2.2 Mock-up KNP file with English terms and comments 51
Table 2.3 Mock-up KNP file with English text, comments
and target language translation 51
Table 2.4 Mock-up KNP file with back translation of the target
language translation in the dubbed version required 51
Table 4.1 Language varieties spoken in Atlantis 129
Table 4.2 Language varieties spoken in the Shrek films 131
Table 4.3 Language varieties spoken in Lilo and Stitch 133
Table 4.4 Language varieties spoken in Finding Nemo
and Finding Dory 135
Table 4.5 Language varieties spoken in Shark Tale (2004) 137
Table 4.6 Language varieties spoken in the Madagascar trilogy 140
Table 4.7 Language varieties spoken in The Wild 141
Table 4.8 Language varieties spoken in the Cars films 144
Table 4.9 Language varieties spoken in Ratatouille 147
Table 4.10 Language varieties spoken in the Ice Age films 148
Table 4.11 Language varieties spoken in Toy Story 3 149
Table 4.12 Language varieties spoken in How to Train Your
Dragon/Dragon Trainer 151
xxi
xxii List of Tables
Table 4.13 Language varieties spoken in Puss in Boots/Il gatto con

gli stivali 152
Table 4.14 Language varieties spoken in Gnomeo & Juliet 154
Table 4.15 Language varieties spoken in Rio and Rio 2 156
Table 4.16 Language varieties spoken in Rango 158
Table 4.17 Language varieties spoken in Brave/Ribelle-The Brave 159
Table 4.18 Language varieties spoken in Rise of the Guardians/Le
cinque leggende 161
Table 4.19 Language varieties spoken in Hotel Transylvania
and Hotel Transylvania 2 162
Table 4.20 Language varieties spoken in Turbo 163
Table 4.21 Language varieties spoken in Planes 164
Table 4.22 Language varieties spoken in Despicable Me
2/Cattivissimo me 2 166
Table 4.23 Language varieties spoken in Mr. Peabody and Sherman 168
Table 4.24 Language varieties spoken in The Book of Life/Il libro
della vita 170
Table 4.25 Language varieties spoken in Zootopia/Zootropolis 174
Table 4.26 Language varieties spoken in Sing (2016) 176
Table 4.27 Language varieties spoken in Coco 178
Table 4.28 Language varieties spoken in Ferdinand 179
1
Introduction
This book focuses on the issue of the portrayal and recreation of

linguistic identities in English-language animated films produced by US
majors. Language variation and varieties are a means used to represent
identities and have been employed for centuries as a characterisation
tool both in literature and cinema. The way in which characters speak
carries a wealth of information, which in multimodal texts such as films
is combined with visual elements to convey meaning. In the case of
animated films, voice actors develop the linguistic characterisation of
animated characters by working on voice quality, intonation, rhythm,
timbre, also resorting to specific accents which can immediately trigger
connotations and stereotypes in the audience’s mind. As pointed out by
Wells:
Accents constitute an important part of many stereotypes. We use index-

ical information we collect from listening to a person speak in order to
slot him into an appropriate stereotype. […] a hearer, having made a
stereotype identification of a speaker on the basis of his or her accent,
then attributes to him or her all kinds of other qualities that are popularly
associated with the stereotype in question. (1982, pp. 29–30)
© The Author(s) 2021 1

V. Minutella, (Re)Creating Language Identities in Animated Films,
Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8_1
2 V. Minutella
Animated films as a genre are neither realistic nor dramatic: they focus
on comedy and humour, they exploit the interaction between verbal and
visual stereotypes, often exaggerating them in order to create comedy.
As argued by Brode, “cartoons – with their extremely (and, for anyone
who understands the medium, necessarily) broad form of portraiture –
rely more heavily on caricature than any other cinematic form” (2005,
p. 103). The meanings created by verbal/visual interaction in animated
films cannot be ignored and must indeed be analysed in order to under-
stand how filmmakers create characters. Therefore, since dialogue is the
only element which is altered when the film crosses borders to another
country, this book focuses on the verbal element and on the way charac-
ters speak in animated films and in their dubbed versions. Nevertheless,
our analysis will make some reference to visual elements combined with
verbal ones where relevant. Animated films have been chosen as the
object of study due to their popularity, their use of humour, and the
double audience they address, which makes them complex and inter-
esting audiovisual products. In fact, although they are mainly aimed at
children, they are conceived in such a way as to appeal to adults as well
and they have different layers of meaning. A further reason for choosing
animated films as the focus of this investigation is that they are dubbed
in various countries, also in traditional subtitling countries, due to the
young audience they are aimed at. As a result, the issues discussed in this
study, though focusing on the Italian context, could be relevant in several
other countries.
The translation of linguistic variation is one of the most difficult and
thorny issues in audiovisual translation. A realistic or stylised representa-
tion of language variation is usually exploited in films to create characters
and to establish a setting. Lippi-Green points out that:
Film uses language variation and accent to draw character quickly,

building on established preconceived notions associated with specific
loyalties, ethnic, racial, or economic alliances. This shortcut to charac-
terization means that certain traits need not be laboriously demonstrated
by means of a character’s actions and an examination of motive. (1997,
p. 81)
1 Introduction 3
Similarly, Kozloff notes that “[r]ecognizable, clichéd dialects are used

on-screen to sketch in a character’s past and cultural heritage, to locate
each person in terms of his or her financial standing, education level,
geographical background, or ethnic group” (2000, p. 82) (see also Lippi-
Green 2012; Hodson 2014). This applies to animated films where
different varieties—geographical, temporal, social, ethnic and idiolects—
are used to build quick characterisation and to mould specific identities,
thus often reinforcing cultural stereotypes. The way a character speaks
conveys meaning and associations that may or may not be recognised by
the audience. If we consider that the main audience of animated films
is children, this issue is particularly important and deserves attention.
As observed by Hodson, “the fact remains that the language varieties
used in the film[s] serve to guide the audience towards making certain
assumptions about the characters, and that these varieties were the result
of choices, made consciously or otherwise, by the filmmakers” (2014,
p. 70). Animated characters are defined verbally through the type of
language they use, and voice actors learn to create characters by using
specific accents and varieties, which are called ‘dialects’ by dialect coaches
and in manuals for actors. For instance, the manual Voice-Over for
Animation explains that “dialects are another way to differentiate your
characters” and describes “the basics of twelve of the most common
dialects used in animation” (Wright and Lallo 2009, p. 57). The authors
remind aspiring voice-over actors of animated characters that “dialects
used in animation may be less about authentic realistic speech and more
about portraying a character in a way that is believable to the audience
and funny”, and advise them on playing with heavy accents or “only a
hint of an accent” (Wright and Lallo 2009, p. 60). The above comments
highlight the importance of accents and language varieties as a means for
characterisation and especially as a means for comedy. As each linguistic
variety plays an important role in the creation of character, and since
language varieties and languages can be defined in different ways, an
explanation of the terminology used in this book to discuss them is
provided below. We start, however, with the main phases of the dubbing
process before moving on to the central issue of language varieties.
Describing the components of dubbing script preparation in their
chronological order, the first is a close translation of the source text
4 V. Minutella
dialogue into the target language followed by its adaptation (or local-
isation) into a dialogue which also complies with the requirements
of synchronisation (lip and kinesic synchrony as well as isochrony),
ready for the final stage of recording the dialogue. Simply put, we
can say that there are three main phases of dubbing script preparation
and output: translation, adaptation (dialogue writing) and recording.
However, not everyone—whether professionals or academics—agrees on
this segmentation. For example, the term ‘translation’ is often used by
professionals and academics alike to refer to both the translation and
adaptation/dialogue writing. In other cases, especially among Italian
professionals, the term ‘adaptation/dialogue writing’ is used instead to
refer to both the translation and the adaptation. In Italy, and especially as
regards animated films, these two tasks are often performed by different
people, in which case the dialogue writer will normally commission a
professional translation with which he/she can then work. The resulting
translation is a kind of draft for the dialogue writer but remains unseen
to others, as does the translator. Sometimes, however, the same person
(the dialogue writer) carries out both tasks. It is wise therefore to be
aware that there is no agreed way of referring to these phases and that the
term ‘translation’ often, though not always, subsumes dialogue writing,
or it can remain hidden under the term ‘adaptation/dialogue writing’.
In the present study I propose to distinguish three main phases—trans-
lation, adaptation/dialogue writing, recording (see Sect. 2.1.3)—as this
is useful for analytical purposes, even though it was impossible to gain
access to the translations underlying the dialogues recorded for each
film. Moreover, as this study will illustrate, there are a number of other
stages between the adaptation and recording phases, as well as a number
of professional roles involved in the dubbing post-production process
leading to the final dialogue as recorded in the dubbing studio.
For the sake of clarity and the purposes of this study, the English
language spoken in the selected films will be divided into native and
non-native varieties of English, as this appears to affect the way in
which the linguistic identity of the characters is represented and then
treated in dubbing. Broad national varieties will be considered. Language
varieties from the United States will be divided into a broad General
1 Introduction 5
American English and more specific regionally, socially marked or non-

standard US varieties (for more details see Sect. 4.1). As regards British
varieties, British English (BrE) will indicate a general standard British
variety, distinguished from class-based and regional varieties, extending
also to those spoken outside the United Kingdom (for more details see
Sect. 4.1).
On the other hand, all the instances of English spoken with a foreign
accent will be called non-native varieties of English or foreign-accented
English, and these will be distinguished according to the character’s
supposed mother tongue (the specific types are discussed in Sect. 4.1).
The films analysed are all English-language films. However, a few
instances of lines in other languages can be found. They will be called
‘foreign languages’ or ‘languages other than English’.
It is also worth clarifying a terminological issue regarding language
varieties in Italy. Cerruti points to the presence of three types of language
varieties in the Italian context: standard Italian, regional varieties of
Italian/regional Italian and dialects proper defined as ‘Italo-Romance
dialects’ (Cerruti 2011, p. 9). As explained by Cerruti:
the regional varieties of Italian are varieties of the national language that
are spoken in different geographical areas. They differ both from each
other and from standard Italian […] at all levels of the language system,
especially with regard to phonetics, phonology and prosody, and repre-
sent the Italian actually spoken in contemporary Italy. Common Italian
speakers regularly speak a regional variety of Italian, which is termed
regional Italian (henceforth RI). (2011, p. 9)
While the language spoken by most Italians in conversation is therefore

regional Italian (Italian with regional phonetic and some lexical features),
the language of dubbing usually adopts standard Italian with a neutral
pronunciation devoid of regional accents, intonation and vocabulary. As
will be discussed in the following chapters, scholars and practitioners
alike agree on the fact that the Italian language of dubbing is stan-
dard Italian with impeccable diction and neutral accent, and that it is
a language which greatly differs from spoken Italian (see Raffaelli 1996;
Rossi 2006, 2015; Ranzato 2016 among others, and Chapters 2 and 3
6 V. Minutella
of the current book). The Italian language of dubbing is different from

the Italian spoken in contemporary Italy because regional accents are
usually completely absent. Moreover, regional Italian may be more or less
marked and closer to dialects proper according to the amount of dialect
lexis, syntax and accent which is used. Dialects proper, on the other
hand, also called Italo-Romance dialects, differ from standard Italian
and regional Italian in terms of lexis, syntax and accent. This distinc-
tion is important for the analysis carried out in this study, which will
investigate whether the dominant langue variety used in dubbing is actu-
ally standard Italian and whether any departures from this more neutral
variety in terms of accent can be observed. In other words, the choice
of making a character speak Italian with a marked regional accent and
dialect words, or even Italian dialects, carries specific connotations and
provides characterisation in the Italian cultural context.
Moreover, multilingualism, understood as the coexistence of more
than one language or language variety, is frequently used in film
dialogues, as in written fiction. Indeed, several studies have been devoted
to the analysis of multilingualism—also called ‘heterolingualism’—in
films (Delabastita and Grutman 2005; Dwyer 2005; Bleichenbacher
2008; O’Sullivan 2011; Planchenault 2015, 2017; Petrucci 2012, 2015
among others). Grutman defines ‘heterolingualism’ as the phenomenon
of using and mixing foreign languages and language varieties (social,
regional and historical) in literary texts (Grutman 1996, p. 71). This
differs from real-life instances of language interaction and contact and
is not necessarily realistic (Grutman 1996, pp. 71–72). As pointed
out by O’Sullivan, this definition “invites extension to film and tele-
vision, which are in some ways freer to multiply languages than print
literature is” (2011, p. 20). The terms ‘multilingualism’ and ‘heterolin-
gualism’ can thus be considered synonyms. This phenomenon is used in
literary as well as tele-cinematic texts. Delabastita and Grutman define a
multilingual text in the following way:
the simplest possible definition of a multilingual text would be to say that

such a text is worded in different languages, but that still begs the funda-
mental question of how one should understand the concept of ‘language’.
We favour a very open and flexible concept which acknowledges not
1 Introduction 7
only the ‘official’ taxonomy of languages but also the incredible range
of subtypes and varieties existing within the various officially recognised
languages, and indeed cutting across and challenging our neat linguistic
typologies. (Delabastita and Grutman 2005, p. 15)
If multilingualism is understood in such a wide way (co-occurrence

and juxtaposition of language varieties and different languages), then
animated films certainly contain several instances of multilingualism.
On the other hand, as this book will amply discuss, the real presence
of languages other than English is quantitatively limited in English-
language animated films compared with other genres. Nevertheless,
languages other than English (also called foreign languages) and several
different language varieties are used with specific functions, and the
identity of characters is often revealed through the use of such varieties
combined with visual elements.
Research on language varieties in audiovisual texts and in translation
can draw on a range of scholarly approaches from various fields among
which are sociolinguistics, film studies and translation studies. Several
recent studies have focused on the role played by stylised performances
of dialect in fiction, ‘fictional representations’ and the ‘sociolinguis-
tics of performance’ (see Hill 1999; Rampton 1999; Coupland 2001;
Delabastita and Grutman 2005; Bell and Gibson 2011; Hodson 2014;
Planchenault 2015, 2017 among others). Filmmakers use languages,
varieties and accents to reveal character and setting, often resorting to
conventionalised features. As argued by Planchenault, “exercises of styli-
sation are obvious in the case of comedies, which often border on
caricature and where the very act of putting on a voice is comical”
(Planchenault 2015, p. 254).
Audiovisual translators and dubbing/subtitling professionals thus have
to find strategies to approach differences in the linguistic portrayal of
characters, to signal the presence of more than one language or specific
geographical and social varieties and to convey and transfer the connota-
tions attached to particular varieties. The aim of this book is to describe
the dubbing process of English-language animated films produced in
the twenty-first century, to explore how linguistic variation and multi-
lingualism are used to create characters and identities and to examine
8 V. Minutella
how Italian dubbing professionals deal with this linguistic characterisa-

tion. The book describes dubbing strategies in Italy and seeks to identify
recurrent patterns and therefore norms, as well as stereotypes or creativity
in the way linguistic variation is tackled.
1.1 Methodology
As far as the methodology is concerned, the analysis adopts a descrip-
tive translation studies (DTS) and a corpus-based approach and relies
on a diverse range of research tools: text analysis, corpus study, personal
communications and observations of dubbing sessions. The study of a
large corpus enables us to observe patterns and regularities and provide
a quantitative analysis which may lead to identifying norms regulating
translational practice (Toury 1978/1995, 1980). This is accompanied
by a qualitative linguistic analysis of meaningful sequences and charac-
ters. Macro-textual and micro-textual examination is triangulated with
information gathered from agents involved in the audiovisual translation
process (for methodological issues in audiovisual translation research see
Chaume 2018).
Fundamental sources of information on the dubbing process of
animated films were personal communications with several dubbing
practitioners, all working in Rome and involved in the complex process
of preparation of the dubbed versions of animated films. Over a number
of years of exploring this area of research, and due to my interest in the
professionals’ point of view, I contacted the following dubbing practi-
tioners: Massimiliano Alto (dubbing director and actor), Oreste Baldini
(dubbing actor and director), Stefano Brusa (dubbing actor, dialogue
writer, dubbing director), Elena Di Carlo (translator and dialogue
writer), Chiara Gioncardi (dubbing actress), Marco Guadagno (dubbing
director and actor, dialogue writer), Fiamma Izzo (dubbing director,
dialogue writer, singer), Leslie La Penna (dubbing director and actor,
dialogue writer), Massimiliano Manfredi (dubbing director and actor,
dialogue writer), Marco Mete (dubbing director and actor, dialogue
writer), Roberto Morville (former Creative Director, Disney Char-
acter Voices International, translator and dialogue writer), Maria Grazia
1 Introduction 9
Napolitano (dubbing assistant), Serena Paccagnella (translator, dialogue

writer, dubbing assistant), Alessandro Rossi (dubbing director and actor,
dialogue writer), Francesco Vairano (dubbing director and actor, dialogue
writer), Carlo Valli (dubbing director and actor, dialogue writer).1 Inter-
actions with dubbing practitioners took place over a period of 5 years,
from 2015 to 2020, either over the phone, face to face or via email
and were conducted in Italian. Written notes of their answers were
taken, while four cases of longer face-to-face interactions were recorded.
The questions I posed to practitioners varied depending on the type
of film and the issues that cropped up in my research. It is also worth
pointing out that not all my questions were answered by all the profes-
sionals. A second type of data gathered from dubbing practitioners
consists of open lectures given by some of these professionals at the
University of Torino. The above data will be quoted in the book as
p.c. (personal communication whether face to face, email or telephone)
or lectures, respectively, followed by the date. The dubbing practi-
tioners consulted offered insights into the dubbing process, their role
and the constraints under which they work. During the conversations
and lectures they also provided interesting details about specific animated
films or other audiovisual products they worked on. The book contains
a selection of the practitioners’ comments which are considered rele-
vant for the purposes of this study in their English translation.2 A third
type of data sometimes referred to in this book consists of observa-
tions of dubbing sessions. These took place on three occasions in two
different dubbing studios in Rome. The aim of the observations was
to understand how the dubbing team worked. I sat in the dubbing
booth next to the dubbing assistant and witnessed how the dubbing
team worked: the documents they worked with (English Dialogue List,
Italian Dialogue List), how the dubbing director, assistant and techni-
cian interacted with the dubbing actors and whether and why changes
to the Italian dubbing script (Italian dialogue) were made. Some infor-
mation gathered during these brief moments is integrated into the
1The list of dubbing professionals is also contained in Appendix 2.

2 Allthe professionals have read the parts in which I quote them and have approved them for
publication. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from Italian into English are by Hillary
Siddons.
10 V. Minutella
narrative of the book in the form of my own personal comments. It is

important to highlight that, due to reasons of extreme confidentiality
and data protection issues, real documents (original film scripts, dubbing
scripts and other documentation) cannot be seen or shown. Further-
more, no external personnel are allowed in dubbing studios during
dubbing sessions unless officially authorised. I was authorised for research
purposes.
As far as the audiovisual texts analysed are concerned, the book
focuses on a corpus of 37 English-language animated films produced
by US companies such as Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar
Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation,
20th Century Fox Animation/Blue Sky, Universal Pictures, Paramount
Pictures and Illumination Entertainment released between 2001 and
2017. Analysis is based on repeated viewing of the films and transcrip-
tions of the film dialogues in English and in Italian.3 For each year at least
one film is examined. The films were selected for a number of reasons.
They were produced by various production companies (not just Disney),
they were big budget films and they were interesting from the point of
view of their representation of linguistic variation. They provide various
settings, portray characters belonging to different nationalities speaking
different varieties of English or coming from various geographical areas
or social classes, and some of them contain languages other than English.
It was deliberately decided to leave out Disney musical films since they
constitute a genre of their own and analysis of their dubbed versions
would need to take into account the translation of songs. The films are
listed below in chronological order. The title is followed in parentheses
by the year of production, the name of the production company and the
name of the director(s). The next set of parentheses contains the names
of the Italian dialogue writer and the dubbing director. Only one name
is provided when the dialogue writer is also the dubbing director.4
1. Atlantis: The Lost Empire/Atlantis: l’impero perduto (2001, Disney,

dir. G. Trousdale, K. Wise) (C. Valli)
3The transcriptions were carried out by the author and by her students at the University of
Torino. She would like to thank her students for transcribing many of the films discussed in
this book.
4 A table containing the films in alphabetical order is provided in Appendix 1.
1 Introduction 11
2. Shrek (2001, DreamWorks, dir. A. Adamson, V. Jenson) (F. Vairano)

3. Lilo and Stitch (2002, Disney, dir. D. DeBlois, C. Sanders) (C.
Vangelista, L. La Penna)
4. Finding Nemo/Alla ricerca di Nemo (2003, Disney-Pixar, dir. A.
Stanton, L. Unkrich) (C. Valli)
5. Shark Tale (2004, DreamWorks, dir. E. ‘Bibo’ Bergeron, V. Jenson)
(R. Busetti, M. Mete)
6. Shrek 2 (2004, DreamWorks, dir. A. Adamson, K. Asbury) (F.
Vairano)
7. Madagascar (2005, DreamWorks, dir. E. Darnell, T. McGrath) (C.
Valli, M. Alto)
8. The Wild/Uno zoo in fuga (2006, Disney, dir. S. ‘Spaz’ Williams) (S.
Izzo, F. Izzo)
9. Cars (2006, Disney-Pixar, dir. J. Lasseter) (C. Valli)
10. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown/L’era glaciale 2: il disgelo (2006, Blue
Sky Studios/20th Century Fox, dir. C. Saldanha) (M. Bardella, M.
Guadagno)
11. Ratatouille (2007, Disney-Pixar, dir. B. Bird, J. Pinkava) (C. Valli,
M. Alto)
12. Shrek The Third/Shrek terzo (2007, DreamWorks, dir. A. Adamson)
(F. Vairano)
13. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa/Madagascar 2 (2008, DreamWorks, dir.
E. Darnell, T. McGrath) (C. Valli, M. Alto)
14. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs/L’era glaciale 3: l’alba dei dinosauri
(2009, 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky, dir. C. Saldanha) (M. Bardella,
M. Guadagno)
15. Toy Story 3 (2010, Disney-Pixar, dir. L. Unkrich) (C. Valli)
16. How To Train Your Dragon/Dragon trainer (2010, DreamWorks, dir.
D. DeBlois, C. Sanders) (M. Mete)
17. Puss in Boots/Il gatto con gli stivali (2011, DreamWorks, dir. C.
Miller) (M. Mete)
18. Gnomeo & Juliet/Gnomeo & Giulietta (2011, Rocket Pictures,
Touchstone Pictures, dir. K. Asbury) (C. De Carolis, O. Baldini)
19. Rio (2011, Blue Sky/20th Century Fox, dir. C. Saldanha) (M.
Guadagno)
20. Cars 2 (2011, Disney-Pixar, dir. J. Lasseter, B. Lewis) (C. Valli)
12 V. Minutella
21. Rango (2011, Paramount Pictures, dir. G. Verbinski) (F. Izzo)

22. Brave/Ribelle-The Brave (2012, Disney-Pixar, dir. M. Andrews and
B. Chapman) (C. Valli)
23. Rise of the Guardians/Le cinque leggende (2012, DreamWorks, dir. P.
Ramsey) (M. Mete)
24. Hotel Transylvania (2012, Sony Pictures, dir. G. Tartakovsky) (C.
Gonnelli, A. Rossi)
25. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted/Madagascar 3: ricercati in Europa
(2012, DreamWorks, dir. E. Darnell, T. McGrath, C. Vernon) (C.
Valli, M. Alto)
26. Turbo (2013, DreamWorks, dir. D. Soren) (M. Guadagno)
27. Despicable Me 2/Cattivissimo me 2 (2013, Illumination Entertain-
ment/Universal Pictures distributor, dir. P. Coffin, C. Renaud) (F.
Izzo)
28. Planes (2013, Prana Studios, Disneytoon Studios, dir. Klay Hall) (C.
Valli)
29. Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014, DreamWorks, dir. R. Minkoff )
(M. Guadagno)
30. Rio 2 (2014, Blue Sky, 20th Century Fox, dir. C. Saldanha) (M.
Guadagno)
31. The Book of Life/Il libro della vita (2014, 20th Century Fox, dir. J.
Gutiérrez) (M. Guadagno)
32. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015, Sony Pictures, dir. G. Tartakovsky) (C.
Gonnelli, A. Rossi)
33. Zootopia/Zootropolis (2016, Disney, dir. B. Howard, R. Moore, J.
Bush) (M. Manfredi)
34. Finding Dory/Alla ricerca di Dory (2016, Disney-Pixar, dir. A.
Stanton, A. MacLane) (C. Valli)
35. Sing (2016, Illumination Entertainment, dir. C. Lourdelet, G.
Jennings) (M. Mete)
36. Coco (2017, Disney-Pixar, dir. L. Unkrich) (M. Manfredi)
37. Ferdinand (2017, Blue Sky, 20th Century Fox, dir. C. Saldanha)
(M. Guadagno).
As can be seen from the list above, the number of dialogue writers
and dubbing directors who work on animated films is relatively limited.
1 Introduction 13
They are well-known professionals who usually also work on feature

films. Carlo Valli and Marco Guadagno are the most productive dialogue
writers and dubbing directors with 12 films and 9 films under their belt,
respectively. Valli is the dialogue writer and dubbing director of most
Disney and Disney-Pixar films from 2001 to 2016, and also adapted
some DreamWorks films, while Guadagno has adapted and directed
films by DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios since
2009. Another interesting feature is that most of the dubbing profes-
sionals working on these films are men. The only female dubbing
director is Fiamma Izzo, who works both as a dialogue writer and
dubbing director. She is the daughter of Renato Izzo and belongs to
a family of dubbing artists. Dialogue writers are also predominantly
men. Exceptions are Carla Vangelista, Simona Izzo, Cecilia Gonnelli and
Cinzia De Carolis. Another feature that clearly emerges is that for most
animated films in the corpus the dialogue writer is also the dubbing
director.
By drawing on discussions with the Italian dubbing professionals who
worked on the films and through an in-depth analysis of film dialogues,
the book aims to unveil the complex process that animated films undergo
before being screened in a foreign country.
1.2 Outline of the Book

Chapter 2 describes the various stages, agents and texts involved in
the dubbing process of animated films. Drawing on previous schol-
arly research, on personal communications with several Italian dubbing
professionals (translators, dialogue writers, dubbing directors, dubbing
assistants, dubbing actors and a Disney creative director), as well as on
observations of dubbing sessions, the chapter illustrates how dubbing
animated films is a complex collaborative process guided and controlled
by the US client.
Chapter 3 focuses on the issue of translating linguistic variation and
multilingualism in animated films. It summarises the thorny issue of
the difficulty of transferring linguistic identities and specific language
varieties in dubbed texts and describes the opinion of leading dubbing
professionals on the language of dubbing and on the challenges they
14 V. Minutella
encounter when they have to deal with language variation, accents of

English and languages other than English in the original films. A further
topic discussed is whether Italian regional accents or, more radically,
particular regional varieties of Italian or Italian dialects proper are used
in dubbing.
Chapter 4 explores the use of linguistic variation and languages other
than English in the corpus of animated films selected for analysis.
It presents the chosen films and identifies the language varieties and
languages spoken in them. Summary tables for each film about the char-
acters, varieties of English and languages other than English are provided.
A summary of trends in linguistic characterisation in the original films is
also provided.
Chapter 5 analyses the way in which specific native varieties of English
are represented in the animated films making up the corpus and how they
are transposed in the dubbed versions. Since most of the characters in
animated films speak American English, and General American in partic-
ular, the focus is on varieties other than General American. The chapter
explores broad, national varieties such as British English and Australian
English, as well as social, regional and non-standard varieties of English,
since they all connote characters as being ‘different’ and ‘other’ from
speakers of General American. The representation and functions of such
native varieties in the animated films are highlighted, and the strategies
adopted by dubbing professionals to deal with them are discussed, high-
lighting recurrent translation strategies and thus norms in translational
behaviour.
Chapter 6 analyses how foreign-language dialogue is dealt with by
Italian dubbing professionals. It describes the presence of languages other
than English in the animated films making up the corpus and exam-
ines how such multilingualism is treated in dubbing (i.e., whether it is
conveyed in the dubbed version and if so which modalities are adopted).
Chapter 7 analyses how non-native varieties of English or foreign-
accented English are represented in the animated films making up the
corpus and how they are transposed in the dubbed versions. Examples
of characters speaking foreign-accented English are discussed (divided by
language or ethnic group). The chapter examines and explains the main
translation strategies adopted by dubbing professionals in various films,
1 Introduction 15
highlighting the presence of recurrent patterns and thus norms, as well as

exceptions, and identifying the reasons for resorting to specific strategies.
Chapter 8 explores a particular case of foreign-accented English and
foreign language in animated films in which the characters are portrayed
as being Italian or having Italian origins and thus speak Italian American
English or English with a marked Italian accent, sometimes interspersing
their speech with Italian words. Since their ‘foreign’ accent connotes an
Italian identity, and the language variety of the speaker coincides with the
language of dubbing, very specific solutions are required and resorted to
by Italian dubbing professionals.
Chapter 9 offers a summary and some conclusions.
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2
Dubbing Animated Films: A Complex
Collaborative Process
2.1 Introduction
This chapter focuses on the process of dubbing animated films. It aims
at describing its complex nature, showing that it is a process in which
various people and various forces are involved and multiple texts are
created, transferred and rewritten for various reasons until the final
dubbed version emerges and is released in cinemas, reaching the new
target audience. The dubbing process of animated films is clearly not
only a matter of language transfer, a linguistic and cultural issue, but is
also part of an industrial process in an international market (see Chaume
2012). As pointed out by Ferrari, “complex cultural and industrial nego-
tiations are at play when individual countries import globally distributed
programs” (2010, p. 127). Moreover, as in all kinds of translation,
choices at the level of language may be due to extralinguistic factors and
be dictated by cultural, marketing and/or industrial or ideological forces
(Bassnett and Lefevere 1990). This chapter will show that the dubbing
of animated films is a creative industrial post-production process that is
strictly controlled by the US producers. It follows very clear guidelines
and steps in which several agents, to which we return below, take a part.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8_2
20 V. Minutella
Recent research in audiovisual translation has stressed the need to unveil

this complex rewriting process, investigating what happens in between
the source and target texts (Richart Marset 2012; Zanotti 2014, 2018,
2019; Spiteri Miggiani 2019; Sánchez-Mompeán 2020). In particular,
Richart Marset (2012) has explored the caja negra (black box) that
records the various stages of text manipulation that a film script under-
goes before becoming the final dubbed dialogue and that are usually
hidden and not available to the researcher. Similarly, Spiteri Miggiani’s
recent book (2019) is an illuminating window onto the ins and outs of
the process of translation, adaptation and dubbing of audiovisual texts,
offering several examples of text manipulation. She guides the reader
through the “progressive, step-by-step text manoeuvring and moulding
process” (2019, p. 191) from the translation until the final recording
of the dubbed version, and she explains the reasons (linguistic, tech-
nical, practical, industrial, etc.) for the changes. An aspect that clearly
emerges in Spiteri Miggiani’s book is that “it all depends on the transla-
tion commission or target culture norms, which may vary according to
the country, company, period of time, and so on” (2019, p. 193).
Animated films produced by the big majors are no different, and their
global/international distribution is complex and carefully controlled.
American companies invest a lot of money in such films and they
have probably realised that ensuring a good-quality dubbed version
in different languages is important to obtain box office success. They
therefore invest resources in the translation, adaptation and dubbing
of their audiovisual products in various languages and countries and
try to guide this process, which they call ‘localisation’. Indeed, US
production companies have taken full control over it. Comments by
Italian dubbing professionals reveal that big US majors such as the Walt
Disney Company, DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, and
Universal follow and supervise the various stages of post-production,
providing the dubbing team in each country with directions on how
to ‘localise’ the film; that is, how to approach, translate and adapt the
film in an accurate way, in order to preserve and convey the film-
makers’ and the particular company’s intentions. As we shall illustrate
in this chapter, as regards animated films by US majors, the American
2 Dubbing Animated Films: A Complex Collaborative Process 21
producers and their global distributors control all the localising phases up
to the final dubbed product (see also Spiteri Miggiani 2019, p. 176). For
instance, great care is taken in choosing the voices through voice tests and
in guiding the translation/adaptation/dubbing process. As this and the
following chapter will show, the majors often provide the dubbing team
with detailed English Dialogue Lists and appoint dubbing supervisors in
each territory (country or group of countries). Furthermore, the majors
sometimes organise meetings to discuss important issues regarding the
translation of key words and phrases in different languages (Alto, p.c. 27
November 2019; Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019).
The chapter will explore how the dubbing process works in Italy,
describing its stages, the texts that are (re)created and the agents that
contribute to shaping the final dubbed text. While the chapter will focus
specifically on the Italian context, it is likely that the procedures and
agents are similar in other countries since the animated films analysed are
produced in the United States and then dubbed into various languages in
several different territories. The same material (with localisation guide-
lines) is likely to be sent by the production company to the distributors
and dubbing companies in various countries with obvious specificities
for each country.
2.2 The Dubbing Process: Main Agents,

Stages and Texts1
This section focuses on the phases of the dubbing process in Italy,
the people and the constraints involved in translating, adapting and
dubbing animated films, recreating them in a different language and
for a different audience and market. The dubbing professionals involved
1 Fora comprehensive and detailed description of the Dubbing Process, the Dubbing production
chain and the professionals involved see Whitman-Linsen (1992), Chaume (2012, pp. 27–
39), and Spiteri Miggiani (2019). On French dubbing see Bosseaux (2018), on Spanish
Dubbing see Richart Marset (2012), see also Matamala on Catalan dubbing (2010), on Voice-
over animation and dubbing of animation in Spain see Sánchez Mompeán (2015, 2020),
on the dubbing of Animated Films in French (in both France and Québec) see Montgomery
(2017) among others.
22 V. Minutella
in the dubbing/post-production process can be called ‘dubbing agents’

(Spiteri Miggiani 2019, p. 5). As pointed out in the Introduction chapter,
information is derived from personal communications with dubbing
practitioners (p.c.), lectures and a limited number of observations of
dubbing sessions. It is worth pointing out that constant interaction with
Italian dubbing professionals since 2015 has, on the one hand, thrown
light on the actual process of dubbing animated films in Italy, while,
on the other, it has revealed that the situations, procedures, practices,
source texts or documents, professional roles and factors involved in this
post-production process are so many and so varied that systematisation
into a single, uniform and simple structure is not possible. The descrip-
tion provided in this chapter is a tentative summary of roles, documents
and agents involved, which is by no means exhaustive, and may contain
inaccuracies due to the multiplicity of practices and the impossibility of
having first-hand experience of all practices.
The dubbing process, also sometimes referred to as ‘dubbing work-
flow’, consists of several phases in which the interplay between various
people or dubbing agents contributes to producing the dubbed version
of an audiovisual product. Chaume illustrates the dubbing produc-
tion chain and the agents that are responsible for various tasks (2012,
pp. 29–31): the producer or owner of the audiovisual programme, which
could be well-known big American majors; the distributor (each Amer-
ican major has its own distributors); the dubbing studio or dubbing
company, which is responsible for producing a translation brief, selecting
the dubbing actors and organising the dubbing production; a trans-
lator who usually provides a rough translation; a dialogue writer who
is responsible for creating new dialogues according to lip synchronisa-
tion, adding dubbing symbols and writing dialogues that resemble oral
discourse; a dubbing assistant who divides the script into takes and
loops; the dubbing studio/company that organises the actual recording
of the dubbed track, summoning voice talents into the dubbing studio;
and then in the dubbing studio the dubbing director, dubbing assistant
and sound technician/engineer who work with the voice talents/dubbing
actors. The dubbing company is also responsible for organising the final
editing and mixing of the film. Chaume’s overview also applies to the
dubbing process of animated films in Italy. To sum up, the main agents
in the dubbing process of animated films produced by big US majors

are the American production company, the distributor, the dubbing
company, the dubbing director, the dialogue writer, the translator, the
dubbing assistant, the sound technician or engineer, and the dubbing
actors. Further roles should be added to these such as people supervising
the dubbing process at the national or international level. Conversations
with Italian dubbing professionals highlight the presence of the head of
dubbing and the Dubbing and Localization Department of each distrib-
utor and of a further key role, that of the dubbing supervisor. The next
section will describe the role of the distributor and its Dubbing and
Localization Department.
2.2.1 The Distributor and Its Dubbing

and Localization Department
Chaume points out that “dubbing is an industry […] partly driven by

the need to make a profit” (2012, p. 33) and that, generally speaking,
the distributor is the “‘initiator of the dubbing commission’ [which]
sets the industrial process in motion” (2012, p. 32), also explaining that
“the big American majors” have their own distributors in various coun-
tries, each with its own Dubbing and Localization Department (2012,
p. 31). For Disney and Disney-Pixar films the localisation process is
supervised by Disney Character Voices International (DCVI), a divi-
sion of the Walt Disney Company which was developed in the late
1980s/early 1990s to provide the translation and dubbing services for
all products released under the Disney/Buena Vista banner(s) and which
has branches in several countries including Italy (Morville, p.c. 2019).
DCVI has its own Italian branch in Italy (in Milan). As regards distribu-
tors such as Universal, 20th Century Fox, and Warner, the situation may
vary, but generally speaking each distributor has its own Italian branch
with a department in charge of dubbing (known as ufficio edizioni in
Italian) and a local manager in charge of dubbing or head of dubbing
(known as the capo ufficio edizioni in Italian). They oversee the dubbing
process or localisation operations (Guadagno, p.c. 12 April 2019). The
distributor’s department in charge of dubbing may be variously called the
24 V. Minutella
Dubbing and Localization Department (since localisation, as we have

seen, is the term used by the US clients), while the local manager in
charge of dubbing may be called head of dubbing or Dubbing and Local-
ization Department manager (terminology suggested by Morville, p.c.
2019) or manager of the Servicing and Dubbing Department (termi-
nology suggested by Guadagno, p.c. 2019 and used by 20th Century
Fox Italy). Due to the variety of terms adopted, for reasons of clarity
we will use the terms Dubbing and Localization Department and head
of dubbing. Although the names of the roles and the situations are not
clear-cut and may vary, most professionals mention the key role played
by the above two agents; that is, the Dubbing and Localization Depart-
ment (ufficio edizioni) and the head of dubbing (capo ufficio edizioni)
in guiding the dubbing process or dubbing workflow (i.e., the phases
of the translation, adaptation and recording of the dubbed dialogue of
animated films) in Italy.
The dubbing practitioners interviewed confirm that dubbing compa-
nies and the dubbing team work for a client who can be the production
company itself or the distributor of the film with its own Dubbing
and Localization Department. The distributor contacts the dubbing
studio/company and the whole dubbing process starts. Dubbing profes-
sionals have to comply with the client’s requests at all stages of the
dubbing process. Dialogue writer and dubbing director Fiamma Izzo
summarises the first steps of the dubbing process, and the initiators of
the translation commission, as follows:
The client commissions the dubbed version. The client [for many
animated films] is an Italian distributor that has a Dubbing and Local-
ization Department in charge of overseeing and guiding the dubbing
process in all its phases. The dubbing department chooses the dubbing
company and the ‘creative team’ (i.e., dubbing director, dialogue writer
and dubbing assistant) and makes comments and takes decisions on every
aspect of dubbing, from voice casting to linguistic choices, also making
amendments to the Italian dialogues. (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019)
Sometimes, for some films the client is not only the distributor with its
own Italian branch, but the film directors themselves. Izzo provides the
example of Despicable Me 2 (2013, P. Coffin, C. Renaud) in which she

directly interacted with the French director Pierre Coffin (Izzo, p.c. 28
April 2020).
Dialogue writer and dubbing director Alessandro Rossi similarly high-
lights the fundamental role of the distributors in the dubbing process,
in particular the role of the head of dubbing. He points out that deci-
sions on voice casting, translation, adaptation and dubbing strategies are
taken by the Dubbing and Localization Department of the distributor.
According to Rossi, the key role played by these managers is neglected
in any criticism of dubbing, which tends to suggest that dubbing strate-
gies and choices are made by the dialogue writer and dubbing director
only. On the other hand, the dubbing director must abide by the distrib-
utor’s guidelines and requests. Rossi also points out that each distributor
has its own policy and that on a general level Disney is different from
Sony/Warner Bros, etc. (Rossi, p.c. 30 November 2017).
Nevertheless, conversations with dubbing professionals also suggest
that there is a further important agent in the dubbing process of
animated films. This person is the dubbing supervisor who may be vari-
ously called the international creative dubbing supervisor or the dubbing
producer/consultant/supervisor. The next section will try to explain the
role of the dubbing supervisor in more detail. It should be borne in mind
that the situation is multifarious and far from homogeneous despite the
following sections attempting to describe roles and agents in a simple
and general way.
2.2.2 A Key Agent in the Dubbing Process: The

Creative Dubbing Supervisor
As previously pointed out, an important aspect that emerges from the

conversations with dialogue writers and dubbing directors about the
dubbing of animated films is that they have to comply with the requests
of the client (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019; Guadagno, p.c. 4 March 2019;
Mete, p.c. 7 February 2016; Rossi, p.c. 30 November 2017; Vairano, p.c.
27 November 2018 among others). Decisions regarding linguistic char-
acterisation through accents and dialects, the use of various languages,
26 V. Minutella
but also regarding any translation choice, for that matter, are discussed
with the client and, more specifically, with the dubbing supervisor who
is appointed as the company’s proxy. He/she represents the client and
communicates their wishes. For the Walt Disney Company the role
of the dubbing supervisor is called the creative director. He/she is the
person who oversees and guides the dubbing process for all Disney and
Disney-Pixar products in Italy. Information gathered from professionals
suggests that other US majors or distributors such as DreamWorks, 20th
Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, and Universal also seem to have a person
who controls the dubbing process in various territories at the inter-
national level. Italian dubbing professionals refer to this person as the
supervisor, using an English loanword in Italian.
The dubbing supervisor is thus a key agent in the post-production
process of animated films. Whatever the production company or distrib-
utor, a dubbing supervisor is in charge of overseeing the whole process,
controlling all stages from the adaptation to the final mixing of the
dubbed version. He/she is a person appointed by the distributor or
by the US major who is responsible for overseeing the whole dubbing
process and for ensuring that the final dubbed version reproduces the
original film in terms of content and that it is localised; that is, trans-
lated and adapted in another language in the right way (i.e., following
the producer’s requests). The dubbing supervisor is responsible for the
quality of the final product and its fidelity to the original film and
creative content. As pointed out above, Disney and Disney-Pixar have
their own in-house dubbing supervisor (creative director) who takes
on the responsibilites of the dubbing supervisor and more. Morville
worked as a creative director for Disney until 2017. He is the Creative
Director of all the Disney and Disney-Pixar films discussed in this book.
As explained by Morville himself (p.c. 25 January 2016), the creative
director’s role for Disney is to supervise all the stages of dubbing in
Italy. He/she is responsible for guiding and directing all the phases of
the dubbing chain from the choice of dubbing studio/company, dubbing
director and dialogue writer to the selection of voice talents, the revision
of Italian dialogues and the supervision of dubbing sessions in the studio
including final recording and mixage.
Other big majors also seem to have dubbing supervisors whose role
takes on a similar shape to Disney’s creative director. However, the
number and type of supervisors may vary, they may be based in various
countries and their role may have different names. The person who
oversees the dubbing process and controls the adaptation and the final
dubbed version of non-Disney films may be an international dubbing
supervisor, a creative dubbing supervisor based in Italy or the head of the
Dubbing Department of the distributor based in Italy. A further distinc-
tion is made between supervisors who work directly for the majors and
freelance consultants called dubbing supervisors or dubbing producers.
For instance, several Italian dubbing directors have mentioned collab-
orating with International Supervisor Jody Toll. The LinkedIn profile
of Toll shows that she has worked as a freelance dubbing producer and
dubbing consultant for several big majors such as Sony Pictures Enter-
tainment, Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation and Paramount
Pictures. Her role encompassed “creative management including creative
materials, process and guidelines, casting and marketing support, trans-
lation review and quality control” for films such as Hotel Transylvania
1–3 and The Lorax, “in-territory supervision” for films such as Despicable
Me, the Shrek films, Kung Fu Panda 1–2, Madagascar, How to Train Your
Dragon and Rango. She also produced creative and translation letters and
was “responsible for managing the creative dubbing process including
corporate approvals for casting translations, key name and phrases and
misc. marketing materials.”2 The dubbing of several non-Disney films
discussed in this book was supervised by Toll.
The key role of the dubbing supervisor in the dubbing process can also
be seen in job advertisements appearing on the web. For instance, Netflix
has recently advertised a position as creative dubbing supervisor.3 In
March 2019 Netflix advertised positions as production dubbing super-
visor for Italy and Germany and for a creative dubbing supervisor. As
explained in the job description, the mission of the creative dubbing
supervisor “is to preserve the original creative intent of our filmmakers
2 Information taken from: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jody-toll-63a4114 (accessed 20

September 2019).
3 Available at: https://jobs.netflix.com/jobs/869315 (accessed 20 September 2019).
28 V. Minutella
throughout the many language adaptations Netflix commissions and

distributes”. The dubbing supervisor also has to “be able to strate-
gically identify the challenges and complexities localization will face
before it even begins”. The advertisement for this job explains that the
creative dubbing supervisor may work “in coordination with the regional
dubbing production supervisors”. This suggests that there may be more
than one supervisor (i.e., an international one and one for each region or
territory). The international dubbing supervisor is the link between the
filmmakers and the dubbing supervisors in various countries. Dream-
Works Animation TV has also recently advertised a job as production
coordinator for international dubbing whose role is to collaborate with
and assist dubbing supervisors.
The above job advertisements confirm that dubbing supervisors are
important agents in the dubbing production process and suggest that
production companies are aware of how fundamental the translation,
adaptation and dubbing of their products is. Supervisors appear to have
the following functions: on the one hand, they must ensure that the
filmmakers’ intentions and the creative intent (the content and meaning
of the original film dialogues) are preserved once transferred to another
country and translated into a different language. On the other hand, they
must be able to identify and solve the linguistic, technical and cultural
challenges posed by the localisation process in different countries and
support and guide the dubbing teams by producing translation guide-
lines, liaising with dubbing companies and dubbing professionals and
supervising the final product. The supervisor has to make sure that the
dubbed versions are as faithful as possible to the original film dialogues
and to the filmmakers’ intentions, while taking into account the speci-
ficities of the target language, culture and audience. This also seems to
suggest that dialogue writers and dubbing directors must translate and
adapt the film dialogues following a specific translation brief or transla-
tion commission according to the guidelines provided by the client. The
texts that are sent to the dubbing team for translation/adaptation and the
guidelines on how to create the dubbed version are described in Sect. 2.3.
The role of the dubbing supervisor appointed by the producer or
distributor is not completely new. Some 15 years ago Paolinelli and Di
Fortunato criticised the role of some dubbing supervisors since their
only request was total adherence to the source text, a very vague and
unspecified ‘literal translation’:
Some foreign authors or production companies who can’t get their

own professionals take precautions by handing quality control over to
people they trust, the ‘supervisors’. Instead of working together with the
dialogue writer and the director in a collaboration of meta-professional
trust, however, they often simply limit their request to the greatest adher-
ence to something merely called the ‘literal translation’ .4 (Paolinelli and Di
Fortunato 2005, p. 44, my italics)
The above quotation highlights the rather rigid approach adopted by

some dubbing supervisors, who seemingly work against dubbing profes-
sionals rather than with them, since they do not take into account the
specificities of the Italian language, technical issues and the audience,
merely requiring a so-called ‘literal translation’, which clearly is an impos-
sibility given the technical, linguistic and cultural constraints. Paolinelli
and Di Fortunato go on to explain that while they are in principle in
favour of the presence of a dubbing supervisor who could coordinate
the multilanguage versions of a film and give precise information about
it and its language, they believe that the Italian dialogue writer and
dubbing director should still be given more freedom and more trust, and
that they should be responsible for the good quality of the adaptation
and the dubbed version (Paolinelli and Di Fortunato 2005, p. 44).
Recent communications with dubbing professionals conducted for the
present study, however, emphasise that they also often have a collab-
orative and constructive role despite the dubbing supervisor’s aim still
being to ensure fidelity and close adherence to the source text with
the ostensible aim of avoiding a loss of meaning. In fact, whenever
Italian dialogues appear to depart from the literal meaning of the
English text, dubbing supervisors may have long debates with dialogue
writers and dubbing directors who can explain their reasons for specific
choices or alleged ‘betrayals’ of the original text. For instance, Guadagno
mentions the example of the film The Smurfs/I puffi (2011, dir. Stem
4 Unless otherwise stated, all translations into English are by Hilary Siddons.
30 V. Minutella
and Weiss) for which he wrote the Italian dialogues and was the dubbing
director, as well as the voice of Quattrocchi/Brainy. When Quattrocchi
(Brainy) speaks in the Italian dialogues, Guadagno added the line Che
è meglio! (And that’s it), although this expression was not present
in the original English dialogues. Che è meglio was an expression that
connoted Brainy in the 1980s’ TV series in Italy, but was not in the
original English dialogues. This improvised line by Guadagno made
the people in the dubbing booth laugh, so they decided to record it
and insert it in the Italian dialogues because this expression comes to
mind when the Italian audience thinks of Quattrocchi/Brainy. When
Guadagno was asked to adapt the English dialogues of the 2011 film, he
therefore also used this expression, following localisation principles rather
than literal meaning. The international dubbing supervisor, however,
complained that the line was not in the original Dialogue List and so
had to be removed. Dialogue writer and dubbing director Guadagno
managed to convince the supervisor that, despite this ‘unfaithfulness’
to the original, the line should be retained and repeated throughout
the film, otherwise the character would lose an important element
of his Italian linguistic characterisation and the audience might be
disappointed (Guadagno, p.c. 4 March 2019).
Other examples of fruitful collaboration and exchange between
the dubbing supervisor and the dubbing director/dialogue writer for
animated films are provided by Alto and Izzo. Alto, who directed the
dubbing of all the Madagascar films, explained that before starting the
dubbing process the international dubbing supervisor (Toll) summoned
the dubbing teams from various countries to a 3-day meeting in London.
Alto and the Italian head of dubbing of the distributor took part. The
international dubbing supervisor explained key names and phrases and
gave directives on how to approach the dialogues and how to solve
translation and adaptation challenges. She explained the meaning of
specific scenes, dialogues and lines and discussed how to convey them
in different languages. Alto points out the positive role played by the
international creative dubbing supervisor. Since she/he is a person who
has spoken with the director and knows the ins and outs of the film and
its English dialogues, she/he can give precious information and advice
on how to approach the film and adapt it for different markets where
needed (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016, 27 November 2018). Izzo also

talks about taking part in 3-day script meetings with an international
dubbing supervisor and colleagues from other countries at which the
supervisor provided key information about the story and the characters
and they discussed the meaning of specific lines and how to convey them
in various languages. According to Izzo such meetings are “a wonderful
means to understand the meaning of the original text, of the film, and
to share ideas and choices with dubbing teams from other territories”
(Izzo, p.c. 6 February 2019). In the case of Disney and Disney-Pixar
animated films, as pointed out by Manfredi, Morville and Napolitano
(2018), Creative Director Morville worked side by side with the dubbing
team in a constant and fruitful collaboration, providing advice on all
aspects and trying to mediate between the requests of the producers and
the Italian dubbing professionals, making suggestions and revising the
Italian dialogues through a constant and respectful exchange.
2.2.3 Translation, Adaptation and Recording Phases
As illustrated above, the dubbing supervisor oversees the whole dubbing

process, which for animated films consists of various phases. They are
summarised as follows by Dubbing Assistant Maria Grazia Napolitano
who has worked on several Disney films and all the Pixar films discussed
in this book. Napolitano points out that “the materials are sent to the
dubbing studio/company; the dubbing assistant segments the text into
takes or loops [called anelli in Italian], while the dubbing director and
the client [Disney creative director or the creative dubbing supervisor
for other majors] select the dubbing actors, often through voice tests.”
As previously pointed out, during this preparatory phase the marketing
department may require the casting of star talent dubbers, although voice
tests for the protagonists are always carried out.
In the meantime, the dialogue writer adapts the English dialogues

into Italian. Once the Italian dialogues are ready and approved by the
client, the actual dubbing of the Italian version is set in motion. The
dubbing actors are summoned by the dubbing assistant, according to
a recording sheet/dubbing sheet. In the dubbing studio, the dubbing
32 V. Minutella
director, dubbing assistant, sound technician/engineer and dubbing actors

record the dialogues in the dubbing booth. Dubbing actors usually record
their lines separately, not interacting with other dubbing actors. The
recording process may take several days or a full month. Then the phase of
dialogue editing takes place, the synchronizer adjusts the video and audio
files so that synchronization is optimised. A last, important stage is the
final check, the so-called ‘controllo finale’ which takes place in the mixing
room. The whole film is watched by the dubbing director, the dubbing
assistant, and the creative dubbing supervisor as a proxy for the client and
they decide whether any parts need redubbing/re-takes. (Napolitano, p.c.
14 January 2019)
A last stage consists in the final mixing of the film with other tracks such
as music, including versions in other languages. In the case of Disney
/Pixar products, this final mixing usually takes place at Shepperton
Studios in the United Kingdom where all the different international
tracks are mixed (Morville, p.c. 20 April 2018). Other animated films
may also be mixed in studios abroad such as Pinewood Studios, Ealing
Studios and Twickenham Studios, all of which are in and around
London.
The Translation and the Translator
In the Introduction chapter we identified three phases in the dubbing

process, starting with a translation which forms the basis for its adap-
tation into a dialogue for the dubbing voices to perform. More finely
granulated segmentations are, of course, also possible. Chaume, for
example, identifies “five different tasks (translation, take segmentation,
insertion of dubbing symbols, lip-sync, dialogue writing and the emula-
tion of natural discourse)” (2012, p. xiv) which are performed by a
translator and a dialogue writer. In Italy the dialogue writer can perform
all the above tasks, translating from the English dialogue and adapting
this first rough translation by writing Italian dialogues that emulate
natural discourse, inserting dubbing symbols, respecting lip synchroni-
sation, utterance length and pauses. Nevertheless, this is not always the
case when feature films and animated films are concerned. As pointed
out by Chaume (2012) and Spiteri Miggiani (2019), the English script
of a film is often, though not always, translated by a professional trans-
lator who provides a so-called rough translation which is the basis of the
work of the dialogue writer. As stated by Spiteri Miggiani, “the initial
translation of a script is very often carried out by external professional
translators and not by the dialogue writers themselves” (2019, p. 26).
Most of the dubbing professionals consulted confirm that they work
with translators who are usually appointed by them and work directly
for them. It is worth pointing out that the names of the translators are
not usually known or credited, however, and hence we can speak here
about the “translator’s invisibility” (Venuti 1995) in the Italian audiovi-
sual context. This is perhaps due to the fact that the contratto nazionale
del lavoro (the Italian contract) does not take translators into account,
or because translators work directly for the dialogue writer and are thus
not part of the whole dubbing process set in motion by the produc-
tion company and distributor. The task of the translator is usually to
provide a close rendering of the English dialogue and other texts that
need to be translated such as the dialogue of the trailer and other material
which will be discussed later in this chapter. The features of the transla-
tion produced by the professional translator may vary considerably and
depend on the dialogue writer’s requests (the translation commission).
Generally speaking, the translation is considered a linguistically close,
literal translation where fidelity to the original text is paramount and
very little or no creativity is required. On the other hand, explanations
of puns, idioms, cultural references and ambiguous language are usually
required. Moreover, the translator is not usually asked to insert dubbing
symbols or adapt the text to the images according to synchronisation
or to write natural-sounding and credible dialogue since these tasks will
be undertaken by the dialogue writer (for a detailed description of the
translator’s task see Chaume 2012, pp. 33–34).
Nevertheless, conversations with dubbing professionals have revealed
that the type of translation and its degree of complexity, creativity and
adaptation/adjustment actually depend on the translation brief (i.e., on
what the dialogue writer asks the translator to do). Izzo, for instance,
explains that she collaborates with more than one translator and wants
them to be very precise—not creative. As she points out, “everything
34 V. Minutella
has to be very aseptic to leave room for my creativity” (Izzo, p.c. 4

March 2019). Dialogue writer and dubbing director Mete explains that
he works with one or more translators and that he asks them to be as
literal and faithful as possible to the original text. Once he receives such
a translation, Mete’s task is to turn it into dialogues, to take into consid-
eration the issue of synchronisation and the differences between cultures
and to express his creativity, even betraying ‘the letter’ in order to be
faithful to what he perceives to be the real meaning of the text (Mete, p.c.
7 February 2016). Dialogue writer and dubbing director Valli explains
that he usually collaborates with professional translator Richard Mead:
What I require is a literal translation of the text, that is, one which is as
close as possible to the original words, without any creative solutions or an
embellished style. Once I have the literal translation, I do the adaptation
myself. However, naturally, I expect idiomatic expressions to be translated
with equivalent Italian idioms. For example, a translation like ‘piovono
cani e gatti’ (the literal version of ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’) is useless
for me. What I need is the corresponding idiom, that is ‘piove a catinelle’
(literally it’s raining in basins’). (Valli, p.c. 10 January 2020)
This idea of a literal translation by an often unmentioned translator and

a creative adaptation by the dialogue writer that is speakable and natural
sounding is very similar to the way in which theatre texts are translated
and adapted (see Taviano 2005; Minutella 2013 among others). Spiteri
Miggiani points out the negative side of this practice as follows:
Unfortunately, when translators are engaged solely for this linguistic

transposition (be it by dubbing companies or by dialogue writers them-
selves, who may delegate it on their own initiative), their participation in
this process is hardly acknowledged. The subsequent adaptation process
seems to steal all the limelight, this notwithstanding the importance of
having a correct interpretation of the source text which is embedded with
so many nuances. (Spiteri Miggiani 2019, p. 26)
I agree with this view: when discussing the dubbing process the first
fundamental step of interpreting and understanding the meaning of
the original text and conveying it in the target language is not given
much credit. It is almost taken for granted, as if translation were a mere

matter of one-to-one equivalence. The interpretative and creative process
involved in translation is disregarded, together with the fact that trans-
lators of film dialogue need to take into account the multimodal nature
of such texts and the combination of language with the images as well
as sounds. Translation studies scholars or anyone involved in translation
knows that any form of translation is in itself a matter of interpreta-
tion and a complex decision-making process, that a word or expression
in a source language can have various possible translation equivalents in
the target language and that a so-called ‘literal’ translation of a creative
text such as film dialogue is an illusory goal. The translators of film
dialogue could perhaps be given more credit and be acknowledged for
their important work.
Nevertheless, the idea of a ‘less worthy’, easy, literal translation is not
shared by all professionals and some acknowledge the complexity of the
translator’s task and the degree of creativity that might be involved in
it. Furthermore, a rough translation is not always what is asked for. For
instance, having been a translator and dialogue writer himself, Morville
(p.c. 5 May 2016) admits that the dialogue writer usually asks the
translator to produce an ‘advanced translation’ (i.e., a translation which
already contains possible creative solutions to translation challenges).
The translator should according to Morville not only explain how a
literal translation would be, but also suggest possible strategies for solving
translation hurdles.
It therefore seems that professional translators working for dialogue
writers can provide different types of translations according to the agree-
ment between the two professionals and the translator’s skills. Translator
Elena Di Carlo, for instance, who has been translating film dialogues
from English for Vairano, Guadagno and Mete—all dialogue writers—
for several years and who also works as a dialogue writer herself, explains
that when she translates she usually searches for a word which is similar
in meaning, context of use and register to the one used in the original
text, while at the same time aiming to be creative. For instance, if there is
a pun, then her task as a translator is first “to explain its meaning to the
dialogue writer. After clarifying the meaning of the pun, a good trans-
lator could suggest a possible solution, providing an example of a pun in
36 V. Minutella
the target language” (Di Carlo, p.c. 21 January 2016). Moreover, some of
Di Carlo’s translations might be considered pre-adaptations because she
tries to keep to the line length of the original text. If she notices there
is a labial consonant, then she looks for Italian words containing similar
consonants (Di Carlo, p.c. 21 January 2016). However, this is perhaps an
exceptional case of a very experienced and skilled professional translator
who is also a dialogue writer. In other cases, translators are not asked to
pay attention to line length nor to synchronisation.
In a previous paper (Minutella 2015) I illustrated text manipulation,
rewritings and the type of translation produced by Di Carlo for the
Shrek films adapted by Vairano. Smooth communication and collabora-
tion between translator and dialogue writer is extremely important and
is key to producing a good-quality Italian adaptation. The translator may
signal to the dialogue writer if a specific character uses dialect, incorrect
grammar or a particular idiolect and register; the translator and dialogue
writer may decide together how to approach these issues (Di Carlo, p.c.
21 January 2016). For instance, this happened in DreamWorks film
Home (2015) where the Boov species spoke a kind of ‘interlanguage’ or
broken English. Translator Di Carlo signalled this feature to Guadagno
and they decided together on how to convey this non-standard English in
a consistent way. The dialogue writer and dubbing director explained to
the dubbing supervisor how they wanted to convey the linguistic char-
acterisation of the Boov species and this choice was approved. A good
translator thus proposes translation strategies to overcome translation
and adaptation challenges. He/she can also suggest possible solutions
for puns, idioms and rhyming language, which the dialogue writer does
not necessarily have to agree with or use in the final Italian dialogues.
This happened, for instance, to Di Carlo’s proposal for a song in Shrek 2
(Minutella 2015, pp. 151–153). The translator provided both a literal
translation of Donkey’s lines and a possible rhyming translation that
would retain the rhythm, the length of the original song, as well as
a similar meaning, keeping the same semantic field as the original.
Although this solution would have worked well as an adaptation and was
‘singable’ and synchronised, dialogue writer Vairano completely changed
the text, inventing a new rhythm and lyrics. This example shows that
the translator can suggest solutions and the dialogue writer can decide
whether to accept or rewrite the text at will according to his or her own
personal taste. Several professionals in fact talk about gusto, which is a
key element in the rewriting and moulding process in dubbing.
In a previous paper I concluded that “the high quality of the dubbed
version starts with a good, detailed Dialogue List which is translated by
a highly qualified professional and is then reworked and given new life
by the dialogue writer, who imbues it with his own wittiness” (Minutella
2015, p. 156). In the light of recent information gathered from personal
communications and observations in the dubbing studios, I can state that
this excellent quality often also depends on constructive collaboration
between several skilled professionals and a whole series of rewritings.
The Italian Adaptation/Italian Dialogues and the Dialogue

Writer
The dialogue writer then works further on this translation and rewrites
it, adapts it and creates the Italian adaptation (called adattamento). The
Italian adaptation is also called Italian dialogues (dialoghi italiani) and
corresponds to the Italian dubbing script. The dialogue writer produces
the Italian dialogue inserting dubbing symbols, respecting lip synchrony
and utterance length or isochrony and making sure that the adaptation
respects the rhythm and pauses of the original text, labial consonants and
open and closed vowels; the resulting text, moreover, must sound natural
and believable. The dialogue writer has to use his/her own creativity to
recreate humour, puns, idiomatic expressions, metaphors and culture-
specific elements, to mention just a few linguistic challenges. As Chaume
(2012, p. 35) explains:
The dialogue writer, or the adapter, [is] the person who will rewrite the
dialogues […] their task is to create a fresh, workable, convincing, prefab-
ricated oral script that meets all lip-sync requirements, but at the same
time gives the impression that it is an original dialogue. […] the dialogue
writer thus has to achieve a balance between standard prosodic and
grammar rules and credible oral discourse. In other words, the dialogue
writer must avoid artificiality, and make dialogue lines sound credible
and true-to-life. […] The other important task for dialogue writers is
38 V. Minutella
lip-syncing. […] Dialogue writers have to match the translation to the

onscreen characters’ voices.
During a lecture at the University of Torino on the dubbed version of

Incredibles 2 dialogue writer, dubbing director and actor Massimiliano
Manfredi provided some advice on dialogue writing. It is important,
he explained, “to rehearse the lines with the same ‘intentions’ (‘inten-
zioni’) that the original actor has, since the length of an utterance
changes according to whether it is shouted or whispered. The dialogue
writer must check, respect and reproduce the original actor’s rhythm and
internal pauses, and not only the length of an utterance” (Manfredi,
Morville and Napolitano 2018).
In the case of animated films in Italy, the Italian adaptation (the
rewritten translation) is then sent to the supervisor for quality control.
For Disney/Disney Pixar films the Italian dialogues are sent to the
creative director who may suggest amendments according to his/her own
experience and taste, which also applies to language choices. Dialogue
writer Manfredi and former creative director Morville, who have collab-
orated on several Disney and Pixar films, point out that the Italian
dialogues usually undergo rewriting and remoulding through a collab-
orative process. The dialogue writer produces the Italian dialogues and
sends them to the creative director who reads them and makes his/her
own corrections and suggestions. Sometimes, if they are unsure about
the best solution for a specific line, they might then write two or three
alternative versions, record all of them in the dubbing studio and then
choose the best one at a later stage. The revised dialogues are used in
the dubbing booth as a script, which may be further modified during
the dubbing sessions if it is deemed necessary (Manfredi, Morville and
Napolitano 2019).
When it comes to non-Disney films the dialogue writer sends the
Italian dialogues to the head of dubbing or the dubbing supervisor
who will then revise and amend them (Di Carlo, p.c. 22 April 2020;
Manfredi, Morville and Napolitano 2018). For some animated films,
especially if there is an international dubbing supervisor, the client not
only requires the Italian dialogues but also a back translation into English
so that the international supervisor or the US major itself (la casa madre)
can verify whether the Italian adaptation is a faithful reproduction of

the original text and whether the directions given to the dialogue writer
have been followed. In other cases only some key names and phrases are
back-translated into English (Di Carlo, p.c. 22 April 2020). However,
the number of Italian text extracts (extracts from the Italian adaptation)
that need to be translated can vary from film to film and distributor to
distributor. As Izzo explained, a back translation is sometimes required,
but not if there is a local editorial team or a supervisor, and never for
Disney. However, a glossary with the key words of the film and their
translation is usually requested (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019).
Recording the Dubbed Version in the Dubbing Booth:

Dubbing Director, Dubbing Assistant, Dubbing Actors
and Sound Technician
Once the Italian dialogues have been approved by the client the dubbing
sessions can start in the dubbing studio. The dubbing assistant prepares
the dubbing/recording sheet (piano di lavorazione) and organises the
recording/dubbing sessions (turni di doppiaggio). The dubbing actors are
then called into the dubbing studio to voice their characters. Sometimes
the client such as Disney’s creative director, in-territory supervisors or the
head of dubbing for Dreamworks/Universal/Sony may also be present
during the dubbing sessions and make comments or suggestions.
Based on my own observations of dubbing sessions at Dubbing
Brothers International Italia and SDI Media Italia, during a dubbing
session in the dubbing booth the dubbing assistant and the dubbing
actor/voice talent are in the cabin where the film is projected on a screen,
and the dubbing director and sound technician are separated from them
by a glass partition. The dubbing assistant has the dubbing plan, a
computer and files of the English and Italian dialogues, as well as a hard
copy of the Italian dialogues. The dubbing actor stands by the lectern and
reads the Italian dialogues off a hard copy, while the film is projected
onto a movie screen (often, but not always, in black and white). The
dubbing actors wear headphones so that they can clearly hear the orig-
inal voices and adjust the volume as they please. In the other booth sit
40 V. Minutella
the dubbing director and the sound technician/engineer. The dubbing

director has his/her own computer so that he/she can check the files of
the English and Italian dialogues and usually also has a paper copy of the
Italian dialogues. Before starting the session with a dubber, the dubbing
director provides important information such as the role of the char-
acter, his/her feelings or details on the specific scene. Dubbing actors
do not previously know the film plot and cannot see the scenes or the
script beforehand, so they must base their interpretation on the infor-
mation gathered from the dubbing director and the clips they watch,
the original actors’ performances and the images. As pointed out by
Whitman-Linsen, the role of the dubbing director is similar to that of
a theatre or film director:
Like the director of a theatre play or film, the dubbing director is respon-
sible for prompting, stimulating and instructing the actors to put on
their best performances. He can demand that lines be read differently,
re-directing emphasis and shifting expression. Suggestions and criticism
pertaining to intonation, expression and voice-projection are also made
by the director. Before each take, the director might add a remark or two
sketching in missing context for the benefit of the dubbing actor: where
the character is, what the character feels, what message is intended to be
imparted. (Whitman-Linsen 1992, p. 82)
Chaume’s description of the dubbing director’s role and skills are also
worth quoting fully:
The dubbing director must have good story-telling skills since the voice
talents never actually see the whole film, only the loops they have to dub.
It is the director’s job to guide them through the film, instruct them on
the plot of the film and on their particular character, tell them what into-
nation they need to use in each sentence and how to interpret each take
or loop, and finally reject or approve the recorded take. Directors might
change the translation, should they feel that a particular word or sentence
does not convey the appropriate (semantic or pragmatic) meaning for a
particular occasion. (Chaume 2012, p. 36)
There may be several rehearsals before the actual recording takes place.
The sound engineer projects the video. The dubbing actor watches the
scene a couple of times in the original version; comments are made by the
dubbing director on voice, intonation and feelings; and then the volume
of the original is turned down and the dubber rehearses the lines while
watching the scene again. When he/she feels ready the lines are recorded.
The sound technician records the new voice track and adjusts some of the
voice files, stretching, reducing and synchronising the track.
Everyone then watches the take or loop with the new Italian dialogues
and the dubbing director may comment on the performance, clarity of
enunciation and synchronisation. The dubbing assistant and sound engi-
neer can also contribute to enhancing the performance by making their
own comments and suggestions. Interpretation, pronunciation, tonality
and pitch are taken into consideration. The aim is to recreate the utter-
ances of the original actor and reproduce the same intonation, rhythm
and meaning. For example, the dubbing assistant and sound engineer
control the length of words and utterances since the dubbed voice track
has to perfectly match the length of the original dialogues. Moreover,
together with the dubbing director they also judge the proper, correct
pronunciation of words since they should usually be pronounced in
standard Italian, follow the rules of diction and be clearly enunciated.
Although this may sound very prescriptive, the use of standard Italian,
proper diction and clear enunciation are part of the language of Italian
dubbing and of the training of dubbing actors. However, as we shall see
later in the book, if the original actor does not clearly articulate (delib-
erately), speaks dialect or has a very marked accent, then the dubbing
actor might be asked not to use standard Italian with proper diction
and opt for a less standard or a rough accent. If a word or line is not
clear enough, then the dubbing actor has to re-record the whole line or
sometimes only a single word. On occasion they record a take, a line, a
phrase or a sentence. If the dubbing director believes that there is still
room for improvement, then the sounds that are not clear enough are
isolated and re-recorded. In this case the role of the sound engineer is
particularly important, since he/she is tasked with isolating the word(s),
cutting and pasting from various files and selecting the most appropriate
recordings so that the final version is a smooth and clear voice flow. The
42 V. Minutella
dubbing assistant also comments on performance and utterance length

since he/she can also control the original track and is tasked with making
sure that the dubbed version matches it.
The Italian dialogues may, as noted, be changed during the recording.
As summarised by Chaume: “The process is a continuous series of
stops and starts, rather than a theatrical performance. Dubbers may also
change the translation should it not respond to their way of acting.
Dubbing actors and actresses are expected to convincingly and expres-
sively mimic the original onscreen performance” (2012, p. 37). The
dubbing assistant may ask the voice talent to repeat a line, to record
it again because the dubbed utterance does not match the original one
either in terms of utterance length (i.e., isochrony), word length and
articulation (i.e., lip synchrony) or in terms of intonation and quality
of the voice. Such a precise match of dubbed lines with the original ones
is necessary for technical reasons for the final mixing process.
Dubbing Actors
Sánchez Mompeán explains the main differences between the work of

voice actors who voice characters in the original version of animated
films and the dubbing actors who give their voice to the characters in
a different language:
Both dubbers and voice actors make use of a pair of headphones and
stand in front of a microphone, but the latter barely need the printed
copy of the script placed on their lectern, since they have previously had
the time to learn most of their lines by heart. On the contrary, dubbing
actors need to build up an effective visual acuity to shift repeatedly from
the written script placed on the fixed lectern to the ongoing and mute
scene that is to be filled with their words and must strike a balance
between an appropriate intonation and a similar-to-real oral discourse
while reading their lines. (Sánchez Mompeán 2015, p. 91)
Each dubbing actor records his/her lines individually, as noted, without

interacting with other actors. The only exception is when more than one
dubbing actor might be in the dubbing booth and they have to record
so-called ‘walla’, a term used by practitioners to indicate indistinct noises

such as background dialogue lines made by a crowd or people in the
street. The English Dialogue List may contain actual words or simply
state ‘indistinct’. WALLA is written in capital letters in the English
Dialogue List and is called BRUSIO in the Italian Dialogue/Dubbing
Script (for a description of WALLA see Spiteri Miggiani 2019, pp. 143–
146). In such a case the dialogue writer may invent some exclama-
tions/words/expressions to replace the ones in the original track. When
the script contains these background dialogue lines or background noise
such as a crowd cheering during a competition or people in the street or
at a party a number of dubbing actors are called to the studio and they
record their lines together.
As already noted, no previous preparation by the dubbing actor is
allowed. They have to make do with the time and information that
the dubbing director gives them and with the images on screen and the
original actors’ voices. As can be seen from the above descriptions, the
technique of dubbing is not simple and requires proper training. Profes-
sional dubbing actors are highly skilled and have had formal training
in dubbing and very often also in acting. Nevertheless, in recent years
animated films have also often been dubbed by non-professionals, in
particular by celebrities who do not have any training in dubbing. The
fact that these celebrities lend their voice to animated characters may
have important implications for the dubbing process, for voice casting
and for the final voice quality and accent of the characters they dub.
What Happens to the Italian Dialogues in the Dubbing

Booth?
Several of the dubbing professionals consulted confirm that the Italian

dialogues are usually slightly changed and partially rewritten in the
dubbing studio for various reasons (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019; Morville,
p.c. 1 March 2019; Manfredi, p.c. 27 September 2018; Guadagno, p.c. 4
March 2019; Alto, p.c. 27 November 2018; Napolitano, p.c. 14 January
2019). This might be because the dubber has difficulty in pronouncing
certain words, because the lines are too long or short and cannot be
44 V. Minutella
synchronised, or even because of personal taste or because someone—

anyone from the dialogue writer him/herself to the dubbing actor to
the dubbing assistant/sound engineer or a colleague—comes up with
a better/more creative or funnier translation solution. Dialogue writer
and dubbing director Manfredi admits that sometimes he may find a
more creative, more fitting solution while he is directing the dubbing
actors such that he changes his adaptation during the recording session.
In other cases it is the dubbing actor who may contribute to a more
effective, creative line while rehearsing or improvising. Creative director
Morville, for instance, explains that in Cars, actors such as Marco Messeri
(who dubs the character of Tow Mater) and comedian Marco Della Noce
(dubbing Luigi) improvised some lines during the recording sessions:
“they invent lines, inventing a role by putting their own personality in
that character. In the studio you have to intervene [and modify what
the dialogue writer has written] if there are brilliant actors, if they come
up with a brilliant line” (Morville 2016). Morville believes that although
total and blind adherence to the text written by the dialogue writer is not
necessary, approximately 90% of the dialogues remain (Morville 2016).
If the dubbing director is unsure of the final result, then sometimes
two or more alternative versions of a line/word/phrase may be recorded.
Manfredi (p.c. 27 September 2018) explains that sometimes he writes
two or three alternative solutions in the adaptation, all of which are
recorded, and then the most suitable one is chosen at a later stage after
also discussing it with the client, perhaps during the final check of the
dubbed film. Manfredi highlights the fact that his adaptations are bound
to be modified thanks to the collaborative work of the whole dubbing
team. Guadagno also points out that his adaptations are not a definitive
script and can always be slightly changed in the dubbing booth: “The
script is open, the fact that I’ve written something doesn’t mean that it
cannot be changed” (Guadagno, p.c. 4 March 2019). At the end of the
dubbing sessions the dubbing director saves a final version of the Italian
dialogues in a Word file titled ‘As recorded’ (Manfredi, p.c. 27 September
2018; Guadagno, p.c. 4 March 2019; and my own observations in the
dubbing studio).
The dubbing of an animated film is thus a collaborative process in

which communication and teamwork between the dubbing director,
dubbing assistant, dubbing actors and sound technician/engineer are
essential. Communication between the dialogue writer and dubbing
director is important since the dialogue writer is the person who knows
the language of the film best as well as the linguistic characterisation of
the characters, which makes it easier for them to rewrite a line of dialogue
while in the dubbing booth. This is confirmed by Izzo and Guadagno
(p.c. 4 March 2019) who often choose to both adapt and direct dubbed
films. This is a deliberate choice since dubbing directors prefer to work
on dialogues that they have written themselves because this gives them
deeper knowledge of the film and its language and because it is easier and
more acceptable for them to make amendments to their own dialogues
(Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019; Guadagno, p.c. 4 March 2019). Izzo states that
she always adapts the films she directs because she wants to be free to crit-
icise and change her own dialogue when she is in the dubbing studio:
“I have to feel free to criticise my own dialogues, to change. There’s
Fiamma the dialogue writer and Fiamma the dubbing director and they
don’t coincide” (Izzo, p.c. 30 January 2019). The dialogue writer and the
dubbing director are one and the same for most of the films analysed in
this book making it easier for him/her to modify his/her own script.
2.3 One Film, Many Texts

Generally speaking, when talking about audiovisual translation we
usually refer to a source text (the English dialogues) and a target text
(the dubbed dialogues). However, as many scholars have pointed out
(e.g., Richart Marset 2012; Spiteri Miggiani 2019)—and as previously
suggested—there are several in-between texts, the first of which being
the translation. During the dubbing phases several kinds of source text
are given to the dubbing team by the client and several target texts
are produced by the dubbing team. The material that is sent to the
dubbing professionals can vary from film to film and according to the
producer/distributor. The texts/files that are always sent to the dubbing
team, regardless of the producer/distributor, are the English Dialogue
46 V. Minutella
List, a key names and phrases (KNP) file and a text called the creative
letter. Sometimes a glossary and a subtitle/spotting list are also included.
To summarise, the following source text files in English may be sent to
the dubbing team along with the video (the documents that are always
sent are shown in bold):
– English Dialogue List (Trailers, Preliminary 1, 2, 3, etc., Final

Dialogue List)
– Subtitle spotting list (in some cases)
– Annotated subtitle/dialogue with explanations (in some cases)
– KNP (key names and phrases) file that sometimes requires back
translation
– Creative letter (strictly confidential)
– Glossary
The following target texts are produced by the dubbing team:
– Translation of the English dialogue into Italian (carried out by a

translator and supplied to the dialogue writer)
– Italian adaptation/Italian dialogue/Italian dubbing script (called
adattamento italiano)
– Italian adaptation/Italian dialogue ‘As recorded’ (adattamento ital-
iano ‘As recorded’): this is the final version of the Italian dialogue as
recorded in the dubbing studio after any revisions that may have been
made during the dubbing sessions.
– Some non-Disney films only: back translation into English of either
the full film (in very few cases) or of the key names and phrases file
(often) is required. Back translation is not necessary for Disney and
Pixar films because the creative director guarantees the good quality of
the Italian version and its faithfulness to the original English text. In
most cases DreamWorks does not require back translation into English
of the whole Dialogue List. However, it does require back translation
of the KNP file.
2.3.1 English Dialogue List
The dubbing team always receives an English script that has to be trans-
lated and adapted. This is called the Master English Dialogue List,
English Dialogue List or Annotated Dialogue List. It is a detailed text
prepared by selected vendors specialised in script composition such as
Deluxe, Technicolor and MasterWord. It contains the film dialogues,
onscreen text and explanatory notes. It is thus a post-production tran-
script of the film dialogue and of any written text that requires transla-
tion/adaptation. Although dialogue lists may vary considerably in form
and layout (see Chaume 2012, p. 122; Spiteri Miggiani 2019, pp. 102–
107), they are usually made up of three columns: one indicating the
footage (i.e., the exact time in the video file when the words occur),
one with the name of the character and one containing the dialogue,
as illustrated in Table 2.1.
The script of animated films usually contains explanations of the
words/expressions used by each speaker in parentheses in the dialogue
column (after some lines of dialogue). Such explanatory notes include
the meaning of contracted forms, colloquial or slang forms, ungram-
maticalities, cultural references, puns, and idioms. They further explain
the interaction between words and images, or references and allusions to
other films, texts, songs, etc. The quantity and type of explanatory notes
may vary considerably. Some examples of “explanatory notes within a
dialogue transcript” can be found in Spiteri Miggiani (2019, pp. 105–
107). The information encompassed by the notes helps the translator and
dialogue writer to understand the meaning of the lines so that they can
translate the dialogue according to the filmmakers’ conception. Although
the aim of these explanatory notes in the Dialogue List is probably
“to ensure correct interpretation of meaning” (Spiteri Miggiani 2019,
Table 2.1 English Dialogue List

Footage Speaker/Character Dialogue
Timecode Name Dialogue
(explanatory note)
Source The example is invented by the author
48 V. Minutella
p. 105) and speed up the translation and adaptation process, it may also
be to control the process of interpretation.
Nevertheless, the content of dialogue lists and explanatory notes may
be subject to some criticism since they are produced by an external
person/company providing this type of material—not by the filmmakers
themselves. Izzo comments on this issue as follows: English “dialogue
lists with explanatory notes are sent from America. However, they are
the result of an interpretation by an external person transcribing the
dialogue, not by the author of the script. Are we sure that the author’s
intentions are the ones written down by a person who listens to the film
dialogue with his/her headphones and transcribes it in a word file?” (Izzo,
p.c. 30 January 2019). I would also like to add a further problem in
that the external company’s interpretation is regarded as the only correct
interpretation, rather than one among many possibilities. Morville also
criticises the fact that dialogue lists sometimes contain explanations of
contracted forms or greetings, or of words whose meaning is easy to
decode, while they might not clarify the meaning of more complex words
or expressions which may present translation challenges. For instance,
they may clarify that ‘isn’t’ stands for ‘is not’, but might not contain
information which is needed by a translator about more complex issues
(Morville, p.c. 20 April 2020). A dialogue list may contain the line of
dialogue “Hey! That’s Paul” followed by the explanatory comment (Hey!:
used to call attention to something ); the line of dialogue “Great party,
Susan!” followed by the explanatory note (Great: informal —‘excellent’ );
“What?” followed by the explanatory note (What: used as an exclamation
expressing surprise); or even “Oops!” followed by a dictionary definition
in the explanatory note (Oops: colloquial exclamation used to show recog-
nition of a mistake or minor accident often as part of an apology). Such
explanations might be considered unnecessary by translators as language
experts. However, generally speaking, explanatory notes do often provide
useful information and comments. For instance, the line of dialogue “I
did not see that coming” has been explained as (see that coming: idiomatic
phrase meaning ‘expect that to happen’ ). Double meanings, humour, puns,
idiomatic expressions, cultural references and allusions are also usually
explained in the notes. For instance, a note in the Dialogue List of Mr.
Peabody and Sherman explains that Marie Antoinette’s line “Cake! I love
cake so much!” was a reference to the quote “Let them eat cake” suppos-
edly said by the French Queen (Di Carlo, p.c. 20 April 2020). “Cake! I
love cake so much!” was also one of the key expressions of the film and
was therefore also included in the key names and phrases (KNP) file.
The translator/dialogue writer had to provide his/her Italian adaptation
of the line and add a back translation into English in order to prove to
the client that the reference to the famous sentence by Marie Antoinette
had been conveyed in Italian so that the audience of the dubbed version
would understand this humorous reference. Translator Di Carlo points
out that the English Dialogue List of the same film also provided useful
explanations of the presence of puns, visual references and guidelines on
how to approach them in translation. For instance, when Mr Peabody
comments on Marie Antoinette’s “Smashing party”, the notes explain to
the translators that ‘smashing’ is an informal word meaning ‘wonderful’,
but they also add that the translator should note the visual reference to
the brick which has just broken the window and try to find a suitable
equivalent in the target language (i.e., a compliment which can have a
double meaning and be linked with the images) (Di Carlo, p.c. 20 April
2020).
Dubbing professionals also point out that there are often multiple
versions of the English Dialogue List. The client may provide dialogue
writers with more than one version if the film has not reached its defini-
tive version yet, sometimes also done for reasons of confidentiality. There
may be a Preliminary English Dialogue List 1, Preliminary 2, Preliminary
3, etc. and a Final Dialogue List. Each new version contains modifi-
cations which are signalled in various ways (Guadagno, p.c. 4 March
2019). The Dialogue List file is the starting point for the translation and
adaptation stage. The dialogue writer is also provided with the actual
film. If any discrepancies between the English dialogue in the script and
the video are noted, then the dialogue writer must translate and adapt
the words as uttered by the actors in the film—not the written ones
contained in the Dialogue List (Di Carlo, p.c. 20 January 2020). Spiteri
Miggiani points out that “when the script in hand differs from the audio-
visual material (in its final cut), dialogue writers must consider the latter
as the reliable source, and must adhere to it faithfully. This may imply
transcribing segments of dialogue directly from the video file” (2019,
50 V. Minutella
p. 102). The transcription of dialogue from the video is called rilevamento

dialoghi in Italian.
2.3.2 Key Names and Phrases (KNP) File
Dubbing professionals point out that most animated films are also
accompanied by a key names and phrases (KNP) file which is sent to
every country in which the film is dubbed. The KNP file is an Excel file
which contains a list of the most important names, words and phrases
extracted from the film script. However, the specific content and func-
tion of this file can vary considerably. For Disney animated films the
KNP file contains important names and words/expressions in the film
and translations into the various languages of these names/words in the
dubbed versions. Sometimes the terms are accompanied by a brief expla-
nation (comment). The KNP file has the function of summarising how
names and important words/phrases are translated in various languages
so that Disney Character Voices International can have all this informa-
tion contained in a single document. The file is shared with dubbing
teams in different countries and can help their work since it can be used
as a reference point to compare the choices made in different languages.
The document can also prove useful in spin-offs of the film or when a
character or line from the film is quoted in later audiovisual products.
Rather than searching the dubbing scripts to discover how the name
or line was translated into Italian, the KNP can be consulted and the
translation immediately found (Morville, p.c. 28 April 2020).
Other majors use different KNP files containing a list of the most
important names, words and phrases extracted from the script with
comments and explanations of their meaning, sometimes with trans-
lations and back translations into English. Although the meaning of
the key names, words and expressions is also explained in the English
Dialogue List (in the explanatory notes), the KNP file is a much shorter
document whose sole function is to summarise the most important
elements and issues involved in the dubbing of the film, especially those
that require consistency. Compared with a dialogue list the KNP may
contain longer explanations and sometimes provide guidelines on how to
tackle such key names and phrases in the dubbed versions. The file may
Table 2.2 Mock-up KNP file with English terms and comments
Reel/page/timecode English term Comments
Table 2.3 Mock-up KNP file with English text, comments and target language
translation
English Comments Translation
Table 2.4 Mock-up KNP file with back translation of the target language
translation in the dubbed version required
Footage KNP (English Target language English back Comments
term) translation translation
also specify which words or expressions require consistency since they

may be catchphrases, may be repeated in other parts of the film (other
reels) or, in the case of prequels and sequels, they may be mentioned in
other films. In this regard the KNP file resembles what Spiteri Miggiani
defines as a “consistency sheet” (Spiteri Miggiani 2019, pp. 116–117).
The KNP file usually takes the form of a table made up of various
columns whose number can vary. Typically, these include the timecode,
the key name/phrase in the original language, the target language adap-
tation (the translation in a dubbing script), the English back translation
(literal translation of the Italian adaptation) and comments (Di Carlo,
p.c. 20 April 2020). However, the layout and content of KNP files vary
considerably and a back translation is not always required. Made-up
examples of the format a KNP file might take are shown in Tables 2.2,
2.3, and 2.4.5
The timecode, English source text and comments are provided by the
client. The comments explain the meaning of the key words/phrases,
5 It
is not possible to provide actual examples of layout or content since the documents are
commercially confidential.
52 V. Minutella
give suggestions on how to translate them or give directions on how

to render specific features. They may also clarify references to previous
films, quotations and cultural references. Moreover, they may some-
times contain suggestions on how to treat foreign speech in the dubbed
version, indicating that a character uses foreign words and should there-
fore also use them in the dubbed version. This is particularly interesting
for the current research since it indicates that choices on linguistic
characterisation and on the presence of accents/foreign languages are
often already contained in the guidelines prepared by the client. The
remaining columns of the KNP sent to the translator/dialogue writer
are subsequently filled in by the dialogue writer with, in the present case,
the Italian adaptation. They might be annotated with any comments the
dialogue writer deems necessary to explain his/her translation choices.
We can recall that in some cases (non-Disney films) the dialogue writer
has to send the completed file back to the client adding a back trans-
lation into English of the Italian adaptation to prove to the clients that
their directions have been followed and that the dubbed version is as
close as possible to the original meaning.
Alto, for instance, explains that for Madagascar DreamWorks required
a back translation of key phrases as soon as the translation and the
dialogue rewrite had taken place (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016). Once the
client had approved them, from then on they could not be modified.
If, for some reason, during the dubbing process some of these KNPs
had to be changed, then the dubbing director had to contact the client
(via the dubbing supervisor), explain the reasons for the changes and ask
for permission to modify them. As previously pointed out, for Mada-
gascar 3 the key names and phrases were highlighted and explained by
the international dubbing supervisor in a 3-day meeting with dubbing
teams from various territories (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016, 27 November
2018). It seems that DreamWorks often asks for a back translation into
English of the most important key names, words and phrases in its films
such as Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, Mr. Peabody and Sherman,
Turbo and Home. Sometimes back translations of songs are also required.
This happened, for instance, with all the songs in Trolls (Izzo, p.c. 4
March 2019). Moreover, the dialogue writer/dubbing director may be
asked to explain the reasons for any deviations from what the client
believes is ‘the meaning of the original text’ which, as we have previously

observed, can be quite vague and arguable. In this way, as previously
pointed out, the US majors believe that fidelity to the original text and
the filmmakers’ intent is ensured/guaranteed (Di Carlo, p.c. 20 January
2016; Guadagno, p.c. 4 March 2019; Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016; Izzo,
p.c. 4 March 2019). As explained by Di Carlo, for Shrek and Kung Fu
Panda dialogue writer and dubbing director Vairano had to produce a
back translation of the whole film. In other cases, especially recent films,
only those parts considered by the client the most important words and
expressions, including the names of characters and puns included in the
KNP file need a back translation. Di Carlo’s task as a translator also
encompasses translating the Italian adaptation of key names and phrases
back into English, adding comments which explain how puns or idioms
were dealt with in dubbing (Di Carlo, p.c. 2015, 2016, 11 December
2019, 22 April 2020).
The use of such a document (i.e., the KNP file) by the big majors
as far as animated films are concerned can be considered a means of
quality control by the client of the final adaptation and dubbed version.
Dubbing professionals stress that nowadays Italian dialogue writers and
dubbing directors cannot take the liberties that used to be taken some
decades ago by dubbing professionals when making Italian dubbed
versions. In the case of animated films produced by big majors, contrary
to what happens for other genres and to what used to happen in the
past, Italian dialogue writers and dubbing directors appear to enjoy less
freedom. According to Izzo, their clients now tend to require Italian
dubbing scripts that are as close as possible to the original script and
the video performance of the script to such a point that sometimes
there is a risk of producing almost literal translations which are awkward
and unnatural sounding. Clients’ insistence on the issue of fidelity may
produce Italian adaptations that, according to Izzo, resemble a subtitle
rather than a believable, natural-sounding Italian dialogue (Izzo, p.c. 4
March 2019). Alto points out that “the mission of the dialogue writer
and dubbing director today is to respect and keep the original” (p.c. 25
January 2016). The well-known but rather unmodish translation studies
debate about faithfulness seems to take centre stage in the dubbing of
animated films and in the majors’ approaches.
54 V. Minutella
2.3.3 Creative Letter
Another document often mentioned by dubbing practitioners is the

so-called creative letter. It appears to be an important document that
the dubbing team receives which guides them in the adaptation and
recording of the dubbed dialogue. It is a strictly confidential document
which accompanies the film and may take various forms. The significance
of the creative letter is explained as follows by Rohn:
Although translations are usually conducted in the importing market, the

exporting company often gives very strict instructions on how the content
should be translated. A so-called ‘creative letter’ might give very stringent
guidelines as to how a character should be dubbed, which allows only
limited creative choice. (2010, p. 113)
The creative letter is a document that contains information on the char-

acters, their voice quality and the actors voicing them in the original
version. It provides guidelines about the artistic and creative development
of the characters and the film. The creative letter has been described by
dubbing professionals as “giv[ing] indications from the artistic point of
view” (Morville, p.c. 22 December 2015). It may contain a synopsis, a
character description, an explanation of the relationships between char-
acters, and directions on voice casting for the dubbed versions. Izzo
(p.c., 4 March 2019) confirms that for films distributed by Dream-
Works, Universal, Illumination, Disney and Fox the client usually sends
a creative letter that describes the characters and explains the dynamics
and relationships between the characters in the film. Dubbing assistant
Napolitano describes the creative letter as a file containing descrip-
tions of the characters and information about several aspects of the
film such as “the artistic notes to be followed, the descriptions of the
characters, and useful information on many aspects of the film” (Napoli-
tano, p.c. 14 January 2019). Manfredi describes the creative letter as
a document containing everything that is important about the film
and the features that must be respected when dubbing it (Manfredi,
p.c. 27 September 2018). As pointed out by Dubbing Producer Claudia
Gvirtzman Dichter, the aim of the creative letter “is not to explain the
story, but to discuss the subtext and who the characters really are” (p.c.
13 June 2020). The creative letter is a confidential document that is
sent to the dialogue writer/dubbing director/dubbing assistant/dubbing
company. It cannot be disclosed to people who are not directly involved
in the dubbing project.
The creative letter may also contain voice-casting guidelines. As can be
seen in Toll’s LinkedIn profile and in some job advertisements for creative
dubbing managers, one of the tasks of the creative dubbing manager is
to develop ceative letters and guidelines called ‘Creative Dubbing Guide-
lines and Voice Testing Guidelines’ by DreamWorks. The choice of voices
in the dubbed versions of animated films is another very important part
of the dubbing process of animated films.
2.4 Choosing the Voices in Dubbing

Bosseaux (2018, p. 221) argues that since “voice is an integral part of
identity […], voice selection [is] the most important task for dubbing
directors.” The fact that the big majors guide the selection of dubbing
actors by producing creative letters and voice-casting guidelines suggests
that the voices we hear in the dubbed versions are the result of a clear
policy on the part of the client. The choice of voices also impinges
upon the way in which a character is (re)created in dubbing and his/her
linguistic characterisation. For instance, as will be discussed in the next
chapter and in the examples analysed throughout this book, the choice
of dubbing actor can determine whether or not specific accents are used
in dubbing. At the same time, the need for a character with an accent
can also affect voice-casting choices.
2.4.1 Voice Tests and Standard Procedures
As explained by several dubbing professionals and previously pointed out

in this book, the client often requires voice tests for the main characters
of animated films. The American client sends the video/audio files, the
56 V. Minutella
script for the voice casting, the creative letter containing information on
the characters and the voice quality of the voice actors required in the
dubbed version. Manfredi explains that for Disney and Paramount the
dubbing actors are selected by the Italian creative director (for Disney)
or the head of dubbing of the distributor (for Paramount) together with
the American dubbing supervisor (Manfredi, p.c. 10 May 2018). For
Disney and Disney Pixar films the creative director collaborates with the
dubbing director to find the right voices. Voice tests are recorded and
sent back to the client. For non-Disney films voice casting is organised
by the head of dubbing of the distributor, perhaps with the help of the
dubbing director and the international supervisor. Suitable candidates
are selected by taking into account criteria such as voice quality and simi-
larity to the original actor’s voice and interpretation. For each character
three appropriate dubbing actors are recorded (three voice tests). The
audio files are sent to the American client who chooses the voices. Mete
explains that DreamWorks asks for voice tests for the main characters in
their animated films (Mete, p.c. 7 February 2016). For some animated
films voice tests may be required for several characters. For instance,
when choosing the Italian voices for Sing, voice tests were carried out
for most of the characters (Mete, p.c. 9 June 2020). Alto and Mete
point out that although the voices are chosen in the United States, the
dubbing director can have a say in this, or at least give the client his/her
own opinion, by filling in a form where he/she can evaluate the voice
and provide comments. Nevertheless, the choice is ultimately made by
the client (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016, 27 November 2018; Mete, p.c.
20 September 2019). According to Mete, most US majors ask for the
dubbing director’s comments (Mete, p.c. 20 September 2019).
The criteria used to judge the dubbing actors’ voice tests are often
stated in the casting guidelines contained in the creative letter. Although
the choice is often based on a voice match with the original voice actor,
especially for Disney films, it is also based on the dubbing actor’s perfor-
mance and interpretation of the character and his/her delivery and acting
style (Morville, p.c. 17 June 2015).
Bosseaux emphasises “how critical it is to choose the ‘right’ voices
throughout a film or an actor’s career to make sure audiences, including
original actors, engage positively with the translated versions” (2018,
p. 221). The above explanations of how dubbing actors are selected,

including voice tests for animated films, seem to suggest that the right
voices are carefully and meticulously chosen for this type of audiovisual
product. Big majors are very aware of the key role played by voices in
animated films and make sure they control this choice by examining the
“vocal performance of the dubbing actor” (Whittaker 2017, p. 129).
This seems to hold particularly true for Disney and Disney Pixar films.
The creation of Disney Character Voices International in 1988 testifies
to the significance of voice casting in dubbed versions. Former Creative
Director Morville explains that he is very keen on selecting the right
voices for the Italian versions of animated films, pointing out that as
creative director for Disney his aim in searching for the right dubbing
actors (i.e., his mantra) was “to respect voicematch, the quality, texture,
colour or grain of the voice, the timbre of the original actor. […] To
respect the original film and be faithful to it also means to respect
the original voices, using a similar voice quality” (Morville, p.c. 27
September 2019). For more on the grain of the voice see Barthes (1977);
on the voice in cinema see Chion (1982); and for more on the impor-
tance of voice quality, intonation and prosodic elements in dubbing see
Sánchez Mompeán (2015, 2020) and Bosseaux (2018, p. 222).
Alto (p.c. 25 January 2016) also mentions taking part in a meeting
where the dubbing teams of Pixar’s film Ratatouille were shown the
striking similarity of the voices of the main characters in all the languages
into which the film was dubbed. We can thus conclude that, gener-
ally speaking (definitely for Disney and Pixar products), the quality and
texture of the voice of the dubber has to match that of the original
actor. This meticulous search for equivalence has been noted in videos
about multilanguage versions of songs in Disney films such as Moana
and Frozen.6
Nevertheless, it must be added that although voice quality, interpre-
tation and voice match are criteria for choosing a dubbing actor, there
are several cases in which marketing reasons prevail over performance
6 For instance, Let It Go (behind the mic multilanguage version from Frozen in 25 languages)
and various artists performing How Far I’ll Go (heard around the world in 24 languages from
Moana).
58 V. Minutella
and artistic criteria. A case in point is the phenomenon of star talents

dubbing animated films.
2.4.2 Star Talents
In recent years (roughly since the late 1990s) animated films have
been dubbed by either professional dubbing actors or celebrity, non-
professional dubbers known as star talents (on the phenomenon of
celebrities in voice-over animation and Spanish dubbing see Sánchez-
Mompeán 2015; Whittaker 2017). The casting of celebrity voices as
dubbers has become an important marketing strategy and first started
in the United States. As Wright and Lallo point out when discussing
voice-over for animation:
A more recent problem for voice-over artists is the use of celebrity voices.
Businessmen feel that known celebrity names will bring in an audience,
especially to films. Fans may go to see a celebrity’s work, even when they
can’t see the celebrity himself. And a celebrity can give a film publicity.
(2009, p. 5)
The same marketing strategy is adopted for the localisation of animated

films in Italy. The dubbing professionals consulted point out that the
marketing department of the distributor (the client) often insists on
employing star talents as dubbers in animated films. Since they are
easily recognised by the audience they can be used to promote the
film in the target country through interviews, press conferences, etc.
However, such an imposition may have negative repercussions on the
quality of the dubbed version and on the phases of the dubbing process
since few celebrities have previous training in dubbing and some are
not even actors. Professional dubbing actors receive specific training in
dubbing and in acting, have experience in dubbing various audiovisual
products and are used to the constraints and technicalities of dubbing.
Moreover, they adhere to pronunciation guidelines when it comes to
standard Italian pronunciation. Their diction is neutral and devoid of
regional accents, as normally required in dubbing. In fact, although
professional dubbing actors may speak Italian with a regional accent

naturally (i.e., in everyday life), when they enter the dubbing booth and
dub a character, they drop all signs of their regional accent (unless a
specific accent is required by the role and is important for the plot).
On the other hand, star talents are non-professional dubbers. They are
not restricted to actors (film, theatre or television), but also include
singers, TV presenters, sportspeople, influencers or bloggers. Since they
do not have dubbing skills and may not even have previous training
in acting, this may create problems when such star talents lend their
voices to animated characters. Their interpretation may be less credible,
lack naturalness, and contain regional accents, especially of those who
struggle to speak so-called standard Italian. The difficulties faced by star
talents are summarised by Sánchez Mompeán (2015, p. 278) as:
Whenever non-dubbing actors take part in the dubbing of an animated

film, they might be missing a myriad of techniques and competences alien
to the acting task, namely synchronies, voice placement and production
in front of a (special type of ) microphone, and specific tonal patterns.
As a result, when star talents lend their voice to animated characters in

dubbing, the role they play must be carefully chosen and the dubbing
director must work hard to make sure that they manage to produce a
good-quality vocal performance and interpretation. As Chaume points
out, “dubbing actors and actresses are expected to convincingly and
expressively mimic the original onscreen performance. Voice talents have
drama school training and sometimes good talents are not good actors,
and vice versa” (2012, p. 37). Dubbing actor, dubbing director and
dialogue writer Massimiliano Manfredi also points out that “the main
difficulty encountered by non-professional dubbers is the original actor’s
interpretation, since dubbers must respect the rhythm, length and pauses
of the original actor” (p.c. 15 April 2018). Morville also comments as
follows: “I need a dubbing actor who knows how to act and can move
me. […] sometimes a good actor is not necessarily a good dubber”
(Morville, p.c. 26 April 2018). As pointed out above, unless they are
explicitly asked to ‘put on an accent’ because it is required by their
60 V. Minutella
role, the Italian language spoken by professional dubbing actors is stan-

dard Italian with proper diction, elocution and no regional accent. For
someone who has had no acting training whatsoever, delivering their
lines while eliminating accent and pronouncing sentences with proper
diction may be quite challenging. Star talents may therefore encounter
various difficulties: on the one hand, they need to provide a convincing,
believable performance that follows the original actor’s interpretation and
the rhythm and length of the original dialogue. On the other hand,
since the Italian language used in dubbing is standard Italian they need
to speak in a clear way (i.e., according to proper diction and avoiding
regional accents).
However, dubbing directors such as Vairano (p.c. 27 November 2018),
Izzo (p.c. 30 January 2019) and Guadagno (p.c. 4 March 2019) also
comment on the positive side of working with some star talents and on
the fact that the ‘dubbing norm’ of using neutral standard Italian can be
ignored with celebrities. Morville also stresses that when he has to select
star talents, he searches for an actor who may be a great performer and
can provide added value to the film. One of these is actor Marco Messeri,
who dubs Tow Mater in the Cars films.7
Voice casting (i.e., choosing the dubbers and characters star talents
can dub in a film and selecting the right voices) is thus a key task
in the dubbing process. This can dramatically influence the quality
of the dubbed version of an animated film. The number and type of
celebrities cast in each animated film as dubbers depends on the film’s
budget, the availability of celebrities and other factors. Voice casting
thus seems to be a compromise between marketing, economic factors
(the budget of the film) and artistic/creative factors. If the production
company itself requires the casting of star talent as dubbers, then the
creative director, dubbing supervisor and dubbing director are tasked
with choosing appropriate roles for such star talents.
Morville argues that some films are more suitable for star talents
because they contain secondary characters and can offer cameo roles
7 On Marco Messeri’s interpretation of Cricchetto (Tow Mater) in the Italian dubbed version
see the YouTube video Disney Pixar: Cars 3 – Marco Messeri è la voce di Cricchetto – Featurette,
available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F6TI9cI5D4.
which can be performed by non-professional dubbers, even by celebri-

ties who are not trained actors. An example is Finding Dory/Alla ricerca
di Dory in which TV presenter Licia Colò, professional swimmer Massi-
miliano Rosolino and singer Baby K dubbed minor characters (Morville,
p.c. 1 March 2019). Another example is DreamWorks’ Shark Tale for
which two Italian dubbed versions were made: one with a non–star
talent dubbing cast (this version was presented at the Venice film festival)
and one with a star talent dubbing cast comprising singer Tiziano Ferro
dubbing Will Smith, singer and TV presenter Luisa Corna dubbing
Angelina Jolie and other Italian celebrities. Dubbing director Mete
explains that the marketing department requested a star talent cast for
the film’s release in cinemas and in the DVD version (Mete, p.c. 7
February 2016). All the big majors have been casting star talents both
in the original animated films and in their dubbed versions since the
late 1990s (see Sánchez Mompeán 2015). In the Italian dubbed version
of the recent Disney Pixar film Incredibles 2 (2018) Italian paralympic
fencer champion Bebe Vio voices one of the superheroes (Karen Voyd),
while other celebrity voices in the same film include actress Ambra Angi-
olini (who voices Evelyn Deavor), Amanda Lear (Edna Mode), cinema
and theatre actor Orso Maria Guerrini (Rick Dicker) and TV presenter
and journalist Tiberio Timperi. While some of these star talents have
cameo roles and speak very few lines, others have larger parts. In the
Cars trilogy a plethora of celebrities were cast as Italian dubbers. For
instance, the Italian version of Cars 2 was dubbed by actresses and
actors such as Marco Messeri, Sophia Loren, Franco Nero, Vanessa
Redgrave, Sabrina Ferilli, Paola Cortellesi, Alessandro Siani, comedian
Marco Della Noce, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, former racers
Alex Zanardi and Ivan Capelli, sports journalists and TV presenters. In
Cars 3 Formula One drivers from various countries had cameo roles
dubbing Cruz Ramirez’s electronic personal assistant: Lewis Hamilton
in the UK version, Sebastian Vettel in the Italian and German dubbed
versions and Fernando Alonso in the Spanish version. This is a local-
ising marketing strategy that links the celebrities’ role with the character
they lend their voice to. As argued by Sánchez Mompeán, this “strategy
62 V. Minutella
to increase the viewership’s reception consists of establishing a profes-

sional relationship between both the character and the famous person
responsible for dubbing it” (2015, p. 284).
Italian star talents have also voiced the main characters in several
dubbed animated films. For instance, in the Pixar films Finding Nemo
(2001) and Finding Dory (2016), Dory is voiced by actor and come-
dian Carla Signoris, while Nemo’s father Marlin is dubbed by actor Luca
Zingaretti whose international popularity is linked to the Italian TV
series based on Camilleri’s book Il commissario Montalbano. In the Pixar
films, however, the clownfish Marlin does not speak like Montalbano
with a Sicilian accent or with Zingaretti’s more natural Roman accent.
He speaks standard Italian. In the Despicable Me trilogy the protagonist
Gru in the Italian dubbed version is voiced by TV showman/presenter
Max Giusti, in Despicable Me 2 (2013) Lucy is dubbed by singer Arisa
and Eduardo Perez/El Macho by actor/singer/comedian/impressionist
Neri Marcorè and in The Lorax (2012) the protagonists are dubbed
by Danny DeVito himself and singer Marco Mengoni. In the Kung Fu
Panda trilogy the protagonist Po is dubbed in Italian by TV and radio
presenter, actor and writer Fabio Volo.
The above examples suggest that star talents can thus have both
leading and secondary roles. The star talent’s role in the film (i.e.,
the character he/she dubs) must be chosen with great care according
to his/her voice quality and skills, as is the case for regular dubbing
artists. When considering how roles are assigned, one hypothesis is
that if the celebrity is an actor, then he/she should dub a main char-
acter, whereas if they are not trained actors but belong to the world of
sports/entertainment/media, etc., then he/she should be given a minor
role and utter fewer lines. In this way the celebrity would attract people,
make news and arouse interest in the film, providing a form of adver-
tising, without their limited acting and dubbing skills compromising the
final dubbed version. This would be in line with Sánchez Mompeán’s
findings regarding dubbed animated films in Spain:
The preferred choice of producers is to use star talents for the dubbing
of main characters, since 14 movies include famous figures in leading
roles. Similar to the pattern followed in the US, main characters’
voices are mostly dubbed by actors and comedians, whilst supporting

roles are usually performed by other famous figures such as singers or
sportsmen/women. (2015, p. 284)
However, this does not always hold true in the Italian context. In several
cases the marketing department also decides the character the celebrity
should dub regardless of their acting and dubbing skills (Guadagno, p.c.
4 March 2019; Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019).
It is also worth pointing out that the casting of star talents as dubbers
in animated films can pose other challenges for the dubbing director.
From a practical point of view the fact that star talents are people who
work outside the dubbing world means that their schedules may be tight
and availability may be reduced. Moreover, while most Italian profes-
sional dubbing actors tend to be based in Rome where the main dubbing
studios are located, star talents or celebrities may live in a different city
(sometimes even in a different country). Thus organising their shifts
may be more problematic and expensive. A celebrity will obviously cost
more than a professional dubbing actor. However, apparently the bene-
fits are greater than the costs (and if the marketing department wants
stars, then clearly they consider such a choice to be cost-effective). Since
some star talents live abroad and cannot easily reach the dubbing studio
in Rome their lines are sometimes recorded elsewhere in dubbing studios
in other countries such as Paris, London (where the final audio mixing of
the overseas versions in several languages often takes place) or even Los
Angeles if the star talent dubbing the character voicing him/her in the
English version lives in the United States. This happened, for example,
with both Antonio Banderas and Danny DeVito who voiced the main
characters in the original English versions of Puss in Boots (2011) and
The Lorax (2012), respectively, and also dubbed the Italian versions.
Dubbing directors Mete (for Banderas) and Izzo (for DeVito) flew to Los
Angeles to help them record their roles for the Italian dubbed version.
Disney Italia creative director Morville flew to Paris to record Amanda
Lear dubbing Edna Mode in Italian for Incredibles 2, while he helped
Lewis Hamilton to dub his cameo role recording his lines in Italian in the
London studios. Sometimes voice tests may also be carried out through
64 V. Minutella
conference calls with the voice talent in one city and the dubbing director
in another.
The practice of recording some parts of a dubbed product in
different studios is termed “collaborative dubbing” (Chaume 2019;
Spiteri Miggiani 2019). As explained by Spiteri Miggiani, “this enables
directors to engage actors who are not necessarily, to say the least, within
reaching distance of the main studio or who could be based […] in
other cities or countries” (2019, p. 24). As already mentioned, Chaume
calls this new trend as practised in Europe and America “collaborative
dubbing” and describes this as a “single dubbed work recorded in various
companies and countries and eventually edited in one company” (2019,
p. 112):
This process is opted for when the dubbing director, or distributor,

wants to engage voice talents living in different countries, or when a
particular actor or actress is based in another city or country, hence far
from the studios where the recording is taking place. Actors receive the
adapted translation (not just the rough translation, but the translation
following the dialogue writing process, segmented into takes or loops,
including time codes and sometimes dubbing symbols, and most impor-
tantly, encompassing lip-sync), dub the lines in their city or country and
then send the audio files to the engineer in charge of editing, who there-
fore edits and mixes all sound tracks in the new target language version.
(Chaume 2019, pp. 112–113)
Moreover, directing a star talent can become even more challenging

if the celebrity does not speak Italian. This has happened a number of
times; for example, dubbing director Fiamma Izzo with US actor Danny
DeVito in The Lorax (2012) and dubbing director Marco Guadagno
with British singer Lee Ryan in the Ice Age films. In The Lorax De
Vito also dubs himself in Italian, Spanish, German and Russian. This
is an extreme and exceptional case and a very challenging situation for
the dubbing director since DeVito insisted on dubbing himself even
though he could not speak those languages. In this case dubbing director
Izzo worked side by side with the actor for five full days, eight hours
a day (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019). Not being proficient in Italian, De
Vito obviously needed a language advisor/dialect coach to help him
pronounce each word such that his sentences could be understood by

the Italian audience. This made the role of the dubbing director increas-
ingly difficult. It is worth pointing out that comprehensibility and clarity
of enunciation are fundamental requirements, especially with animated
films since they are mainly addressed at children. In their manual Voice-
Over for Animation (2009) Wright and Lallo stress that it is important
that the audience “can easily understand you. […] No one is going
to laugh at a gag or be touched by an emotional moment if they are
concentrating on understanding the words instead” (Wright and Lallo
2009, p. 60). This, though seemingly banal, is of paramount importance
in dubbing. Some behind the scenes videos available on YouTube show
DeVito during the recording sessions interacting with the dialect coach
and the dubbing director. It is worth remembering that the casting of
DeVito as dubber was a marketing strategy for the international release
of the film.
Guadagno also had a challenging experience directing singer Lee Ryan
(ex-member of British boy band Blue) in the Ice Age films (from 2006).
In 2006 Ryan’s song Real Love was used for the final credits of the film
Ice Age: The Meltdown. Although voice casting for the dubbed version
had already finished, Fox’s manager Osvaldo De Santis came up with the
idea of using him to dub the opossum Eddie in the Italian version since
Ryan was very popular in Italy at the time. As Ryan could not speak any
Italian, the task of the dubbing director took a complex turn in that he
had to help the star talent pronounce words and sentences clearly and
explain to him the meaning of his lines. As a result, it took Guadagno
and Ryan two full days to record all the character’s lines, while with a
professional dubber it would have taken a couple of hours (Guadagno,
p.c. 4 March 2019). However, according to Guadagno, although this
was mainly a marketing operation, it was enjoyable and successful. Since
Ryan did not know any Italian and was a singer, Guadagno decided to
guide him to pronounce his lines by working on syllables and musicality
rather than on words and sense. They started with a syllable, memorising
it and repeating it, and then added more syllables, until they ended up
by pronouncing words and sentences. Although the character’s lines had
to be funny and could have an English accent, they had to be intelli-
gible and clear (Guadagno, p.c. 4 March 2019). The possum Eddie ends
66 V. Minutella
up being a funny, crazy character whose English accent adds a layer of

meaning which was not in the original. The use of Italian spoken with
an English accent and lacking proper or perfect diction was the result of
a marketing strategy to choose a specific English pop singer popular at
the time in Italy. Ryan’s comments are also worth quoting: “I got a great
response […] I think people laughed at me rather than with me, because
my Italian was so bad…. I would never have expected it. I would always
come back. I love the character. I should by now have learned Italian.”8
Directing star talent dubbers thus seems to be more time consuming,
more challenging and definitely more expensive than just employing
professional dubbing actors. A further element that deserves attention
regarding the casting of star talent dubbers is that their voices are often
recognisable/identifiable. Izzo (p.c. 4 March 2019) explains that the
marketing department wants star talents to be recognised by the audi-
ence: they are chosen because of their popularity. They cannot therefore
lose features that make their voices distinctive. This is also confirmed
by Guadagno (p.c. 4 March 2019) and Morville. The latter explains
that star talents must be recognisable because that is exactly the point
of employing them (Morville, p.c. 26 April 2018). As will be illustrated
in Chapter 3, such a casting strategy is a deliberate marketing ploy that
has repercussions for linguistic characterisation and for the language of
dubbing.
2.5 Concluding Remarks

This chapter has illustrated the complex post-production process of
translating, adapting and recording the dubbed dialogue of animated
films and has shown that several agents and factors influence the final
product. The accounts of the dubbing process gleaned from experts
participating in the present study support the claim that “the final Italian
8 An example of the dubbing session can be seen in the YouTube video Lee Ryan at the dubbing
L’Era Glaciale 4 continenti alla deriva (Ice Age 4 Continental Drift), available at: https://www.you
tube.com/watch?v=EkIzdXWCLE4. Guadagno guides Ryan working on syllables and musicality
(Lee Ryan does not speak any Italian).
script is the result of multiple manipulation forces by several profession-

als” (Minutella 2015, p. 141), and that the dubbing post-production
process is a “progressive, step-by-step text manoeuvring and moulding
process” (Spiteri Miggiani 2019, p. 191) guided and supervised, in the
present case, by the US client. More specifically, the chapter has estab-
lished that, as far as animated films by big majors are concerned, the
dubbing team is provided with a number of source texts or documents
which are aimed not only at providing information about the film, but
also at influencing and controlling the dubbing process and making sure
that the final dubbed film complies with the client’s requests, while at
the same time keeping track of the choices made in the dubbed version.
The chapter has pointed out that along with the English Dialogue List,
a creative letter and a key names and phrases file usually accompany
the video file. The chapter has also shown that an important agent in
the dubbing process of animated films is the dubbing supervisor. We
have pointed out that for Disney the person in charge of supervising
the whole dubbing process is always the creative director, whereas for
animated films by other majors this role is sometimes undertaken by the
head of Dubbing and Localization Department of the distributor, some-
times by an Italian dubbing supervisor or by an international dubbing
supervisor who oversees localisation of the film in several countries.
The next chapter will focus on how to translate language variation,
accents and multiple languages in films, in general, and animated films,
in particular, as well as on the Italian language of dubbing and on the
use of regional Italian and Italian dialects in dubbing.
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72 V. Minutella
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Fiction, SVT.
3
Translating Language Varieties
and Multilingualism in Audiovisual Texts:
Research and Conversations
with Dubbing Practitioners
3.1 Introduction
This chapter focuses on the translation of multilingualism and language
varieties in dubbing. The first section of the chapter discusses these
issues from the point of view of existing scholarly research, summarising
the main studies devoted to this topic. The second section of the
chapter moves away from the scholarly field to the professional arena
and describes the data gathered through personal communications
concerning English–Italian dubbing with leading professionals, as well
as from lectures and observations of dubbing sessions. The aim of this
section is to shed light on how dubbing practitioners approach the
language of dubbing, the challenges posed by foreign-accented charac-
ters, the casting of star talents as dubbers and their opinion on the use
of standard Italian, Italian with an accent and regional Italian or dialects
in dubbing. These two perspectives on the practice of dubbing will be
compared in later chapters on the basis of the findings of the study of the
animated films selected in the corpus and thereby establish the extent to
which they coincide or differ.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8_3
76 V. Minutella
3.1.1 Translating Linguistic Variation

and Multilingualism in Audiovisual Texts
When an audiovisual text is translated into another language for a

different culture and audience, language variation or the presence of a
third language (L3) is one of the most challenging features for screen
translators to deal with (Heiss 2004; Chiaro 2008, 2009; Corrius and
Zabalbeascoa 2011).1 The term L3 was first used by Corrius and Zabal-
beascoa (2011) and then scholars involved in the TraFilm Project to refer
to the presence of a language or language variety different from the main
language (L1) of the source text, while L2 is the main language of the
dubbed version. The third language in a source text could be another
language, a dialect, a sociolect or an invented language. Corrius and
Zabalbeascoa define L3 as follows:
The third language is a feature of multilingual texts and communica-

tion acts. Each language (L1, L2, and any number of different L3ST and
L3TT) may be a distinct, independent language or an instance of relevant
language variation, sufficient to signal more than one identifiable speech
community being portrayed or represented within a text. Thus, L3ST
may be a language variety (e.g. a dialect) of L1 (likewise for L3TT with
regard to L2). L3, then, may be either the representation or portrayal
of a natural, living language, dialect or variety, or a fictitious, invented,
language (e.g. Cityspeak). For a natural L3, there may be a genuine
attempt to provide a realistic representation of an existing language, but
L3 may also be a fake or pseudolanguage that merely displays one or two
stereotypical traits. (Corrius and Zabalbeascoa 2011, p. 115)
1 On the translation of linguistic variation and multilingualism in audiovisual texts see also
Pavesi (1994, 2005), Grutman (1996), Heiss (2004, 2014), Meylaerts (2006), Barra (2007),
Di Giovanni (2007), Chiaro (2008, 2009), Bruti (2009, 2014), Dore (2009, 2019a, b), Parini
(2009, 2019 on Italian–American), Ferrari (2010), Martínez Sierra et al. (2010), Ranzato (2010,
2018a, b on British dialects in dubbed Italian), Corrius and Zabalbeascoa (2011), Díaz-Cintas
(2011), O’Sullivan (2011), Chaume (2012, pp. 131–133), Guillot (2012), Minutella (2012,
2014, 2015, 2016, 2018), De Bonis (2014, 2015a, b), De Higes Andino (2014), De Higes
Andino et al. (2013), Zabalbeascoa and Corrius (2014), Ellender (2015), Iaia (2015), Petrucci
(2015), Bruti and Vignozzi (2016), Monti (2016), Beseghi (2017, 2019), Santamaria Guinot
and Pujol Tubau (2018), Corrius et al. (2019), De Heredia and De Higes Andino (2019),
Spiteri Miggiani (2019, pp. 166–177), Yau (2019), and Geyer and Dore (2020).
3 Translating Language Varieties and Multilingualism … 77
Therefore, L3 stands for any deviation from L1 that represents a variety

of a language (a geographical or social dialect, an ethnolect or an
idiolect), a natural language other than L1 (a foreign language) or
an invented language. However, I believe that a distinction between a
different, natural foreign language, an invented language and an internal
variety of the language should be made in order to categorise the type
of multilingualism or heterolingualism that a film exhibits. In fact, the
translation strategies adopted to deal with L3 may vary according to the
type of heterolingualism involved. As pointed out by Corrius and Zabal-
beascoa, “the concept of L3 stresses the fact that not all the voices in a
text (e.g. a film or a novel) speak the same language or the same variety”
(2011, p. 117). Corrius and Zabalbeascoa (2019) further point out that
“although L3 was initially proposed to tag foreign languages it can also be
used to locate any relevant use of language variation (dialects, sociolects,
chronolects, idiolects) when used in fiction as a stylistic device to sound
‘foreign’” (2019, p. 73). To summarise, a third language in a film can be
a national language (which differs from the main language of the film),
an invented language or a regional, social or ethnic variety of the same
language (i.e., L1) (a so-called dialect). The type of heterolingualism or
multilingualism thus varies considerably and these languages or varieties
may require different approaches in translation. While we agree that the
above are all instances of L3 and of multilingual/heterolingual texts, the
type of language or language variety involved needs to be clearly identi-
fied in order to understand the translation strategy adopted to deal with
it.
The hypothesis put forward in this book is that we need to distin-
guish between foreign languages (by which I mean languages other than
English, either real or invented), instances of native varieties of English
by which I mean broad national varieties as well as dialects (i.e., a
regional, social or ethnic variety of English spoken in English-speaking
countries) and non-native varieties of English (by which I mean foreign-
accented English) when examining and categorising translation solutions
used in English-language animated films. In fact, the study will show that
the linguistic identities of characters greatly differ if they speak a foreign
language, English with a foreign accent or English with a native accent.
78 V. Minutella
The following part of this section will attempt to summarise previous

studies on the translation of multilingual films and language variation.
According to some scholars, audiovisual translators have various
options to tackle multilingualism or linguistic heterogeneity, understood
as the presence of a natural or invented language, dialect or sociolect
in film dialogues. The two main strategies are to ‘mark’ the foreign
dialogue (to convey it) or ‘not to mark’ it (to neutralise it). Once the
translator has decided which strategy to adopt, several techniques or
modes can be employed to mark the foreign dialogue (L3) in the dubbed
version. Such techniques range from non-translation, dubbing, subti-
tling through to liaison interpreting (see Martínez-Sierra et al. 2010;
Chaume 2012, pp. 131–133; De Higes Andino 2014; De Higes Andino
et al. 2013; Santamaria Guinot and Pujol Tubau 2018 among others).
Corrius and Zabalbeascoa (2011, pp. 120–121) propose three strategies
for dealing with L3: leaving it unchanged, neutralising it and adapting it.
The strategies of neutralisation and adaptation are interesting and useful
for our study.
De Bonis (2014, 2015a, b) identified three main macro-strategies
used in the translation of multilingual films when dealing with dialogue
uttered in more than one language. According to De Bonis, the strategies
adopted in Italian dubbing to deal with so-called secondary languages or
foreign speech are “neutralisation of the different languages present in
the original version,” “preservation of the different lingua-cultural iden-
tities through a combination of dubbing with other screen translation
modalities such as subtitling or no translation at all” and “quantitative
reduction of the multilingual situations present in the original version
of the film” (De Bonis 2014, p. 243). De Bonis’ three macro-strategies
(neutralisation, preservation and quantitative reduction) are useful for
the present study, both when discussing the presence of languages other
than English and when considering internal variation within a language.
Analysis of the dubbed versions carried out in Chapters 5–8 will adopt
these categories. Further strategies will be added from other studies, as
indicated in the following list. The list includes the main strategies we
propose to adopt:
1. Neutralisation, in which L3 is eliminated and standard Italian is used

instead.
2. Quantitative reduction, in which the amount of L3 is reduced in the
dubbed version, but it is still present.
3. Preservation, in which L3 is preserved in the dubbed version. This
means that foreign language dialogue remains unchanged and the
linguistic identity of a character is maintained intact. If a character
speaks Spanish, then he/she will speak Spanish in the dubbed version.
If a character speaks an invented language, then he/she will speak an
invented language in the dubbed version. If a character speaks French-
accented English, then he/she will speak French-accented Italian in
dubbing. If a character speaks with a posh English accent and there-
fore L3 is RP (Received Pronunciation) English, then the character
will somehow be identified as British in the dubbed version too.
4. Hypercharacterisation, in which the specific linguistic identity of
a character is highlighted and emphasised by exaggerating some
phonetic, lexical and syntactic traits. This means, for instance, that
a foreign accent is used to a larger extent in the dubbed version, more
foreign words are used in dubbing or a specific accent is more marked
in the dubbed version compared with the original version. This term
is borrowed from Parini (2009).
5. Adaptation/localisation/domestication/transformation, in which the
linguistic identity of the character is modified and adapted in various
ways. L3 is adapted to the target culture and language, is domesticated
and localised through Italianisation of the linguistic identity with a
very specific Italian one (from a specific variety to an Italian regiolect
or dialect) or the linguistic identity of L3 is transformed by changing
the character’s nationality (e.g., from Italian to Spanish or French).
The above strategies may overlap or co-occur in the dubbed versions.

If we take into consideration sociolinguistic and regional varia-
tion within a language, the linguistic heterogeneity of the source text
often gets highly reduced in translation (specifically in dubbing) since
linguistic varieties in one language have specific connotations that do
not have equivalents in another language. As pointed out by Chiaro, “a
common strategy to deal with variation is simply not to deal with it
80 V. Minutella
and homogenize it into the standard, mainstream variety of the target

language” (2008, p. 23) (see also Pavesi 1994, 2005; on standardisation
of geographical and social varieties see also Yau 2019). Since one-to-one
equivalents across cultures cannot be assumed, the translational norm in
Italy is to neutralise geographical variation. Opting for a target language
regional dialect may in fact result in adding unwanted and different
social connotations to a character. The neutralisation of linguistic vari-
ation and the use of standard Italian in dubbing (strategy 1 in the list)
can thus be considered the first and most common strategy in dealing
with linguistic variation. However, I would argue that this particularly
happens when the characters are native English speakers. For histor-
ical reasons and as a result of the legacy of Fascist regulations there is
a tendency in Italian dubbing to adopt a sociolinguistically, regionally
unmarked Italian (see Ranzato 2016). This is the reason the language of
dubbing has been defined as un italiano per tutte le stagioni (an Italian for
all seasons; Raffaelli 1996). This frequent absence of regional markers in
the language of dubbing contrasts with their presence in original Italian
television and cinema productions where Italian spoken with a regional
accent and sometimes even dialects can be heard (Pavesi 2005, p. 28;
Rossi 2006, p. 293).
The adaptation/transformation strategy for dealing with variation
(strategy 5) by resorting to a target language regional dialect is noted
by several scholars (Pavesi 1994, 2005; Rossi 2006; Chiaro 2008; Parini
2009, 2019; Ferrari 2010 among others) who highlighted that a few
stereotypical Italian regional varieties such as Sicilian, Neapolitan and
Romanesco are sometimes used despite the norm in dubbing being
to neutralise variation and to use standard Italian. Italian dialects or
Italian varieties with a regional accent and some dialect words are
usually exploited, especially in comedies, for humorous purposes and in
mafia and gangster films with Italian American characters, to represent
stereotyped thugs or mobsters. Chiaro (2008, p. 15) observes:
The clichéd variety of English spoken by Italo-Americans, so common

in US screen products, is one of the screen varieties which is consistently
replaced with a form of Italian strongly marked with a Sicilian accent and
syntactic structures typical of Sicilian. The negative stereotypes implied by
such a choice are evident, but presumably opting for this preference does
tend to be true to the original skopos.
The use of Italian with a Sicilian accent and regional lexis and syntax to
dub Italian American gangsters has thus become a dubbing stereotype
(a convention). This is confirmed by studies by Rossi (2006), Ferrari
(2010), Parini (2017, 2019) among others. Alternatively, a Neapolitan
accent might be used, as is the case for the popular American TV series
The Sopranos. This is based on ethnic stereotypes in which the Italian
American Mafia boss Tony Soprano of the original version is dubbed in
Italian with a Neapolitan accent or dialect (Ferrari 2010, p. 109).
Other cases in which dubbing uses adaptation and domestication
(strategy 5) through the use of Italian regional varieties instead of
neutralisation are the film My Fair Lady (1964) and the American TV
series The Nanny (1993–1999). In the dubbed version of My Fair Lady
the protagonist’s contrived Cockney is localised using “a non-existent
Italian language” (Ranzato 2010, p. 114). In The Nanny Jewish Amer-
ican Fran Fine is turned into a woman from southern Italy’s Ciociaria
(Ferrari 2010). However, these seem to be exceptions to the norm which
continues to be the neutralisation of accents and of language varieties by
choosing standard Italian devoid of any regional inflection or trait (Bruti
and Vignozzi 2016; Sandrelli 2016; Ranzato 2018a, b).
Other exceptions to the homogenising norm in Italian dubbing are
some animated films and TV series which exploit Italian regional dialects.
For instance, as pointed out by Bruti (2009), in The Aristocats (1970)
the stray cat Thomas O’Malley became Romeo er mejo der Colosseo (a
cat speaking Romanesco dialect). In Lady and the Tramp (1955) the
Italian waiter and chef who speak with a marked Italian American
accent in the original version were given a Sicilian accent in the first
Italian dubbed version of the film, and then a Neapolitan accent in
the 1997 redubbing (Rossi 2006, pp. 325–326). The Italian version
of The Simpsons (1989–ongoing) is famous for its widespread use of
Italian regional dialects which transform the American characters into
local Italian ones according to Italian stereotypes (see Barra 2007; Fusari
2007; Dore 2009; Ferrari 2010; Puddu and Virdis 2014). As illustrated
by Parini (2019) and further discussed in this book, the mobster shark
82 V. Minutella
Don Lino in the dubbed version of Shark Tale (2004) speaks with a
strong Sicilian accent and uses dialect words, while his subordinate Sykes
has a Neapolitan accent. Another recent animated film whose dubbed
version makes constant use of several Italian regional dialects is Gnomeo
& Juliet (2011), a film in which the story of the star-crossed lovers is
linguistically reinterpreted and localised in terms of a north vs south
divide (Bruti and Vignozzi 2016; Minutella 2016). Such films provide
evidence that regional Italian is resorted to in dubbed animation where it
often has a comic function associated with animation’s use of caricatures
and stereotypes.
A further strategy to deal with linguistic variation is by retaining,
conveying and perhaps emphasizing foreign accents (strategy 4). In my
view this is especially associated with characters who are marked as non-
native speakers of L1. The language variety they speak can be defined
as foreign-accented English, a non-native variety or an ethnolect. The
concept of ethnolect has been put forward to refer to “ethnic varieties
of the majority language”; that is, varieties which signal that the speaker
was born in the same country but belongs to a specific ethnic group
and has a different native language, or that the speaker was not born
in that country (Salmon Kovarski 2000, pp. 68–69). The strategy of
marking and emphasising the foreignness of a character as a non-native
speaker (i.e., of retaining their ethnolect) seems to be used in come-
dies and animated films for humorous purposes and to highlight the
ethnic difference of a specific character or his/her nationality. Analysing
a series of films dubbed into German and Italian, Heiss demonstrates
that compensation strategies at the levels of lexis, syntax and pronun-
ciation are adopted to “characterise the various ways of speaking of the
individual characters in a manner that makes them distinguishable from
one another. […] At a phonetic level it is possible to reproduce typical
accents (for example, a German accent or various ethnic accents)” (Heiss
2004, p. 211). According to Heiss the comedy genre allows for more
“‘unorthodox’ solutions in translation” since it is “perceived as being
detached from reality” (2004, p. 211). The same can be said about
animated films: they do not aim at realism, are usually comedies, often
create funny caricatural characters and draw on stereotypes. As pointed
out by Heiss:
The cliché of ‘foreign talk’ has always been a favorite means of parodic
character representation in comedy. […] Dubbing a film that instrumen-
talizes ‘foreign talk’ is not commonly seen as problematic, since similar
strategies can be developed in the target language to accommodate this.
Incorrect syntax, pronunciation, inadequate lexical use, and so on, can be
reproduced in all languages with little difficulty […]. Foreign accents also
exhibit certain patterns that call up clichéd representations. (Heiss 2014,
p. 7)
Such a strategy is adopted in Bend It Like Beckham and other multi-

lingual films where the protagonists are of Indian heritage. An Indian
accent and non-standard grammar are resorted to in the dubbed version
to recreate the language spoken by the South Asian first-generation
immigrants (Jess’ parents and other adults), while the young genera-
tions born and raised in the United Kingdom or the United States speak
with a native English or American accent (Minutella 2012). This is also
apparent in the stereotyped foreign accents of the cats in Scat Cat’s band
in The Aristocats (see Bruti 2009), in the foreign-accented Italian of Puss
in Boots and other minor characters in the Shrek saga (see Minutella
2015) and in the foreign-accented Italian used by several characters in
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (see Minutella 2018).
It seems reasonable therefore to hypothesise that there is another
exception to the homogenising norm in dubbing. A stylistic dubbing
convention and therefore a different dubbing norm might be that non-
native varieties of English, also called foreign accents or ethnolects,
are connoted and maintained in dubbing: “foreign-accented English in
the original versions is often rendered with foreign-accented Italian in
dubbing” (Minutella 2012, p. 227). Quantitative and qualitative anal-
ysis of the corpus of animated films provided in this book aims to further
explore this hypothesis for the genre of animated films.
The book will attempt to answer such questions as: Does the
homogenising and neutralisation norm really prevail in the Italian
dubbing of animated films? Is standard Italian dominant in dubbed
Italian? Is linguistic heterogeneity conveyed in dubbing? If so, how? Is
it possible to identify other norms in the way in which language vari-
eties and languages other than English are treated in dubbing? Which
84 V. Minutella
strategies are adopted to deal with languages other than English in

dubbed animated films? Is foreign speech subject to neutralisation,
reduction or preservation (De Bonis 2014)? Are there any differences in
the way native varieties and non-native varieties of English are treated
in dubbing? The analysis of animated films in the remaining chap-
ters of this book indicates that neutralisation and standardisation do
indeed occur and usually prevail (constituting a norm), but only with
native varieties of English (i.e., with characters whose first language is
English), whereas non-native varieties of English (also called foreign-
accented English) are not neutralised in dubbing. Analysis will consist
of a quantitative and qualitative linguistic examination of several films,
combining it with information gathered from dubbing professionals. In
the light of the above considerations derived from scholarly research
on audiovisual translation, I approached dubbing practitioners in order
to investigate whether theory and practice were actually worlds apart,
whether they took such issues into account when they worked, whether
they consciously followed specific strategies or guidelines and what they
thought about the language of dubbing, foreign accents and dialects.
3.2 In Conversation with Dubbing

Professionals About the Language
of Dubbing, Accents and Dialects
This section summarises the data gathered from personal communi-
cations with dubbing practitioners. In order to understand dubbing
professionals’ opinions on the issues discussed above the following ques-
tions were asked in Italian (face to face, email or telephone) during my
interactions with them. As previously pointed out, not all the questions
were answered by all the informants. I am also aware that some of the
questions overlap:
1. Who is responsible for making decisions on the use of specific foreign

accents, foreign languages or Italian regional accents and dialects in
dubbing?
2. What type of language is usually adopted in Italian dubbing? Is

standard Italian the best and most frequent solution?
3. What is your approach to the presence of several varieties of English
and foreign accents in films? Do you think they should be rendered
with an accented Italian or do you prefer to use standard Italian
devoid of any regional or foreign inflection/accent?
4. What do you think of the use of Italian dialects, regional Italian and
regional accents in dubbing? How frequently are they used in dubbed
animated films? What are the reasons for using Italian dialects or
Italian with a regional accent?
5. Following the tradition of The Godfather, when there are (stereo-
typed) Italian Americans in an American film they are often dubbed
using a Sicilian accent or dialect, especially when the character is a
thug or a mobster. What is your translational approach towards the
Italian American variety in the original versions? How do you render
it in dubbing?
What follows is my own personal account of the dubbing professionals’

answers to my questions. Observations of dubbing sessions and lectures
are also quoted where considered relevant.
3.2.1 The Client Decides
The previous chapter described the main phases and agents of the
dubbing process, highlighting the key role played by the client. The
client is an umbrella term used by dubbing practitioners to refer to the
entity commissioning the dubbed version and for whom they work. As
pointed out in the previous chapter, for feature films and animated films
the client may be the American producer (or the directors themselves
in very few cases), the distributor (with its head of the Dubbing and
Localization Department), the international or local creative dubbing
supervisor or Disney’s creative director. An important element that
emerges from interactions with dubbing practitioners is that the choice
of whether to use specific foreign accents, Italian regional accents or
dialects and various languages in the dubbed version lies with the client.
86 V. Minutella
In other words, when important feature films and animated films are
dubbed, it is the client who decides whether linguistic characterisa-
tion and differentiation through accents, dialects or languages should be
conveyed, although dubbing professionals do exercise their judgement in
certain cases, albeit subject to final approval by the client (Sect 3.2.3).
The client gives directions on how to convey languages, varieties of
English and foreign accents and whether to use Italian regiolects or not. It
is an editorial, localisation choice that the dubbing team has to comply
with. This is confirmed by most of the practitioners contacted (Rossi,
p.c. 30 November 2017; Vairano, p.c. 27 November 2018; Izzo, p.c. 4
March 2019; Morville, p.c. 5 May 2019 among others). As reported by
most practitioners, the client gives directions and decides. For instance,
Rossi reports that the production company provides specifications on
what type of language and accents to use in the dubbed version and
that the big majors adopt the same strategy in different countries for all
the territories where the film is localised. As he puts it: “guidelines with
regards to accents are forwarded by the production house itself in the
case of global producers. For instance, Sony, being a global producer,
that is, a major ‘film publisher’, makes the same creative choices for all
geographical regions. […] This is the case for high-quality and high-end
productions. The major opts for a consistent editorial policy for all the
territories” (Rossi, p.c. 30 November 2017).2 Izzo also emphasises that
the dialogue writer, dubbing director and dubbing company do not have
decisional power about using regional accents, Italian dialects, foreign
accents and languages in the dubbed versions. It is the client (i.e., the
distributor or the Italian or international supervisor) who decides: “we,
the artistic directors of the dubbing companies or dubbing directors,
have little say in the matter. It’s the Italian or international supervi-
sors or the distributors who decide […] The decision is never left to
the dubbing director or the dubbing company” (Izzo, p.c. 30 November
2019, 4 March 2019).
2Iwould like to thank Lydia Corbelli and Giselle Spiteri Miggiani for their help in interpreting
and translating this quotation from Italian.
Izzo explains that the American client generally requires the use of
specific foreign accents for those characters who have a foreign (non-
English) accent in the original film. The document in which this is
specified can vary by company. Indications on the type of language
or accent that should be used in dubbing are usually provided and
explained, as noted in Chapter 2, in the creative letter that is sent to
the dubbing director and dialogue writer or in the KNP (key names and
phrases) file (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019).
While it is true that the use of foreign words, utterances and foreign
accents is usually decided by and with the client and that the Dialogue
List, the KNP and the creative letter often provide guidelines and direc-
tions about this, Morville points out that sometimes it is not possible to
reproduce the original choices exactly as they were specified (Morville,
p.c. 1 March 2019). Furthermore, as we shall see in the chapters
discussing dubbed versions, in some cases the client allows the dubbing
team to choose from a series of alternatives. This means that the dubbing
team actually does have some discretion over what is stated as the client’s
preference in the documents accompanying the video and may discuss
these requests with the client. Some examples of ‘unfaithfulness’ to the
original film in the portrayal of characters and of otherness will be
provided in the following chapters.
Translator Elena Di Carlo also points out that the English Dialogue
List usually specifies if a character has a foreign accent, uses foreign words
or speaks in a peculiar way (e.g., making grammar mistakes or using
certain fixed expressions). Therefore, when Di Carlo translates English
dialogues into Italian, she usually adds this information in her trans-
lation in the form of notes for the dialogue writer, talks about this
issue with him/her and then they decide how to approach the transla-
tion/adaptation. All of this will then be discussed with the client (Di
Carlo, p.c. 21 January 2016). This happened, for instance, with Dream-
Works’ film Home (2015) where the alien species of the Boov speak
English with grammar mistakes. Their broken English has a humorous
function. Translator Di Carlo and dialogue writer Guadagno thus had
to create a kind of ‘interlanguage’ in Italian. For this to happen they
suggested that all the Boov made the same types of mistakes. Although
the protagonist Oh seems to make more mistakes than the other Boov in
88 V. Minutella
the original English dialogues, the Italian translator and dialogue writer
convincingly argued that all the Boov had to make the same types of
mistakes. If Oh made more mistakes, then he would appear less educated
than the other Boov. While Oh is indeed different from the other Boov,
he is not less educated. They presented their translational approach to
the client who agreed with their choice.
In this way the dialogue writer can identify a specific ‘translational
problem’ (such as the presence of puns, culture-specific references,
accents, dialects or foreign languages and characters who speak a broken
form of language), signal it to the dubbing director and then discuss it
with the client. However, it is the client who will take the final deci-
sion. This is confirmed by former creative director Morville who states
that the dialogue writer can make suggestions like saying the character
would use a specific accent, but this has to be discussed with the dubbing
director and the creative director or dubbing supervisor (Morville, p.c. 1
March 2019). Sometimes, if a final solution has not been reached, the
dubbing director will then decide to record various alternative versions
of some lines/utterances and let the client decide which one to use at
a later stage. When foreign languages are present to a certain extent in
the original film with no translation, a dubbed version retaining these
foreign words and utterances may be recorded and then shown to a
selected audience in order to examine whether the product would be
understood and enjoyed by the Italian audience. If the dubbed version
works, then the foreign language will be kept; if the dubbing team believe
the audience has not responded positively to the film because of the
presence of foreign words, then amendments to the dubbed version will
be made. For instance, a test screening was organised for the dubbed
version of Disney-Pixar’s Coco (2017), an animated film set in Mexico
which contains several Mexican words that are not familiar to the average
Italian viewer. Since the audience response was positive, Disney’s creative
director and the dubbing team decided to go ahead and release the
version with the Spanish words untranslated (Morville, Manfredi, p.c.
27 September 2018).
3.2.2 The Language of Dubbing: A Language

that Nobody Speaks
As previously pointed out, dubbing has historically and traditionally

adopted a neutral, standard Italian in which there are no regional traits
and words are pronounced according to a neutral diction. It was an
undifferentiated language or un italiano per tutte le stagioni (an Italian
for all seasons) (Raffaelli 1996), as noted earlier. Although sociolinguistic
variation is sometimes partly conveyed in contemporary Italian dubbing,
as far as pronunciation is concerned dubbed Italian still significantly
differs from naturally occurring spoken Italian and from the language
of Italian films and television products. The Italian language of dubbing
can be considered a more conservative standard Italian and is sometimes
called doppiaggese (dubbese) (Pavesi 1994, 2005, 2009, 2019; Chaume
2001, 2004, 2012; Rossi 2006, 2015; Antonini and Chiaro 2009; Pavesi
et al. 2014; Ranzato 2016). As pointed out by Chiaro, dubbed Italian
is “a single neutral, aseptic variety [which] is clearly delivered, gram-
matically correct and, above all, totally devoid of any regional or social
markers” (Chiaro 2008, p. 12).
The dubbing professionals interviewed confirm this view and tend to
prefer a clearly enunciated, neutral Italian with no regional inflection.
Several professionals argue that dubbing actors should speak standard
Italian and display what they call ‘proper diction’ that follows the rules of
pronunciation dictionaries, is not used by anybody in spoken Italian, but
is taught in acting and dubbing actors’ schools. As Alto puts it: “dubbing
must use a language that nobody speaks” (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016).
Morville points out that the language of dubbing is a fictitious language,
a neutral Italian understood by everyone (p.c. 17 June 2015) or a non-
existent language (Morville, p.c. 25 January 2016). Rossi also claims that
the Italian language of dubbing differs from real everyday Italian (Rossi,
p.c. 30 November 2017).
Alto (p.c. 25 January 2016) expresses a passionate view about the
language of dubbing and the role that dubbing professionals have
towards the Italian language. He believes that impeccable diction
is extremely important in dubbing and that dubbing actors should
90 V. Minutella
pronounce words correctly because they have a responsibility to make

the Italian language uniform (a kind of didactic purpose). La Penna
also stresses that dubbing professionals must pay careful attention to
elocution and to using a clear, accurate Italian both in terms of pronun-
ciation and grammar, especially when dealing with audiovisual products
aimed at a young audience. In his words, “in dubbing we are really
careful to use the correct pronunciation, we follow what the Dictionary
of Pronunciation and Spelling, the Accademia della Crusca, says” (La
Penna, p.c. 1 March 2019). Indeed, several of the dubbing professionals
interviewed confirm that when in doubt they use this Dizionario ital-
iano multimediale e multilingue di ortografia e di pronunzia (or DOP)
(online at: http://www.dizionario.rai.it/ricerca.aspx#) (La Penna, p.c. 1
March 2019; Manfredi, p.c. 29 March 2019; Napolitano, p.c. 29 March
2019; Izzo, p.c. 4 April 2019).
As a norm, therefore, the language of dubbing is standard Italian
with proper diction and no regional accent unless otherwise specified
and required for a certain role and characterisation. As pointed out
in the previous chapter, it is the job of the dubbing director to make
sure that the dubbing actors use a neutral, polished, clear Italian in the
dubbing booth. This situation appears similar to that of Spanish dubbing
(Whittaker 2017) and dubbing in Québec (Montgomery 2017). As
reported by Whittaker (2017, p. 131), “Spanish dubbing actors […] are
taught to articulate their words with crystal clear enunciation in dubbing
schools, and to adhere strictly to pronunciation guides of Spanish.”
Moreover, an equally normative and purist approach to the avoidance
of grammar mistakes in dubbing audiovisual products for children had
a didactic purpose reminiscent of what are now often considered to be
rather outdated practices in the translation of children’s literature (see
O’Sullivan 2005; Lathey 2006, 2016). As La Penna puts it, dubbed
language must be “a perfect, clear Italian, from a grammatical point of
view too” (La Penna, p.c. 4 March 2019). Lexical and syntactic doubts
are usually checked against the La Crusca reference grammar (available
online).
3.2.3 Dubbing Strategies for Dealing

with Linguistic Variation
When asked how they deal with language varieties in films, most of
the practitioners consulted point out that each film is unique, that there
are no strict rules on how to approach accents or foreign languages
and that, as noted, it is the client who usually makes the decisions
and comes up with requests. Izzo explains that each audiovisual product
has to be examined and judged separately per se (Izzo, p.c. 30 January
2019). Regarding the use of accents and dialects La Penna similarly states
that “you have to reason case by case” (La Penna, p.c. 1 March 2019).
Nevertheless, although the dubbing practitioners consulted state that no
definitive, strict rules or guidelines exist and that decisions are taken by
the client, when I asked further and more specific questions, some strate-
gies for dealing with linguistic variation and linguistic characterisation
emerged. Furthermore, the dubbing practitioners consulted comment on
the variables they have to take into account and the challenges they have
to tackle when characters with accents or foreign languages are present
in films.
Main Language of the Film: Standard Italian
The dubbing professionals consulted in the present study agree that the
base language of a film (i.e., the main or dominant language spoken in
a film be it English, French, Spanish or any other language) is usually
dubbed into standard Italian with no foreign, regional or socially marked
accent (Guadagno, p.c. 7 January 2016, 4 March 2019; Alto, p.c. 25
January 2016; Vairano, p.c. 27 November 2018 among others). For
instance, Vairano (p.c. 27 November 2018) explains that if the setting
of a film is the United States, France, England, Germany or any other
country and if the language spoken is English, French, Spanish, German
or another language, then the main language spoken in the film becomes
standard Italian in dubbing. Moreover, no distinction is made in dubbing
for characters whose accent is geographically connoted in the orig-
inal film. In other words, if they speak English in the original version
92 V. Minutella
regardless of the type of accent they display be it American, Australian,

Scottish, Texan, Alabaman or any other, then they will speak standard,
neutral Italian. However, if within that setting a character speaks another
language such as German or has a German accent, then he/she will
usually speak Italian with a German accent.
Moreover, if an entire film is set in a locale where the dominant
language is not English and the setting never changes—say, the story
takes place in France—the characters usually speak standard Italian with
no accent (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016; Morville, p.c. 28 January 2016;
Vairano, p.c. 27 November 2018). Alto is strongly against the use of
foreign accents for films set in foreign countries. He argues that if a film
is set in Paris, then it would be ridiculous to make all the characters speak
with a French accent where the film is set (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016).
Morville (p.c. 28 January 2016) also points out that having all the char-
acters speak with a foreign accent could end up irritating the audience.
Such comments suggest that dubbing professionals take into account
what they believe the audience’s taste to be when choosing their dubbing
strategy wherever they can. The approach taken by Alto and Morville
to this and their choices in the dubbed version of Disney-Pixar’s Rata-
touille (2007) will be further discussed in Chapter 7 where films set in
France, portraying French characters and representing French linguistic
otherness are described. Vairano (2018) also provides the example of
Disney’s animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame/Il gobbo di Notre
Dame (dir. Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, 1996), which is set in Paris and
whose dubbed version is completely in neutral standard Italian with no
French accents (Vairano, p.c. 27 November 2018). It should be pointed
out that in the English version the characters did not have any French
accents either (Lippi Green 1997). General American was used for most
of the characters and British English for the evil Frollo (voiced by British
actor Tony Jay).
Regarding their approach to native varieties of English, the profes-
sionals interviewed maintain that the differences between various
geographical varieties of English cannot be conveyed (Rossi, p.c. 30
November 2017; Valli, p.c. 6 April 2018; Izzo, p.c. 30 January 2019;
La Penna, p.c. 1 March 2019; Guadagno, p.c. 4 March 2019; Mete, p.c.
20 September 2019). They believe that differences between an American,

British, Australian or Scottish accent or between different American or
British dialects cannot be reproduced in dubbing; hence standard Italian
must be used perhaps with slight differences in terms of voice or perfor-
mance. Mete (p.c. 7 February 2016) argues that it is impossible to mark a
difference between southern and northern varieties of American English
and that it is better to avoid using Italian regional accents because it
would make no sense since there is no correspondence between American
and Italian varieties because the connotations attached to specific accents
of English differ from those attached to Italian ones. This echoes a very
similar debate in written and drama translation (see Anderman 2007). La
Penna (p.c. 4 March 2019) also states that it is impossible to convey the
differences between American and British accents and gives the example
of the Texan variety of American English used in several films to show
that the character is a simpleton. La Penna comments on this as follows:
“in dubbed Italian this type of character would speak a perfect standard
Italian, but personally I would make sure to choose an appropriate unre-
fined voice and acting style and write lines with simple and not furbished
words” (La Penna, p.c. 1 March 2019, 20 September 2019). Morville
(p.c. 6 June 2019) comments on the Southern American accent asso-
ciated with the stereotype of the rustic and uneducated southerner. An
example is Tow Mater in Cars. In his view Tow Mater’s accent cannot
be transposed into Italian. The character cannot speak with a regional
Italian accent and should not use non-standard grammar. However, his
naive and rustic personality can be conveyed through the use of simple
lexis and the voice quality of the dubbing actor (on the characterisation
of Tow Mater in English and in the dubbed version see Chapter 5).
While differences between American English and British English are
difficult to convey in dubbing, some attempts at suggesting otherness
and difference may therefore be made. When discussing possible strate-
gies to provide characterisation such as differentiating a British character
from an American one, Izzo points out that British characters may be
rendered linguistically by choosing a specific voice or getting the dubber
to perform in a certain way. However, it would be ridiculous if such
characters spoke with a marked and comic English accent (Izzo, p.c. 30
January 2019). Guadagno also explains that, generally speaking, there is
94 V. Minutella
a tendency to make British characters speak with a more formal register

in which language and acting style are more elegant and refined, while
the speech style of Americans is slightly less so. Guadagno argues that
choosing a southern Italian accent or a northern Italian accent would not
be correct. He feels that such a loss in regional variation constitutes one
of the limits of dubbing. However, what dubbing can do is “create some
nuances with the choice of the voice, the way the language is uttered,
and the form of language itself, but always remaining within the Italian
language, maybe using more slang or jargon” (Guadagno, p.c. 7 January
2016).
Regarding the use of different varieties of the same language such as
sociolects (social varieties expressing the social class the speaker belongs
to) rather than dialects (the geographical origin) most of the dubbing
practitioners consulted do not comment on this issue. They were mainly
focused on differences in terms of regional variation rather than social
class. Nevertheless, the issue of social variation was considered when
discussing characters speaking with a Southern American English accent,
which is immediately recognized as being rustic and uneducated, or with
a New York accent. In these cases dubbing practitioners are aware of the
stereotypical linguistic features of such characters and say they would try
to make this type of character speak with a simple lexis and style (La
Penna, p.c. 1 March 2019; Morville, p.c. 1 March 2019). None of the
practitioners consulted mention the challenges posed by British varieties
of English that signal class differences. However, Morville (p.c. 6 June
2019) and Guadagno (p.c. 30 January 2016), as noted above, explain
that for British characters (as opposed to American ones) they often use
a formal register and more refined style. This might suggest that while
Italian dubbing practitioners are aware of the connotations and stereo-
types attached to US accents and perpetuated in Hollywood films, they
might not be equally aware of all the nuances of specific UK varieties.
The fact remains that dubbing professionals consider these accents and
their cultural and social meaning impossible to transfer in the Italian
language.
Foreign-Accented English or Foreign Language:

Foreign-Accented Italian or Foreign Language
Dubbing professionals agree that foreign languages and foreign accents

are usually retained if they contribute to distinguishing a specific char-
acter in the original version. In other words, if there are characters who
are identified as foreign and represented and marked linguistically as
being ‘foreign’, ‘other’ or ‘different’ because they speak a language that
differs from the main language of the film or because they speak English
with a foreign accent, then such a linguistic characterisation is usually
recreated in dubbing. Giving a character a foreign accent may have the
aim of letting the audience know that he/she comes from a different area
or nation or that they have a different ethnicity. When this is mean-
ingful in terms of the film plot, it has to be conveyed in dubbing.
Such characters evoke difference in the original version and this other-
ness should thus be maintained. Izzo explains that the client usually tells
dubbing professionals that there are specific accents or other languages
and suggests how to approach them. She also points out that, generally
speaking, if in the original film there is a character speaking English with
a foreign accent, then the dubbed version must reproduce this (Izzo, p.c.
4 March 2019). The choice is usually made to select a native speaker
of the foreign language in question as a dubbing actor and then decide
the degree of accent that should be conveyed. In some comedies and in
animated films greater freedom and creativity is allowed and dubbers can
sometimes play with characterisation since the spirit of animation is to
have fun. However, it is always important to respect the original film and
aim at authenticity (Guadagno, p.c. 1 March 2019).
Vairano summarises this issue by saying that “if a character stands
out, I characterise them” (p.c. 27 November 2018). He confirms that
if a character is foreign in an animated film, then this representation
has to be maintained in the dubbed version (Vairano, p.c. 27 November
2018). For example, the Spanish identity of Puss in Boots is kept and
emphasised in the Italian dubbed version in the Shrek tetralogy he
worked on. The same goes for the Three Little Pigs who have a German
accent in the original and this was kept and emphasised in the Italian
version (dubbed by Vairano himself ). As he explains (p.c. 27 November
96 V. Minutella
2018), the presence of a foreign accent has a function in the film in

that it provides characterisation and triggers humour; hence it should
be retained. Foreign accents often have the function of entertaining the
audience, especially in comedies and animated films, and must thus be
kept in dubbing. For example, Vairano reveals that during the dubbing
sessions of the character Puss in Boots in the Shrek films the super-
visor asked Antonio Banderas to sound more Spanish when he dubbed
himself in Italian (“more Spanish, more Spanish”). This led the actor
to complain at being criticised for “not being Spanish enough.” This
suggests that the aim of the dubbed version was to put emphasis on the
cat’s Spanish identity through his linguistic choices and accent, aiming
at hypercharacterisation.
Rossi (p.c. 30 November 2017) agrees that, generally speaking, a
foreign accent is used in dubbing when it is used in the original film.
If a film is multilingual, then the main language is dubbed into standard
Italian. Other languages or any kind of speech that sounds different from
the main language or sounds foreign are either rendered in Italian with a
foreign accent, left in the original language with subtitles or untranslated.
Rossi (p.c. 30 November 2017) stresses the fact that it is the client (i.e.,
the distributor or the director himself/herself ) who sets the rules and
instructs the dubbing director how the presence of multiple languages
and language varieties should be dealt with. He provides the extreme
case of the film Le Concert/The concert (2009) by Romanian director
Radu Mihaileanu. This is a multilingual film which is set in Russia and
France. Russian musicians are seen in their own native country and then
in Paris where they try to communicate with French people. Russian,
French and broken French are thus heard in the original film. The Italian
dubbed version was adapted and directed by Rossi who was fiercely crit-
icised for making the Russians speak a ridiculous, broken Italian with
a broad, comic Russian accent when they were supposed to speak their
own native language (i.e., Russian as they would in Russia) (see http://
www.asinc.it/rec_dtt_00.asp?Id=261). Dubbing director Rossi explained
in a telephone interview that both the film director and the distributor
BIM had told him to use this strategy and that the choice was imposed
on him despite his own opinion. The film director even sent him a letter
explaining how the dubbed version had to be and specifying the types of
mistakes that the characters had to make. The director refused to discuss
any issues with Rossi who wanted to use subtitles when the Russian char-
acters spoke Russian (Rossi, p.c. 30 November 2017). Despite suggesting
alternative solutions such as using a reference language, using Russian
with subtitles and using a broken/distorted language when the characters
spoke French, Rossi had no choice and was not allowed to hire Russian
dubbing actors. Although the actors playing the Russian characters in the
original film are either Russian or from Eastern Europe, in the Italian
dubbed version they are all professional Italian dubbers who contrived
accents and used broken Italian, thus making caricatures of the charac-
ters. This anecdote is a clear and extreme example of how the issue of
linguistic characterisation is controlled by the client who has the final
say.
Valli maintains that “in order to differentiate those characters in the
original film who speak a language other than English, or English with
a foreign accent, the Italian dubbed version must make them speak in
a different language, not Italian, or they should at least speak Italian
with an accent. Sometimes grammar mistakes may be added, since they
contribute to conveying ‘foreignness’” (Valli, p.c. 6 April 2018). Valli’s
opinion suggests that sometimes foreignness is recreated in dubbing not
only through a foreign accent, but also by using non-standard grammar.
The case studies examined in Chapter 7 will investigate whether foreign
characters do actually speak Italian with a foreign accent and whether
grammar mistakes are also inserted into their speech.
Former Creative director Morville (p.c. 17 June 2015) argues that if
a character speaks English with a foreign accent to achieve a specific
linguistic characterisation, then dubbing should match and reproduce
such characterisation in order to ensure voice match and correspondence
with the original. However, since heavy accents may hinder commu-
nication or annoy the audience, it is preferable to use some sporcatura
(a colouring or flavouring in the speech, a diction that is not neutral
and somehow betrays the origin of the speaker), sparse use of foreign
accents or the insertion of a few foreign words and a few non-standard
words (Morville, p.c. 28 January 2016). The principle he tries to follow
when choosing a dubbing strategy is “to avoid attracting the audi-
ence’s attention to the language of dubbing” (Morville, p.c. 28 January
98 V. Minutella
2016). Morville further adds that the strategies adopted in dubbing

may vary according to the film genre. In a dramatic film, for instance,
hearing heavy foreign accents might end up distracting the audience
from dramatic moments by focusing their attention on language. There-
fore, foreign accents should be used with caution in such films, otherwise
the drama and poetry of some situations would be lost. This was the
case, for instance, for the film War Horse (Spielberg, 2011) where it was
decided to make the accent of French characters in the dubbed version
less pronounced (Morville, p.c. 28 January 2016).
The need to avoid heavy foreign accents is stressed by several of the
professionals consulted in the present study. Guadagno, for instance, tries
to avoid overdoing foreign accents or producing fake accents because of
the fear that they will become annoying to the audience (Guadagno, p.c.
4 March 2019). This is also confirmed by Izzo who is strongly against the
use of fake, heavy foreign accents (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019). La Penna
similarly believes that a film with many accents tires the audience (p.c. 1
March 2019). Moreover, Izzo emphasises that she is strongly against the
use of mock, parodic foreign accents and mentions the criticism received
for the feature film Beauty and the Beast (2017, Bill Condon). The Italian
voice of Lumière was criticised as not being French enough since the
audience wanted a stronger accent, a more French character, closer to
the one they remembered in the dubbed version of the 1991 animated
film. However, the accent in the animated film was fake and a parody of
a French person speaking Italian, whereas what she and creative director
Morville had attempted to do with the character in the 2017 film was to
make him sound authentic. Indeed, they chose French actor and theatre
director Frédéric Lachkar who just used his own accent rather than trying
to sound French (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019).
Nevertheless, several professionals emphasise the role personal taste
plays. Morville observes that his job is one that requires sensitivity and
taste irrespective of the requests of American producers. The personal
taste and subjectivity of each professional also play a part in the choices
made in dubbing regarding accents. As Morville puts it, “our job is also
a matter of taste, of sensitivity. There is no rule, no law” (Morville, p.c.
28 January 2016).
Another issue crops up in the case of English with a foreign accent or

the use of foreign languages. This relates to reproducing such a character-
isation in a believable way and making the accent sound natural. There
are two possible options. Either a non-Italian dubbing actor who is a
native speaker of the relevant language can be cast or an Italian dubbing
actor who contrives a foreign accent. In the latter case a dialect coach or
language advisor is often (but not always) employed. Most practitioners
state that dialect coaches often work with Italian dubbing actors who
have to contrive a foreign accent to help them pronounce their lines
in a way that is as natural sounding as the speech of a native speaker.
However, the downside of casting foreign dubbing actors or employing
dialect coaches is that the dubbed version becomes more expensive
and dubbing sessions might also be more time-consuming since several
attempts at finding the right accent might be needed (La Penna, p.c. 1
March 2019). Rossi explains that when a character has a foreign accent or
speaks another language he usually prefers to work with foreign dubbing
actors who are native speakers of that language. The negative sides of
working with mother-tongue dubbers are that the dubbing director ends
up not only having to work harder but also has less choice since the
availability of foreign dubbing actors in Italy is limited (Rossi, p.c. 30
November 2017). Morville (p.c. 26 April 2018) also highlights the fact
that as a creative director supervising the dubbing process of Disney
and Disney-Pixar films he seeks authenticity and credibility in dubbing.
This can only be achieved through vocal performance and accents by
employing native speakers and dialect coaches/language consultants. For
instance, for the film Coco (2017), which is set in Mexico and contains
a large number of Spanish words and utterances, a Spanish dialect coach
was used to help the Italian dubbing actors speak the lines in Spanish in
a natural-sounding way. The Italian dubbers needed to sound believable
in order to provide an accurate rendering—not an approximation or a
caricature of an Italian speaking Spanish.
Vairano (p.c. 27 November 2019) believes that it is not always neces-
sary to resort to dubbers who are native speakers of the foreign language
and that a distinction has to be made according to the genre of the film.
For instance, he believes it acceptable to use a skilled Italian dubber in
an animated film who puts on a foreign accent for humorous purposes
100 V. Minutella
in order to provide “a characterisation with an accent.” However, the

important thing is that “the character is believable.” Moreover, in “an
animated film and in comedies it is easier and more acceptable to cast an
Italian dubbing actor who puts on a foreign accent, because it is ‘part of
the game’, the humorous aim of the film” (Vairano, p.c. 27 November
2018). On the other hand, in a non-animated film or in films that are not
comedies such as drama, casting an Italian dubber who mimics an accent
may then be more problematic. If the audience notices that the dubbing
actor is Italian, then the quality of the dubbed version and the audi-
ence’s involvement in the story may well be jeopardised. Vairano himself
has often dubbed German characters. In some cases he reports that he
took part in voice tests and was preferred to German native speakers
because they were not skilled actors (Vairano, p.c. 27 November 2019).
Vairano believes being a native speaker of a language is not enough on
its own to be a good dubber because technical skills are necessary. As a
result, an Italian dubbing actor who contrives an accent can sometimes,
in comedies, provide a better performance than a native speaker who is
not a trained dubber or actor. Nevertheless, Vairano explains that the
tendency in non-animated and serious films is to find dubbers who are
native speakers of the language.
Since Izzo is strongly against fake accents she prefers to work with a
dubbing actor who is a native speaker of the language or with a language
consultant or dialect coach when foreign accents in Italian have to be
adopted. The problem with having Italian dubbers speak Italian with
a foreign accent is the risk of them sounding fake since they may lack
consistency and pronounce the same word differently at different points
in the film, whereas a native speaker would always pronounce such a
word in the same way (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019).
On the issue of casting Italian dubbing actors helped by a dialect
coach Izzo provides the example of Quentin Tarantino’s film Inglourious
Basterds (2009) on which she worked as dialogue writer and dubbing
director. She explains that she had difficulties in finding the right dialect
coach to help professional dubbing actor Stefano Benassi speak Italian
with a natural-sounding German accent. Izzo reports that the choice
about how to localise the film for the Italian market was made by
Tarantino himself. The choice included whether to dub the whole film
into Italian, whether to dub or subtitle the parts in languages other than
English (French, German, Italian) and whether to make the characters
speak with an accent or not. The director initially wanted Izzo to dub
the whole film, neutralising its multilingualism. However, she explained
to him that this type of film could not and should not be completely
dubbed because it would lose its identity and meaning. Izzo insisted
that alternative audiovisual translation methods be adopted and subti-
tles in some parts be used. Moreover, Tarantino wanted to read the
Italian dialogues and a back translation into English before approving
the Italian version (Izzo, p.c. 30 January 2019). When Colonel Hans
Landa (played by Austrian actor Christoph Waltz) speaks English (with
a German accent) in the original version, he has to speak Italian with
a German accent in the dubbed version. Although Izzo prefers to cast
native speakers as dubbers, in this case she wanted a professional dubber.
As a result, Stefano Benassi was chosen and a language advisor was used
to teach him how to pronounce the lines in Italian with a German
accent such that he sounded like a German speaking Italian—not an
Italian pretending to speak like a German. It turns out that Izzo tried out
five different coaches because she was not happy with the performance.
Benassi had to repeat the same lines over and over again every day with
a different coach until Izzo found the right one to help Benassi find the
right voice and give a believable and authentic vocal performance (Izzo,
p.c. 30 January 2019).
Although dubbing directors prefer to cast native speakers or use
dialect coaches to help professional dubbers sound authentic, in come-
dies and animated films some examples of inauthentic, mock accents
can be found. There are cases in which authenticity of accent is not of
paramount importance, especially when the original film itself does not
aim at authenticity but at ‘styling’ an accent and representing otherness
with a comic and often parodic function. For instance, in the dubbed
version of Madagascar 3 no dialect coaches were used for the Russian
tiger Vitaly or for the speech of Gia and Stefano who spoke with a
contrived Italian accent in the original version and an undefined foreign-
sounding or Spanish-sounding Italian in the Italian dubbed version. This
was partly justified by the fact that these characters spoke with contrived
accents in the original film version, where they were voiced by American
102 V. Minutella
actors, and because hiring dialect coaches for all the supposedly foreign
characters would have been too expensive (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016).
Several professionals point out that comedies and animated films also
allow for more freedom in the exploitation of mock foreign accents
because of their comic function. If the original film has a contrived
accent, then the dubbed version can recreate a comic accent. The impor-
tant thing is to reproduce the particular function of the original and the
choices made there. For instance, discussing the Hotel Transylvania films
Rossi maintains that “what we have to do is try to recreate what there
is in the original. If the original film stars a famous, well-known comic
actor who pretends to speak ‘Transylvanian’, then I do the same thing
in my dubbed film” (Rossi, p.c. 30 November 2017). Since in the orig-
inal version of Hotel Transylvania Dracula was voiced by US comedian
Adam Sandler contriving an undefined Eastern European or ‘Transylva-
nian’ accent, in the Italian dubbed version popular comedian Claudio
Bisio was cast and asked to create a kind of ‘Transylvanian’ Italian (i.e.,
Italian with a kind of Russian or Eastern European accent). Although it is
a comic characterisation with no pretension at authenticity, it is one that
aims at making the audience laugh and remains faithful to the intentions
of the original film. In this case it can be argued that what is important
is not that the character’s speech sounds believable and natural, but that
it approximates the image (i.e., the stereotype of an Eastern European
speaking Italian). The aim is not a faithful reproduction of a native-like
accent, but rather a comic mimicry/comic impression of a very generic
‘other’.
Despite her dislike of fake accents, Izzo (p.c., 4 March 2019) also
acknowledges that a contrived foreign accent can be used in the dubbing
of comedies since their function is to make people laugh. Hence she
would accept and justify the use of an inauthentic, contrived foreign
accent in dubbing if the original film had a mock foreign accent as well.
If the director wanted a character in the original film to mimic an accent,
since the aim of the dubbed version is to reproduce the original film, then
the Italian dubber can do the same and put on an accent. In other words,
if it is all fake in the original, then it can be all fake in the Italian version.
A further strategy adopted by dubbing professionals when they have

to recreate a foreign character and provide linguistic differentiation is
to insert some foreign words in the Italian dialogues. An interesting
comment is provided by dialogue writer and dubbing assistant Serena
Paccagnella who suggests that sometimes the dialogue writer can resort to
the use of some words or expressions that are typical of a language, so that
the audience immediately recognises the origin of the speaker. As exam-
ples she claims that the repetitive use of the vocative ‘Sir ’ can be used
to identify British characters (as opposed to American ones), or that the
often-used ‘amigo’ can connote Latin-American speakers (Paccagnella,
p.c. March 2018).
A further important factor affecting the representation of otherness,
foreign languages and accents in animated films is auditory clarity.
Dubbing professionals point out that a character with a heavy accent who
uses many foreign words may not be clear enough and may not be under-
stood in audiovisual products aimed at children. As already stated, clarity
is considered to be of paramount importance in dubbing in general, and
in animated films in particular, due to their typically young audience.
The emphasis on clarity and believable accent is in line with Wright and
Lallo’s “Suggestions for Using a Dialect” for actors who would like to
become voice-over actors for animation:
What is most important is that a dialect SEEMS authentic and that we

can easily understand you. Does your character have a heavy accent or
only the hint of an accent? In either case we must understand you clearly.
No one is going to laugh at a gag or be touched by an emotional moment
if they are concentrating on understanding the words instead. (Wright
and Lallo 2009, p. 60).
Use of Italian
Regional Accents and Italian Dialects in Dubbing
When asked what they think about the use of Italian dialects and regional
accents in dubbing, whether and how frequently they resort to Italian
dialects or regional accents in dubbed animated films and the reasons for
104 V. Minutella
using them, the dubbing professionals consulted in this study answer

that they usually prefer standard Italian devoid of accents and seldom
use Italian dialects. When they do it is only in exceptional cases and for
specific reasons such as adding humour to a film. As Morville points
out: “we will never hear a regional accent unless it is put there deliber-
ately” (Morville, p.c. 26 April 2018). Disney’s former creative director
emphasises that:
Dubbing serves to render the dialogue comprehensible, so you need to

avoid overloading it with useless structures [….] An accent is fine if it
is needed for characterisation, otherwise it is ridiculous and incompre-
hensible […] Regional accents and dialects are often linked to a comic
effect, but they risk creating caricatures, and can become a parody of
themselves. The risk is there, and you have to analyse and decide case by
case. (Morville, p.c. 26 April 2018)
Dubbing director and actor Alessandro Rossi avoids Italian dialects or

regional accents despite arguing that sometimes they may be used to add
extra humour and comedy to an audiovisual product or to a character
(Rossi, p.c. 30 November 2017). La Penna (p.c., 1 March 2019) believes
that they should not be used in dubbing and that “they have no reason
to exist” unless the plot and setting of a film requires them. The only
time Italian dialects or regional accents might be acceptable in dubbing
is if the characters are in Italy or in Brooklyn. The tendency in such a
case is to adopt a Sicilian dialect or accent. Moreover, although he has
made some characters speak a regional variety of Italian or with a marked
regional accent in his professional career, this was only because the client
(via the dubbing supervisor) asked him to do so despite the fact that he
does not agree with resorting to this type of localisation.
Alto (p.c., 25 January 2016) also opposes the use of Italian regional
accents or dialects in dubbing and is strongly against the stereotypical
overuse of Sicilian or dialects from the south. He believes they are old
stereotypes that should be eliminated. However, he admits that if there
is a direct reference to or parody of The Godfather in the film, then
opting for Sicilian is inevitable. For instance, in Shark Tale (2004) the
sharks mimic The Godfather in which case the use of a Sicilian variety
in the dubbed version makes sense since it recreates the intentions of the
original film (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016). Mete (who was the dubbing
director of Shark Tale) similarly states that although dubbing directors
tend to avoid Italian dialects and regional Italian words and accents, in
some exceptional cases they are necessary.
Another reason for using Italian regional accents or dialects is to add
extra humour. As Ferrari points out: “The Simpsons […] represents but
one case that exemplifies the tendency of using regionalized accents in
Italy to increase the comical effect of animated characters” (2010, p. 45).
The dubbing professionals consulted confirm that Italian dialects or
regional accents may be resorted to for comic purposes. Stefano Brusa,
who dubbed the character of Gnomeo and gave him a northern Italian
accent in the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), points out that
the use of Italian dialects has the function of providing characterisation
(in the specific film it also highlighted the differences between the two
families). He further points out that it is an easy way of making the
audience laugh (Brusa, p.c. 14 April 2020) arguably because this contra-
venes the norm of using standard Italian, which has greater prestige,
and because dialects are used in comedies in Italian cinema (see Rossi
2006, 2015). Although Vairano agrees that the function of a regional
accent is to be funny, he explains that he usually tries to avoid Italian
dialects. In order to trigger humour he prefers to play with words or to
make up new words rather than resorting to dialects or regional Italian
(Vairano, p.c. 27 November 2018). In keeping with the views of other
interviewees in this study, he uses dialect only if it is inevitable (e.g.,
when the original film has Italian American characters). In such a case
linguistic characterisation is effected by using a Sicilian or Neapolitan
dialect. Vairano believes that although the dialect has to be from the
south, it does not necessarily carry negative connotations (Vairano, p.c.
27 November 2018).
Therefore, a marked accent has a comic effect. However, since it
runs the risk of making caricatures of the characters it is advisable to
resort to it with caution (Galassi 1994, pp. 66–67; Paccagnella, p.c. 20
January 2016; Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016; Morville, p.c. 28 January
2016; Guadagno, p.c. 30 January 2016; Rossi, p.c. 30 November 2017;
Manfredi, p.c. 27 September 2018). Dubbing directors and dubbing
actors may thus decide in rare cases, though always for humorous
106 V. Minutella
purposes, to recreate a regional accent or a marked regional pronun-

ciation. This is what dubbing professionals call ‘una sporcatura’ (i.e.,
a flavouring or colouring, a diction that is not neutral and somehow
defiled in that it betrays the origin of the speaker) (Alto, 25 January
2016; Morville, 28 January 2016; Guadagno, 30 January 2016; Valli,
6 April 2018; Manfredi, 27 September 2018; Minutella 2018, pp. 147–
148). Rossi (p.c. 30 November 2017) provides further interesting insight
when he comments that Italian dialects or regional accents might be used
to render a film or cartoon more humorous. This happens when dubbing
professionals think that the film is not funny enough and might not
engage an Italian audience.
Italian and Italian American
The use of the Italian language and/or Italian American in an original

film poses several challenges to Italian dubbing professionals. If the char-
acters in the original film speak Italian, then a number of strategies are
possible. Dubbing professionals can either change the language such as
turning Italian into French or Spanish (Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016; Di
Carlo, p.c. 20 April 2016; La Penna, p.c. 1 March 2019), provide a
specific characterisation through the dubbing actor’s voice or resort to
Italian dialects. As La Penna argues, “if the character is Italian and speaks
with an Italian accent, either you make up a French accent (you trans-
form the character into a French protagonist), or you work on voice”
(La Penna, p.c. 1 March 2019). For instance, since the Italianness of
Stefano and Gia in DreamWorks’ Madagascar 3 is not mentioned in the
dialogue and they speak with contrived, mock Italian accents in the orig-
inal film, in the dubbed version they were made to speak a contrived,
Spanish-sounding Italian (see Minutella 2018).
Another strategy used in dubbing is to resort to Italian dialects. Such
a strategy is used if the Italianness of the character in the original
version is stated in the dialogue, is conveyed through visual char-
acterisation or creates a communication problem whereby the other
characters fail to understand him/her due to the use of a different
language. Izzo provides a practical example from the dubbing of
the TV series Grey’s Anatomy for which she is the dialogue writer.
In some recent episodes in season 14 an Italian character called Carina

De Luca appears together with her brother Andrew. Carina is played
by Italian actress Stefania Spampinato who comes from Sicily. Since the
siblings speak Italian in some episodes and the other characters do not
understand what they are saying, the dialogue writer (Fiamma Izzo) and
dubbing director (Giuppy Izzo) had to decide how to approach this
issue such that the foreign language in the film (i.e., L3) actually coin-
cides with the language of the dubbed version (i.e., L2). As explained
by Izzo, this problem could be resolved either by making Carina and
Andrew speak another foreign language like Spanish or by making them
speak an Italian dialect which would be equally unintelligible to other
speakers of Italian. Fiamma and Giuppy Izzo discussed it with the client
and finally decided to make Carina speak an Italian dialect. Since the
actress initially wanted to dub herself in Italian they chose Sicilian as the
dialect (Izzo, p.c. 30 January 2019). Such a choice of dialect may well
help the dialogue writer and dubbing director avoid problems in subse-
quent episodes. Izzo asks what would happen if they decided to switch
from Italian to Spanish and then in a subsequent episode, perhaps in
a year’s time, the characters went to visit Carina’s family in Italy? How
would they justify the fact that she spoke Spanish? Resorting to a dialect
thus solved the language barrier problem and kept the character’s Italian
identity (Izzo, p.c. 30 January 2019).
Creative director Morville (p.c. 17 June 2015; 28 January 2016)
provides other examples from animated films such as the choices he
made in the Cars films for the characters Luigi and Guido who are
represented as Italian in the original film. Luigi has a marked Italian
accent, whereas Guido only speaks Italian in the original version and
nobody understands him. In such a case a change of language would
be impossible in the dubbed version. Therefore, Morville had to find an
Italian equivalent. He opted for Italian dialects from Emilia Romagna
and cast dubbers who could be funny and believable. The choice of
accents and dialects from Emilia Romagna derived from the associa-
tion between racing cars and Ferrari which is based in this region (in
Maranello). Morville thus cast as dubbers two celebrities known in Italy
for their link with Ferrari and racing: racing driver Alex Zanardi and
stand-up comedian Marco Della Noce, famous for his impersonation of
108 V. Minutella
a Ferrari mechanic in the TV programme Zelig. Cars 2 also has other

Italian characters who speak Italian or Italian American. For instance,
the Formula One racing car Francesco Bernoulli speaks English with a
heavy Italian accent in the original version. In this case Morville decided
to make him Neapolitan and cast star talent Alessandro Siani, an actor
and director from Campania, who used his natural accent and dialect.
Famous actors such as Franco Nero and Sophia Loren were also chosen
to dub Uncle Topolino and Mamma Topolino. The above examples from
the Cars trilogy suggest that Morville’s search for authenticity in voice
casting applies not only to characters speaking with a foreign accent,
but also to characters speaking Italian with regional accents and dialects.
In fact, when the former creative director decides to use Italian dialects
or regional pronunciation in dubbing, he looks for native speakers
of the dialect who are from a specific region, have a specific accent or
know the dialect. As he puts it, he chooses dubbers who are “healthy
carriers of the dialect germ” (Morville, p.c. 17 June 2015).
When the original film has a character speaking an Italian American
variety of English, the approach of dubbing professionals can vary (see
also Sect. 3.2.3.3). However, it does seem that there is a common stereo-
type that almost cries out for the (over)use of Sicilian; this is when the
character is associated with ambiguous or negative behaviour. Vairano
believes the Italian American stereotype requires an Italian dialect from
the south, especially Sicilian or Neapolitan (so-called brucolino) (Vairano,
p.c. 27 November 2018). However, Vairano argues that a Sicilian dialect
has a comic function in animated films depending of course on the char-
acter and does not necessarily carry negative connotations such as being
associated with the mafia or criminals.
Morville (p.c. 17 June 2015) agrees that the presence of Italian Amer-
ican, especially in comedies, creates a challenge for dubbing into Italian.
American comedies sometimes contain an Italian American variety of
accent to immediately communicate and convey a stereotype or a parody
with all its negative associations. When Morville is faced with this type
of linguistic and visual characterisation in a film, he says he tries to come
up with creative solutions rather than opting for the stereotypical Sicilian
dialect. However, he admits that despite his efforts “there are still some
stereotypes in dubbing which are recognised and re-used by dubbing

professionals” including himself (Morville, p.c. 26 April 2018).
Paccagnella also stresses and criticises the presence of negative stereo-
types in Italian dubbing and in Italy, in general. Nevertheless, she argues
that as a dialogue writer she would try to respect the choice of the orig-
inal film. In other words, “if there is a caricature of an Italian-American
in the original, a similar caricature should be recreated in the dubbed
version, opting for widespread Italian stereotypes that associate the mafia
with southern and Sicilian dialects” (Paccagnella, p.c. 8 February 2016).
The case studies discussed in Chapter 8 will further explore these
issues and examine the extent to which such stereotypes are used in
dubbed animated films. Suffice it to say here that the dubbing profes-
sionals consulted for this study are aware of the presence and use of
stereotypes in Italian dubbing (especially those associated with Sicilians)
and sometimes try to avoid them (using standard Italian or choosing
less common regional Italian varieties and dialects). However, in some
cases they consciously reuse them to facilitate characterisation, to elicit
laughter and to be faithful to the original film. Sometimes they resort to
them in an unconscious way.
Star Talents With an Accent
The use of star talents as a marketing strategy to promote animated

films and the need for them to receive intensive coaching has already
been outlined (see Sect. 2.3.2). As we have seen, this usually means
it is just another exception to the norm of using standard Italian with
neutral diction and no regional accent. Several dubbing practitioners
consulted point out that such celebrities can and often do retain their
own regional accent, specific cadence and inflection since their voice
has to be recognisable. We can recall Bosseaux’ remark that “voice is an
integral part of identity” (2018, p. 221), “like a ‘fingerprint’, instantly
recognisable and identifiable” (2018, p. 219). Celebrities are cast to dub
specific animated characters precisely because they are well known. Since
they are not actually seen, their voice should be identifiable and instantly
recognised by the audience. The dubbing professionals consulted stress
110 V. Minutella
that star talents are usually allowed more freedom and creativity in their
vocal performance in animated films as a result of such a requirement
(Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016; Vairano, p.c. 28 November 2018; Izzo,
p.c. 4 March 2019). Alto points out that when it comes to pronuncia-
tion “there is a different degree of acceptance/tolerance with star talents”
(Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016). Izzo adds that “in animation anything is
possible and allowed, especially if the dubber is a star talent” (Izzo, p.c.
30 January 2019). Some examples are given in Sect. 2.3.2.
Vairano argues that regional accents heard by the audience in animated
films are generally the direct consequence of casting star talent dubbers
chosen because they are well known in Italy—not because of a delib-
erate artistic choice by the dubbing director (Vairano, p.c. 27 November
2018). While professional dubbing actors generally use neutral diction,
some kind of regional accent and cadence (cadenza) may be perceived in
dubbing, especially when non-professional dubbers are chosen to voice
the characters. As explained by Vairano, “if the dubbing director elimi-
nated the distinctive features of the star talents’ voice, there would be no
point in having them. Assuming you succeeded in a complete ‘polishing
up’, the audience would no longer be able to recognise their voice” (i.e.,
there would be no point in casting them). The dubbing director thus
has to somehow mediate “between the dubbing norm of standard Italian
with clear diction and the star talent’s vocal features and regional accent,
their idiolect. He needs to look for an acceptable compromise” (Vairano,
p.c. 27 November 2018). Vairano provides the example of star talent
Fabio Volo who dubs the protagonist in the Kung Fu Panda trilogy. He
reports working hard with Volo to help him deliver his lines clearly, while
still letting him keep his personal, typical way of pronouncing words
and hastening or slurring sentences according to his own speech rhythm,
intonation and regional accent. His voice had to be recongnisable.
Another example of Italian spoken with a regional accent due to using
a star talent can be found in Disney’s The Wild/Uno zoo in fuga (directed
by Izzo) in which Piemontese comedian Luciana Littizzetto dubs one of
the animal protagonists employing her clearly distinguishable, marked
Piemontese accent and making use of dialect words such as balengo
(stupid).
Izzo (2019) also points out that it is often the marketing departments
of the distributor who decide to use star talents. Such talents are chosen
because they are popular and have accents that are instantly recognisable.
This was the case with TV showman/comedian Max Giusti who dubs
Gru in the Despicable Me trilogy. As we will see in Chapter 7, in the
original film Gru (voiced by US comedian Steve Carell) has a kind of
undefined, contrived Eastern European or German accent which is lost
in the Italian version. This contravenes the norm of retaining foreign
accents in dubbing and the dubbing practitioners’ tendency to be faithful
to the original film’s intentions. Such a ‘betrayal’ of the original linguistic
characterisation had its roots in marketing where the need to recognise
the star talent dubbing the protagonist was deemed more important than
any fidelity to the original character. The vocal features of Giusti, his own
specific way of speaking and his idiolect had to be easily recognised by
the audience (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019). Since the marketing department
of Universal decided that Gru had to be voiced by Giusti and wanted
him to be recognisable (Izzo, p.c. 27 April 2020) Gru’s specific linguistic
identity in Despicable Me was thus completely lost and modified in the
dubbed Italian version.
The casting of star talents to dub the Italian voices of animated char-
acters thus appears to constitute a challenge for dubbing directors. Such
casting determines whether regional accents or dialects are used in the
Italian dubbed version. Star talents generally speak using their own voice
or regional Italian. No attempt is usually made at using standard Italian
with neutral diction. Sometimes a specific star talent may be chosen to
dub a certain character precisely because of his/her geographical origin
such that he/she can add an extra layer of meaning to the character
through his/her voice. Examples of star talents displaying regional accents
or a specific cadence will be discussed in further detail in the following
chapters.
112 V. Minutella

This chapter has summarised previous research on the translation of
multilingualism and language variation and has pointed out that several
scholars have defined the translation strategies adopted by audiovisual
translators in various languages and have identified some norms. We have
also tried to put forward a hypothesis about how linguistic variation and
multilingualism are dealt with. This argues that a distinction needs to be
made between foreign languages (i.e., languages other than English, real
or invented), instances of native varieties of English (broad national vari-
eties and dialects as well as regional, social and ethnic varieties spoken in
English-speaking countries) and non-native varieties of English (foreign-
accented English) in order to identify patterns in dubbing strategies.
The chapter then went on to provide insights into the approach by the
dubbing professionals consulted towards the Italian language of dubbing
and the choice of voices, languages and accents. The dubbing profes-
sionals make the point that the issue is complex and varied. While they
agree that final decisions on accents and languages are usually taken by
the client, the examples discussed actually reveal that there are excep-
tions and that at least some kind of discussion takes place. The dubbing
professionals also point out that every film is unique and there are no
real rules to follow. They highlight that they generally prefer Italian to be
spoken without an accent following the tradition and history of Italian
dubbing. However, foreign accents are usually adopted when the original
film has foreign characters. Although regional accents or dialects may
be chosen, this is rare and mainly done for comic purposes. It is also
done if the dubber is a star talent or if the original character is Italian. A
broad regional or foreign accent is usually given to comic characters and
often makes caricatures of them. Although mimicking accents anf giving
some characters broad accents aim to create a comic effect, such strate-
gies run the risk of sounding offensive to the people represented because
of their stereotypical potential. This is why dubbing practitioners gener-
ally prefer to avoid mock or contrived foreign accents and would rather
cast a native speaker of the language (a foreign dubbing actor) or have an
Italian dubbing actor trained by a dialect coach to help him/her create a
believable, natural-sounding Italian with a foreign accent. This appears

to be the underlying policy governing dubbing choices.
However, the dubbing professionals point out that compromises have
to be made which sometimes result in stereotypical representations. The
type of film, producer, budget and expected box office return are all
factors that influence the final dubbed product at the linguistic level.
Moreover, personal communications with the dubbing practitioners
emphasise that the final choice of whether to use foreign accents, foreign
languages, regional accents or Italian dialects always lies with the client
and is discussed on a case-by-case basis. Other important aspects that
emerge from the personal communications are that animation as a genre
allows dubbing professionals (dubbing directors and dubbing actors) to
take more liberties in how they play with language and accents, and that
dubbing professionals attempt to be faithful to the original film and the
intentions of its producers and to convey dialogue that is believable.
The next chapter will introduce the films that make up the corpus of
films selected for this study and will provide a description of the language
varieties and languages represented in them. The chapter will then
attempt to highlight patterns in linguistic representation in the films.
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Pérez-González, 281–295. Abingdon: Routledge.
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Beauty and the Beast. 2017. Bill Condon. Walt Disney Pictures: Mandeville
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Cars. 2006. John Lasseter, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures.
Cars 2. 2011. John Lasseter, Brad Lewis, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation
Studios.
Cars 3. 2017. Brian Fee, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures.
Coco. 2017. Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Anima-
tion Studios.
Despicable Me. 2010. Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, Universal Pictures,
Despicable Me 2. 2013. Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, Universal Pictures,
Gnomeo & Juliet. 2011. Kelly Asbury, Rocket Pictures, Arc Productions,
Touchstone Pictures, Miramax, Starz Animation.
Home. 2015. Tim Johnson, DreamWorks Animation.
Hotel Transylvania. 2012. Genndy Tartakovsky, Columbia Pictures, Sony
Pictures Animation.
Hotel Transylvania 2. 2015. Genndy Tartakovsky, Columbia Pictures, Sony
Pictures Animation.
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. 2018. Sony Pictures Animation, Media
Rights Capital (MRC), Rough Draft Korea.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. 2008. Steven Spielberg,
Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm, The Kennedy/Marshall Company.
Inglourious Basterds. 2009. Quentin Tarantino, Universal Pictures, The Wein-
stein Company, A Band Apart, Studio Babelsberg, Visiona Romantica.
Kung Fu Panda. 2008. Mark Osborne, John Stevenson, DreamWorks Anima-
tion, Dragon Warrior Media.
Kung Fu Panda 2. 2011. Jennifer Yuh Nelson, DreamWorks Animation.
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4
Linguistic Variation in Animated Films
from 2001 to 2017
4.1 Introduction
As previously pointed out, scriptwriters often use conventionalised
linguistic features and traits such as different language varieties to supply
information about location and character (Hodson 2014, p. 7). Different
types of language varieties and accents in films are adopted “as a quick
way to build character and reaffirm stereotype” (Lippi-Green 1997,
p. 85), to provide a setting for the story and to trigger humour (Lippi-
Green 1997, p. 87; Kozloff 2000, p. 82; Hodson 2014, pp. 6–7). For
instance, we can observe the tendency to use foreign accents and a few
foreign words or expressions to give local colour to a film, to convey the
setting of the story or point out the nationality of the speaker (Lippi-
Green 1997, p. 87; Wahl 2005). This phenomenon has been defined as
“audio-postcarding” (Wahl 2005, 2008) (i.e., using foreign accents and a
few foreign words or expressions to give local colour to a film, convey the
setting of the story or point out the nationality of the speaker) or as sign-
posting or “evocation” (Bleichenbacher 2008; O’Sullivan 2011). Specific
language varieties and accents, in particular, are adopted to connote
otherness and are also often used as vehicles of humour since they can
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8_4
124 V. Minutella
provide stereotypes and caricatures. All these functions of linguistic vari-

ation (setting, character, otherness, stereotype and humour) can be found
in the films making up the corpus of films selected for this study.
The aim of this chapter is to provide a description of the language
varieties and languages spoken in the animated films making up the
corpus of films selected for this study. The chapter will attempt to answer
the following questions: Which varieties and languages do the animated
characters in the films speak? What are the most frequent language
varieties spoken? Are specific accents and language varieties used system-
atically to create specific stereotypes? The chapter will first introduce the
corpus of animated films selected for this study. It will then describe the
films one by one, focusing on their plot and on the language varieties
and languages spoken. Summary tables for each film will highlight how
the characters speak (i.e., what type of English they speak and whether
they speak languages other than English). The third section will illustrate
the regularities observed in the whole corpus as far as language varia-
tion and linguistic characterisation are concerned. It will explore whether
any patterns emerge in linguistic characterisation (i.e., whether specific
language varieties are used in the films in order to convey particular char-
acter types and stereotypes). Regularities in the use of native varieties
of English and non-native varieties (or foreign-accented English) will be
highlighted. An account of the presence of languages other than English
in the films will close the chapter.
4.2 The Corpus of Animated Films

As pointed out in the Introduction chapter, the corpus consists of 37
animated films chosen using a series of sampling criteria. They are
recent productions (2001–2017), big-budget films produced by various
US production houses (Disney Animation, Pixar Animation, Dream-
Works Animation, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky, Universal
Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Illumination Entertainment) and are
interesting in terms of the representation of language variation, multilin-
gualism and linguistic identity and in terms of the translation strategies
adopted in dubbing. For each year at least one film was selected. The
4 Linguistic Variation … 125
films are listed below in chronological order.1 The title is followed in

parentheses by the year of production, the name of the production
company and the name of the director(s).
1. Atlantis: The Lost Empire/Atlantis: l’impero perduto (2001, Disney,

dir. G. Trousdale, K. Wise)
2. Shrek (2001, DreamWorks, dir. A. Adamson, V. Jenson)
3. Lilo and Stitch/Lilo e Stitch (2002, Disney, dir. D. DeBlois, C.
Sanders)
4. Finding Nemo/Alla ricerca di Nemo (2003, Disney-Pixar, dir. A.
Stanton, L. Unkrich)
5. Shark Tale (2004, DreamWorks, dir. E. ‘Bibo’ Bergeron, V. Jenson)
6. Shrek 2 (2004, DreamWorks, dir. A. Adamson, K. Asbury)
7. Madagascar (2005, DreamWorks, dir. E. Darnell, T. McGrath)
8. The Wild/Uno zoo in fuga (2006, Disney, dir. S. ‘Spaz’ Williams)
9. Cars (2006, Disney-Pixar, dir. J. Lasseter)
10. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown/L’era glaciale 2: il disgelo (2006, Blue Sky
Studios/20th Century Fox, dir. C. Saldanha)
11. Ratatouille (2007, Disney-Pixar, dir. B. Bird, J. Pinkava)
12. Shrek the Third/Shrek terzo (2007, DreamWorks, dir. A. Adamson)
13. Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa/Madagascar 2 (2008, DreamWorks,
dir. E. Darnell, T. McGrath)
14. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs/L’era glaciale 3: l’alba dei dinosauri
(2009, 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky, dir. C. Saldanha)
15. Toy Story 3 (2010, Disney-Pixar, dir. L. Unkrich)
16. How to Train Your Dragon/Dragon trainer (2010, DreamWorks, dir.
D. DeBlois, C. Sanders)
17. Puss in Boots/Il gatto con gli stivali (2011, DreamWorks, dir. C.
Miller)
18. Gnomeo & Juliet/Gnomeo & Giulietta (2011, Rocket Pictures,
Touchstone Pictures, dir. K. Asbury)
19. Rio (2011, Blue Sky/20th Century Fox, dir. C. Saldanha)
20. Cars 2 (2011, Disney-Pixar, dir. J. Lasseter, B. Lewis)
21. Rango (2011, Paramount Pictures, dir. G. Verbinski)
1A table containing the films in alphabetical order is provided in Appendix 1.

126 V. Minutella
22. Brave/Ribelle-The Brave (2012, Disney-Pixar, dir. M. Andrews, B.

Chapman)
23. Rise of the Guardians/Le cinque leggende (2012, DreamWorks, dir. P.
Ramsey)
24. Hotel Transylvania (2012, Sony Pictures, dir. G. Tartakovsky)
25. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted/Madagascar 3: ricercati in Europa
(2012, DreamWorks, dir. E. Darnell, T. McGrath, C. Vernon)
26. Turbo (2013, DreamWorks, dir. D. Soren)
27. Despicable Me 2/Cattivissimo me 2 (2013, Illumination Entertain-
ment/Universal Pictures distributor, dir. P. Coffin, C. Renaud)
28. Planes (2013, Prana Studios, Disneytoon Studios, dir. Klay Hall)
29. Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014, DreamWorks, dir. R. Minkoff )
30. Rio 2 (2014, Blue Sky, 20th Century Fox, dir. C. Saldanha)
31. The Book of Life/Il libro della vita (2014, 20th Century Fox, dir. J.
Gutiérrez)
32. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015, Sony Pictures, dir. G. Tartakovsky)
33. Zootopia/Zootropolis (2016, Disney, dir. B. Howard, R. Moore, J.
Bush)
34. Finding Dory/Alla ricerca di Dory (2016, Disney-Pixar, dir. A.
Stanton, A. MacLane)
35. Sing (2016, Illumination Entertainment, dir. C. Lourdelet, G.
Jennings)
36. Coco (2017, Disney-Pixar, dir. L. Unkrich)
37. Ferdinand (2017, Blue Sky, 20th Century Fox, dir. C. Saldanha).
The next section provides a description of language variation and char-

acterisation in the films making up the corpus.
4.3 Language Variation and Linguistic

Characterisation in the Films
Making up the Corpus
This section provides a description of the films making up the corpus of
animated films selected for this study and the languages and language
varieties spoken in them. The films are presented in chronological

order, illustrating the linguistic characterisation of characters according
to broad categories of languages and language varieties. Only those char-
acters considered important for the purposes of our analysis will be
described—not all the characters in each film. The degree of detail about
plot, setting and language varieties will vary from film to film according
to whether such information is deemed important for the relevant
dubbing strategy. A summary table for each film will be provided. The
table contains the following information: name of character, name of the
actor/actress voicing them, the character’s role, occupation and nation-
ality (only if stated in the film and if deemed relevant to our analysis) and
the language variety and/or language(s) spoken. As previously discussed,
the notion of standard is misleading and arbitrary; moreover, language
varieties and the terminology used to refer to them are not always clear-
cut. Nevertheless, for the sake of clarity and for the purposes of this
study, language varieties from the United States will, as noted in the
Introduction, be divided into a broad General American English – where
GenAm is “a convenient name for the range of United States accents that
have neither an eastern nor a southern colouring” (Wells 1982a, p. 10)2
– and more specific regionally or socially marked, or non-standard US
varieties such as Southern American English, African American Vernac-
ular English (AAVE) and the New York/Brooklyn accent. Regarding
British varieties, British English (BrE) will indicate a general, more stan-
dard British variety, with a further social distinction between upper-class
BrE (i.e., Received Pronunciation or RP), a more working-class BrE
or working-class London/Cockney accent and Scottish English (ScE).
A further native variety of English found in the films is Australian
English (AusE) (on varieties of English see Wells 1982a, b and c; Finegan
and Rickford 2004; Kortmann and Schneider 2004; Kirkpatrick 2007;
Svartvik and Leech 2016 among others).
On the other hand, non-native varieties of English or foreign-accented
English will be divided into English that is French accented, Italian
accented, German accented, Spanish accented, Russian accented and
2 On the use of General American by actors and trained speech teachers to teach a non-
regionally marked variety of American English for the stage see the International Dialects of
English Archive (IDEA): https://www.dialectsarchive.com/general-american.
128 V. Minutella
so on. Identification of the variety spoken by each character is based

on accent, intonation and rhythm, as well as on the presence of
specific lexical and syntactic features, taking into account the fact that
accents/language varieties/dialects in animated films are fictional and are
used as quick means of characterisation. While this chapter will provide
a brief description of the films and a list of which varieties are spoken by
which characters, a more detailed analysis of the linguistic features that
are used to represent specific varieties and of the way in which characters
speak will be the focus of the following chapters. Dialogue extracts will
not be quoted here since they will be discussed at length in the chapters
devoted to the examination of dubbed versions. For the sake of clarity
and brevity films such as the Shrek tetralogy, the Cars trilogy, the Mada-
gascar trilogy and the Ice Age films will be discussed together since the
main characters appear in all the films.
4.3.1 Language Variation in Atlantis: The Lost

Empire/Atlantis: L’impero perduto (2001)
Disney’s Atlantis, set in the early twentieth century, tells the story of
Milo, a young American linguist and philologist who embarks on a
mission with a group of adventurers to discover the lost empire of
Atlantis. The film includes both native and non-native varieties of
English, as well as some lines uttered in French and in the invented,
constructed language of Atlantean. A pre-credits sequence shows people
of Atlantis speaking a foreign tongue which is subtitled into English.
This provides the setting of the story. After this pre-credits sequence the
title of the film appears followed by a more familiar setting: Washington,
DC, 1914. This film is thus partly set in an English-speaking country
and partly in a mythical kingdom (Lippi-Green 1997, p. 88), and the
combination of languages and language varieties makes it an interesting
and rare example of a multilingual animated film.
The protagonist Milo, the antagonist Commander Rourke and several
other characters speak General American. The scruffy cook Cookie
speaks with a marked Southern American accent, while the doctor Dr
Joshua Strongbear Sweet speaks General American with some phonetic
features, mainly intonation and rhythm, typical of AAVE. Foreign-

accented English is spoken by some members of the expedition who
were born in different countries and who are represented as being other
(their identity cards are shown on the screen). Table 4.1 summarises the
language varieties and languages spoken in Atlantis.
Table 4.1 Language varieties spoken in Atlantis

Role in the film
Name of Voice Occupation Language variety,
character actor/actress Nationality language
Milo Michael J. Fox Protagonist/Hero General American,
Linguist French, Atlantean
American
Dr Joshua Phil Morris Secondary character General American,
Strongbear Member of the AAVE intonation
Sweet expedition doctor
American
Vincenzo Don Novello Secondary character Italian American,
‘Vinny’ Member of the Italian-accented
Santorini expedition English
demolition expert
Italian (born in
Palermo)
Gaetan Molière Corey Burton Secondary character French-accented
‘Mole’ Member of the English,
expedition French words and
geologist expressions
French (born in
Paris)
Audrey Ramirez Jacqueline Secondary character Slight
Obradors Member of the Spanish-accented
expedition English, a few
mechanic Spanish words
American (Latino)
Cookie Jim Varney Secondary character Southern
Member of the American
expedition cook English
American
Princess Kida Cree Summer Main character Atlantean,
Princess of Atlantis French,
Atlantean General American
King of Atlantis Leonard Nimoy Secondary character Atlantean,
King of Atlantis General American
Atlantean
Commander James Garner Villain, antagonist General American
Rourke
130 V. Minutella
4.3.2 Language Variation in the Shrek Films
In the films of the Shrek saga several varieties of English, both native and
non-native, can be heard. As far as native varieties are concerned, the
green ogre Shrek (voiced by Canadian actor Mike Myers) speaks with
a contrived Scottish accent, while Princess Fiona (voiced by Cameron
Diaz) speaks American English, initially with Middle English features
(such as the use of archaic lexis and a formal register). British English
(RP) is used in Shrek 2 by characters who are voiced by well-known
British actors. These are Fiona’s parents (the King and Queen of the
kingdom of Far Far Away voiced by John Cleese and Julie Andrews,
respectively) and the villains in the film: the evil Prince Charming
(Rupert Everett) and his mother the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saun-
ders). On the other hand, Shrek’s comic sidekick Donkey (Eddie
Murphy) “often uses non-standard dialect similar to African American
Vernacular English and a ‘hip style’” (Minutella 2014, p. 81), drawing
on rhythmic, lexical and morphosyntactic features that are frequently
employed in films to identify African American characters (Green 2002;
Zanotti 2011; Minutella 2014).
Several non-native varieties of English are also exploited to achieve
humorous effect and perpetuate stereotypical representations. These
are Spanish-accented, French-accented and German-accented English.
Spanish-accented English is spoken by Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas),
a booted cat who initially attacks Shrek and then becomes his friend and
helper. His Spanish identity is testified to by his accent and some lexical
choices (see Minutella 2014, p. 175). The characters of Monsieur Hood
(a seductive but rude Latin lover), the Muffin Man (a skilled chef ) and
Jerome (the Fairy Godmother’s affected receptionist) all speak French-
accented English. German-accented English is spoken by the three little
pigs who sometimes also use common German words such as ja. Table
4.2 summarises the Language varieties spoken in the Shrek films.
Table 4.2 Language varieties spoken in the Shrek films

Name of Voice Role in the film
character actor/actress Occupation Language variety
Shrek Mike Myers Protagonist/Hero Scottish accent
(Canadian) Ogre
Princess Fiona Cameron Diaz Main female General American
character archaic language,
Heroine, princess Middle English
King Harold John Cleese King of Far Far BrE (RP)
Away
Queen Lillian Julie Andrews Queen of Far Far BrE (RP)
Away
Prince Charming Rupert Everett Villain BrE (RP)
Fairy Godmother’s
son
Fairy Godmother Jennifer Villain BrE (RP)
Saunders Prince Charming’s
mother
Donkey Eddie Murphy Comic sidekick AAVE
Puss in Boots Antonio Initially negative, Spanish-accented
Banderas becomes helper English,
(Spanish) to hero Spanish words and
expressions
Monsieur Hood Vincent Secondary French-accented
Cassell character English,
(French) French words and
expressions
The Muffin Man Conrad Secondary French-accented
Vernon character English,
Chef French words and
expressions
Jerome Guillaume Secondary French-accented
Aretos character English,
(French) Receptionist to the French words and
Fairy Godmother expressions
The Three Little Cody Cameron Secondary German-accented
Pigs Sean Bishop characters English,
Fairytale creatures German words
and expressions
4.3.3 Language Variation in Lilo and Stitch/Lilo e

Stitch (2002)
Lilo and Stitch is set in Hawai’i and portrays the life of a young girl, Lilo,
who befriends an aggressive alien monster which she believes is a dog and
132 V. Minutella
she calls Stitch. The protagonist speaks General American English with
Hawai’i Creole (HC) intonation and rhythms, as does her sister Nana.
Other minor characters utter a few words and sing a song in Hawai’i
Creole. Most of the aliens speak AmE and BrE, with various accents,
and one of them speaks foreign-accented English. This film is praised by
Lippi-Green for its “sensitive portrayal of Hawai’i, Hawai’ian culture and
people of color” (2012, p. 124). According to Lippi-Green, Lilo and her
family “have features that are not Anglicized, and their lives are neither
romanticized nor trivialized; they all speak with Hawai’i Creole (HC)
intonation and rhythms, and HC is heard now and then in the back-
ground” (2012, p. 124). Moreover, the film also features one African
American character, the social worker Cobra Bubbles, who has a positive
role. Lippi-Green argues that he “looks a great deal like a professional
weight lifter. His looks are frightening and his voice—distinctly African
American—is imposing, but this character is in fact one of the good
guys, sincere in his concern for the orphaned sisters” (2012, p. 124).
Cobra Bubbles is voiced by African American actor Ving Rhames and
is represented as a big, muscular and menacing man, with his name
tattooed on his knuckles and a deep voice which may be recognised as
AAVE due to its intonation. However, Cobra Bubbles’ speech does not
display any lexical or syntactic features typical of AAVE. As far as vocab-
ulary and grammar are concerned, he speaks Standard American English.
Moreover, his register is also quite formal, as required by his professional
role.
Despite Disney’s attempt to be politically correct by casting some
Hawai’ian actors and making characters speak with Hawai’i Creole into-
nation and rhythms and by assigning a positive role to an African Amer-
ican character, it can be argued that a negative, stereotypical portrayal of
‘foreigners’ may still be found. In fact, the negative character in the film,
the alien scientist Dr Jumba Jookiba, who conducts illegal genetic exper-
iments and creates an abomination (Stitch), is made to speak English
with a broad and exaggerated foreign, Russian accent. Dr Jumba Jookiba’s
characterisation will be analysed in further detail in Chapter 7. Table 4.3
summarises the Language varieties spoken in Lilo and Stitch.
Table 4.3 Language varieties spoken in Lilo and Stitch

Role in the film
Voice Occupation
Name of character actor/actress Nationality Language variety
Lilo Daveigh Chase Female General
protagonist American,
Hawai’ian Hawai’i Creole
(HC) intonation
and rhythm
Nana Tia Carrere Protagonist’s General
sister American,
Hawai’ian Hawai’i Creole
(HC) intonation
and rhythm
Cobra Bubbles Ving Rhames Secondary General
character American,
Social worker AAVE intonation
and rhythm
Grand Zoe Caldwell Secondary BrE (RP)
Councilwoman character
Head of the
alien species
Dr Jumba Jookiba David Ogden Villain Russian-accented
Stiers Alien scientist English
Other characters Secondary Hawai’i Creole
characters (HC) intonation
and rhythm,
Hawai’i Creole
(HC)
4.3.4 Language Variation in Finding Nemo/Alla

ricerca di Nemo (2003) and in Finding
Dory/Alla ricerca di Dory (2016)
In Pixar’s Finding Nemo (2003) the little clown fish Nemo is captured in
the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, Australia. His father Marlin
faces several challenges in order to save him, helped by the blue tang fish
Dory. Most of the characters in this film speak native varieties of English,
in particular AmE and AusE. Despite the Australian setting, the main
characters (Nemo, Marlin and Dory) speak General American English
and are voiced by American actors, while some secondary characters
voiced by Australian or New Zealand actors have an Australian accent
and use some typically AusE words such as mate, G’day and Crikey.
134 V. Minutella
Characters with an Aussie accent are Bruce, Anchor and Chum (three
vegetarian sharks), the dentist Philip Sherman (the person who caught
Nemo) and the pelican Nigel. The sharks have a strong Australian accent,
while the pelican (voiced by Geoffrey Rush, whose voice is recognisable)
has a more general Australian accent. In Finding Nemo there is only one
character who speaks foreign-accented English: the shrimp Jacques who
lives in the dentist’s fish tank and helps Nemo escape from it. Jacques
(voiced by US actor Joe Ranft) has a marked French accent and uses a few
French expressions (Ouh la mer … bon! Voilà he’s clean) that are widely
termed “spectacular fragments” (i.e., the insertion of foreign words into
an English dialogue; Rampton 1999, p. 423).
In Finding Dory (2016) the protagonist Dory, who suffers from short-
term memory loss, starts remembering her past and thus leaves the reef
in search of her parents. Nemo and Marlin try to follow her and end up
in a marine institute in the United States. In this film General Amer-
ican English is the preferred language variety spoken by most of the
characters. However, two comic characters emerge as linguistically differ-
entiated through their British English variety. The sea lions Fluke and
Rudder (voiced by British actors Idris Elba and Dominic West) speak
English with a broad Cockney accent, with phonetic and lexical features
typical of this sometimes stigmatised variety of English. Another inter-
esting secondary character appearing in both films is Crush the Turtle.
His language is stereotypical of the Californian or ‘surfer dude’.3 Table
4.4 summarises the Language varieties spoken in Finding Nemo and
Finding Dory.
4.3.5 Language Variation in Shark Tale (2004)
DreamWorks’ Shark Tale portrays a mafia family of sharks led by Don

Lino (Robert De Niro), his faithful and aggressive son Frankie (Michael
Imperioli) and his meek and harmless brother Lenny (Jack Black) who is
vegetarian. The sharks menace the peaceful life of the reef where the little
fish Oscar (Will Smith) works as a whale washer but dreams of becoming
3 On this TV and cinema trope see https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SurferDude.

Table 4.4 Language varieties spoken in Finding Nemo and Finding Dory
Nemo Alexander Gould Main character General
(in Finding Clown fish American
Nemo)
Nemo Hayden Rolence Main character General
(in Finding American
Dory)
Marlin Albert Brooks Main character General
Clown fish American
Dory Ellen DeGeneres Helper to main General
character American
Main character
Blue tang fish
Bruce Barry Humphries Minor character AusE
(Australian) Shark
Anchor Eric Bana Minor character AusE
(Australian) Shark
Chum Bruce Spence Minor character AusE
(New Zealand) Shark
Philip Bill Hunter Minor character AusE
Sherman (Australian) Dentist
Australian
Nigel Geoffrey Rush Minor character AusE
(Australian) Pelican
Jacques Joe Ranft Minor character French-accented
Shrimp English,
French words or
expressions
Fluke Idris Elba Minor character BrE
(British) Sea lion
Rudder Dominic West Minor character BrE
(British) Sea lion
Crush the Andrew Stanton Minor character General
Turtle Turtle American
‘surfer dude’
rich and famous. His boss is the puffer fish Sykes (Martin Scorsese) who
lends money with interest and works for Don Lino. When the shark
Frankie is accidentally hit and killed, Oscar is mistakenly thought to have
killed him and becomes the reef ’s hero.
In Shark Tale several varieties of American English can be heard, with
instances of AAVE (Oscar) and Jamaican English (the jellyfish Ernie and
136 V. Minutella
Bernie). Angie (Oscar’s best friend), the sensual Lola (a gold digger),
Lenny and other minor characters speak General American. On the other
hand, the sharks speak an Italian American variety of English which is
used to trigger stereotypical associations. The only shark who does not
speak Italian American is the non-violent, flower-loving and vegetarian
Lenny who is different from his family and therefore also speaks differ-
ently. Don Lino and the sharks are portrayed in the film both visually and
verbally as a parody of the gangsters in the film The Godfather (1972),
creating a negative representation of the Italian American ethnic group.
As Parini explains:
Language undoubtedly plays an extremely important role in the construc-

tion of identity of the characters. Indeed, the sharks’ language variety can
be classified both as an ethnolect – as it conveys the characters’ ethnic
origins – and as a sociolect – as it conveys their social origins, i.e. their
belonging to the group of gangsters/sharks. (2019, p. 254)
As pointed out by Parini (2019, p. 249), “use of the Italian American

ethnolect […] became quite an issue for the distributors and producers of
the film. The film was severely criticized by various associations of Italian
Americans concerned about the perpetuation of negative stereotypes
related to their ethnic group.” Ethnolects and social varieties of American
English are exploited to a great extent in this film to convey otherness,
to portray characters, appearing to convey and reaffirm stereotypes and
negative connotations. Negative visual and linguistic stereotypes abound
in this film and are created through linguistic characterisation by means
of phonetic, lexical and syntactic features. While most of the negative
characters speak an Italian American ethnolect, it is worth pointing out
that the main character in the film, Oscar, speaks a non-standard, stig-
matised variety of AmE (i.e., AAVE) and has negative characteristics as
well. He lies, he is lazy and obsessed with making money, using illegal
methods to do so. Oscar is represented as black not only through his
body language and jewellery, but also through his accent, his use of
AAVE intonation, syntactic features and vocabulary (King et al. 2010,
p. 40). Table 4.5 summarises the Language varieties spoken in Shark Tale
(2004).
Table 4.5 Language varieties spoken in Shark Tale (2004)

Name of Role in the film Language
character Voice actor/actress Occupation variety
Oscar Will Smith Main character AAVE
Fish
Whale washer
Angie Renée Zellweger Secondary character General
Oscar’s friend American
Fish
receptionist
Lola Angelina Jolie Secondary character General
Fish American
Don Lino Robert De Niro Evil character Italian
Mobster American
Shark
Frankie Michael Imperioli Secondary character Italian
Don Lino’s son American
Shark
Lenny Jack Black Main character General
Don Lino’s son American
Shark
Sykes Martin Scorsese Secondary character Italian
Puffer fish American
Thug
Ernie Ziggy Marley Minor character Jamaican
Jellyfish English
Thug
Bernie Doug E. Doug Minor character Jamaican
Jellyfish English
Thug
4.3.6 Language Variation in the Madagascar

Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012)
DreamWorks’ films Madagascar (2005), Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa

(2008) and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012) contain char-
acters speaking both native and non-native varieties of English. These
language varieties portray character, convey humour and are also partly
linked to the setting of the films: New York and Madagascar in the
first film, a generic Africa in the second and Monte Carlo in the third.
The protagonists are four animals who have spent most of their lives in
the New York zoo: Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris
Rock), Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe
138 V. Minutella
(David Schwimmer). Most of the main characters speak General Amer-

ican, while King Julien, king of the lemurs, has an Indian English accent
which was contrived and comically emphasised by humorist Sacha Baron
Cohen. Marty the zebra and Gloria the hippo mainly speak General
American, displaying a limited number of features of AAVE, especially
intonation and rhythm. It is worth noting that in Madagascar 2: Escape 2
Africa, Alex’s parents, though living in Africa and being voiced by African
American actors, do not use marked features of AAVE and certainly do
not use non-standard grammar. They can be said to “fluctuate between
MUSE (Mainstream US English) and AAVE (African American Vernac-
ular English)” (Lippi-Green 1997, p. 93). On the other hand, the evil
character Alex’s uncle Makunga (an allusion to The Lion King and to
Hamlet ) is voiced by Alec Baldwin and has an American accent. In this
film, despite the African setting, the only character speaking AAVE is
the native African hippo called Moto Moto (a minor character voiced by
rapper will.i.am).
Additionally, several instances of non-native varieties of English (also
called ethnolect or foreign-accented English in this book) can be found
in Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012). In this film the protag-
onists land in Monte Carlo and are chased by the French police led by
Animal Control Officer Captain Chantal Dubois (Frances McDormand)
who speaks a heavily French-accented English and sings a French song.
The protagonists manage to escape by joining a group of circus animals:
the Circus Zaragoza. The European members of the Circus speak non-
native varieties of English: the meek sea lion Stefano (Martin Short)
and the female leopard Gia (Jessica Chastain) display a stylised Italian-
accented English, while the angry Siberian tiger Vitaly (Bryan Cranston)
speaks with a strong, stylised Russian accent and uses some Russian
words. The stereotyped foreign-accented English of these characters (all
voiced by American or Canadian actors assuming an accent) clearly does
not pretend to be realistic and has humorous purposes. The linguistic
features displayed by such foreign-accented characters are phonolog-
ical, lexical and syntactic. A brief exchange in the Spanish language is
also present, uttered by the penguins, though with an English accent:
Tenemos un grande problema – Qué grande problema? (We have a big
problem—What big problem?). However, the penguins usually speak
American English. For a comprehensive examination of non-native vari-

eties of English in this film see Minutella (2018). Table 4.6 summarises
the Language varieties spoken in the Madagascar trilogy.
4.3.7 Language Variation in the Wild/Uno zoo

in fuga (2006)
In Disney’s The Wild a group of animals escape from the New York zoo
to save Ryan, a young lion cub who was accidentally trapped and taken
to Africa. Most of the characters speak native varieties of English. Among
the protagonists, Ryan (Greg Cipes), his father Samson (Kiefer Suther-
land), the giraffe Bridget (Janeane Garofalo) and the squirrel Benny (Jim
Belushi) speak General American English, while the koala Nigel voiced
by British comedian Eddie Izzard speaks British English. The film also
contains minor characters speaking other native and non-native varieties
of English. The two sewer-dwelling alligators Stan and Carmine (voiced
by Lenny Venito and Joseph Siravo) speak with a New York accent also
known as ‘Brooklynese’ (Wells 1982c, p. 502; Labov 1966). A flock
of dancing pigeons have an exaggerated Indian accent, and the pigeon
Hamir is represented in a stereotypical and parodic way by exploiting
phonological and morphosyntactic features typical of Indian English
(Kachru 1983). Furthermore, when the zoo animals are in the jungle,
Benny is mistaken for a ball of dung by a group of dung beetles rolling
their balls of dung, singing and dancing. The dung beetles have long
blonde hair, red lips and wear colourful clothes that resemble traditional
Tirolese costumes and speak with a marked German accent, using the
recognisably German words Achtung and ja. The visual elements and
their accent and pronunciation are definitely meant to quickly create a
humorous characterisation. Stereotypical and stylised German-accented
and Indian-accented English are thus exploited in this film together with
a stereotypical New York or Brooklyn accent to bring about instant char-
acterisation and to trigger humour. Table 4.7 summarises the Language
varieties spoken in The Wild .
140 V. Minutella
Table 4.6 Language varieties spoken in the Madagascar trilogy

Alex Ben Stiller Main character General American
Lion
Marty Chris Rock Main character General
Zebra American, AAE
intonation and
rhythm
Gloria Jada Pinkett Main character General
Smith Hippo American,
AAE intonation
and rhythm
Melman David Main character General American
Schwimmer Giraffe
King Julien Sacha Baron Lemur Indian-accented
Cohen King English
Moto Moto will.i.am Minor character AAVE
Hippo
Zuba Bernie Mac Alex’s father General
Lion American,
AAVE intonation
and rhythm
Florrie Sherri Shepherd Secondary General
character American, AAVE
Alex’s mother intonation and
Lion rhythm
Makunga Alec Baldwin Antagonist, General American
villain
Alex’s uncle
Captain Chantal Frances Antagonist French-accented
Dubois McDormand Animal Control English,
Officer French words and
expressions
Stefano Martin Short Helper to Italian-accented
protagonists English
Sea lion
Gia Jessica Chastain Helper to Italian-accented
protagonists English
Leopard
Vitaly Bryan Cranston Siberian Tiger Russian-accented
English,
Russian words
and expressions
(continued)
Table 4.6 (continued)

Penguins Tom McGrath, Penguins General American
Chris Miller, A few lines in
Christopher Spanish with an
Knights, English accent
John DiMaggio
Table 4.7 Language varieties spoken in The Wild

Name of Role in the film
character Voice actor/actress Occupation Language variety
Samson Kiefer Sutherland Protagonist General American
Lion
Ryan Greg Cipes Protagonist General American
Lion cub
Bridget Janeane Garofalo Protagonist General American
Giraffe
Benny Jim Belushi Squirrel General American
Nigel Eddie Izzard Koala BrE
Stan Lenny Venito Alligator New York accent,
Brooklynese
Carmine Joseph Siravo Alligator New York accent,
Brooklynese
Hamir Christian Pigeons Indian-accented
and other Argueta/David English,
pigeons Cowgill Indian English
features
Dung beetles Nika Futterman Dung beetles German-accented
Julianne Buescher English,
German words
and expressions
4.3.8 Language Variation in the Cars

Films (2006, 2011)
In Pixar’s Cars films, whose protagonist is the racing car Lightning

McQueen (Owen Wilson), most of the characters speak native varieties
of English (mainly General American), but several non-native varieties
of English are also spoken, especially in Cars 2. In the first film the
popular fancy car McQueen finds himself in Radiator Springs, a tiny
ghost town on Route 66. The contrast between the racing champion and
142 V. Minutella
the village cars is immediately evident, both visually and linguistically.

McQueen’s language and behaviour contrast in particular with those of
Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), a rusty tow truck who will become his
best friend. As soon as we hear him speak, an American audience under-
stands that Mater is both uneducated and rustic. As will be discussed later
in the book, Mater has a broad southern accent and uses non-standard
grammatical features typical of Southern American English (Finegan and
Rickford 2004) such as double negation and ‘ain’t’. As Montgomery puts
it:
In the original Cars, Mater, who has a thick American southern twang,
is strongly demarcated as lower class both visibly (vis-à-vis his rusted
carriage) and audibly through his poor grammar and mispronunciations.
In the English language version, this characterization is also audibly
communicated through vocal performer Daniel Whitney’s (also known
by his stage persona, ‘Larry the Cable Guy’) trademark ‘redneck’ humour
and put on, exaggerated southern accent. (2017, p. 89)
The non-standard, native variety of American English spoken by Mater is

used to provide quick comic characterisation since this Southern Amer-
ican English variety is often used in Hollywood films for the stereotype
of the southern, rustic, uneducated simpleton.
Non-native varieties also abound in the Cars films. For instance,
some Radiator Springs inhabitants are linguistically and visually repre-
sented as being Italian or of Italian origin. As will be discussed in
Chapter 7, the mechanic Guido (Guido Quaroni) speaks only Italian
and nobody except for his friend Luigi understands him. The old 500
car Luigi (Tony Shalhoub) speaks an Italian American ethnolect with
the stereotypical pronunciation and rhythm of Italians living in the
United States and ungrammaticalities. In addition, lines in Italian and
in an Italian-accented English are used to a large extent in Cars 2
when the World Grand Prix takes place in Italy. The minor Italian
characters of Uncle Topolino and Mamma Topolino (Franco Nero and
Vanessa Redgrave) alternate between Italian and Italian-accented English
(with a few ungrammaticalities). Furthermore, the antagonist Formula
One racing car Francesco Bernouilli (voiced by Italian American John
Turturro) is clearly represented both in his behaviour and in his language

through long-established stereotypes of Italians. Chapter 8 will illustrate
that linguistic features used in Francesco’s speech connoting Italianness
are phonetic, lexical and syntactic (ungrammaticalities).
The characters in Cars 2 speak several native and non-native varieties
of English and more than one language. British English is exploited to
establish the setting (the United Kingdom) and to provide characteri-
sation. The contrast between American English and British English is
highlighted when Lightning McQueen and Mater interact with British
Intelligence agents Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell
(Emily Mortimer), Sir Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard) and the Queen
(Vanessa Redgrave). British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton has
a cameo role. The film also contains some words in French and some
French-accented English, which has the function of indicating a change
of setting, giving couleur locale and providing a postcarding effect (Wahl
2005, 2008) since the first race of the World Grand Prix takes place
in Paris. French words are inserted into the speech of Finn McMis-
sile and the French cars he interacts with. Such “spectacular fragments”
(Rampton 1999, p. 423) are either uttered in isolation or inserted into
English sentences such as Parts for sale, Monsieur! Monsieur! Parts for sale!
(a seller), Imbécile! (car in the street) and Allez! Maintenant – vite! (Finn
McMissile to a driver). German-accented English and German are also
present in Cars 2, though to a minor extent. The evil Professor Zundapp
(Thomas Kretschmann) speaks English with a German accent and uses a
few German words (Guten Tag ), in Germany Franz (a flying car) speaks
with a heavy German accent and the lines uttered by Formula One driver
Michael Schumacher in his cameo role are uttered in Italian with a slight
German accent. A slight Spanish-accented English is also spoken by the
character of Ramone (Cheech Marin), one of the cars living in Radi-
ator Springs. He speaks General American English with some Mexican
Spanish words interspersed (hijole, ese) and a very slight Spanish accent.
The character’s name suggests that he is meant to be portrayed as a
Latino. Table 4.8 summarises the Language varieties spoken in the Cars
films.
144 V. Minutella
Table 4.8 Language varieties spoken in the Cars films

Role in the film
Lightning Owen Wilson Protagonist General American
McQueen Racing car
Tow Mater Larry the Cable Comic sidekick Southern
Guy Main character American English
Tow Truck
American
Finn McMissile Michael Caine British BrE, some
Intelligence English-accented
Agent French
British
Holley Shiftwell Emily Mortimer British BrE
Intelligence
Agent
British
Sir Miles Axlerod Eddie Izzard Villain BrE
British
The Queen Vanessa Redgrave Monarch BrE (RP)
British
Guido Guido Quaroni Mechanic Italian
Italian
Luigi Tony Shalhoub Mechanic Italian-accented
Italian English, Italian
words and
expressions
Uncle Topolino Franco Nero Minor character Italian-accented
Italian English, Italian
Mamma Vanessa Redgrave Minor character Italian-accented
Topolino Italian English, Italian
Francesco John Turturro Racing Car Italian-accented
Bernouilli Antagonist English, Italian
Italian words and
expressions
Professor Thomas Negative German-accented
Zundapp Kretschmann character English, German
German words and
expressions
Franz Minor character German-accented
Flying car English
(continued)

Role in the film
Michael Michael Minor character German-accented
Schumacher Schumacher Racing car English,
German German-accented
Italian
Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Minor character BrE
Racing car
English
Ramone Cheech Marin Radiator Springs General American,
resident Spanish-accented
English,
a few Spanish
words
4.3.9 Language Variation in Ratatouille (2007)
Pixar’s Oscar-winning Ratatouille is a film set in Paris that tells the

improbable story of a rat, Remy, who proves to be a great chef. In this
film language varieties and accents, in particular, are used to establish
the setting of the story. Most of the characters in fact speak English
with a French accent, although the protagonists and other major charac-
ters speak native varieties of English. The rat Remy (Patton Oswalt) and
Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano) speak General American English, while
the severe food critic Anton Ego (voiced by British actor Peter O’Toole)
speaks British English. Many other characters such as the ghost of the
famous restaurant owner and chef Gusteau (a figment of Remy’s imagina-
tion), Colette (the only female chef in Gusteau’s restaurant), the evil chef
Skinner (voiced by the late British actor Sir Ian Holm) and several other
characters speak French-accented English and use some French words
and expressions. Such “spectacular fragments” (Rampton 1999, p. 423)
are used not only to signal the French setting and identity of the charac-
ters, but also to provide caricatures. The heavily French-accented English
spoken by the French characters enhances the comic effect. It should
also be added that one character working in the kitchen (Horst) speaks
English with a German accent, using a few understandable German
146 V. Minutella
words such as ja. As will be discussed in Chapter 7, the linguistic charac-

terisation of chef Skinner is somewhat ambiguous and interesting since
he sometimes fluctuates between a French and a British accent. Neverthe-
less, it can be argued that the representation of the French characters in
Ratatouille uses exaggerated conventional linguistic clichés which render
some of the characters almost caricatural and definitely stereotypical.
Furthermore, the linguistic identities of some characters are not always
consistent since some voice actors shift in and out of a mock French
pronunciation. The fact that none of the actors voicing the French
characters is actually French may also contribute to this stylised repre-
sentation. Furthermore, as will be explored in Chapter 7, the linguistic
representation of chef Colette (Janeane Garofalo) raises some questions
since her use of a broad French accent and some ungrammaticalities
makes her appear less educated than the male characters. Table 4.9
summarises the Language varieties spoken in Ratatouille.
4.3.10 Language Variation in Ice Age 2: The

Meltdown (2006) and Ice Age 3: Dawn
of the Dinosaurs (2009)
The Ice Age films were made by Blue Sky Studios/20th Century Fox.
The protagonists are Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the sloth
(John Leguizamo), Diego the sabre-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) and the
female mammoth Ellie (Queen Latifah). Searching for a milder climate
during the Ice Age, Manny, Diego and Sid end up living together as a
herd and settle down in an isolated valley which they have to leave when
the ice wall surrounding it starts to melt. During their exodus they are
joined by Ellie, a mammoth who is convinced she is a possum since she
has spent all her life with her brothers, two funny possums called Eddie
(Josh Peck) and Crush (Seann William Scott). In the third film of the
saga Manny and Ellie are expecting a baby, Diego wants to leave the
herd and Sid desperately wishes to have a family of his own and thus
steals some dinosaur eggs. Consequently, he ends up in an underground
world inhabited by dinosaurs. The herd is chased by the mother dinosaur
but is helped by a one-eyed weasel called Buck (voiced by British actor
Table 4.9 Language varieties spoken in Ratatouille

Remy Patton Oswalt Protagonist General American
Rat
Chef
Linguini Lou Romano Protagonist General American
Garbage boy,
chef
Djiango Brian Dennehy Secondary General American
character
Rat
Remy’s father
Anton Ego Peter O’Toole Food Critic BrE (RP)
Colette Janeane Garofalo Main character French-accented
Chef English,
French words and
expressions
Skinner Sir Ian Holm Villain, French-accented
antagonist English,
Chef French words and
expressions,
mixture of French
accent and
British accent
Auguste Brad Garrett Ghost chef French-accented
Gusteau Owner of English,
Gusteau’s French words and
restaurant expressions
Horst Will Arnett Chef German-accented
English
Simon Pegg) who looks and behaves like a pirate and has a strong British
accent.
The main characters in these films speak native varieties of English,
more specifically General American English. Sid is slightly differentiated
in linguistic terms due to his use of a sigmatic /s/ and of a few Spanish
expressions such as Qué pasa? The fact that he is voiced by Colombian
American actor Leguizamo may suggest that his ethnicity was a way to
linguistically characterise the sloth. Moreover, as pointed out by King,
Lugo-Lugo and Bloodsworth-Lugo (2010, p. 124), Sid is insulted as a
result of the racial/ethnic slur uttered by two rhinos who call him a
‘furry piñata’. Accordingly: “to attach the character of the sloth to the
148 V. Minutella
Table 4.10 Language varieties spoken in the Ice Age films

Name of Role in the film Language
character Voice actor/actress Occupation variety
Manny Ray Romano Main character General
Mammoth American
Sid John Leguizamo Main character General
Sloth American, very
few Spanish
words and
expressions
Diego Denis Leary Main character General
Sabre-toothed tiger American
Ellie Queen Latifah Main character General
Mammoth American
Eddie Josh Peck Secondary character General
Possum American
Crush Seann William Secondary character General
Scott Possum American
Buck Simon Pegg Secondary character BrE (Estuary
Weasel English)
Pirate
voice of John Leguizamo easily makes the ‘Latinos as lazy’ connection

quite explicit” (2010, pp. 125). However, despite King, Lugo-Lugo and
Bloodsworth-Lugo’s criticism I would argue that in the Ice Age films
Sid’s linguistic characterisation does not appear to be a stereotypical or
exaggerated representation of Latinos since he does not speak Spanish-
accented English. He speaks General American with very few Spanish
words. What is typical of this character’s linguistic identity, on the other
hand, is his speech impediment which is combined with his naive and
clumsy behaviour, creating comedic moments. Table 4.10 summarises
the Language varieties spoken in the Ice Age films.
4.3.11 Language Variation in Toy Story 3 (2010)
Pixar’s Oscar-winning Toy Story 3 follows the adventures of Andy’s toys

when their owner leaves for college. Rather than being put in the attic,
as Andy had planned, the bag the toys are in is mistakenly taken to
the Sunnyside day care centre where many excited kids play with them.
Sunnyside is ruled by Lotso, a pink teddybear that turns out to be evil

and locks them in.
The language variety spoken in the film is predominantly General
American English with some social and geographical variance. Most of
the characters are voiced by US actors such as Tom Hanks (the cowboy
Woody), Tim Allen (the space ranger Buzz Lightyear), Joan Cusack (the
cowgirl Jessie), Ned Beatty (the teddy bear Lotso) and Michael Keaton
(Ken). However, the film is particularly interesting for the purposes of
our study because it displays a rare example of the actual presence of
a language other than English in the dialogues (Bleichenbacher 2008,
p. 24). In fact, in this film the foreign language does not consist only of
an accent and a few words but is spoken for longer stretches of dialogue
by Buzz Lightyear. When his friends accidentally change his language
setting, Buzz Lightyear speaks several lines in Spanish. The controlled,
serious space ranger toy turns into a Flamenco-dancing flirter who speaks
perfect Spanish with the voice of Spanish actor Javier Fernández-Peña
(http://www.voiceofspain.com/). As will be illustrated in Chapter 6, in
Toy Story 3 the presence of the Spanish language is quantitatively and
qualitatively conspicuous, is spoken quite extensively and is subtitled
in English. Table 4.11 summarises the Language varieties spoken in Toy
Story 3.
Table 4.11 Language varieties spoken in Toy Story 3

Role in the
Name of film Language variety,
character Voice actor/actress Occupation language
Woody Tom Hanks Protagonist General American
Toy
Buzz Lightyear Tim Allen Protagonist General American
Toy
Spanish Buzz Javier Protagonist Spanish (some
Lightyear Fernández-Peña Toy lines)
Jessie Joan Cusack Main character General American
Toy
Lotso Ned Beatty Antagonist General American
Toy
Ken Michael Keaton Toy General American
150 V. Minutella
4.3.12 Language Variation in How to Train Your

Dragon/Dragon Trainer (2010)
How to Train Your Dragon (HTTYD) is based on the book series by

British writer Cressida Cowell and is the first film of a saga whose protag-
onist is young Hiccup, a teenage Viking living on the small island of
Berk. The Vikings’ leader is Stoick the Vast, a big warrior who tries
to defend his people from the danger of dragons and wants his son to
become like him and his friend Gobber. Hiccup, on the other hand, is
very different from his father both physically and in character. One day
Hiccup catches and hurts a very dangerous dragon, a Night Fury, but
rather than killing it he befriends the animal. In this film all the char-
acters speak native varieties of English. The interesting issue regarding
linguistic variation is the clear and deliberate distinction between adults
and the younger generation of Vikings since Stoick (Gerald Butler),
Gobber (Craig Ferguson) and other Vikings belonging to the older
generation speak with a marked Scottish accent and are voiced by Scot-
tish actors, while the young Vikings speak General American English.
Scottish-accented English is thus used to provide characterisation and to
express a contrast between older and younger generations of Vikings.
This aroused some criticism (see Cutler 2016) because the linguistic
portrayal of the Vikings as Scottish is historically inaccurate and because
young people and adults belonging to the same families and living in
the same place speak distinct varieties of English, which is of course
unlikely. However, the fact remains that this is a fictional work and
this linguistic characterisation brought about by casting Scottish and
American voice actors was a deliberate choice possibly aimed at repre-
senting generational differences. Moreover, the use of a Scottish accent is
coherent with the books the film is based on. In fact, the author imag-
ined the island of Berk as being a tiny island in the north of Scotland
in the Hebrides where she used to spend her summers as a child (see
https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/about-cressida/; https://www.cressidac
owell.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/; Cowell, in Miller-Zarneke
2014, pp. 6–7). Table 4.12 summarises the Language varieties spoken in
How to Train Your Dragon/Dragon Trainer.
Table 4.12 Language varieties spoken in How to Train Your Dragon/Dragon

Trainer
Hiccup Jay Baruchel Protagonist General American
Young viking
Stoick the Gerard Butler Main character Scottish-accented
Vast Hiccup’s father, English
leader of the
Vikings
Gobber Craig Ferguson Stoick’s closest Scottish-accented
friend English
Viking
4.3.13 Language Variation in Puss in Boots/Il gatto

con gli stivali (2011)
DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots is a prequel to the Shrek films which sees the
booted cat as the protagonist and tells the story of how he became an
outlaw in search of the legendary magic beans. Puss (Antonio Banderas)
is an orphan who lives in the town of San Ricardo in an orphanage where
he is bullied by other orphans and becomes best friends with the egg
Humpty Alexander Dumpty (voiced by Zach Galifianakis). Some years
later, Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Mexican American Salma Hayek) and
Humpty Dumpty convince Puss in Boots to steal the magic beans from
the evil Jack and Jill (voiced by US actors Billy Bob Thornton and Amy
Sedaris).
The language varieties and languages spoken in the film are General
American, Spanish-accented English and Spanish. Kitty speaks Amer-
ican English with a slight Spanish accent, whereas Puss has a heavy
Spanish-accented English. The minor characters from San Ricardo also
use Spanish-accented English along with some Spanish words and
expressions. Several instances of code-mixing and code-switching (i.e.,
instances of dialogue in which a person switches from one language
to another) provide both setting and character portrayal and can be
considered spectacular fragments (Rampton 1999, p. 423). The Spanish
words found in the dialogues are mainly vocatives, terms referring to
food and people, and exclamations (leche, señor, señorita, maldito huevo,
152 V. Minutella
holy frijoles, adiós, pequeño, mama, etc.). It is worth pointing out that
the evil Jack and Jill speak a social variety of American English: they
have a Southern American accent and use several non-standard syntactic
features such as ‘them’ for ‘those’, double negation and ‘ain’t’, which are
stereotypically associated with Southern American English. As explained
in the DVD extras, this southern accent was deliberately chosen by the
voice talents to represent the rough, dirty, brutal and vicious couple. It
might be argued that in so doing the American stereotype of southerners
as rural, rough and uneducated is conveyed both visually and verbally.
Table 4.13 summarises the Language varieties spoken in Puss in Boots/Il
gatto con gli stivali.
Table 4.13 Language varieties spoken in Puss in Boots/Il gatto con gli stivali
Role in the film
Name of Occupation
character Voice actor/actress Nationality Language variety
Puss in boots Antonio Banderas Protagonist Spanish-accented
Cat English, Spanish
words and
expressions
Humpty Zach Galifianakis Puss’s best friend General American
Alexander Egg
Dumpty
Kitty Softpaws Salma Hayek Main character Slight
Cat Spanish-accented
English, Spanish
words and
expressions
Jack Billy Bob Thornton Antagonist Southern
Man American
English
Jill Amy Sedaris Antagonist Southern
Woman American
English
Comandante Guillermo del Toro Captain of the Spanish-accented
Guards of San English, Spanish
Ricardo words and
expressions
Mama Imelda Constance Marie Puss’s adoptive Spanish-accented
Lopez mother English, Spanish
Woman words and
expressions
4.3.14 Language Variation in Gnomeo &

Juliet/Gnomeo & Giulietta (2011)
The British American production Gnomeo & Juliet is an animated

rewriting of Shakespeare’s tragedy with ceramic garden gnomes as protag-
onists, an obvious happy ending and music by Elton John (who is also
a producer of the film). The Britishness of the story and its protago-
nists is emphasized both visually and verbally. The story is set in Britain
in Stratford-upon-Avon where the gnomes live in the two neighbouring
gardens of Ms Montague and Mr Capulet. The film contains several
verbal and visual allusions to Shakespeare and his plays. Most of the voice
cast is British.
Linguistic variation plays a central role in establishing the setting of
the story, defining the identity of the characters and providing humour
by exploiting several stereotypes. The characters in the film speak mostly
British English with various geographical and social dialects (for a
detailed analysis of language varieties in this film see Bruti and Vignozzi
2016; Minutella 2016). A few characters not belonging to the feuding
families are voiced by US actors and display American accents. Gnomeo
is voiced by Scottish actor James McAvoy who adopts a London youth
accent, Juliet is voiced by Emily Blunt with a middle-class standard
English, the rustic Lord Redbrick by Michael Caine with his distinguish-
able Cockney accent and the more refined Lady Bluebury by Maggie
Smith with an upper-class British English accent. The comic plastic frog
Nanette (Juliet’s friend and nurse) has a Scottish accent conveyed by
Scottish actress Ashley Jensen. American English is spoken by minor
characters such as Terrafirminator (Hulk Hogan), Dolly Gnome (Dolly
Parton) and the red Goon Gnomes (Kelly Asbury), and Dolly Gnome
has a Southern American accent. Another important character in terms
of linguistic characterisation is the pink plastic flamingo Featherstone,
the lovers’ helper. As will be illustrated in Chapter 7, Featherstone
(voiced by US actor Jim Cummings) speaks a Spanish-accented English
with an exaggerated Latin American pronunciation and several Spanish
words and expressions (¡Hola! , ¿Cómo está usted?, Bueno) as well as
ungrammaticalities (Minutella 2016, p. 230). The film also contains a
few, comic lines in Japanese uttered by the Scottish frog Nanette when
154 V. Minutella
Table 4.14 Language varieties spoken in Gnomeo & Juliet

Voice Role in the film Language variety,
Name of character actor/actress Occupation language
Gnomeo James McAvoy Protagonist BrE (London
Gnome youth-accented
BrE)
Juliet Emily Blunt Protagonist BrE (standard,
Gnome middle-class BrE)
Lord Redbrick Michael Caine Gnome BrE (Cockney)
Head of the
Blues
Gnomeo’s
father
Lady Bluebury Maggie Smith Gnome BrE (upper-class
Head of the BrE, RP)
Reds
Juliet’s mother
Tybalt Antagonist BrE (Cockney)
Gnome
Juliet’s cousin
Nanette Ashley Jensen Decorative frog Scottish English,
Juliet’s nurse Japanese
Terrafirminator Hulk Hogan Lawnmower General American
Dolly Gnome Dolly Parton Minor character Southern
Gnome American accent
Goon gnomes Kelly Asbury Gnomes General American
Featherstone Jim Cummings Helper to Spanish-accented
protagonists English, Spanish
Decorative words and
flamingo expressions
Bill Shakespeare Patrick Stewart Statue BrE (RP)
Juliet is disguised and moves like a female Ninja warrior. Table 4.14
summarises the Language varieties spoken in Gnomeo & Juliet.
4.3.15 Language Variation in Rio (2011) and Rio 2

(2014)
The Rio films are a United States/Brazil coproduction by Blue Sky

Studios/20th Century Fox directed by Brazilian Carlos Saldanha. The
domesticated blue macaw Blu (raised in Minnesota as a pet by Linda) is
taken to Rio de Janeiro in order to mate with the only female bird of his
species left (Jewel). In Brazil the American foreigners Linda (Blu’s owner)
and Blu are welcomed by Brazilian ornithologist Tulio and they meet
several characters both animal and human. Linda and Blu take some
time to get accustomed to the new culture. Blu and Jewel are kidnapped
by some bird traffickers/smugglers and the evil cockatoo Nigel. In Rio 2
Blu and Jewel now live in Rio with their kids and they are completely
humanised city birds. They decide to go to Amazonia in order to help
the couple Linda and Tulio save the birds living in the Amazon forest.
When the family and their friends reach the forest, they discover a flock
of blue macaws and Jewel’s father. Blu finds it difficult to live in the
natural world and with his father-in-law.
The voice cast includes Jesse Eisenberg (Blu), Leslie Mann (Linda),
Anne Hathaway (Jewel), Andy García (Eduardo), New Zealand actor
Jemaine Clement (the cockatoo Nigel), Mexican American George Lopez
(the toucan Rafael), Brazilian Rodrigo Santoro (the Brazilian ornithol-
ogist Tulio) and African American celebrities Jamie Foxx (the canary
Nico), will.i.am (the red-crested cardinal Pedro) and Tracy Morgan (the
bulldog Luiz).
The language varieties spoken in the Rio films are General American
English, New Zealand English, AAVE, Brazilian Portuguese-accented
English and some slight Spanish-accented English. Some Brazilian
Portuguese is spoken. Nevertheless, as pointed out by Bruti (2014,
p. 93), despite the Brazilian setting many characters (also those who
are supposed to be Brazilian) speak General American and the amount
of Brazilian Portuguese-accented English and Brazilian Portuguese is
quantitatively scarce (see also De Rosa 2014; Petrucci 2015). In the
Rio films a few instances of spectacular fragments provide couleur locale
and help to establish the setting of the story. As will be discussed
in Chapter 6, a few words in Brazilian Portuguese are uttered by
Jewel when she first meets Blu, but then she immediately switches to
General American. A few words and expressions in Brazilian Portuguese
(Valeo, vem pra cà) are uttered by a man (a minor character) during
the Carnival parade, and Portuguese-accented English is spoken by
the Brazilian bird traffickers. The ornithologist Tulio is the only main
character who has a mild Brazilian accent. Regarding native vari-
eties of English, Pedro, Nico and Luiz are linguistically characterised
156 V. Minutella
through phonetic, prosodic, lexical and syntactic features typical of

AAVE. Nigel, who wants to kill Blu, displays a New Zealand accent,
uses an archaic language and often quotes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
The tree frog Gabi who is in love with Nigel speaks General Amer-
ican, uses archaic words and quotes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet. Table 4.15 summarises the Language varieties spoken in Rio
and Rio 2.
Table 4.15 Language varieties spoken in Rio and Rio 2

Name of Voice Role in the film Language variety
character actor/actress Occupation and language
Blu Jesse Eisenberg Protagonist General American
Blue macaw
Linda Leslie Mann Main character General American
Bird owner
Jewel Anne Protagonist General American,
Hathaway Blue macaw Brazilian
Portuguese (few
lines)
Tulio Rodrigo Main character Slight
Santoro Ornithologist Brazilian-accented
English
Nigel Jemaine Secondary character New Zealand
Clement Villain/Antagonist English with a
Cockatoo New Zealand
accent
Rafael George Lopez Secondary character General American,
Toucan slight
Spanish-accented
English (a few
Spanish words)
Nico Jamie Foxx Secondary character AAVE
Canary
Pedro will.i.am Secondary character AAVE
Red-crested cardinal
Luiz Tracy Morgan Secondary character AAVE
Bulldog
Gabi Kristin Tree frog General American,
Chenoweth archaic language,
middle-English
pronouns and
verb forms
Man during – Minor character Brazilian
carnival Portuguese
4.3.16 Language Variation in Rango (2011)
Paramount’s Oscar-winning Rango is an animated Western. Its protago-

nist is the chameleon Rango, voiced by Johnny Depp. After a car accident
Rango finds himself in the desert in an old village called Dirt whose
inhabitants are mysteriously running out of water. Rango pretends he
is a brave and skilled hero. The village mayor appoints him sheriff and
Rango agrees to help the villagers.
Since Rango refers to Western films, it is set in the ‘Wild Wild
West’ where different types of people meet and clash. As a result, the
language varieties spoken in this film range widely: from General Amer-
ican English to British English (Cockney), Southern American English,
Spanish-accented English and some Spanish. Rango (Johnny Depp), the
Mayor (Ned Beatty) and the dangerous Rattlesnake (British actor Bill
Nighy contriving an American accent) speak General American, while
British English with a marked Cockney accent is spoken by Bad Bill, a
brutish thug voiced by British actor Ray Winstone. Linguistic charac-
terisation is further achieved through the use of a non-standard regional
and social variety of American English. As will be discussed in Chapter 5,
the inhabitants of Dirt and other minor characters have a southern US
accent and use non-standard grammatical features such as ‘ain’t’, double
negation, ‘them’ for ‘those’ and copula omission. They speak Southern
American English. Non-native varieties of English and other languages
are also important in this film. As will be illustrated in Chapter 7,
Spanish-accented English interspersed with several Spanish words and
expressions (some of them typical of Latin American Spanish) are used
by the narrators (the four Mariachi Owls who play the guitar and
sing) as well as by a desert frog. American English, British English and
Spanish-accented English are thus the main language varieties spoken,
with several words and expressions in Spanish. The film also contains
some rude language, taboo words and expressions (uttered in Spanish
such as cojones) and hints at some rude English expressions. Table 4.16
summarises the Language varieties spoken in Rango.
158 V. Minutella
Table 4.16 Language varieties spoken in Rango

Rango Johnny Depp Protagonist General American
Chameleon
Mayor Ned Beatty Antagonist, General American
villain
Mayor of Dirt
Tortoise
Rattlesnake Jake Bill Nighy Antagonist General American
Snake
Bad Bill Ray Winstone Antagonist BrE (Cockney)
Tax collector,
bandit
Gila monster
Mariachi Owls George Del Narrators Spanish-accented
Hoyo, Gore Musicians and English,
Verbinski singers Spanish words
Owls and expressions
Rock-Eye Joe Nuñez Minor character Spanish-accented
Desert frog English, Spanish
words and
expressions
Beans Isla Fisher Female lead, Southern
village girl American
Iguana English
Balthasar Harry Dean Thief Southern
Stanton American
English
4.3.17 Language Variation in Brave/Ribelle-The

Brave (2012)
Disney-Pixar’s Brave is set in Scotland in an undefined time. The protag-

onist is the Scottish Princess Merida, daughter of King Fergus and Queen
Elinor. Merida is a brave, unconventional princess who does not want
to abide by the rules and conventions of tradition, does not want to
become a ‘proper’ queen like her mother and prefers to ride horses
and play with bows and arrows. Other characters are Merida’s brothers
(the naughty identical triplets Hamish, Hubert and Harry), members
of other Scottish clans and a witch. The film has an all-British cast.
Merida is voiced by Kelly MacDonald, King Fergus by Billy Connelly,
Lord Dingwall by Robbie Coltrane, Lord MacIntosh by Craig Ferguson

and Young MacIntosh by Steven Cree (all actors from Glasgow and
the surrounding area). Lord MacGuffin and Young MacGuffin are both
voiced by Scottish actor Kevin McKidd. The voice actors are thus mostly
Scottish, except for Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson) and the Witch
(Julie Walters) who contrive a Scottish accent. In terms of linguistic
representation all the characters speak English natively, using the Scot-
tish English variety. As will be discussed in Chapter 5, the characters’
Scottish identity is portrayed by means of prosodic and lexical features,
by a Scottish accent and by the use of words and expressions typical of
Scottish English such as wee, lass, aye and och and such expressions as
jings, crivens and help ma boab. Moreover, Young MacGuffin utters some
incomprehensible words in Doric. This specific Scottish dialect is used in
order to provide characterisation and humour since nobody can under-
stand Young MacGuffin. Table 4.17 summarises the Language varieties
spoken in Brave/Ribelle-The Brave.
Table 4.17 Language varieties spoken in Brave/Ribelle-The Brave

Role in the film Language
Name of character Voice actor/actress Occupation variety
Merida Kelly McDonald Protagonist Scottish
Princess English
King Fergus Billy Connelly Merida’s father Scottish
King English
Queen Elinor Emma Thompson Merida’s mother Scottish
Queen English
Lord Dingwall Robbie Coltrane Clan head Scottish
English
Lord MacIntosh Craig Ferguson Clan head Scottish
English
Young MacIntosh Steven Cree Merida’s suitor Scottish
Lord McIntosh’s son English
Lord MacGuffin Kevin McKidd Clan head Scottish
English
Young MacGuffin Kevin McKidd Merida’s suitor Doric
Lord MacGuffin’s dialect
son
The Witch Julie Walters Helper to Scottish
protagonist English
160 V. Minutella
4.3.18 Language Variation in Rise

of the Guardians/Le cinque leggende (2012)
This film is based on a series of children’s books by William Joyce about

the guardians of childhood. Each guardian represents and protects an
emotion or human value: North (Santa Claus) is the guardian of wonder,
the Easter Bunny is the guardian of hope, the Tooth Fairy is the guardian
of memory and Sandman is the guardian of dreams. They are guided by
the Man in the Moon who summons them to fight against Pitch Black,
the evil character representing fear and nightmares. Jack Frost is then
chosen to join the guardians of childhood as the guardian of fun.
In this film most characters speak various native varieties of English:
the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and Jack Frost (Chris Pine) speak General
American, the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) speaks Australian English
and the evil Pitch Black (Jude Law) has a charming British English
accent. The one non-native variety of English belongs to North (Alec
Baldwin) who speaks a contrived foreign-accented (Eastern European
or Russian-accented) English. The representation of these characters
through specific linguistic varieties contributes to defining them in terms
of character portrayal, setting (for North) and partly humour (especially
for North who is presented as a comic character. Table 4.18 summarises
the Language varieties spoken in Rise of the Guardians/Le cinque leggende.
4.3.19 Language Variation in Hotel Transylvania

(2012) and Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
The protagonist of the Hotel Transylvania films is Dracula (‘Drac’)

who turns his castle into a hotel where monsters can seek refuge from
dangerous and aggressive humans. Drac lives a happy life with his
monster friends and his daughter Mavis until peace is broken by the
arrival of a young man, the American Jonathan (Johnny), with whom
Mavis falls in love. In the second film of the trilogy Mavis and Johnny
have become parents and live in the castle alongside Drac. They decide
to visit Johnny’s parents in the United States while Drac takes care
of his grandson Dennis. The film highlights the contrast between the
Table 4.18 Language varieties spoken in Rise of the Guardians/Le cinque

leggende
Tooth Fairy Isla Fisher Protagonist General American
Guardian of
Memory
Jack Frost Chris Pine Protagonist General American
Guardian of Fun
Easter Bunny Hugh Jackman Protagonist AusE
Guardian of
Hope
Pitch Black Jude Law Antagonist BrE (RP)
King of
Nightmares
North Alec Baldwin Protagonist Russian-accented or
Guardian of Eastern
Wonder European-accented
English
younger generation and Drac’s old-fashioned mentality. This contrast is

also achieved through verbal means by making Drac (Adam Sandler)
speak with a contrived Eastern European accent, and Johnny (Andy
Samberg) and Mavis (Selena Gomez) speak General American, with
Johnny using several colloquial expressions. The heavy foreign-accented
English contrived by US comedian Sandler has the function of trig-
gering humour. Drac’s stylised linguistic representation is constructed by
means of prosodic features, pronunciation and accent/intonation. Table
4.19 summarises the Language varieties spoken in Hotel Transylvania and
Hotel Transylvania 2.
4.3.20 Language Variation in Turbo (2013)
The protagonist of DreamWorks’ Turbo is Theo, a garden snail whose

dream is to become an Indianapolis 500 champion and whose idol is
French Canadian racing driver Guy Gagné. Turbo lives with his brother
Chet, a more down-to-earth and overly cautious snail, and they both
work in a tomato plant in a garden. After a strange accident Turbo wakes
up with super speed and saves his brother from being eaten by a bird. The
162 V. Minutella
Table 4.19 Language varieties spoken in Hotel Transylvania and Hotel

Transylvania 2
Role in the film
Name of Voice Occupation
character actor/actress Nationality Language variety
Drac Adam Sandler Vampire ‘Transylvanian’-accented
Hotelier English, Eastern
Transylvanian European/Slavic-accented
English
Mavis Selena Gomez Drac’s daughter General American
Vampire
Transylvanian
Johnny Andy Drac’s son-in-law General American
Samberg Human
American
snails end up in a rundown mall in California and are captured by Tito,

a young man who along with his brother Angelo sells tacos from their
taco van. Turbo is then enrolled in the Indy 500 competition where his
hero Guy Gagné tries his best to avoid being defeated by the snail.
The film presents characters who speak both native and non-native
varieties of English. For instance, the hero Turbo (Ryan Reynolds) and
his brother Chet (Paul Giamatti) speak American English, while Spanish-
accented English and French-accented English are spoken in the film
to provide characterisation and comedy. Tito (voiced by Michael Peña)
speaks mainly English with a very slight Spanish accent and uses some
Spanish words and expressions, and Angelo (voiced by Luis Guzmán) has
a heavier Spanish-accented English. French-accented English is spoken
by Canadian racing driver Guy Gagné (voiced by US stand-up come-
dian Bill Hader), a seductive but evil character who speaks with a broad
French accent and sometimes uses French words. Table 4.20 summarises
the Language varieties spoken in Turbo.
4.3.21 Language Variation in Planes (2013)
Disneytoon’s Planes is the story of Dusty Crophopper who fulfils his

dream of taking part in the Wings Around the Globe race against planes
from all over the world. The film contains stereotypical representations of
Table 4.20 Language varieties spoken in Turbo

Turbo Ryan Reynolds Protagonist General American
Snail
Chet Paul Giamatti Turbo’s brother General American
Snail
Tito Michael Peña Turbo’s friend and Spanish-accented
owner English (slight
Taco seller accent), some
Spanish words
and expressions
Angelo Luis Guzmán Tito’s older brother Spanish-accented
Taco seller English,
some Spanish
words and
expressions
Guy Gagné Bill Hader Antagonist French-accented
Racing driver English,
Canadian French words and
expressions
the ethnic ‘other’ through visual and verbal clichés, some cheap humour
that verges on the vulgar and sometimes insulting (sexist) language.
For instance, when the sensual Indian plane Ishani turns her back,
Dusty comments “Look at that propeller!” Or when Mexican plane
El Chupacabra (‘El Chu’) tries to seduce Canadian plane Rochelle by
making romantic jokes, the female plane tired of El Chu’s exagger-
ated behaviour replies by saying that the mind of the Mexican plane is
“teeny tiny”. Stereotypes are also conveyed through linguistic variation.
An attempt to provide authenticity of accent, naturalness and credibility
can be seen in the choice of voice actors. For instance, El Chupacabra
is voiced by Mexican American Carlos Alazraqui, Ishani by Bollywood
actress Priyanka Chopra and British plane Bulldog by English actor
John Cleese. However, this does not prevent the film from indulging
in stereotypes and parody in an attempt to make the audience laugh.
Both native and non-native varieties of English are used in this film.
The protagonist Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) and several minor
characters speak General American. British English is used by Bulldog, a
plane whose visual and verbal characterisation is highly caricatural. The
164 V. Minutella
Table 4.21 Language varieties spoken in Planes

Role in the film
Name of Occupation Language variety
character Voice actor/actress Nationality and language
Dusty Dane Cook Protagonist General American
Crophopper Plane
American
El Chupacabra Carlos Alazraqui Race competitor Spanish-accented
Plane English, several
Mexican Spanish words
and expressions
Ishani Priyanka Chopra Race competitor Slight
Plane Indian-accented
Indian English
Bulldog John Cleese Race competitor BrE
Plane
British
Rochelle Julia Louis-Dreyfus Race competitor French-accented
Plane English, French
Canadian words and
expressions
French
Franz Oliver Kalkofe Flying Car German-accented
German English, German
words and
expressions
Mexican identity of El Chu is highlighted both visually and verbally.

He speaks a marked Spanish-accented English and uses several Spanish
words and expressions. Rochelle also speaks a marked French-accented
English and uses some French words and expressions such as J’en sais pas,
oui and magnifique. Some German-accented English and German is also
heard when the race stops in Germany. The easily recognisable German
word Achtung! is used to provide setting, while the minor character Franz
(a flying car) who is a great fan of Dusty, also uses several German
words. Foreign-accented English and foreign languages are thus resorted
to in this film in order to create characters, signal national identity,
trigger humour and provide setting (Germany). Table 4.21 summarises
the Language varieties spoken in Planes.
4.3.22 Language Variation in Despicable Me

2/Cattivissimo me 2 (2013)
Despicable Me 2 is the second film of a trilogy whose protagonist is

Gru, a reformed comic super-villain. In the first film Gru attempted
to steal the moon, but ended up adopting three girls and deciding to
try and live a normal life with them. In Despicable Me 2 Gru joins
the Anti-Villain League, a secret group that fights crime on a global
scale, and has to search for the person who stole a secret Arctic labora-
tory containing a dangerous mutagen. Gru and his new colleague agent
Lucy Wilde search for the culprit in a shopping mall. The suspects are
Eduardo Pérez (the Mexican owner of the Salsa y Salsa restaurant) and
Asian Floyd Eagle-san who sells wigs. In the meantime, Dr Nefario (Gru’s
assistant) leaves his job because he misses being evil and has received a
good job offer, and the little Minions (Gru’s companions and assistants)
mysteriously disappear. The film is particularly interesting in terms of
linguistic characterisation since it includes both native and non-native
varieties of English, as well as a few lines uttered in a foreign language.
Unlike most animated films, the protagonist Gru (Steve Carell) does
not speak General American but rather a contrived, undefined foreign-
accented English. General American is spoken by Lucy, Gru’s adopted
daughters Agnes, Margo and Edith and several other characters, while
British English is spoken by Dr Nefario and Silas Ramsbottom voiced
by English actors Russell Brand and Steve Coogan, respectively. Some
lines in Russian can be heard at the very beginning of the film. Several
varieties of foreign-accented English are spoken in the film. For example,
Spanish-accented English with several Spanish words and expressions is
spoken both by Eduardo Pérez/El Macho (voiced by Peruvian American
actor Benjamin Bratt) and his son Antonio (voiced by American actor
Moises Arias). Italian-accented English is spoken by a waiter in an Italian
restaurant voiced by American director Chris Renaud. The minor char-
acter of Floyd Eagle-san (voiced by Asian American actor Ken Jeong)
speaks American English with a slight foreign accent. Furthermore, the
small naughty yellow creatures called the Minions speak an invented,
166 V. Minutella
almost incomprehensible language along with a few real English, French-

accented and French words.Table 4.22 summarises the Language varieties
spoken in Despicable Me 2/Cattivissimo me 2.
Table 4.22 Language varieties spoken in Despicable Me 2/Cattivissimo me 2

Role in the
film
character actor/actress Nationality Language variety, language
Gru Steve Carell Protagonist Undefined foreign-accented
Reformed English
super-villain (Eastern European accent)
Eduardo Benjamin Suspect, Spanish-accented English,
Pérez/El Bratt villain some Spanish words and
Macho Owner of expressions
Salsa y
Salsa
restaurant
Mexican
Antonio Moises Arias Eduardo’s Spanish-accented English
Pérez son
Lucy Wilde Kristen Wiig Gru’s General American
colleague
Secret agent
Agnes Elsie Fisher Gru’s General American
daughter
Margo Miranda Gru’s General American
Cosgrove daughter
Edith Dana Gaier Gru’s General American
daughter
Dr Nefario Russell Brand Gru’s BrE (Cockney)
assistant
Scientist
Silas Steve Coogan Leader of the BrE (RP)
Ramsbottom Anti-Villain
League
Italian waiter Chris Renaud Minor Italian-accented English
character
Waiter
Floyd Ken Jeong Minor General American,
Eagle-san character slight foreign-accented
Suspect English
Shop owner
Secret Arctic Minor Russian
lab guards characters
(continued)

Role in the
film
character actor/actress Nationality Language variety, language
Minions Pierre Coffin Gru’s Incomprehensible, invented
and Chris assistants language containing some
Renaud Minions English, French-accented
and French words
4.3.23 Language Variation in Mr. Peabody

and Sherman (2014)
A genius dog called Mr Peabody and his adopted son Sherman travel
though time and across the world in the WABAC—a time machine
invented by Mr Peabody. While the story is set in contemporary America,
Mr Peabody and Sherman return to ancient Egypt, to ancient Greece
during the Trojan war, to France during the French Revolution and
to Italy during Leonardo’s work on the Mona Lisa. Such a plethora
of cultures and ages is linguistically represented in the English version
through the use of non-native varieties of English. While Mr Peabody
(Ty Burrell), Sherman (Max Charles), his schoolmate Penny (Ariel
Winterson), her parents and all the Americans in the film speak General
American, some historical figures from other countries speak non-native
varieties of English with foreign accents which are more or less easily
detectable and variously stereotyped. In particular, the linguistic char-
acterisation of Italian Leonardo (Stanley Tucci) and Mona Lisa (Lake
Bell) and of French Marie Antoinette (Lauri Fraser) and Robespierre
(voiced by French production designer Guillaume Aretos) adds a further
layer of humour to a film which abounds in cultural references, allu-
sions and wordplay. Foreign-accented English and lexical features as well
as instances of code-switching and code-mixing convey humour while
signalling the origins of the speakers and the countries where the action
takes place. Words and expressions in French and in Italian serve as
spectacular fragments, as noted for many of the films in the corpus.
168 V. Minutella
Table 4.23 Language varieties spoken in Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Role in the film
character actor/actress Nationality Language variety
Mr Peabody Ty Burrell Protagonist General American
Genius dog
Sherman Max Charles Protagonist General American
Mr Peabody’s
adopted son
Penny Peterson Ariel Winter Sherman’s General American
classmate
Schoolgirl
Leonardo Stanley Tucci Secondary Italian American
character English
Inventor and
artist
Italian
Mona Lisa Lake Bell Secondary Italian American
character Model English
Italian
Robespierre Guillaume Aretos Secondary French-accented
character English,
Politician some French
French words and
expressions
Marie Lauri Fraser Secondary French-accented
Antoinette character English, some
Monarch French words
French and expressions
Albert Einstein Mel Brooks Minor character German-accented
Theoretical English
physicist
German
Furthermore, Mel Brooks also modulates his voice to provide a German

accent for Einstein. Table 4.23 summarises the Language varieties spoken
in Mr. Peabody and Sherman.
4.3.24 Language Variation in The Book of Life/Il

libro della vita (2014)
The Book of Life is directed by Mexican animator Jorge G. Gutiérrez

and starts in a US museum which is visited by some bored teenagers. An
unusual museum guide tells them a story from “The Book of Life” which
takes place in the Mexican town of San Angel. The protagonists are
Manolo (a boy who wants to become a musician despite his family tradi-
tion of bullfighting), his friend and rival Joaquín (a brave boy who will
become a fighter/soldier) and María (the daughter of the village general
with whom both boys are in love). Other important characters are La
Muerte (the ruler of the Land of the Remembered) and Xibalba (the
ruler of the Land of the Forgotten) who belong to the world of the dead
and influence the life of the three friends. In order to save María from
death Manolo enters the realm of the dead during the Mexican celebra-
tion of Día de Muertos and has to face several challenges. The film’s voice
cast is made up of several Latino actors such as Diego Luna (Manolo),
Zoe Saldana (María) and Kate del Castillo (La Muerte). Some Amer-
ican actors voice other characters such as Joaquín (Channing Tatum) and
Xibalba (Ron Perlman).
Both General American and Spanish-accented English are the
language varieties spoken in the film and there are some instances of
code-mixing and code-switching. Spanish words or expressions are used
by various characters to suggest that they should realistically be speaking
Spanish since the story is set in Mexico. Such words as fiesta, mi amor,
señora, señorita, mijo, adiós, buenas noches, Cinco de Mayo, La Muerte and
venga toro abound in the English dialogue. Most of the main charac-
ters tend to speak General American and sometimes with a very slight
Spanish accent (and with Spanish words and expressions interspersed
in their dialogue). A few minor characters speak English with a broad
Spanish accent. The characters who have a broad foreign accent are
María’s father (General Posada), Manolo’s grandmother and some minor
older characters. This results in a generational contrast. As pointed out
by Planchenault (2017, p. 287), the film provides an example of the
“commodification of accented voices across generations: while the grand-
parents and parents speak English with a non-native accent (with the
grandparents displaying the strongest Mexican accent) and code-switch
frequently in Spanish, the children speak unaccented American English.”
Although linguistic characterisation sounds quite authentic, it only rarely
appears like a stylised, stereotypical and comic representation. Table 4.24
170 V. Minutella
Table 4.24 Language varieties spoken in The Book of Life/Il libro della vita
Voice Role in the film
Name of character actor/actress Occupation Language variety
Young Manolo Protagonist General American
Young Joaquín Protagonist General American
Manolo Diego Luna Protagonist General American,
Aspiring slight
musician Spanish-accented
English,
a few Spanish
words and
expressions
Joaquín Channing Main character General American,
Tatum Manolo’s rival sometimes slight
Aspiring soldier Spanish-accented
English, some
Spanish words
and expressions
María Posada Zoe Saldana Main character General American,
Love interest sometimes with
General’s slight
daughter Spanish-accented
English, some
Spanish words
and expressions
General Ramiro Carlos Maria’s father Spanish-accented
Posada Alazraqui General English, some
Spanish words
and expressions
La Muerte Kate del Supporting General American,
Castillo character slight Spanish
Ruler of the accent
Land of the
Remembered
Xibalba Ron Perlman Antagonist General American
(villain)
Ruler of the
Land of the
Forgotten
Carlos Sanchez Hector Manolo’s father Spanish-accented
Helizondo Bullfighter English
Manolo’s Grey Griffin Manolo’s Spanish-accented
grandmother grandmother English
Candle maker Ice Cube Minor character AAVE intonation
and rhythm
(continued)

Voice Role in the film
Name of character actor/actress Occupation Language variety
Minor characters Spanish-accented
English, some
Spanish words
and expressions
summarises the Language varieties spoken in The Book of Life/Il libro della
vita.
4.3.25 Language Variation in Zootopia/Zootropolis

(2016)
In Oscar-winning Disney Animation Studios’ film Zootopia several

mammals, both predators and prey, coexist happily and peacefully in
the ideal town Zootopia, where anyone can become anything they want.
The tiny rabbit Judy Hopps, born and raised in the countryside, has big
dreams and manages to fulfil them in Zootopia where she becomes the
first bunny police officer (and one of the few female officers). Neverthe-
less, although the city is considered a utopian place and a diverse city
that celebrates differences, life is not as perfect as it seems. Prejudice
as well as race and gender discrimination actually occur. For instance,
Judy has to face discrimination in the workplace and being a rabbit and
female she is made to work as a parking control officer; the Mayor is
a lion who bullies his meek secretary (a sheep); and animals are called
names by other animals. Judy is considered a cute and dumb bunny,
Nick Wilde a sly fox and the police receptionist Clawhauser (a cheetah)
a flabby donut-loving cop (and actually eats donuts while working). The
film has been described as an exploration of stereotypes, race and racism,
gender inequalities and discrimination and a portrayal of US multicul-
tural society with its race-related problems and conflicts (Beaudine et al.
2017; see also Soares 2017, p. 26). Crewe argues that “discrimination,
oppression, and inequality operate on multiple axes within the film:
animals experience different treatment based on their size, their specific
172 V. Minutella
species, or more broadly, whether they fall into the category of prey or
predator” (2017, p. 30).
Most of the characters in Zootopia speak English natively with General
American being the prevailing variety. The main characters are Judy
Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and the sly fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman)
who both speak General American. Nevertheless, a few characters speak
social and ethnic varieties of American English or non-standard English.
Despite (or perhaps because of ) the film’s message against stereotypes,
linguistic characterisation contributes to reinforcing specific social stereo-
types. An example is the portrayal of a mafia mobster (a tiny arctic
shrew ironically called Mr Big) speaking Italian American English with a
broad Italian accent. Mr Big’s behaviour and speech clearly allude to Vito
Corleone’s character in the 1972 Godfather film (some dialogue lines are
actually quotations from that film). His daughter Fru Fru (voiced by
Leah Latham) speaks with a less marked Italian American accent. Further
examples of American stereotypes are the countryside fox Gideon Grey
and the thief Duke Weaselton. Gideon Grey (voiced by Phil Johnston)
is a fox who bullied Judy when she was a child but who then becomes
a pastry chef in Judy’s village. He is represented as a southern, rustic
farmer who speaks a variety that can be identified as rural Southern
American English both at the phonetic and lexical level (see Soares 2017,
p. 29). The weasel Duke Weaselton (Alan Tudyk) is negatively portrayed
through his behaviour and language. He is a thief, has a New York
City/Brooklyn accent and speaks a non-standard variety of English with
stigmatised grammatical features such as ain’t and double negation. The
tiny but aggressive Finnick utters a few words using AAVE.
By somehow connoting such secondary characters in a negative way
and having them speak non-standard varieties of American English
(Gideon and Duke) or an ethnolect (Italian American for Mr Big) this
contributes to reinforcing stereotypical representations. The language
spoken by further minor roles is also marked such as that of Yax the
yak (voiced by Tommy Chong) who is the hippie receptionist at the yoga
centre for naturists/naked animals and speaks an idiolect characterised by
a very colloquial register and the frequent use of vocatives such as dude
and bro. This conforms with the comic stereotype of the surfer dude or
dopehead. Another native variety of English spoken in the film is British
English. The head of the police department, the buffalo Chief Bogo, is
voiced by London-born Idris Elba with a standard British English accent
and a formal register.4 Table 4.25 summarises the Language varieties
spoken in Zootopia/Zootropolis.
4.3.26 Language Variation in Sing (2016)
The film Sing is presumably set in a US city and tells the story of the
koala Buster Moon, owner of the Moon Theatre, who decides to organise
a singing contest in the hope of saving his theatre from being closed
down. Since he is facing bankruptcy he asks for the financial support of
rich elderly sheep Miss Nana Noodleman (an opera celebrity) and starts
auditioning several animals. The finalists are the gorilla Johnny (voiced
by British actor Taron Egerton), the white mouse Mike (Seth MacFar-
lane), the porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson), the pigs Gunter and Rosita
(Nick Kroll and Reese Witherspoon) and the elephant Meena (Tori
Kelly). They are coached by Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) who
is helped by his secretary, the chameleon Miss Crawly (voiced by the film
director Garth Jennings) and Moon’s friend the sheep Eddie (John C.
Reilly). Several famous songs are performed by the voice actors.
When it comes to linguistic variation, the anthropomorphic animals
in the film speak both native and non-native varieties of English. Most
of the characters naturally speak General American, while some speak
British English with specific accents signalling their social provenance.
For instance and as will be discussed in Chapter 5, the rich diva Nana
(voiced by British actress Jennifer Saunders) speaks an upper-class British
English (RP); while the gorilla Johnny, his father and his gang of thieves
have a working-class Cockney accent. In terms of linguistic character-
isation the mouse Mike has a slight East Coast/New York accent and
may be said to speak with a cool New York street flavour to sound like a
4 Eightnative speakers of British English and one native speaker of American English identified
the language variety spoken by Chief Bogo as British English. Four British English speakers
also detected an East London accent (see also Dore 2019), while two detected an accent that
was a mixture of British and American.
174 V. Minutella
Table 4.25 Language varieties spoken in Zootopia/Zootropolis

Name of Voice Role in the film Language variety
character actor/actress Occupation Language
Judy Hopps Ginnifer Protagonist General American
Goodwin Police officer
Nick Wilde Jason Bateman Main character General American
Mayor J. K. Simmons Mayor of General American
Lionheart Zootopia
Bellwether Jenny Slate Mayor’s General American
secretary
Clawhauser Nate Torrence Police officer General American
receptionist
Mr Big Maurice Antagonist Italian American
LeMarche (negative English, some Italian
character) words
Crime boss
Fru Fru Leah Latham Mr Big’s Slight Italian American
daughter English
Duke Alan Tudyk Minor character New York accent,
Weaselton (negative non-standard grammar
character)
Thief
Gideon Grey Phil Johnston Minor character Southern US English,
(negative non-standard grammar
character
– Judy’s school
bully)
Farmer, pastry
chef
Yax Tommy Chong Minor character General American,
Yoga centre with Californian surfer
receptionist dude, dopehead
Hippie idiolect
Chief Bogo Idris Elba Minor character British English
Police chief
Judy’s Boss
Finnick Tommy ‘Tiny’ Minor character AAVE
Lister Con artist
Nangi Rita Geddy Yoga instructor Slight Indian accent
gangster.5 Non-native varieties of English are also spoken by the German

pig Gunter and some aggressive Russian bears who like gambling and
5Iwould like to thank Claudia Gvirzman Dichter, Giselle Spiteri Miggiani, Antonio Romano,
Christopher Taylor, Stuart Doherty and Shan Hirst for their comments.
playing cards. As will be discussed in Chapter 7, Gunter uses a broad and

stylised German-accented English whose phonetic, lexical and syntactic
features are used to index the pig’s German identity and contribute to
making him a funny character, also due to his over-the-top behaviour
and voice quality. Another language in addition to English is used in
this film. A group of female red pandas sing and speak only in Japanese
(unsubtitled). The foreign language creates comic communication prob-
lems during the auditions and rehearsals. Table 4.26 summarises the
Language varieties spoken in Sing (2016).
4.3.27 Language Variation in Coco (2017)
Disney -Pixar’s Coco is a story set in Mexico whose protagonist is Miguel,

a boy who loves music and whose idol is singer and actor Ernesto de la
Cruz. Miguel, however, cannot play the guitar since music is banned in
his family. During the celebrations for Día de los Muertos Miguel steals
a guitar in order to take part in a competition and ends up in the realm
of the Dead, meeting his idol and his ancestors. In order to return to his
world Miguel has to be blessed by a dead member of his family. This will
enable him to meet his old Mama Coco again and save the memory of
his great grandfather from oblivion.
Given the setting and plot of the story, the filmmakers clearly
attempted to provide an accurate and respectful portrayal of Mexican
culture. Director Unkrich and his team were well aware that they could
be criticised for appropriating and distorting Mexican culture and tradi-
tions, as well as for providing a fake representation of Mexican cultural
elements and language through stereotypes and clichés. By choosing
Latino voice actors and discussing various issues with several Hispanic
consultants they managed to avoid criticism (Ugwu 2017, online). When
it came to language, it was important to work with believable dialogue
that resembled the real language spoken by Mexican people as much as
possible and to have “an all-Latino cast” that would deliver the lines natu-
rally (Moreno 2016, online). For example, one of the main characters
(Miguel) was voiced by Anthony González, another (Héctor) by Gael
García Bernal and yet another (Mamá Coco) by Ana Ofelia Murguia. All
176 V. Minutella
Table 4.26 Language varieties spoken in Sing (2016)

Name of Role in the film Language variety,
Buster Moon Matthew Protagonist General American
McConaughey Theatre owner
Koala
Eddie John C. Reilly Buster’s friend General American
Sheep
Miss Nana Jennifer Saunders Eddie’s aunt British English
Former opera (RP), upper-class
singer British English
Sheep
Johnny Taron Egerton Competitor British English
Singer (Cockney)
Reluctant
criminal
Gorilla
Big Daddy Peter Serafinowicz Minor British English
character (Cockney)
Johnny’s father
Thief
Gorilla
Mike Seth MacFarlane Competitor Slight East
Singer Coast/New York
Mouse accent
Ash Scarlett Johansson Competitor General American
Singer
Porcupine
Gunter Nick Kroll Competitor German-accented
Singer English, some
Pig German words
and expressions
Rosita Reese Competitor General American
Witherspoon Singer
Mother of
several piglets
Pig
Meena Tori Kelly Competitor General American
Singer
Elephant
Miss Crawly Garth Jennings Secondary General American
character
Secretary
Red pandas Uncredited Minor Japanese
characters
(continued)

Name of Role in the film Language variety,
Russian bears Jim Cummings Minor Slight
characters Russian-accented
(negative) English
Brown bears
the characters speak foreign-accented English and frequently code-switch

and code-mix between English and Spanish (English L1 and Spanish L3).
A New York Times article commented that the main characters slipping
“in and out of untranslated Spanish [is] a rarity in commercial American
cinema” (Ugwu 2017, online). A natural-sounding Spanish-accented
English that is neither contrived nor stylised is thus used throughout
the film to signal the setting of the story, indicating that the charac-
ters would normally speak Spanish and defining the characters’ Mexican
identity. Accents are neither heavy nor mock since the aim of linguistic
characterisation was not for comic or parodic rendering, but rather for
credible and natural-sounding dialogue. Moreover, minor characters in
the street tend to utter Spanish words or expressions such as greetings
and leave-takings to add couleur locale. Examples of lexical items found
in the film dialogues are family terms (mamá, papá, tío, abuelita), inter-
jections and exclamations (¡ay, Dios mio! ), vocatives (muchacho, chamaco,
mijo) and greetings and leave-takings, pragmatic formulae and terms
referring to Mexican culture and food (muchas gracias, de nada, ¡ay, ay
ay, muchacho! , chorizo, alebrijes, Día de los Muertos, ofrenda, vámonos).
Table 4.27 summarises the Language varieties spoken in Coco.
4.3.28 Language Variation in Ferdinand (2017)
Ferdinand is a film set in Spain loosely based on a 1936 book by Munro

Leaf and Robert Lawson. The film tells the story of the bull Ferdinand
who lives on a bull farm but refuses to fight and loves flowers. After his
father is taken to the Plaza de Toros and fails to return, Ferdinand escapes
and is adopted by a girl who lives with her father and a dog in the lovely,
flowery countryside. Ferdinand becomes the girl’s best friend, but he is
178 V. Minutella
Table 4.27 Language varieties spoken in Coco

Name of Voice Role in the film Language variety,
character actor/actress Occupation language
Miguel Anthony Protagonist Spanish/Mexican-accented
González Musician English, Spanish/Mexican
words and expressions
Ernesto Benjamin Main character Spanish-accented English,
de la Bratt Musician and actor Spanish words and
Cruz expressions
Héctor Gael García Main character Spanish/Mexican-accented
Bernal Mamá Coco’s father English, some
Musician Spanish/Mexican words
and expressions
Mamá Alanna Miguel’s ancestor Spanish-accented English,
Imelda Ubach Mamá Coco’s Spanish words and
mother expressions
Mamá Ana Ofelia Miguel’s great- Spanish/Mexican-accented
Coco Murguia grandmother English, some
Spanish/Mexican words
and expressions
caught by his ex-owner during a flower festival in which he accidentally

causes havoc in the village and is taken back to the Casa del Toro. Once
there, Ferdinand tries to help his former friends to escape. However, the
bullfighter El Primero chooses Ferdinand for his last corrida in Madrid.
Since the setting of the story is clearly Spain (Andalucía) all the char-
acters except for some bulls are meant to be Spanish. This could suggest
the choice of a Spanish-speaking (either Spanish or Latino) cast and the
use of Spanish-accented English or of Spanish words interspersed in the
characters’ speech. However, the fact that the story takes place in Spain is
suggested mainly through visual elements and through very few Spanish
words or Spanish-speaking minor characters who provide a postcarding
effect. In fact, the protagonist is voiced by US wrestler, actor and rapper
John Cena and most of the main characters speak General American
or British English. The use of Spanish-accented English and Spanish
amounts to a few words uttered by Moreno (voiced by Raúl Esparza) the
owner of the Casa del Toro, the bullfighter El Primero (voiced by Miguel
Ángel Silvestre) and other minor characters voiced by Spanish or Latino
voice talents such as Colombian singer Juanes (Nina’s father). The film
also contains some unexpected language varieties and languages which
are used for comic purposes only. These are Scottish English which is
spoken by the bull Angus (voiced by Scottish actor David Tennant) and
the German-accented English spoken by three ridiculous dancing horses
called Hans, Klaus and Greta (voiced by Flula Borg, Boris Kodjoe and
Sally Phillips). Table 4.28 summarises the Language varieties spoken in
Ferdinand .
Table 4.28 Language varieties spoken in Ferdinand

Ferdinand John Cena Protagonist General American
Bull
Moreno Raúl Esparza Antagonist Spanish-accented
Owner of Casa English, some
del Toro Spanish words
and expressions
El Primero Miguel Ángel Antagonist Spanish-accented
Silvestre Bullfighter English, some
Spanish words
and expressions
Juan Juanes Nina’s father Spanish-accented
Florist English, some
Spanish words
and expressions
Angus David Tennant Secondary Scottish English
character
Ferdinand’s
friend
Scottish
Highland bull
Hans, Klaus and Flula Borg, Boris Minor German-accented
Greta Kodjoe and Sally antagonists English, some
Phillips Dancing horses German words
and expressions
Lupe Kate McKinnon Secondary General American
character
Ferdinand’s
friend
Goat
People in the Spanish words and
streets and in expressions
the Plaza de
Toros
180 V. Minutella
4.4 Trends in Linguistic Characterisation

in the Films: A Summary of Characters
by Language Groups
In her study of Disney animated films Lippi-Green provides a list of
the animated characters analysed by major language groups and evalu-
ates the characters’ actions and motivations (Lippi-Green 1997, p. 90;
2012, p. 117). She groups them into such categories as US, British,
Foreign (language group) and positive, negative, mixed, unclear (moti-
vations and actions). As she argues (2012, p. 117), “interesting patterns
come forward when we examine the representation of specific languages
linked to national origin, race, or characterization.”
If we examine the characters in the animated films of our corpus
following Lippi-Green’s methodology and take into account the language
group they belong to (i.e., the variety they speak), their national origin,
their role in the film, their actions/motivations (whether they have a posi-
tive, negative or mixed characterisation) and their visual representation,
then some interesting patterns appear to emerge in the representation
of language varieties and character types. These will be described in the
following sections.
4.4.1 Regularities in Native Varieties of English
In her analysis of what variety of English characters speak in Disney

animated films Lippi-Green (2012, p. 115) reveals that 56% speak Amer-
ican English, 33% British English, 2% other native varieties of English
and 9% non-native English. This means that most of the characters
in the Disney films analysed by Lippi-Green (2012) (approximately
90%) “speak English natively, with an American or British or Australian
accent” (Lippi-Green 2012, p. 115). More specifically, the most frequent
variety spoken in Disney films is what Lippi Green calls ‘Standard Amer-
ican English’ (*SAE), although she adds the asterisk to highlight the
fact that she believes the term ‘standard’ is inaccurate: she disagrees
with “the idea of a homogenous, standard American English” which she
describes as “a mythical beast” (Lippi-Green 2012, p. 62) (on debates
in sociolinguistics about the persistence of standard/non-standard terms

see Coupland 2002). In this book the terms American English and
‘General American’ have been chosen (see Finegan and Rickford 2004;
Kirkpatrick 2007). The varieties spoken by characters in Disney films
according to Lippi-Green’s study are the following:
For the most part (43.1 percent) they speak something approximating
*SAE. Another 13.9 percent speak varieties of US English which are asso-
ciated with particular geographic area [sic ], racial, ethnic or economic
groups. Less stigmatized varieties of British English are spoken by 21.8
percent. (2012, p. 115)
These data signal that within American and British varieties further
differences can be highlighted. While only around 14% of the speakers
of American English speak a “regionally or socially peripheral” variety of
AmE and only 11% speak a variety of BrE that is “regionally or socially
marked as peripheral” (Lippi-Green 2012, p. 115), the most frequently
adopted variety in the Disney films analysed by Lippi-Green is General
American (*SAE) followed by Standard British English. Regional and
social varieties of BrE and AmE are used for fewer characters and
therefore it is plausible to think that they are exploited to provide char-
acterisation and differentiation to mark the characters as ‘different’ or
‘other’.
Regarding our corpus of animated films, just over two-thirds (68%)
of the characters speak native varieties of English, the remainder
(32%) speaking non-native varieties of English. The great majority of
English native speakers (69%) speak varieties of American English, one-
quarter (25%) speak varieties of British English and a small minority
(6%) speak other native varieties. General American dominates (81%)
within the varieties of American English, while other characters speak
regional or social varieties such as Southern American English, AAVE,
New York/Brooklynese. These data appear to confirm the dominance
of General American in the animated films analysed, although the
182 V. Minutella
percentage of characters speaking non-native varieties of English is higher

in our corpus (32%) than in Lippi-Green’s (9%).6
The choice of a specific variety of English contributes to character
portrayal in the animated films analysed in this book and is often mean-
ingful since it may convey specific connotations or traits. Broad national
varieties such as British English, Australian English, Scottish English, as
well as regional or social dialects of American and British English are used
in these films and may have a number of functions: to convey meaning,
to indicate the setting of the story, to provide contrast, to create character
or to trigger humour. As pointed out by Bleichenbacher, third languages
can realistically be used “as a background noise to create a certain ambi-
ence or indicate localities,” to “indicate a character’s nationality in favour
of authenticity,” to “portray a character – often connected with stereo-
types”, to “be an element of suspense” or “a comic element” (2008,
p. 28).
General American English Heroes
The first important regularity found in the films is that almost all the
main/leading characters and heroes speak General American English—
not foreign-accented English, other native varieties of English or
commonly stigmatised varieties of English (socially or regionally periph-
eral varieties of American and British English). This also happens in
films that are set in countries where the main language of communi-
cation would not be English such as Ratatouille, Ferdinand and Rio.
This confirms previous studies by several scholars (see Lippi-Green 1997,
2012; Petrucci 2015; Planchenault 2015 among others) who argue that
most characters in Hollywood films and in Disney animated films speak
a standard variety of American English. Petrucci points out the presence
of “an essentialist language ideology whereby, in the eyes of mainstream
Hollywood at least, the default nationality for English speakers is Amer-
ican and the default accent for English is Standard American English”
(2015, p. 397).
6I would like to thank Stuart Doherty for providing these data, creating tables and pie charts.
In the 37 films analysed only 2 main characters speak a native variety

of English other than General American (Merida in Brave and Oscar in
Shark Tale) and 3 speak a broad foreign-accented English: Puss in Puss in
Boots, Gru in Despicable Me and Dracula in Hotel Transylvania. Another
2 main characters speak a mild foreign-accented English in a couple of
recent films set in Mexico: Manolo in The Book of Life and Miguel in
Coco. This prevalence of General American as the preferred variety for
the leading characters in the corpus confirms previous studies and shows
that not only Disney but all the US majors favour this policy in voice
casting and character portrayal.
Second, General American is the prevailing language variety spoken in
the films making up the corpus and is not only used by both main and
secondary characters but also by characters whose actions and motiva-
tions can be positive, negative or a mixture. This confirms Lippi-Green’s
(2012) analysis and comments made by various scholars who have noted
that most of the characters in Hollywood films and in animated films, in
particular, tend to speak Standard American English.
Other Varieties of American English
Within the native varieties of English, and American varieties of English

in particular, Southern American English and African American Vernac-
ular English appear to be used to provide stereotypical representations of
characters. Such varieties are considered by Lippi-Green as “regionally
or socially marked as peripheral” (2012, p. 115). Southern American
English and AAVE tend to be spoken by secondary characters and
by characters who are portrayed as somehow negative or carry some
negative connotations. Combined with the visual portrayal of the charac-
ters, such varieties contribute to providing stereotypical representations,
thus reaffirming the negative stereotypes attached to American south-
erners and African Americans and enhancing the stigmatisation of these
non-standard native varieties of English.
184 V. Minutella
Southern American English
Some of the characters speaking Southern American English act posi-

tively and have positive motivations (Tow Mater in Cars and some of
the people of Dirt in Rango), others are definitely negative (Jack and
Jill in Puss in Boots, the bully fox Gideon Grey in Zootopia, the thieves in
Rango), yet others are ambiguous (Cookie in Atlantis). Nevertheless, they
are all visually represented as scruffy, rustic, rough, uneducated, a bit dull
or dim-witted. The verbal and visual representation of these characters is
presumably meant to release laughter in the Anglo-American audience
who are supposed to immediately recognise the stereotypes and to enjoy
the caricature. According to Ramírez Berg, the American southerner
constitutes an in-group stereotype termed “hayseed rednecks” (Ramírez
Berg 2002, p. 22). This stereotype is also discussed in Phillips’ study of
the perception of Standard American English and Southern American
English (2010, p. 56) in which she concludes that “Southern-accented
speakers trigger stereotypic perceptions” and “low intelligence and low
wealth are strong, common stereotypes associated with American South-
erners” (2010, p. 53). It is also worth noting that in the film corpus
only two female characters (i.e., the evil Jill in Puss in Boots and the
nice Beans in Rango) speak using non-standard grammar. On the other
hand, although a few positive characters in the film corpus speak with
a Southern American accent, they mostly use standard grammar. Exam-
ples are Slinky Dog in Toy Story 3 and Dolly Gnome in Gnomeo & Juliet
(on the features of Southern American English see Finegan and Rickford
2004; Lippi-Green 2012).
African American Vernacular English (AAVE)
The characters speaking an African American variety of English can be

split into two groups each of which displays a few specific features of
AAVE (on AAVE see Green 2002; Lippi-Green 2012; Lanehart 2015 in
particular). The first group consists of female characters, positive char-
acters and main characters. They are all voiced by African American
actors who speak a variety of English that cannot be classified as AAVE
in all respects since they use standard grammar, have an accent close to
General American but do at the same time display AAVE intonation and
rhythm. These characters seem to be aligned with mainstream American
English and their linguistic identity as AAVE is only conveyed through
their intonation.
On the other hand, other characters who speak AAVE use several non-
standard grammatical features typical of this variety of English. Such
characters share some personality/behaviour features and are all male.
The typical non-standard linguistic markers of AAVE thus appear to
be associated with negative or at least ambiguous male characters. The
non-standard grammatical features of AAVE used in the films in the
corpus and the way in which these characters speak will be discussed
in Chapter 5, which will also analyse how the specificities of AAVE
are tackled by dubbing professionals. As previously observed, AAVE is
another stigmatised variety of American English which appears to be
largely used in the films analysed to provide negative stereotypical repre-
sentations of African Americans. Characters speaking AAVE in the films
tend to be funny, lazy and/or uneducated and are often comic sidekicks
or con artists. Moreover, they are often in animal form. Several non-
standard features typical of AAVE can be found in the speech of comic
characters who represent specific stereotypes of African Americans and
are mostly voiced by African American (male) voice talents. Examples
are Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) in Shrek; the hippo Moto Moto
in Madagascar 2 (voiced by will.i.am); the canary Pedro, the red cardinal
Nico and the bulldog Luiz (voiced by will.i.am, Jamie Foxx and Tracy
Morgan, respectively) in Rio; the fish Oscar (voiced by Will Smith) in
Shark Tale; and Finnick in Zootopia. It is worth pointing out that Oscar
is the only character speaking AAVE who is also the protagonist of a film
in our corpus. However, he is not a proper hero since his behaviour is not
entirely positive. It is also worth mentioning that characters portrayed as
speakers of AAVE appear in non-Disney films and all appear in animal
form. This suggests that the findings by Lippi-Green on AAVE in Disney
films also apply to films by other US production companies and there-
fore such characterisations are likely to be due to a prevailing casting
trend. This is in line with the stereotypical negative representations of
African Americans as jokesters and as having animal form, as discussed
186 V. Minutella
by Lippi-Green (1997, pp. 91–95; 2012, pp. 121–123). Bloomquist

further comments on stereotypes of African Americans in animated films
as ‘contemporary cooning’ (a coon is a raccoon and in US slang it is
used derogatorily to refer to a person of colour), providing as examples
the characters “voiced by today’s Black comedians” (Bloomquist 2015,
p. 750).
On the other hand, the zebra Marty in Madagascar and all the female
characters voiced by African American actresses or celebrities tend to
speak American English devoid of non-standard grammar features typical
of AAVE albeit with mild AAVE intonation or rhythm, or “fluctu-
ating between mainstream US English and AAVE” (Lippi-Green 2012,
p. 121).
The films also portray other characters who are not in animal form,
who are represented visually as African American and whose speech does
not contain exaggerated AAVE features. Rather, they may be said to
speak standard American English with AAVE intonation and rhythm.
They are Dr Joshua Sweet in Atlantis and Cobra Bubbles in Lilo and
Stitch. Lippi-Green suggests that the choice of a more standard variety of
American English for these characters may be due to the fact that they
are positive. This again would thus support the hypothesis that AAVE is
associated with negative characterisation (Lippi-Green 2012, p. 123).
The New York Accent (Brooklynese)
The films in the corpus also contain characters who speak with a
working-class New York/Brooklyn accent. These are the funny alliga-
tors Stan and Carmine living in New York’s sewers in Disney’s The Wild
and the thief Duke Weaselton in Zootopia. Such characters take the
form of animals, are rough and might be associated with underworld
activity and/or criminality. Their speech displays stereotypical phonetic
features (e.g., dropped /r/, ‘th’ pronounced as ‘d’) and some non-standard
grammar. The mouse Mike in Sing also speaks with a New York accent,
although his linguistic characterisation is less marked and he does not
use any non-standard features. Nevertheless, he is also associated with
negative behaviour in that he is quite aggressive and cheats at cards.
British English
Another regularity that can be found in the films is that British English
is often used to connote a character as different from speakers of Amer-
ican English. Assigning a British accent, whether regionally or socially
marked, to a specific character indexes specific tropes and is an important
means of character construction (see also Planchenault 2015, p. 122 for a
similar point related to Frenchness). Moreover, although Planchenault’s
comment refers to Frenchness, it can be applied to any non-American
accent such as British or Australian accents: “what is indexed […] is plain
otherness” (Planchenault 2015, p. 122, emphasis in the original ).
Several scholars and critics have noticed that villains in Hollywood
films including animations often speak British English (Lippi-Green,
1997, p. 122; Chiaro 2008, p. 16; Rojek 2008, pp. 131–134; Corrius
and Zabalbeascoa 2011, p. 121; Minutella 2014, p. 70; Minutella
2016; Ranzato 2018b, p. 223 among others). As argued by Rojek:
“Surely, Hollywood’s predilection for using British actors to play villains
reflects wider Western cultural perceptions of the British as pathologi-
cally reserved and unfeeling.” Rojek also added that “the British model
of reserve is well suited for representations of villainy because it smacks
of innate superiority” (Rojek 2008, pp. 131, 133). Other “villainous
traits that Hollywood associates with the British” include supercilious-
ness, conviction of innate superiority, emotional frigidity, indifference
and extreme self-control by constricting their emotions (Rojek 2008,
pp. 131–132). Examples of ‘superior’ villains speaking Standard British
English (RP) in our corpus of animated films are Pitch Black in Rise of
the Guardians, Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2
and Sir Miles Axlerod in Cars 2.
Lippi-Green (1997, 2012) has also observed that “rich people and
aristocrats, in France or elsewhere, speak with British accents no matter
what their logical language” (1997, p. 100). In the films analysed several
characters speaking British English are represented as upper-class British
speakers and portrayed as rich, aristocratic, refined and posh. Examples
of such characters are King Harold and Queen Lillian in Shrek 2, the
food critic Anton Ego in Ratatouille, the statue of Shakespeare and Lady
Bluebury in Gnomeo & Juliet, the Queen in Cars 2 and Nana in Sing.
188 V. Minutella
The actors voicing these characters are all British. The films analysed thus
confirm the association between the socially prestigious British English
variety and two character types: the evil and the posh/refined.
A further pattern in linguistic characterisation that emerges in the
films making up the corpus is that a non-posh British English variety
or a more working-class London accent appears to be frequently used for
rougher characters. Regional and social varieties of English may signal
that the character is working class or less cultured, thus confirming the
frequent association made between working-class British English, typi-
cally spoken with a Cockney accent, and rough or ambiguous characters.
Linguistic stereotypes linked to stigmatised varieties of British English are
thus also present in the animated films analysed (on social and regional
British dialects of English in films see Ranzato 2010, 2018a, b; Hodson
2014). Ranzato (2018a, p. 241) argues that “Cockney is […] used in
telecinematic narratives to represent the working class type as opposed
to more refined individuals.” She provides several examples of “how the
Cockney character is often narratively contrasted to others of a superior
social class, and of how the voice of the Cockney is used to portray char-
acters of dubious moral standing” (Ranzato 2018a, p. 242). Examples of
characters having such features in the animated films analysed are Tybalt
and Lord Redbrick in Gnomeo & Juliet; Dr Nefario in Despicable Me 2;
the alligator Bad Bill in Rango; the gorilla Johnny, his father and a gang
of thieves in Sing; and the lazy sea lions Fluke and Rudder in Finding
Dory.
Although the function of these British English varieties is usually to
provide characterisation (evil, posh, rough or uneducated), it may also be
to trigger humour, to establish the setting or to provide a contrast with
speakers of other varieties (General American, in particular).
Scottish English
Other native varieties of English are also exploited in the films to connote
otherness (i.e., to differentiate them from the majority of American
English speakers, to provide characterisation and sometimes to signal
the setting of the story). Unlike other British English varieties such as
RP and Cockney, Scottish English tends to be considered an appealing

variety and to be used for positive characters. Cutler states that Scot-
tish accents carry positive connotations and are associated with ancient
exotic lands, bravery and sexual desirability, especially when compared
with other socially stigmatised varieties of English such as Cockney or
Brooklynese (Cutler 2016, pp. 75–76). Scottish English is used in the
animated films in the corpus to provide setting and for characters who are
positive in that they are funny, strong, brave, big, rough and authentic.
More specifically, a Scottish English variety can be heard in the speech
of the comic frog Nanette in Gnomeo & Juliet, in the dialogue of all the
characters in Brave (which is set in Scotland), in the speech of the adult
Vikings in How to Train Your Dragon and in the lines uttered by the
bull Angus in Ferdinand . Such characters have broad Scottish accents
and are clearly identified both visually and verbally as Scottish. This
supports Planchenault’s observation that in recent years there has been
an increased use of Scottish English in animation to differentiate char-
acters: “it seems that there has been a recent tendency in the world of
animation films to use Scottish accents” (Planchenault 2015, p. 178).
Scottish English in the films analysed fulfils a number of functions:
in Shrek it is used to provide characterisation, humour and contrast;
in Gnomeo & Juliet it is used to convey humour and characterisation;
in How to Train Your Dragon it is used to provide characterisation and
express contrast and humour; and in Ferdinand it is used for character
portrayal and to trigger humour. Moreover, with the exception of Shrek
and two female characters (Elinor in Brave and Valka in How to Train
Your Dragon) Scottish English is conveyed by casting Scottish actors.
Such characters are represented as positive and funny and thus exploit
the positive associations and stereotypes attached to Scottish English.
Australian English
Another native variety of English adopted to provide setting, signal

otherness and partly convey humour is Australian English. Characters
speaking AusE appear in only two corpus films: Finding Nemo and Rise
of the Guardians. In Finding Nemo an Australian accent is used to signal
190 V. Minutella
the setting (Sydney and the Ocean) and is spoken by a few secondary
characters voiced by Australian actors. In Rise of the Guardians the Easter
Bunny is represented both visually and verbally as being Australian. In
the case of the three vegetarian sharks in Finding Nemo and the Easter
Bunny Australian English seems to be emphasised and exaggerated to
connote Australianness and broadness. Their Australian identity is also
highighted by the frequent use of specific typical (arguably stereotypical)
Australian words such as Crikey, G’day and mate and a broad accent.
Such Australian characters have a number of features in common: they
are funny, they are animals, they are all male and they are big, strong,
tough and slightly aggressive, though good. They appear to exemplify
certain Australian male stereotypes such as toughness, physical strength
and being natural, unassuming and direct. Another Australian stereotype
that is hinted at by such characters is the ‘larrikin’ (i.e., an unculti-
vated, rowdy but good-hearted, playful trickster). As pointed out by
Goldsmith, Australian characters on screen are often defined by having
a broad Australian accent. Moreover, several characters display “the traits
that Australians [consider] emblematic of a ‘larrikin’ or ‘ocker’ persona
– unorthodox, profane, prone to using inventive slang, abrasive, compet-
itive, disrespectful of authority” (Goldsmith 2017, p. 84). The Easter
Bunny and his broad Australian accent combined with his behaviour
comply with the stereotype (on media and screen representations of
Australians see Crawford 2010; Goldsmith 2017; Marshall 2019).7
4.4.2 Foreign-Accented English or Non-Native

Varieties of English
The functions of non-native varieties of English (also called foreign-

accented English) in our film corpus are to signal the setting, to provide
characterisation and otherness and to convey humour. An emphasis
on foreign accent/foreignness conveys otherness and comicality. The
stronger the foreign accent, the more comedic the character, while a less
emphasised accent suggests the character is not as funny.
7I would like to thank Tessa Dwyer for her comments about Australian accents and film
stereotypes of Australians.
Some characters speak English with a foreign accent to signal to the

audience their nationality and that the story takes place in a country
where the main language would not be English. This means they
would realistically be speaking another language which is suggested
by their accent and a few foreign words interspersed in the dialogue.
This happens, for instance, in Ratatouille (France), Rio (Brazil), Cars
2 (Italy, Germany and France), Mr. Peabody and Sherman (France and
Italy), Madagascar 3 (Monte Carlo), Ferdinand and Puss in Boots (Spain,
Mexico) and Coco and The Book of Life (Mexico).
Foreign-accented English also appears to be used to provide char-
acterisation (i.e., to “reveal character”; Kozloff 2000, p. 43), to signal
otherness and very often to trigger humour. In fact, it is often associ-
ated with comic characters and intended to make the audience laugh
by emphasising an accent and providing a caricatural effect. An exag-
gerated representation of foreign-accented English is often conveyed
through the use of prosodic, phonetic features combined with foreign or
foreign-sounding lexis and sometimes ungrammaticalities. Examples of
comic characters speaking foreign-accented English are French-accented
Chantal DuBois and Italian-accented Stefano in Madagascar 3, Colette
and Skinner in Ratatouille, Gunter in Sing, El Chupacabra in Planes,
El Macho in Despicable Me 2, Featherstone in Gnomeo & Juliet and
Francesco Bernouilli in Cars 2.
As pointed out above, the main characters or heroes in the corpus of
films seldom speak foreign-accented English. The only heroes who speak
foreign-accented English are Puss in Boots in the eponymous film, Gru
in Despicable Me 2 and Dracula in Hotel Transylvania. Spanish-accented
Puss in Boots was a secondary character in the Shrek saga, but became the
protagonist of a new film when the filmmakers decided to make a film as
a result of the character’s popularity. The heavy Spanish characterisation
of Puss in Boots is due to the celebrity of his Spanish voice actor Antonio
Banderas who enjoyed great popularity thanks to this vocal performance.
Gru’s foreign Eastern European accent is a contrived invented accent that
comedian Steve Carell put on in order to provide comic characterisation
and one that does not claim any authenticity or realism. Drac’s foreign
‘Transylvanian’ accent is again a mock contrived accent that US actor
Adam Sandler resorted to for comic characterisation and one that might
192 V. Minutella
be suggestive of Dracula’s origins. This makes the audience immediately

recognise the speaker as the ‘other’, while not claiming to be authentic
and realistic since the purpose is merely to give a hint of otherness and
create humour.
Although foreign-accented characters are sometimes negative, the
quantitative data available do not suggest that there is any association
between ‘foreign’ and ‘negative’ in the films under study since several
villains are also American or British. On the other hand, there is a
clear association between ‘foreign’ and ‘comic/parodic’ in the animated
films making up the corpus. Chapter 7 will describe and analyse the
linguistic representation of foreign-accented characters and their dubbing
into Italian.
French-Accented English: French and Canadian Characters
French-accented English is used to provide setting (Ratatouille, Mada-

gascar 3, Mr. Peabody and Sherman), to provide characterisation, to
signal otherness and above all to convey stereotypes (mostly negative)
and caricatures of the French and of Canadians. It is always emphasised
and always comic. Ferber (2008), Lippi-Green (2012), and Planchenault
(2015) have discussed French stereotypes in the media, particularly in
Hollywood and Disney films. Lippi-Green has observed that the French
in Disney films are associated with food, are sensual rascals or are iras-
cible. As she puts it, “the truly French, the prototypical French, are
those persons associated with food preparation or presentation” and “if
a personality is established at all, there are two basic personality types
available to them: the irascible […] and the sensual rascal” (Lippi-Green
1997, p. 111).
Planchenault emphasises the “emblematic rudeness of the French” and
summarises “the values attached to French culture and people which are
represented in the American media” (2015, p. 104). She points out that
French culture is associated with “authenticity; tradition; romance; arts;
gastronomy; fashion” (2015, p. 104). Moreover, she analyses the French
as having positive and negative values/qualities that can be grouped as
follows:
(+) Passionate, sensual, hedonist, romantic, intellectuals and artists,

elegant, proud;
(–) Arrogant, big mouth, quick-tempered, philanderer, inconstant.
(Planchenault 2015, p. 215)
French-speaking characters in the animated films analysed certainly

comply with such stereotypes. The French-accented characters in Rata-
touille are clear examples of the French stereotypes identified by Lippi-
Green in Disney films: they are chefs and two of them, in particular (i.e.,
Skinner and Colette), are quite abrupt and ill-tempered. As Planchenault
points out in her analysis of French-accented English in Hollywood
films, “rudeness, though often represented as more typical of the French
male behaviour, may also be displayed by French women, as when
Colette abruptly interrupts Linguini’s interview (Ratatouille, 2007) with
the line: ‘We hate to be rude but we’re French’” (Planchenault 2015,
p. 112). The French characters in the Shrek films also comply with mass
media stereotypes of the French as being associated with food prepara-
tion, sexual banter, rudeness and effeminacy (Lippi-Green 1997, p. 100;
Ferber 2008; Planchenault 2015, pp. 111–112). French is used to estab-
lish the setting in Ratatouille, Mr. Peabody and Sherman and Madagascar
3: Europe’s Most Wanted . Rude characters are found in the Shrek films
(Monsieur Hood), Atlantis (Moliére), Ratatouille (Chef Skinner and
Colette), Madagascar 3 (the villain Captain Chantal DuBois) and Turbo
(the arrogant and evil Canadian pilot Guy Gagné). Characters associated
with food are found in Ratatouille and the Shrek films. Sensual char-
acters are found in Shrek (the sensual rascal Monsieur Hood, who tries
to seduce Fiona) and Planes (Canadian plane Rochelle is portrayed as a
witty, sensual character). In most cases, French-accented characters are
funny and their linguistic characterisation provides a caricatural comic
portrayal.
Spanish-Accented English: Spanish and Latino Characters
As is usually the case, regardless of the foreign language providing

the accent, the function of Spanish-accented English is to provide
setting, signal otherness, portray characters, evoke stereotypes and trigger
194 V. Minutella
humour. Spanish-accented English is spoken by characters who are

clearly native speakers of Spanish either from Spain, Latin America or the
United States. However, it is important to acknowledge here that such
characters make use of at least two varieties of Spanish accent since this
is closely linked to the type of stereotypical portrayal they are expected
to give in the films. Some characters speak with a Spanish accent (from
Spain), while others speak with a Latin American accent (from the Amer-
ican continent) and use lexis that is typical of this broad variety of
Spanish. This distinction is also important because the actors voicing
the characters may have a number of very different identities: they may
be Spanish or US citizens with Latin American origins (US Latinos) or
actors from Latin American countries (Latin Americans). Moreover, the
characters in the films analysed are visually represented using stereotypes.
Nevertheless, for ease of analysis we will not distinguish between the
types of Spanish-accented English in this study since differences are not
easy to draw.
The terminology used to refer to such stereotypes and to Spanish
speakers belonging to various nationalities and backgrounds is not only a
complex issue, but it is also ideologically and politically laden. Following
Ramírez Berg (2002), I will call all the Spanish-speaking characters who
are from the American continent Latinos. Ramírez Berg’s explanation is
worth quoting in full since it is relevant to our analysis:
“Latino” is the umbrella term for people of Latin American descent

that in recent years has supplanted the more imprecise and bureaucratic
designation “Hispanic.” Thus Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, Mexican
Americans, and any people who trace their ethnic roots back to Central
or South America are considered Latino if they live in the United States.
Those citizens of Central or South America I refer to as Latin Americans,
or by their specific nationality. However, when speaking of the stereo-
types developed by Hollywood, I have used the term “Latino stereotypes”
to mean both U.S. Latinos and Latin Americans. I do this for the sake of
convenience and to emphasize the fact that Hollywood did not differen-
tiate between these two broad groups in its stereotyping imagery. As far
as Hollywood was concerned, U.S. Latinos and Latin Americans could all
be lumped together as people with identical characteristics; as such, they
could all be uniformly depicted stereotypically as bandits, harlots, Latin

lovers, and so forth. (Ramírez Berg 2002, pp. 5–6)
Some of the Spanish-accented characters found in the animated films

analysed are represented through stereotypes of Latinos and Spanish
people. Spanish-accented English is spoken in the Shrek films, in Puss
in Boots, in Toy Story 3 and in Ferdinand . In some cases the representa-
tional strategy is one of deliberate exaggeration, while in others (only a
few) it is realism. Spanish-accented English is used to signal the setting
and provide characterisation in Puss in Boots, The Book of Life, Ferdinand
(just a few instances and a few minor characters) and Coco.
In several cases the films make use of spectacular fragments (some
Spanish words are inserted in the English dialogue) and Spanish-accented
dialogue. These occur in all the films in which Spanish-speaking charac-
ters appear. However, some recent films also display cases of code-mixing
and English–Spanish code-switching. Code-switching is typical of bilin-
gual speakers and is often employed by US Latinos. In the film Coco
(2017) instances of code-switching can be observed and greater use of the
Spanish language in the film dialogue compared with previous films can
be noted since the filmmakers attempted to realistically portray Mexican
culture and cast Latino voice actors. Longer stretches of Spanish are also
used in Rango, where a trio of owls are dressed as mariachis and sing
songs peppered with Spanish words (code-mixing). Such films will be
further discussed in Chapter 7. The portrayal of US Latinos and Latin
Americans, especially Mexicans, is quite often through Latino stereo-
types/caricatures. Spanish-accented characters in the films analysed are
represented as passionate, sensual Latin lovers; seducers; salsa or flamenco
dancers; flamboyant bullfighters; guitarists/musicians; and food sellers
(surrounded by objects representing Mexicanness). A Mexican identity
is associated with food (churros, guacamole, nachos, etc.), music and
dance, facial hair and romance. The following characters in the films
analysed speak Spanish-accented English:
– Audrey Ramirez in Atlantis (mainly speaking General American, she

delivers a single line in Spanish; her Spanish is aimed at characterisa-
tion and differentiation).
196 V. Minutella
– Puss in Boots in the Shrek films and in Puss in Boots (the Span-
ishness of the cat is highlighted through verbal and visual elements;
his Spanish-accented English and some Spanish words are aimed at
characterisation and comedy).
– Ramone in the Cars films (his slight Spanish accent is aimed at
character portrayal and enhancing comedy).
– Featherstone in Gnomeo & Juliet (his broad Spanish accent and some
Spanish words are aimed at comic characterisation and at enhancing
humour; this is a stylised representation provided by a US actor).
– the Mariachi Owls in Rango (their broad Spanish-accented English
interspersed with Spanish words through code-mixing provides
setting, triggers humour and creates a Latino-Mexican characterisa-
tion).
– Tito and Angelo in Turbo (they are portrayed as Mexican through
verbal and visual means such as selling tacos, being slightly over-
weight and being funny; the way they speak is aimed at providing
characterisation, stereotypes and humour).
– Eduardo Perez/El Macho and his son Antonio in Despicable Me 2 (El
Macho is clearly identified as being Mexican through a series of visual
and verbal stereotypes; he is the baddy in the film and embodies the
stereotype of the Latino villain found in Hollywood films). As argued
by Ramírez Berg, there is a “long line of Latino movie antagonists
… el bandido […] we expect him to be villainous and to act in
predictably despicable, criminal, and inhumane ways” (2002, pp. 18–
19). El Macho is represented as overweight, has a goatie, is associated
with food and salsa dance and is a Latin lover. Moreover, he is a despi-
cable and cruel person. The visual and verbal portrayal of El Macho
is aimed at creating character, conveying stereotypes and triggering
humour.
– Manolo and other minor characters in The Book of Life (Spanish-
accented English and some Spanish words used as spectacular frag-
ments are meant to provide setting (Mexico) and authenticity; the
characters are mostly positive, though some of them are ridiculed).
– Miguel and all the characters in Coco (Spanish-accented English and
Spanish words/expressions used as spectacular fragments are meant to
define the Mexican setting of the film and employed for character
portrayal in a search for authenticity).
– Some minor characters in Ferdinand (some Spanish-accented English
and Spanish words uttered by secondary characters – not the main
ones; this is aimed at establishing the Spanish setting, portraying
characters and enhancing comedy, with a few stereotypes such as
the Spanish bullfighter El Primero, who is visually and verbally
represented in a comic way).
– El Chupacabra in Planes (the plane is identified as being Mexican
through his heavily Spanish-accented English; this is aimed at
providing characterisation, reaffirming the stereotype of the male
buffoon (Ramírez Berg 2002) and triggering humour).
As can be seen from the above list, many of the characters are Mexicans
or Latinos. Moreover, the most comic and caricatural are Mexican. This
might not be by chance since relations between Mexico and the United
States have a long history.
Italian-Accented English and Italian American:

Representations of Italianness
The representation of characters speaking Italian-accented English and

Italian in the animated films analysed mostly aims at making the audi-
ence laugh and at reinforcing stereotypes of Italians and Italian Amer-
icans. The most prominent stereotype is that of the mafia mobster or
criminal. The negative stereotype of Italian Americans as thugs or crim-
inals can be found in Atlantis (Palermo-born Vinny is a bomb expert
who has spent some time in jail), in Shark tale (the sharks belong to a
mafia family) and in Zootopia (Mr Big is portrayed as a mafia boss). In
the book The Art of Zootopia Mr Big is defined as paying “homage to
the Godfather. He’s like Marlon Brando as an arctic shrew” (Julius 2016,
p. 112). Other common stereotypes found in the animated films analysed
are food-loving, melodramatic, romantic, loud and ill-tempered people
with tight family bonds, especially with their mamma. For instance,
both Francesco Bernouilli in Cars 2 and Mr Big in Zootopia mention
198 V. Minutella
their mamma and grand-mamma, respectively (on stereotypes of Ital-

ians in Hollywood films see Bondanella 2006; Parini 2017, 2019). The
following characters in the films analysed speak Italian-accented English:
– Vinnie in Atlantis (he is partly negative since he is a demolition

expert).
– Don Lino and other sharks in Shark Tale (they are negative since they
are associated with the mafia).
– Stefano in Madagascar 3 (his contrived, mock Italian-accented English
is aimed at triggering humour; he is a comic character).
– Gia in Madagascar 3 (her slight contrived, mock Italian-accented
English is aimed at providing characterisation; she is a nice character
who falls in love with Alex, the American leader of the New York zoo
animals).
– Leonardo and Mona Lisa (they speak with an exaggerated, mock
Italian accent; they are comic characters).
– Mr Big in Zootopia (he speaks with an exaggerated, contrived Italian
American accent; this is aimed at mimicking the Godfather film,
reaffirming the mafioso stereotype and triggering humour).
– Francesco Bernouilli in Cars 2 (he has an exaggerated, contrived
Italian accent which is aimed at enhancing humour; he is an arrogant
and rude car).
– Luigi in the Cars films (his Italian-accented English is aimed at comic
characterisation).
– Guido in the Cars films (he is an Italian forklift who works with Guido
and only speaks Italian; this provides characterisation and comedy).
– Uncle Topolino and Mamma Topolino in Cars 2 (their Italian-
accented English and Italian is aimed at providing characterisation,
establishing the setting and enhancing humour).
German-Accented English
German-accented characters appear in seven of the films analysed. Most

of the German-speaking characters in these films tend to have very
minor but mostly positive roles mainly aimed at triggering laughter. They
are predominantly secondary characters whose German identity is high-

lighted through an often exaggerated accent, with a clear comic intent.
Their German-accented English is interspersed with a few easily under-
standable and well-known German words. However, it is worth noting
that one character (Prof. Zundapp) is definitely negative and that the
three horses in Ferdinand are unfriendly, nasty, yet comic and have a
poor sense of humour. Moreover, in two of the films analysed German-
accented characters are dancers (Gunter and the three horses) and in
another two (Shrek and Sing ) they are represented as pigs.
Russian-Accented English and Russian Characters
The films analysed also contain some characters who speak English with
a broad Russian accent and sometimes utter ungrammaticalities. They
are the mad scientist Dr Jumba Jookiba (Lilo & Stitch), the aggressive
tiger Vitaly (Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted ) and the big guardian of
childhood Nicholas St North (Rise of the Guardians). They are all voiced
by US actors. The function of this often exaggerated and contrived
Russian-accented English is to provide humour and to contrast with
other characters. There is a tendency to convey an overtly negative,
but supposedly comical and funny representation of Russians who are
crazy evil geniuses, sometimes aggressive, always big figures and often
criminals. The only positive character is North, who is visually repre-
sented as having a big build. Such an association between characters
speaking English with a Russian accent and being negative (which may
hark back to the Cold War) is also found in Pets 2 (2019), a recently
released animated film by Illumination Entertainment. Here the villain
is the circus owner Sergei, voiced by US comedian Nick Kroll who uses
a Russian accent. This may be the result of cinema’s exploitation of
tropes regarding Russians that are used for quick characterisation, even in
animated films aimed at children. As will be discussed in Chapter 7, it is
worth pointing out that the stylised representations of Russians provided
by US actors in the animated films discussed above include the use of
ungrammaticalities. Russians in such films are portrayed as not only
having an accent, but also making mistakes when they speak English.
200 V. Minutella
This enhances their otherness and distance from the American heroes.
Characters portrayed as Russians also seem to have negative connotations
associated with them. Their visual representation and their aggressive
behaviour combine with their accent to convey the negative stereotype
of Russians. A further negative visual element perhaps needs attention.
Russians are depicted as bears in both Sing and Zootopia. Although they
utter very few lines, the brown bears in Sing seem to be Russian8 since
they have a slight Russian accent. They are portrayed as thugs who drive
fast sports cars; wear fancy clothes, suits, necklaces and sunglasses; play
cards in a nightclub and get angry and violent once they discover that
they have been cheated by Mike. In Zootopia, Mr Big’s bodyguards are
polar bears wearing black suits, thus associating them with the mafia
(presumably an allusion to the Russian mafia).
Brazilian Portuguese-Accented English and Brazilian

Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese and some English spoken with a Brazilian

Portuguese accent are only found in the Rio films. These films contain a
few words and expressions in Brazilian Portuguese such as Jewel’s first
lines in the film; some words uttered by a man during the carnival
including valeo and vem pra cà; and a TV commentary of a football
match. English spoken with a Brazilian Portuguese accent is delivered
by Tulio and a few (mostly negative) secondary characters. Charac-
ters speaking with a Brazilian Portuguese accent are associated with the
Amazon and with birds (Tulio) or are smugglers/criminals (the bird traf-
fickers who speak English with a slight foreign accent that is intermediary
between Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese). Brazilians (especially men)
are depicted in the films as football, samba, music and carnival lovers;
quite emotional and not very practical (Tulio, in particular, cannot keep
things under control); or they are smugglers. Visual tropes of Brazil and
Rio de Janeiro are the carnival, samba, the statue of Christ the Redeemer,
8The dubbing director of the Italian version confirms that the bears are Russian (Mete, p.c. 9
June 2020) and that the client asked them to make them speak with a slight Russian accent
in the dubbed version.
favelas, football matches and the Amazon forest. The presence of visual
stereotypes of Brazilians in Rio has been pointed out by De Rosa (2014)
and Petrucci (2015). As will be discussed in Chapter 6, the minimal use
of this variety of English and Brazilian Portuguese has a “postcarding
function” (Wahl 2005, 2008).
Indian-Accented English
Indian-accented male characters are associated with unpredictable, over-

the-top and ridiculous behaviour (King Julien in Madagascar and the
pigeon Hamir in The Wild ). Female characters are sensual (Ishani in
Planes) or they are associated with Indian music, spirituality and tattoos
(the pigeons in The Wild and the elephant Nangi in Zootopia). It is worth
pointing out that male Indian characters in the films have a marked
accent and sometimes speak with a non-standard grammar, while the
female characters have a slight Indian accent and speak a more standard
English in terms of grammar.
Undefined Eastern European-Accented English
A mock, contrived, foreign-sounding, slightly Eastern European accent is

given to the main characters of the Despicable Me and Hotel Transylvania
films. Although Gru and Drac do not use any foreign words, the actors
voicing them put on a foreign accent that is aimed at signalling their
otherness, their identity (and probably origins) and at triggering humour.
Both characters are linked to evil and darkness. Drac is a vampire and
hence associated with horror, whereas Gru is a super-villain. They both
appear to be cold and sinister, although the characters are positive and
they fulfil the role of the misunderstood monster.
202 V. Minutella
4.5 Foreign Languages/Languages Other

Than English
The corpus also contains a few examples of foreign languages (i.e.,
languages other than English) used in the dialogue (Bleichenbacher
2008, p. 24; O’Sullivan 2011). In 9 of the 37 films some sentences are
uttered in a language other than English such as French, Italian, Spanish,
Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese and the invented language of
Atlantean. Inserting lines of other languages in animated films is aimed at
conveying the setting, providing an audio-postcarding effect (Wahl 2005,
2008), portraying characters, creating identity and expressing otherness
and contrast. A comic function is also always present. In some cases
the use of a foreign language creates confusion and a comic misunder-
standing (on the functions of multilingualism in comedy see De Bonis
2014a, 2014b, 2015b; Chiaro and De Bonis 2019, 2020). There now
follows a brief account of the languages spoken, the films in which they
occur, the function(s) of the foreign language and the translation modes
adopted in the original films to represent such languages (i.e., whether
they are left untranslated, subtitled or translated by a character in the
film acting as an intradiegetic interpreter).
Several lines in Italian are contained in the Cars films; they are
mainly uttered by Guido. In Cars 2 they are also spoken by Mamma
Topolino and Uncle Topolino. Italian is aimed at highlighting otherness
and unintelligibility, signalling an Italian setting and always contributing
to conveying humour. Italian is either left untranslated or translated by
an intradiegetic interpreter within the film. Lines in French are uttered
in Atlantis, Planes and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted by French or
Canadian characters. They are mainly aimed at highlighting the nation-
ality of the speaker and have a comic function. They are almost always
left untranslated either because they can be easily decoded or to stress the
characters’ unintelligibility and enhance humour. Several lines in Spanish
are uttered in Toy Story 3 by Buzz Lightyear. This change of language
creates a change in personality and is comic. The Spanish language is
subtitled into English since Buzz’s words would normally be unintelli-
gible to an English-speaking audience. The presence of Russian consists
of a few exchanges in the opening scene of Despicable Me 2. Russian is
used to establish a foreign setting. It is left untranslated and is therefore

incomprehensible to an English-speaking audience. Japanese is found in
Gnomeo & Juliet and Sing. In Gnomeo & Juliet a few lines are uttered
by the plastic frog Nanette. She speaks a line in Japanese which is subti-
tled into English. Then Nanette switches back to her native English and
subtitles in Japanese are added. The function of these exchanges and of
the whole scene is comedy. In Sing some red pandas sing and speak
in Japanese and Buster Moon tries to communicate with them in their
language with comic outcomes. Miscommunication has a humorous
function and is enhanced by leaving the foreign language untranslated.
Brazilian Portuguese is used in Rio by the blue macaw Jewel when she
meets Blu. Brazilian Portuguese is left untranslated since its aim is to
indicate locality, provide otherness and signal the Brazilian setting and
identity. The invented language of Atlantean is used in Atlantis. As will
be illustrated in Chapter 6, Atlantean is partly subtitled and partly left
untranslated. This language defines the setting, provides characterisation,
emphasises its speakers’ otherness and is important for the development
of the plot (the only American character who understands Atlantean is
the linguist Milo who acts as an interpreter between the adventurers and
the native people of Atlantis).

This chapter has provided an account of the language varieties and
languages spoken in the films. It described which characters speak which
varieties, showing how specific varieties correspond to character types
and highlighting the connotations associated with each variety. Chap-
ters 5–8 will provide an analysis of how language varieties are signalled
in the films and dubbed into Italian. The chapters will explore how
the animated films of the corpus portray language varieties and foreign
languages, how language variation is used to convey the characters’ iden-
tities and will investigate the ways in which such language varieties
are treated in Italian dubbing. The following chapters will investigate
the strategies and techniques adopted in Italian dubbing to deal with
linguistic variation, multilingualism and foreign-accented English in the
204 V. Minutella
animated films making up the corpus. The aim of this analysis is to

explore possible dubbing norms and to establish whether (a) the strate-
gies and norms proposed in previous studies and (b) the hypothesis
and strategies suggested in Chapter 3 can in fact be confirmed. Is it
plausible to hypothesise that native varieties are homogenised and stan-
dardised, while foreign languages, foreign-accented varieties, non-native
varieties or ethnolects are always conveyed and reproduced? Is the pres-
ence of more than one language in the source text of the film dialogues
maintained or neutralised? What happens when L3 in the source text
coincides with L2 (i.e., Italian)? Clearly distinguishing between native
varieties and non-native varieties of English and foreign languages the
next chapter will focus on translation strategies for native varieties of
English.
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214 V. Minutella
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https://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/book/how-to-train-your-dragon/.
Filmography
Atlantis (2001). Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, Walt Disney Feature Animation,
Bend It Like Beckham (2002). Gurinder Chadha, Kintop Pictures, Film
Council, Filmförderung Hamburg, British Sky Broadcasting (BskyB),
British Screen Productions, Bend it Films.
Brave/Ribelle (2012). Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell, Walt
Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios.
Cars 2 (2011). John Lasseter, Brad Lewis, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Anima-
tion Studios.
Coco (2017). Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar
Animation Studios.
Despicable Me (2010). Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Universal Pictures, Illumi-
nation Entertainment.
Despicable Me 2 (2013). Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Universal Pictures,
Ferdinand (2017). Carlos Saldanha, Blue Sky Studios, Davis Entertainment,
20th Century Fox Animation.
Finding Dory (2016). Andrew Stanton, Angus MacLane, Pixar Animation
Gnomeo & Juliet (2011). Kelly Asbury, Rocket Pictures, Arc Productions,
Home (2015). Tim Johnson, DreamWorks Animation.
Pictures Animation.
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015). Genndy Tartakovsky, Columbia Pictures, Sony
Pictures Animation.
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018). Genndy Tartakovsky, Sony

Pictures Animation, Media Rights Capital (MRC), Rough Draft Korea.
How to Train Your Dragon (2010). Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders, DreamWorks
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009). Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier, 20th
Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios.
Blue Sky Studios.
Lilo and Stitch (2002). Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders, Walt Disney Pictures.
Madagascar (2005). Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, DreamWorks Animation,
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008). Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, DreamWorks
Animation, Pacific Data Images.
Media Productions, DreamWorks Animation, Pacific Data Images.
My Fair Lady (1964). George Cukor, Warner Bros.
Planes (2013). Klay Hall, Prana Studios, Disneytoon Studios.
Images.
Ratatouille (2007). Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar
Animation Studios.
Rio (2011). Carlos Saldanha, 20th Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios.
Rio 2 (2014). Carlos Saldanha, 20th Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky
Studios, FortyFour Studios.
Rise of the Guardians (2012). Peter Ramsey, DreamWorks Animation.
Shrek Forever After (2010). Mike Mitchell, DreamWorks Animation, Pacific
Data Images.
Shrek the Third (2007). Chris Miller, Raman Hui, DreamWorks Animation,
216 V. Minutella
Sing (2016). Garth Jennings, Cristophe Lourdelet, Illumination Entertain-

ment, Universal Pictures, Dentsu, Fuji Television Network.
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The Godfather (1972). Francis Ford Coppola, Paramount Pictures, Alfran
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The Wild (2006). Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams, C.O.R.E. Feature Animation,
Toy Story 3 (2010). Lee Unkrich, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation
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Zootopia (2016). Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush, Walt Disney
Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios.
TV Series
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Shallat Chemel, Peter Marc Jacobson et al. (directors), CBS.
The Sopranos (1999–2007). David Chase, HBO.
5
Americans, Brits, Aussies, Etc.: Native
Varieties of English in Italian Dubbing
5.1 Introduction
This chapter focuses on how native varieties of English are used in
animated films and how they are dubbed into Italian. As previously high-
lighted, since the productions are American, the most frequently used
and therefore ‘unmarked’, default variety of English in the films making
up the corpus is General American. Particular emphasis will be placed
on native varieties that signal otherness than the unmarked variety:
British English, some of its regional and social dialects and accents
(upper-class BrE or RP, Cockney/a London accent, Scottish English),
Australian English, and non-standard varieties of American English such
as Southern American English and AAVE.
The chapter will investigate how these native varieties are transferred
to the Italian context from a translational perspective. What are the
strategies adopted in dubbing? Does dubbing convey the nuances in
characterisation provided by geographical and social varieties of English
or does it neutralise, level out and standardise variation, homogenising
regional and social differences? Is standard Italian that is devoid of
any regional accent the preferred choice in Italian dubbing? Chapter 3
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8_5
218 V. Minutella
highlighted that the dubbing professionals consulted felt the differences

between an American accent and a British accent or between different
accents of American English cannot be conveyed in dubbing: characters
speaking with specific accents must speak standard Italian in the dubbed
version. All the dubbing professionals interviewed agree on this point.
Some suggested that in some cases the distinctive features of a British
character may be hinted at by using a formal, refined register (Guadagno,
p.c. 26 January 2016; Morville, p.c. 6 June 2019), while southern US
characters may be given an informal register (La Penna, p.c. 1 March
2019; Morville, p.c. 6 June 2019). Moreover, some professionals stated
that when there is a character with a Brooklyn accent, they often choose a
Sicilian or Neapolitan accent (Vairano, p.c. 28 November 2018). Schol-
arly research in this field (see Chapter 3) has observed that geographical
and social varieties of English tend to be levelled out in dubbing and
subtitling with very few exceptions (see Pavesi 1994, 2005; Taylor 2006;
Chiaro 2008, 2009; Ranzato 2010, 2018a, b; Ellender 2015 on Scot-
tish English in French; Monti 2016; Bruti 2014; Bruti and Vignozzi
2016; Sandrelli 2016 on RP and Cockney in Italian dubbing). The
differences between a character from the north or south of the United
States, between an American speaker and a Scottish one or between a
speaker from London and one from Manchester is usually not conveyed
in dubbing through accents since there is no equivalence between the
connotations of accents of English and accents of Italian.
This chapter explores whether the dubbing professionals’ insights
are confirmed in actual translation/dubbing practice and whether the
homogenising and standardisation norm applies to the genre of animated
films. Is the linguistic identity of characters represented as being
American, British, Australian or as belonging to specific social groups
conveyed/preserved, or is it neutralised or transformed?
Building on the outline sketches of the original films presented in
chapter 4, the present chapter will discuss how the animated films
making up the corpus represent such native varieties and how they are
dealt with in dubbing. We will examine whether a standard, region-
ally neutral Italian is adopted, thus leading to neutralising variation and
to non-characterisation. This raises the question whether homogenisa-
tion is really the norm or whether other strategies are also resorted to.
5 Americans, Brits, Aussies, Etc.: Native Varieties … 219
The use of diatopic varieties to define characters will be analysed in

order to assess whether they are maintained or neutralised in Italian
dubbing. Are the differences between British English, American English,
Australian English, etc. erased? What happens in dubbing when the char-
acters speak native varieties of English (i.e., when their mother tongue is
English)? Are social and regional varieties of English and non-standard
varieties of English neutralised in Italian dubbing? Is the linguistic iden-
tity of the characters lost in dubbing by reducing and neutralising
difference? Are the characters’ individual accents and therefore their iden-
tities neutralised and homogenised into one standard Italian? Or are they
somehow conveyed and, if so, how? Are there any exceptions to the
homogenising norm?
The next sections will analyse in detail those films considered proto-
typical in terms of the strategies adopted in Italian dubbing. We start
with native British English varieties.
5.2 British English Varieties: Is British

English Always Neutralised?
This section explores how characters speaking British English varieties
in the films belonging to the corpus are represented, highlighting the
recurring features of such characters, the stereotypes they convey and
examining how this linguistic identity is treated in Italian dubbing. The
animated films in the corpus exploit stylised representations of several
British English varieties that carry very different connotations and signal
specific character traits, as indicated in the previous chapter. Analysis of
the films suggests that British voices in the films display both upper-class
accents and working-class ones, that there are patterns in dialect repre-
sentation and character type and that characters speaking British English
in animated films are not only villains. The following analysis carried
out on the original and dubbed dialogues investigates whether and how
connotations attached to British varieties are rendered in dubbing, how
the the linguistic varieties attributed to the various characters are dubbed
and whether the strategies deployed are likely to maintain the source text
effect in the target text.
220 V. Minutella
5.2.1 Evil Characters: British Upper-Class Villains

Speaking RP (Received Pronunciation)
Discussing “a character’s verbal competence, the degree to which he or

she shows dexterity or eloquence” Kozloff points out that “given the
general distrust of language, and the overall anti-intellectual tenor of
American culture, it should be no surprise that American films offer
evidence of a deep distrust of verbal proficiency: articulate, polished
speakers […] are almost always villains” (2000, p. 78).
In particular, the variety that is typically used for villains is upper-
class British English termed Received Pronunciation (RP) and sometimes
Upper Received Pronunciation (U-RP) (see Wells 1982, pp. 281–283;
Ranzato 2018b, pp. 205–209; see also Sect. 5.2.2). During an interview
with David Tennant on the UK Channel 4 programme The Last Leg, the
presenter commented that “the posh English accent in particular, because
it’s more educated, is considered to be less trustworthy” (Channel 4, The
Last Leg, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T-J0suoSQM). Ranzato
points out that “many British actors star, indeed, as villains in American
films, and if not all of them speak RP, certainly most of them do. […]
the antagonists played by British actors with a flawless RP are so many
that it would be difficult to choose one as an exemplification” (2018b,
p. 223). Focusing on animated films, Lippi-Green’s description of the
evil lion Scar in The Lion King is worth quoting in full:
Mufasa’s evil brother Scar is voiced in an exaggerated and distinctly effem-

inate British English (Jeremy Irons). This falls into a well-established
practice of rendering evil geniuses as Brits […] but it also portrays homo-
sexuality as evil, untrustworthy, and inauthentic. Scar is also the only lion
with a black mane. (2012, p. 122)
This description is interesting since Lippi-Green highlights two partic-

ular vocal features of this character: his British accent and an affected,
effeminate voice quality and articulation.
Several examples of British English (RP/U-RP) used for villains and
performed by British actors can be found in our corpus of animated films
including, as we recall from Chapter 4, the villain in Cars 2 voiced by
Eddie Izzard. Further examples of prototypical villains (discussed below)

are Pitch Black in Rise of the Guardians voiced by Jude Law and the evil
Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2 voiced by Rupert
Everett and Jennifer Saunders.
Pitch (also called the King of Nightmares and the Boogeyman, a
mythical creature that haunts children’s sleep) is the main antagonist of
the film and fights against the Guardians of Childhood. He displays a
marked British RP accent. The character of Pitch and the casting of Law
to voice him are explained as follows:
Although Pitch, or the Boogeyman, is the enemy of the Guardians, the

filmmakers didn’t want to make him your run-of-the-mill frightening
villain. The goal was to make him a fascinating and complex character
that wouldn’t be too scary for children in the audience. […] When Jude
Law came on board as the voice of Pitch, he became a velvet-voiced
charmer – an intriguing personality that could easily be pitted against
North. (Zahed 2012, pp. 111–112)
The above comments highlight the careful study of character and the
importance of voice casting, type of voice and interpretation to create
characterisation when making the film.
When it came to attributing an Italian voice to this charming but scary
character, dubbing director Mete explained that the different geograph-
ical varieties of English spoken by the Guardians could not be conveyed
in Italian (Mete, p.c. 20 September 2018). He felt it was impossible
to retain the regional connotation of the Eastern Bunny (played by
Australian Hugh Jackman) or the elegance and charm of the British
accent displayed by the evil Pitch Black. Since there could be no clear
Italian equivalents to the connotations attached to geographical and
social varieties of English, the dubbing director attempted to work on
other features of the performance. In particular, when considering the
role of Pitch, Mete and Riccardo Niseem Onorato (the official dubber of
Jude Law) carefully studied the character’s personality and his voice. In
the Italian version Pitch Black had to have a charming, seductive voice
since evil and fear can be fascinating and attractive. Pitch’s distinctive
RP English was thus neutralised in the dubbed version where dubber
222 V. Minutella
Onorato used standard Italian. The connotations attached to Law’s

British accent and his slow pace of delivery were conveyed in dubbing
mainly through vocal performance and modulation of the voice—not
through a specific regional or social accent, nor through lexis or a more
refined register. The following utterance by Pitch in the English orig-
inal contains emphatic adjectives, sarcasm and a question tag. The Italian
dubbed version does not use a formal register, misses the irony and partly
loses the linguistic characterisation:
Example 5.1
Original version Dubbed version

PITCH I have to say, this is very, very PITCH Devo dire che è molto
exciting. The Big Four, all in one emozionante. I Quattro Grandi
place. I’m a little starstruck. Did you tutti insieme. Sono sopraffatto
like my show on the globe, North? dalle stelle. Ti è piaciuto il mio
Got you all together, didn’t I? spettacolo sul globo, Nord? Vi ho
riuniti, visto?
BACK TRANSLATION I have to say
that it is very exciting. The Big
Four all together. I am
overwhelmed by the stars. Did you
like my show on the globe? I got
you all together, see?
In this example it is the dubber’s interpretation of Pitch (i.e., his

elegance expressed through voice quality rather than lexical or stylistic
choices) that attempts to recreate his character. However, translation of
the question tag “didn’t I?” as “visto? ” lacks formality and the dubbed
version does not convey the irony of Pitch’s comment “I’m a little
starstruck” by which he sarcastically means that he is impressed, almost
dazzled/overwhelmed, because the Big Four Guardians of Childhood—
North, the Easter Bunny, Sandman and the Tooth Fairy—have reunited
in order to fight against him. The adjective starstruck (abbagliato dalla
celebrità) is translated as sopraffatto dalle stelle (overwhelmed by the stars),
which does not really express the irony and sarcasm of Pitch’s comment.
In the Shrek films both Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother
speak with a refined, affected voice with a distinctly British RP accent
in the original English version. In the dubbed version both characters
speak standard Italian that is devoid of any regional accent such that their
linguistic characterisation and association with evil, achieved through the

use of RP in the English, is lost. In the dubbed version the evil characters
are not identified through their accent. In fact, they have the same accent
as Shrek, Fiona and other characters: they all speak standard Italian.
Hence, the connotations attached to the language variety spoken by the
Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming (RP) are not (re)created in the
Italian dubbed version: instead, the dubbing actors (Francesco Prando
and Franca D’Amato) attempt to somehow express the evil nature of the
characters through voice quality and vocal performance.
Several other examples of British-accented villains can be found in
the corpus. The strategy used to deal with such characters in dubbing is
always that of levelling out variation and erasing their distinctive accents
using standard Italian. Evil characters speaking British English, and more
specifically RP, are dubbed into standard Italian with neutral pronuncia-
tion and standard diction. We can thus conclude that the homogenising
norm applies to British English when it is used to represent evil char-
acters. Dubbing neutralises linguistic variation. This is confirmed by
ex-Disney creative director Morville who states that “When you have a
villain, what can you do? You can’t give them an English accent because
the others would have to have an American accent. But that’s impossible.
Making them talk with an accent becomes false, artificial” (Morville,
p.c. 4 June 2019). Moreover, using Italian with an English accent may
add comic connotations since accents tend to be associated with comic
characters. It can therefore be considered a norm that all evil charac-
ters displaying an English accent in the films making up the corpus are
dubbed into standard Italian.
5.2.2 Refined, Posh, Rich or Aristocratic Characters
In the films under analysis the same variety of British English is used
by several characters who are not evil, but represented as rich, aristo-
cratic or refined. Such characters tend to be portrayed as upper class:
they speak standard British English marked by an RP or U-RP accent
(on the features of U-RP and its use in films and TV series, see Bruti
and Vignozzi 2016; Sandrelli 2016; Ranzato 2018b). RP or U-RP is
224 V. Minutella
used quite frequently in films, often as a contrast to less refined char-

acters speaking American English or displaying a working-class accent
that is regionally marked. In her analysis of U-RP in films and in
dubbing Ranzato points out that upper-class British speakers in films
display a “frequent use of emphatic accent patterns and of intensifying
modifiers. These features are iconic and have, perhaps for that reason,
an intense interactional effect, at least on outsiders” (Ranzato 2018b,
p. 205). Furthermore, “[t]he use of intensifying modifiers (like extremely)
and hyperbolic adjectives (like outstanding ), as well as the prosodic stress
patterns project self-assurance and an expectation of agreement from the
listener” (2018b, p. 205).
Examples of characters from the films analysed who can be described
as upper-class British speakers include the food critic Anton Ego in Rata-
touille (voiced by Peter O’Toole), the statue of Shakespeare in Gnomeo
& Juliet (voiced by Patrick Stewart), Lady Bluebury in Gnomeo & Juliet
(voiced by Maggie Smith and highlighting the contrast between her
and London working-class character Lord Redbrick voiced by Michael
Caine), the Queen in Cars 2 (voiced by Vanessa Redgrave—she also
voiced the Queen in the dubbed version) and Nana in Sing (voiced
by Jennifer Saunders). In many of these cases it can be argued that the
function of the dialogue and choice of language variety in the films is
more than providing characterisation since they can also be used “to
give an actor a ‘star turn’” (Kozloff 2000; Ranzato 2018a, p. 236).
Ranzato points out that a particular language variety can be used to
give actors/actresses “the opportunity to use a distinctive accent (which
may be his/her own) as a ‘trademark’” (2018a, p. 236), particularly
for actresses. Examples from the Shrek films, Ratatouille and Sing are
provided below.
In Shrek 2 (2004) the green ogre meets Fiona’s parents (the King
and Queen of the Kingdom of Far Far Away). King Harold and Queen
Lillian are completely different from Shrek in appearance, behaviour and
language. They are also very different from their own daughter who in
the first film of the saga was a beautiful lady speaking a formal, refined
Middle English by day, but by night turned into a monstrous green ogre.
Fiona’s parents being royals speak with an RP accent. The King and
Queen’s Britishness is emphasised by their marked accent/pronunciation,
the use of British English expressions, dry humour/sarcasm and under-

statement. In the Italian dubbed version the King and Queen speak
standard Italian, thus losing the connotations attached to the RP delivery.
King Harold, in particular, finds it hard to accept the ogre as his
son-in-law: he argues with him and devises a plot to eliminate him.
Nevertheless, in order to convince Shrek that he has changed his mind
he tries very hard to be kind to him. Examples 5.2 and 5.3 will illustrate
the formality and politeness in King Harold’s speech delivered in the film
in a refined British English accent/upper-class speech (RP).
Example 5.2

KING HAROLD (to Shrek) Do you KING HAROLD Tu pensi che
suppose we could just pretend it possiamo fingere che non sia mai
never happened and start over? accaduto e ricominciare?
BACK TRANSLATION Do you think
we can pretend that never
happened and start over?
The King uses an indirect, very polite question a more direct version of
which would be “Can we pretend it never happened?” The use of formu-
laic politeness is a sociopragmatic feature that is popularly associated with
interactions in spoken British English.
Example 5.3

KING HAROLD (to Shrek) Excellent KING HAROLD Ah, ottima idea! Io, in
idea. I was actually hoping you effetti speravo che potessi unirti a
might join me for a morning hunt. me per una caccia mattutina, una
A little father–son time? … cosetta padre e figlio.
BACK TRANSLATION Ah, great idea! I
was actually hoping you could join
me for a morning hunt, a little
father–son thing.
Example 5.3 contains a hyperbolic adjective (‘excellent’) and a very

polite, typically British indirect formula to express an invitation, with
the use of the modal verb ‘might’ (rather than a more direct question
226 V. Minutella
such as ‘Would you like to join me for a morning hunt?’). Ranzato

points out that “extralinguistic images of ‘elegance’, ‘propriety’, ‘polite-
ness’ and ‘refinement’ are also regularly associated with the use of RP”
(Ranzato 2018b, p. 208). Moreover, King Harold mentions the prac-
tice of hunting, a popular pastime for British aristocrats. The Britishness
of these utterances and of King Harold’s accent, in general, are lost in
dubbing since in the Italian version the actor speaks standard Italian.
The same loss of sociopragmatic and cultural nuances applies to Queen
Lilian’s elegant, controlled character. Her British demeanour and accent
is neutralised in the dubbed version.
Moving on to Ratatouille (2007), it has been noted that many char-
acters speak English with a broad French accent (to signal the setting of
the story and provide stereotypes of the French) and the protagonists (the
rat Remy and the young man Alfredo Linguini) as well as the other rats
speak American English, while the severe, harsh and sharp-witted food
critic Anton Ego (voiced by British actor Peter O’Toole) speaks standard
British English with a distinctly upper-class accent. In the Italian dubbed
version both General American and British English RP are neutralised
and turned into standard Italian. The speech of the rats and of Linguini,
Anton Ego and his collaborator Ambrister (who also has a British accent)
is undifferentiated in the Italian dubbed version since they all speak stan-
dard Italian. In the dubbed version the homogenising norm and the
standardisation of regional and social variety is applied to the British and
American characters in this film, and the elegant, haughty, refined char-
acterisation of food critic Anton Ego through his English RP accent is
lost. Nevertheless, although Ego is undifferentiated in terms of accent in
the Italian dubbed version, his elegant manners, elocution and his British
upper-class speech style are conveyed by resorting to a formal register. In
other words, his linguistic identity is conveyed through the use of a more
refined, formal Italian in order to distinguish the original BrE from AmE
and to signal his personality, social class, education and attitude. The
selection of polished, formal or less common lexical choices appears to
be a translation strategy adopted by dubbing professionals to somehow
compensate for the loss of diatopic variation of British characters.
Anton Ego’s elegance, coldness and Britishness is emphasised in the

description of the character as devised by the filmmakers. The description
of Ego in the book The Art of Ratatouille is particularly interesting:
Carter took the idea of the Ego character we gave him, the angel of
death in the cooking world, the “Grim Eater” who never finishes a meal,
and came back with his delicious, cadaverous, funereal character. Ego is
such a hypercritical kind of vulture that he hardly eats at all. So he’s
thin and gaunt – really the undertaker’s undertaker, there to pass death
sentences to unfortunate eating establishments. The slight stoop, rounded
back, and muffler are all reminiscent of a vulture. And, of course, at
the same time he’s very intelligent and sophisticated and impressed with
his own erudition; he has the ennui of the decadent elite. (Jan Pinkava,
co-director, in Paik 2007, p. 142)
Anton Ego’s visual representation matches the verbal one.

Example 5.4

EGO Then tell me, Ambrister … how EGO Allora dimmi, Ambrister …
could it be … “popular”? come può essere tornato in auge?
BACK TRANSLATION So tell me,
Ambrister … how can he be back
at its peak?
Example 5.4 contains the adjective ‘popular’ which is pronounced by

Ego by “prolonging the steady state of a consonant” (Ranzato 2018b,
p. 208) and lenghthening the final vowel (for a summary of U-RP
features see Wells 1982, pp. 281–283; Ranzato 2018b, pp. 207–208).
Such a U-RP pronunciation of the adjective finds no correspondence in
terms of accent in Italian. However, it is rendered in the Italian dubbed
version by making use of the formal expression in auge, the most formal
of a series of possible Italian translation equivalents for ‘popular’. It
is worth noting that in contemporary dubbed language, especially in
dubbed TV series (perhaps due to synchronisation issues), ‘popular’ is
often rendered with the Italian adjective popolare (a semantic calque from
English). The dubbing team of Ratatouille, on the other hand, rightly
228 V. Minutella
chose a less common, more authentic and more refined expression which
better matches the elegance of Ego.
In Sing (2016) the sheep Miss Nana (voiced by Jennifer Saunders)
is a retired diva, actress and opera singer living in a big villa. She is
represented visually through costumes and gestures as superior, elegant,
rich and posh—and, predictably, she drinks tea. Moreover, she has a
butler. These are all characteristics stereotypically associated with upper-
class British characters. The visual representation is combined with the
linguistic one. In fact, although the film seems to be set in a ficti-
tious American city on the West Coast, Miss Nana is definitely British
and speaks with an upper-class accent. On the other hand, her ‘spine-
less’ grandson Eddie (a sheep voiced by John C. Reilly) and his friend
Buster Moon (a koala voiced by Matthew McConaughey) are American.
Eddie comments on his grandmother by saying that “She’s one mean
sheep.” Moon always looks on the bright side and his motto is: “When
you’ve reached rock bottom, there’s only one way to go, and that’s up!”
This contrast is emphasised by the language varieties they speak. The
following exchange takes place between Miss Nana, her grandson Eddie
and Buster Moon when they visit Nana because Moon wants to persuade
her to fund his singing contest.
Example 5.5

NANA Oh, lucky me. A visit from my NANA Come sono fortunata. Una
useless grandson and his ghastly visita del mio inutile nipote con il
little theatre friend. suo orrido piccolo amico teatrante.
BUSTER MOON Look at that. She BUSTER MOON Hai visto? Si ricorda
remembers me. Okay. Nana. How di me. Okay, Nana. Che ne direbbe
would you like to be the sponsor di diventare lo sponsor di un
for a very prestigious prize? premio molto prestigioso?
NANA Not for that singing contest I NANA Non sarà quella gara di canto
saw on the news. che ho visto al notiziario?
BUSTER MOON That’s the one! BUSTER MOON Proprio quella.
NANA Oh, I see. You don’t have the NANA Oh, capisco. Lei non ha il
money, do you? becco di un quattrino, dico bene?
[…] […]
BUSTER MOON Nana, please, just BUSTER MOON Nana, la prego, mi
listen to me. ascolti solo un secondo.
NANA No, absolutely not. NANA No, assolutamente no.
(continued)
(continued)
EDDIE Don’t listen to him, Nana. EDDIE Non starlo a sentire.
NANA I’m not listening to either of NANA Non sto a sentire nessuno dei
you. Lapsang souchong. No sugar. due. Lapsang souchong e senza
And be quick about it (she gives zucchero. Una cosa rapida.
Eddie a cup and orders him to EDDIE Nana, io … hmm, non so
make tea…) preparare il tè, hmm.
EDDIE Oh, Nana. I I don’t know how […]
to make tea. NANA La prego. Queste lusinghe
[…] sono vane. Non intendo tirarla fuori
NANA Please. This flattery is futile. I dai guai. Ah. È per i suoi patetici
have no intention of bailing you show che il teatro non ha più un
out. Haha. Your pathetic shows are pubblico. […]
the reason that theatre no longer Non erano ‘bei vecchi tempi’, signor
has an audience. Moon. Erano semplicemente
[…] magnifici.
They were not good old days, Mr […] Ricordo ancora […] il sipario che
Moon. They were magnificent. si alzava su quel glorioso
[…] I can recall […] the curtain rising palcoscenico.
over that glorious stage. […]
[…] NANA Ma qualunque cosa pur di non
But anything’s better than spending giocare a dama un’altra sera con
another evening playing checkers quel vecchio babbione.
with this sad old fart. BACK TRANSLATION
NANA How lucky I am. A visit from
my useless grandson with his
horrid little theatre friend.
BUSTER MOON Did you see? She
remembers me. Okay, Nana. What
would you say about becoming the
sponsor of a very prestigious prize?
NANA That won’t be that singing
contest I saw on the news?
BUSTER MOON That’s the one.
NANA Oh, I understand. You don’t
have a single cent, am I right?
[…] Well, you’ll not get a cent out of
me!
BUSTER MOON Nana, please, listen to
me for just a second.
NANA No, absolutely not.
EDDIE Don’t listen to him.
NANA I’m not listening to either of
you. Lapsang souchong and no
sugar. Be quick about it.
EDDIE Nana, I … hmm, I don’t know
how to make tea, hmm.
(continued)
230 V. Minutella
(continued)
[...]
NANA Please. This flattery is futile.
I’m not going to get you out of
trouble. It’s because of your
pathetic shows that the theatre no
longer has an audience. […]
They were not the ‘good old days’,
Mr. Moon. They were simply
magnificent.
[…] I still remember […] the curtain
rising over that glorious stage.
[...] But I’d do anything to avoid
playing checkers yet another
evening with that old idiot.
Even without hearing the spoken dialogue the above exchange shows
the imperious tone of the rich and refined elderly diva Nana. The
social difference between the broke but always positive-thinking Buster
Moon, his lazy laid-back friend Eddie and the overbearing Nana is
reflected in the different varieties of English spoken by each: General
American (Buster and Eddie) and British English (Nana) with a posh,
upper-class accent—an example of the American vs British cinematic
trope (see Ranzato 2018b). Nana’s British essence is conveyed through
Jennifer Saunders’ cold, unemotional comments and orally in her accent
and delivery. Note the intrusive /r/ in ‘I saw on the news’ (/aI sO rAn

ðђ nju z/), ‘don’t’ pronounced as /dђ*nt/, ‘ghastly’ pronounced as

/gA stli/, ‘futile’ pronounced as /fju taIl/, the lengthening of the vowel

‘o’ and the pronunciation of tapped ‘r’ between vowels in ‘glorious’.1

Moreover, Nana’s slowly delivered comment “Oh, lucky me. A visit
from my useless grandson and his ghastly little theatre friend” is both
highly sarcastic and quite offensive (in line with her haughty attitude).
The diva’s rude remark does not in any way affect the koala’s optimistic
and positive approach to life, as he is happy that Nana remembers who
he is. The contrast between the slim, rich and superior Nana and the
little Koala is emphasised visually and linguistically by making them
speak with very different accents. Nana’s Britishness is also conveyed
1I would like to thank Antonio Romano for his help with the phonetic transcriptions.
syntactically and lexically by the use of a question tag (“You don’t have
the money, do you?”), adjectives such as ‘ghastly’, ‘futile’, ‘pathetic’,
‘magnificent’ and ‘glorious’ and by her ordering a speciality tea (what
else would a British person drink in a Hollywood film?). Furthermore,
Nana’s comment on her butler is once again offensive and demonstrates
her unpleasant superiority, while she uses a vulgar British expression “old
fart” (a boring or annoying person), showing what some would regard as
an upper-class disregard of social embarrassment when swearing.
In the Italian dubbed version the connotations attached to each char-
acter’s accent are lost. According to dubbing director Mete (p.c. 9 June
2020), no specific accent was given to Nana, but since she was a diva
they chose an experienced dubbing actress (Rita Savagnone) capable
of providing such a connotation through her voice. Voice modulation,
pitch, rhythm and vocal performance (as well as register and lexical
choices in the dubbing script) help dubbing actors in characterisation,
but no specific accents are used. In fact, Nana oscillates between a highly
formal and more colloquial register since she uses some informal expres-
sions such as the idiom non avere il becco di un quattrino (“to have no
money”) and non caverà un centesimo da me (“you won’t get a cent from
me”) where the verb cavare is more colloquial than the more neutral avere
or ricevere as well as the derogatory expression vecchio babbione that is
used to refer to an uninteresting, silly or stupid older man (similar to
the British “old fart”). It is worth pointing out that the Italian dubbed
version seems to lower the register of Nana’s language since more collo-
quial expressions are used than in the English version. The dubbed
version thus eliminates any trace of regional and class accent, running
the risk of losing the haughty attitude conveyed by the RP spoken by
Nana. Nevertheless, the voice performance of the dubbing actress acted
as the means to bring about characterisation.
5.2.3 British vs American Characters
The film Cars 2 is an excellent example of the use of British and

American English with the function of building characterisation and
232 V. Minutella
representing a contrast between types of characters. The comic char-

acter Mater is involved in a spy story and ends up working with British
Intelligence secret agents Finn McMissile (voiced by Michael Caine)
and Holley Shiftwell (voiced by Emily Mortimer). The contrast between
the rustic and naive Mater (with his broad Southern American accent
and dialect) and the British English accent provides characterisation and
humorous contrast. An example of an aristocratic character speaking RP
is the Queen of England. Since Mater saves the competitors from a bomb
during the race in London the rustic American tow truck is knighted
by the Queen who is voiced by Vanessa Redgrave in both the original
and the dubbed Italian version. The Queen’s “I hereby dub thee Sir Tow
Mater” becomes “Io ti nomino cavaliere, Sir Carl Attrezzi” (I appoint
you knight, Sir Carl Tools), which is pronounced with an English accent
since the Italian line was spoken by the same actress.
Example 5.6

QUEEN I hereby dub thee Sir Tow QUEEN (English accent) Io ti nomino
Mater. cavaliere, Sir Carl Attrezzi.
MATER Sir? Shoot, you can just call MATER Sir? Fischia, chiamatemi
me Mater, Your Majesty. I don’t Cricchetto, maestà. Lasciamo stare la
wanna hear none of this “Sir” storia del “Sir”. A proposito, adesso
business. By the way, have y’all met vi presento. Regina, McQueen.
each other? Queen, McQueen. McQueen, Regina. McQueen, Finn.
McQueen, Queen. McQueen, Finn, McQueen. Regina, Finn.
McMissile. McMissile, McQueen. BACK TRANSLATION
Queen, McMissile. QUEEN I appoint you knight, Sir Carl
Tools.
MATER Sir? Whistle, just call me
Mater, Your Majesty. Let’s forget
about this ‘sir’ business. By the way,
I’ll introduce you. Queen, McQueen.
McQueen, Queen. McQueen, Finn.
Finn, McQueen, Queen, Finn.
The old-fashioned, euphemistic US slang interjection “shoot” is a

marker of Mater’s idiolect since he utters it very often when he speaks.
In the Italian dubbed version this unusual and comic interjection is
translated with the equally funny and uncommon interjection fischia
(whistle), although Mater’s Southern American English is neutralised in
terms of accent. The formality of the Queen is also not conveyed in the
dubbed version which uses the informal vocative tu rather than the more
formal Lei. However, the Queen’s Britishness in the dubbed version is
expressed through her English-accented Italian. Some degree of infor-
mality is conveyed in the expression “Lasciamo stare la storia del ‘sir’”
(“let’s forget about this ‘sir’ business”). However, Mater uses the formal
voi pronoun to address the Queen and no other colloquial expressions
are adopted except for the humorous fischia. Nevertheless, later analysis
of other scenes will show that Mater’s characterisation in Italian matches
that of the original film well since informal and colloquial expressions
are inserted in his lines.
The above example of the Queen is a rare case in which a British
variety of English is transferred in dubbing into Italian with an English
accent rather than using standard Italian with a neutral accent. This may
be justified by the fact that the character actually portrays a living person
and a symbol of Britishness. Moreover, the fact that the same British
actress dubs herself in the Italian version lends a sense of naturalness
and authenticity to the voice, which does not make her a caricature or a
parody.
The American vs British trope mentioned earlier can again be found
in the exchanges between Mater and the British characters: the tow
truck’s behaviour and American speech is humorously contrasted with
that of all the British speakers from Sir Miles Axlerod, the Queen, Lewis
Hamilton through to the intelligence agents Finn McMissile and Holley
Shiftwell (all voiced by British actors). Mater emerges as a comic char-
acter. In Ranzato’s words, here we see “characters from the British upper
middle class in their interactions with socially lower (but also ‘warmer’)
Americans” (Ranzato 2018b, p. 220).
The exchange in Example 5.7 between Mater and Finn McMissile,
who mistakes Mater for an American secret agent, illustrates this point
and the irony and self-irony of Mater. The exchange plays on the charac-
ters’ accents. There is a series of misunderstandings as a result of Finn and
Holly believing that Mater is a secret agent who is deliberately pretending
to be naive and dull since he is undercover, whereas he is actually simply
being himself.
234 V. Minutella
Example 5.7

FINN I never properly introduced FINN Non mi sono ancora presentato
myself. Finn McMissile. British come si deve. Finn McMissile.
Intelligence. Intelligence britannica.
MATER Tow Mater. Average CRICCHETTO Carl Attrezzi.
intelligence. Intelligence, beh, insomma.
FINN Who are you with? FBI, CIA? FINN Tu con chi sei? L’FBI? La CIA?
BACK TRANSLATION
FINN I still haven’t introduced myself
properly. Finn McMissile. British
Intelligence.
MATER Carl Tools. Intelligence, well,
so and so.
FINN Who are you with? The FBI?
The CIA?
In the above exchange humour is conveyed in the dubbed version

by using different accents and by playing on the fact that Mater does
not recognise the term ‘British Intelligence’ and thinks that Finn is
talking about his IQ level. Mater’s reply is thus a kind of self-mockery
and confirms that the filmmakers wanted the tow truck to sound a bit
slow and dim-witted. The fact that he speaks with a southern drawl
also confirms the US negative stereotype associated with this variety of
English.
The contrast between formal British and informal non-standard
American varieties of English emerges in the following exchange (with
Mater’s informal register and non-standard syntax in bold).
Example 5.8

FINN This seems like a dead end. If FINN Questo mi sembra un vicolo
there were something in the photo cieco. Se ci fosse qualcosa nella
that could narrow this down a bit I’d foto che potesse restringere le
be a lot happier. ricerche, sarei più felice.
(continued)
(continued)
MATER You might not be happy, but I MATER Forse tu non sarai felice,
bet this feller is. See how he’s had ma scommetto che lui lo è. Si è
most of his parts replaced? And see all fatto sostituire un sacco di pezzi.
them boxes over there? Them’s all Vedi quelle scatole laggiù? Sono
original parts. They ain’t easy to come ricambi originali. Non sono facili
by. da trovare.
BACK TRANSLATION
FINN This seems like a dead end. If
there were something in the
photo that could narrow this
down a bit I’d be a lot happier.
MATER You might not be happy,
but I bet he is. He’s had most of
his parts replaced. And you see
all those boxes over there?
They’re all original parts. They
aren’t easy to find.
While Finn’s sentences are quite formal, Mater’s utterances are filled
with non-standard grammar. The Italian dubbed version does not repro-
duce these non-standard features nor the two different accents, thus
reducing and neutralising the negative stereotypical characterisation
conveyed in the English version. Compensation is achieved only through
the use of an informal expression such as un sacco di (a bunch of ) and
through the vocal performance of the dubbing actor. The only charac-
terisation provided in the dubbed version is a very slight Tuscan accent
(the natural accent of actor Marco Messeri). A stigmatised, non-standard
variety of American English is turned into largely standard Italian, but
non-standard grammar is not used even though it is signalled in the
Dialogue List. In fact, creative director Morville believed that Mater
should not speak broken Italian and should not sound uneducated and
silly (p.c. 4 June 2019). The humorous contrast between the British
secret agent and the rustic American from the south is neutralised in
dubbing.
236 V. Minutella
5.2.4 The Lovable

Rogue/Thieves/Criminals/Ambiguous
Characters
There are other characters who usually speak British English, but do so
in a more regionally or socially marked way. They tend to fall in the
category of lovable rogues or rough diamonds. In the films analysed we
can find several examples of this type of character. Those speaking with
a London/Cockney accent share some features: they are working class
(or portrayed as not being middle or upper class); they are rough, less
refined, less educated; they may be lazy, thieves or criminals; and may be
involved in dubious business dealings. Cutler points out that “a person’s
accent can potentially index a very specific place identity, entailing that
he or she is a veritable representative of that place” and adds that “stig-
matized or undesirable accents like Cockney or Brooklynese […] are also
linked to specific places and groups of people (e.g. East London, working
class, or Brooklyn, immigrant background, etc.)” (2016, p. 75). Ellender
similarly observes that “[s]peakers of Cockney are stereotypically associ-
ated with dubious business dealings and other criminal activity” (2015,
p. 77).
In Sing (2016) the gorilla Johnny, his father (Big Daddy) and his gang
of gorilla thieves are characterised as having a London/Cockney accent.
Their language contains instances of stigmatised Cockney features such
as h-dropping, t-glottaling, l-vocalisation, th-fronting and vowel shifts
that can be heard in the following words and expressions uttered by
Big Daddy: right pronounced as /rAI/, fine pronounced as [fAIn], time
pronounced as [thAIm], and “stay here” pronounced as stay ’ere (h
dropping). They can also be heard in words uttered by Johnny: “late”
pronounced as [leI], “date” pronounced as [deI], “not yet” pronounced as
[no?je] or [nA?je], “wait” pronounced as [weI] and “father” pronounced
as [fa:vђ]. Moreover, several non-standard grammatical features can be
heard in their speech. Some utterances by Johnny’s father in Example 5.9
illustrate that he speaks a London, working-class variety of English that is
conveyed not only through accent and specific phonetic features in the
oral performance, but also through non-standard grammatical features

(in bold).
Example 5.9

BIG DADDY Barry don’t mind. Do you, BIG DADDY A Barry non dispiace.
Barry? Vero Barry?
BACK TRANSLATION
BIG DADDY Barry doesn’t mind.
Right, Barry?
BIG DADDY We ain’t got a date yet. BIG DADDY Non abbiamo ancora
una data.
BACK TRANSLATION
BIG DADDY We don’t have a date
yet.
BIG DADDY You’re still too soft on BIG DADDY Sei ancora troppo
’em corners, Johnny. morbido in curva, Johnny.
BACK TRANSLATION
BIG DADDY You’re still too soft on
corners, Johnny.
Example 5.9 shows that the non-standard grammatical features of the

original dialogue are not reproduced, hinted at or suggested in the Italian
version. The dubbed version neutralises the specific working-class accent
in the performance by using standard Italian and standard grammar.
Moreover, no attempt seems to have been made during dubbing to adopt
compensation strategies for this loss at the diatopic level such as the
use of an informal register. The Italian dubbed version simply relies on
the vocal performance of the dubbing actors to convey the social class,
roughness and toughness of the characters. The strong, stylised sociocul-
tural representation of the gorillas in the original version, particularly of
Johnny’s father, through the choice of Cockney is thus lost in the dubbed
version. Other than the tone of voice of the dubbing actors, it could
be argued that linguistic identity is neutralised in the dubbed version,
perhaps because of the difficulty of establishing any correspondence
between regional varieties of languages or because it was not deemed
important in the localisation process.
Another interesting character with a London accent is Bad Bill
in the animated Western Rango. He is voiced by British actor Ray
238 V. Minutella
Winstone who was born a Cockney. According to the IMDb his trade-
mark characteristics are his “hard, gritty voice” and his “working class
Cockney accent” (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0935653/bio?ref_=
nm_ov_bio_sm). Bad Bill’s Cockney accent marks him as different from
the rustic but peaceful townspeople. Example 5.10 is uttered with a
marked Cockney pronunciation with instances of t-glottalisation and l-
vocalisation. He also uses informal British English words such as “gawp”
(i.e., to stare in a rude, stupid or unthinking way—Collins English Dictio-
nary or CED) and the colloquial vocative “mate” (pronounced as /meI/)
typical of British and Australian English—though not used in North
America according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Example 5.10

BAD BILL You got corn in your ears, BAD BILL Hai il granturco nelle
mate? You don’t pay the mortgage, orecchie, compare? Se non paghi
you don’t own the land. […] If I see l’ipoteca, dovrai darci la terra. […]
your face in this town again, I’m Se rivedo la tua faccia in questa
gonna slice it off and use it to wipe città, la taglio a fettine, e la uso
my unmentionables! […] What are per pulirmi gli intoccabili. […] Che
you all gawping at? cosa fate lì impalati?
BACK TRANSLATION
BAD BILL Do you have corn in your
ears, buddy/mate? If you don’t pay
the mortgage, you’ll have to give
us the land. […] If I see your face
again in this town, I’ll slice it off
and use it to wipe my
untouchables! […] What are you
all doing standing stock-still?
In the Italian dubbed version Bad Bill does not have any specific
regional accent and speaks standard Italian. However, the word ‘mate’
is translated as compare, which is a vocative (a familiariser that
connotes closeness) used in southern Italy arguably suggesting a southern
Italian identity for the criminal. Voice quality and performance further
contribute to characterisation. The linguistic differentiation and contrast
between Bad Bill, Rango and the townspeople, which are clearly distin-
guishable in the original version, are neutralised and homogenised into
standard Italian. When I asked dubbing director Izzo why they did not
maintain or somehow convey the Britishness of the character, she replied

that they were not allowed to use an English accent. Moreover, she
believes that it would have sounded strange (Izzo, p.c. 3 March 2019).
Other characters speaking with a broad, working-class London accent
are Dr Nefario in Despicable Me; the funny, slow and lazy sea lions
Fluke and Rudder in Finding Dory; the uneducated Lord Redbrick and
Juliet’s aggressive cousin Tybalt in Gnomeo & Juliet; and the funny,
pirate-looking Buck in Ice Age: The Meltdown. In most cases the dubbed
versions neutralise the British accent and lose the linguistic characterisa-
tion of London-accented characters. However, some exceptions are Fluke
and Rudder’s mild Sicilian accent, Tybalt’s Calabrese accent and the use
of some dialect words, Lord Redbrick’s Sicilian accent and the use of
dialect words (discussed in Chapter 8).
Neutralising the London accent and the linguistic characterisation
and stereotype generally associated with it is mitigated during dubbing
in some cases by the voice quality, voice modulation and interpreta-
tion of the dubbing actors who in the dubbing studio usually try to
replicate the rhythm, voice quality and intonation of the original actor,
as we have already seen. Our analysis of London/Cockney speakers in
animated films is consistent with Ranzato’s examination of telecinematic
texts belonging to various genres:
An exception to the almost uniform recourse to standardisation are the

instances in which prosodic features and actors’ voices have come to the
rescue of stylised characterisations […] Overall, however, what this anal-
ysis has highlighted is a comparative loss of the vividness and force of
the original texts. These are accents which have a precise aesthetic, as
well as narrative and mimetic function. And the creative forces at play
in dialogues which give actors the possibility to exploit the resources of
dialects are often ignored in the translation process so that, in the target
versions, these Cockney stars sadly shine a much dimmer light. (2018a,
p. 248)
The same can be said about animated characters in films making up

the corpus dubbed between 2001 and 2017. The London/Cockney
accent and all the nuances it carries are obliterated in Italian dubbing.
This appears to be the result of the wide-ranging common practice in
240 V. Minutella
dubbing not to differentiate between native varieties of English. It might

be argued that Cockney speakers, much like RP speakers and speakers
of other British varieties, are native speakers of English. Since differ-
ences between accents when characters speak English natively cannot be
recreated in dubbing, the dubbed version flattens them out, reducing
variation and all the sociocultural and pragmatic nuances conveyed by
each variety.
5.3 Scottish English

As pointed out in Chapter 4, Scottish English or what has been defined
as Standard Scottish English (Stuart-Smith 2004) and a Scottish accent
tend to carry positive connotations in the animated films that make up
our corpus. Scottish English is used for characters who are funny, strong,
brave, big, rough and authentic. It is also used to provide setting (as in
Brave).
The Scottish accent is used to provide characterisation, humour and
contrast in the film Shrek. However, Shrek uses a stylised version of a
Scottish accent since the actor voicing him contrives an accent without
being consistent in pronunciation. Moreover, very few Scotticisms (i.e.,
words and expressions peculiar to Scottish English) such as ‘aye’ are used
in Shrek’s lines. As pointed out by Mike Myers, when rehearsing his lines
to create the character he tried other accents but they did not work. As
reported in The Telegraph (2007), “his first problem, when he made the
original Shrek film in 2001, was finding the right accent. ‘It was weird,’
he recalled. ‘It took a few times for me to get the voice right. I first tried
it in a sort of Canadian accent, but it just didn’t connect, and, because
fairytales are a European thing and ogres are more earthy, the Scottish
accent just felt right’.”2 In the dubbed version Shrek speaks standard
Italian and hence his linguistic identity is neutralised.
In Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) Scottish actress Ashley Jensen uses a Scot-
tish accent to convey humour and characterisation and to create an
2The Telegraph (2007), “Mike Myers: How I Nailed Shrek’s Accent”, https://www.telegraph.co.
uk/culture/film/starsandstories/3665827/Mike-Myers-how-I-nailedShreks-accent.html.
idiolect for the green plastic frog Nanette (a surrogate for Juliet’s Nurse).
She is a comic character and her accent and behaviour contribute signifi-
cantly to her characterisation. As a result of the general dubbing policy to
localise the whole film and make all the characters Italian, Nanette speaks
Neapolitan in the Italian dubbed version. She does so with a marked
accent, using dialect words and cultural references such as babà (a typical
Neapolitan pastry) (on Nanette in the original version and in dubbing
see Minutella 2016, p. 238).
Scottish English is also used in other films where it has the function
of immediately and unmistakably identifying the characters, providing
setting and conveying humour. However, the Scottish identity of the
characters is always neutralised in the dubbed versions since standard
Italian is used. In Brave (2012) Scottish English is conveyed through
broad Scottish accents and several lexical features (Scotticisms) and Scot-
tish cultural references. It is used to identify the characters, provide
setting, convey humour (King Fergus, the three Lords and their sons
not only look funny but they also behave and speak in a comic way) and
result in miscommunication when Young McGuffin speaks the Doric
dialect. As noted in Chapter 4, in the How to Train Your Dragon films
Scottish English is used not only to provide characterisation but also to
highlight generational contrast. In Ferdinand (2017) Scottish English
serves the purpose of comically characterising the bull Angus who not
only has a Scottish name but also represents a Scottish breed (Highland
Cattle). Stereotypical lexical and phonological Scottish features and an
exaggerated, strong accent together with Angus’ behaviour render the
character extremely comic.
In these films the characters are voiced by Scottish actors/voice talents
with four notable exceptions: Shrek, voiced by Canadian Mike Myers;
Hiccup’s mother Valka, voiced by Australian actress Cate Blanchett in
How to Train Your Dragon 2; and Merida’s mother Elinor, voiced by
London-born actress Emma Thompson and the witch voiced by Julie
Walters in Brave. Queen Elinor’s Scottish pronunciation is less marked
than that of her daughter and that of the male characters. Cutler
describes Merida and her mother Queen Elinor as follows:
242 V. Minutella
The main female character embodied by young Merida is self-confident

and boyish with a giant mop of unruly red curls and world-class archery
skills. Her accent is notable for its lengthened vowels, tapped /r/, and
unique lexical expressions (Jings crivins, help ma boab! ). Queen Elinor
makes minimal use of ScE features (dark /l/, softly tapped /r/, and slight
vowel lengthening) which helps to establish her role as a model of proper
speech and behavior for her daughter Merida. (2016, p. 78)
I agree with this view. Emma Thompson’s accent sets her apart from the
male characters and from her own daughter whose behaviour is rebellious
and distant from her. The contrast between mother and daughter, which
is the central theme of the film, is conveyed through both their behaviour
and language: Merida is more authentic and wilder and speaks with a full
Scottish accent, while her mother is more controlled and strict and her
speech fluctuates between Scottish English and Standard English. Such
linguistic characterisation matches the personalities, roles and ages of the
women. This contrast is not conveyed in the dubbed version since all the
characters in the film speak standard Italian with its neutral accent, thus
confirming the argument put forward by dubbing professionals that the
main language of animated films is always dubbed into standard Italian.
Kevin McKidd, who voices both father and son (Lord MacGuffin and
Young MacGuffin), decided to resort to a Scottish dialect—his grand-
father’s Doric dialect—in order to characterise the speech of Young
MacGuffin. He explained in an interview that he decided to choose a
real Scottish dialect he knew since the directors wanted him to speak in
a way that was incomprehensible to other characters.3 As a result nobody
understands Young MacGuffin and there are no subtitles when he speaks.
This is somehow conveyed in the dubbed version by making the dubbing
actor speak a nonsensical sentence (Se fosse nel mentre io lui sul groppizio
ci va—If it were in the while I he on his groppizio goes)—not through
a specific Italian dialect or an English accent. Since the function of the
Doric dialect was to be unintelligible, the dubbing team invented mean-
ingless words rather than resorting to an Italian dialect, which would
have domesticated and Italianised the character and would have clashed
3 Seeinterview with the voice actors and film directors: “Brave | It’s English Sort Of | Disney
Pixar”, online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdBKJLzlxSA.
with the Scottish setting of the film and nationality of the character.
An alternative strategy could have been to keep the lines in the original
dialect and use the original audio track and voice of the original actor.
It is also worth pointing out that in Brave and other films using Scot-
tish English several Scotticisms are used. Examples are the words aye,
lass/lassie, wee, och, loch and haggis. Other less common Scottish words
found in Brave are gammy, scaffy, tatty, glen (a narrow valley, especially
in Scotland or Ireland) and tumshie (Scottish informal and humorous
term for a turnip). Tumshie is used by Lord Dingwall as a humorous
insult. Fergus, Merida, Elinor and other characters use several of these
words that are enregistered as typical of Scottish English: they are marked
as dialectal (Scottish) in dictionaries of the English language such as
the Collins English Dictionary, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the
Oxford English Dictionary (online versions). A few examples of dialogues
from Brave and Ferdinand will illustrate the large presence of Scottish
lexical features in English dialogues and how their dialectal character
disappears in the Italian dubbed versions.
Example 5.11

FERGUS Happy birthday my wee FERGUS Buon compleanno mia
darling! Now, there’s a good girl. adorata! Ecco così, brava!
BACK TRANSLATION Happy
birthday, my love! Right, like this,
well done!
In Example 5.11 King Fergus’ Scottish English is conveyed mainly

through his accent, in particular the pronunciation of rhotic and trilled
‘r’s (in ‘birthday’, ‘darling’, ‘there’, ‘girl’), the pronunciation of vowels and
by the use of the Scottish English adjective wee. The dubbed version does
not convey any of these features but uses standard Italian with a neutral
accent.
The exchange in Example 5.12 takes place in the palace while Merida
and her family are having dinner. The exchange is delivered in a Scottish
accent and contains a Scottish visual and verbal reference (haggis) and
two Scottish words: the interjection och and the adjective wee (Scottish
lexis in bold).
244 V. Minutella
Example 5.12

ELINOR Boys, you’re naughty! Don’t ELINOR Bambini, non giocherellate
just play with your haggis. Och, now, con il vostro haggis! Oh, andiamo,
how do you know you don’t like it if come fate a sapere che non vi
you won’t try it? That’s just a wee piace se non lo assaggiate? È solo
sheep’s stomach! It’s delicious! Mmm. lo stomaco di una pecorella! È
squisito! Mmm.
BACK TRANSLATION
ELINOR Boys, don’t play around
with your haggis! Oh, come on,
how do you know you don’t like
it if you don’t try it? It’s only a
sheep’s stomach! It’s delicious!
Mmm.
The exchange in Example 5.12 is translated into Italian by retaining

the culture-bound word haggis because the audience actually sees the
food on the boys’ plates and because the meaning, which would be
obscure to most Italian children, is actually explained in the dialogue and
generates the humorous reaction of the child. The boy’s facial expression
and disgusted gesture are justified. The Scottish accent of Queen Elinor
is lost in the dubbed version, as are the Scottish words och and wee. As
previously pointed out, the neutralisation of Scottish lexis goes hand in
hand with the neutralisation of accent since in the dubbed version all
the characters (with very few exceptions) speak standard Italian devoid
of any regional accent.
The dialogues in Brave also contain the exclamation Crivens and
the stereotypical extended version “Jings, crivens, help ma boab” which
is defined by the CED as “an exclamation of surprise, now more
commonly used for comedic effect.” Example 5.13 shows Merida using
the expression when she speaks to her mother.
Example 5.13

MERIDA Mum… (ELINOR, now a bear, MERIDA Mamma… Oh, santo cielo,
grunts and groans) Jings, crivens, come devo fare? Mamma, so che
help ma boab. Mum, I know you’re sei spaventata, sei stanca e non
scared, you’re tired, you don’t capisci quello che succede, ma non
understand, but we’ve got to keep dobbiamo perdere la testa,
our heads. Just calm down. Listen. d’accordo? Ora calmati. Calmati …
e ascolta.
BACK TRANSLATION
MERIDA Mum … Oh, heavens, what
can I do? Mum, I know you’re
scared, you’re tired, you don’t
understand what’s happening, but
we mustn’t lose our heads, alright?
Just calm down, calm down … and
listen.
The Scottish expression is rendered in the dubbed version with

a common Italian expression that is neither regionally nor socially
connoted. As far as the dubbed Italian version of Brave is concerned,
all the main characters speak standard Italian with no specific regional
inflection. Elimination and standardisation of sociolinguistic variation
and of Scottish features are the prevailing translation strategies adopted
in the dubbed version of this film. The wide presence of Scottish lexis
and the constant use of Scottish accents are lost. This also applies to
the generational difference between the Scottish accent of the adult
Vikings and the American accent of the younger generation in How to
Train Your Dragon. The Scottishness of Brave is conveyed in the Italian
dubbed version through visual elements, costumes, setting and music—
not through a specific use of language. This is in line with our previous
analysis of other native varieties of English: the homogenising norm
applies to most of them. A few minor characters, on the other hand,
speak Italian with an accent. These will be discussed in Sect. 5.5.
An interesting instance of Scottish English used for character portrayal
and comedy is David Tennant’s stylised vocal performance for the High-
land steer Angus in Ferdinand (2017). Angus is visually represented as
a Scottish bull that is funny and a bit dull (he cannot see very well
and thinks he is almost blind, whereas he only has very long hair that
246 V. Minutella
covers his eyes). Scottish actor Tennant emphasises Angus’ Scottishness

and the comic essence of this character. Tennant’s interpretation of the
clumsy Angus can be described, borrowing Coupland’s words, as a “joc-
ular celebration” (2001, p. 352) of Scottishness. Angus speaks with a
broad Scottish accent, uses Scotticisms and delivers his lines at quite a
fast pace. All these features contribute to creating a very comic char-
acter. Tennant’s performance can perhaps be interpreted “as a stylized
and certainly a self-reflexive representation” (Coupland 2001, p. 353) of
Scottishness. In the Italian dubbed version no regional accent is conveyed
and all verbal references to Scotland are lost. Moreover, Tennant’s great
stylised, humorous vocal performance is erased and replaced by an Italian
voice that does not carry the same wealth of connotations and comedy.
The dubbing actor speaks standard Italian with a neutral accent. Never-
theless, the Italian dialogue writer attempted to compensate for this loss
of humour (at the phonetic level) by resorting to informal, less common
and creative/funny expressions such as “Ti ha dato di volta il cervello?”
(“Are you out of your mind?”) and “Per tutte le sbornie” (“For all the
binges”) to translate the Scottish informal expression Jings! Crivens! And
help ma boab, as illustrated in Example 5.14.
Example 5.14

ANGUS Have you lost your bloody ANGUS Ti ha dato di volta il
mind? […] cervello? Per tutte le sbornie!
Jings! Crivens! And help ma boab! Aiuto!
BACK TRANSLATION
ANGUS Are you out of your mind?
For all the binges! Help!
Angus makes another humorous speech when he finally manages to

see properly. The lines are delivered in English with exaggerated trilled
‘r’s and typical Scottish English vowels. Moreover, his comments are
humorous and contain wordplay and allusions such as “I’m a dead bull
walking” rather than a “dead man walking”, the words finito and kaput,
and the Scotticism wee in “Ya wee wooden devil” translated as “il mio
nemico” (my enemy). In the Italian dubbed version the dubbing actor
tried to replicate the rhythm and fast pace of the original, but Tennant’s
unique Scottish accent and Scottish words are neutralised, making Italian
Angus less funny. What is lost in the dubbed version is the interplay
and the combination of visual and phonetic elements that creates char-
acterisation and humour. Although an adult audience may well catch on,
it might not be perceived by children. The example of Angus confirms
and corroborates our opinion that differences between native varieties of
English despite their function within the original films are not conveyed
in Italian dubbing. The Scottish identity of the characters in the films
analysed is never maintained in the dubbed versions except where the
screen image indicates this.
The only Scottish character dubbed into Italian with a marked
regional accent is the comic Nanette in Gnomeo & Juliet. Her linguistic
characterisation in the original and dubbed version will be discussed in
Sect. 5.6, which deals with exceptions to the homogenising and neutral-
ising strategy. Nanette and to a certain extent the three lords in Brave
constitute an exception to the dominant strategy of neutralising Scottish
English in that a regional variety of Italian can be detected in the vocal
performance of the dubbers.
5.4 Australian English

As previously pointed out, in Dreamworks’ Rise of the Guardians/Le
cinque leggende (2012) various native varieties of English are spoken.
Other than North, the protagonists are native speakers of English (AmE,
BrE and AusE). The Easter Bunny’s Australian identity is emphasised
in the original film both visually (through his clothes and objects) and
verbally (through his broad Australian accent). Choosing a well-known
Australian voice actor here helped the animators create the character such
that the actor’s persona and origins contributed to character portrayal
and characterisation:
Once Hugh Jackman was cast, though, things fell into place. Bunny became
an Australian ranger who uses magical boomerangs as weapons. […] “We
gave him an Australian Outback slicker and pants, but they really didn’t
fit him well”, says Gabe Hordos, head of character animation. […] Bunny
248 V. Minutella
became this awesome warrior figure, which is a great contrast to the usual
notion of a bunny as a cute, super soft animal. (Zahed 2012, pp. 48–50)
The casting of Hugh Jackman thus provided the character animators

with clues on how to design the Easter Bunny and give voice to him.
They gave him a marked Australian accent and used (perhaps overused?)
the vocative ‘mate’, which is considered a marker of Australian English
(as it is of some varieties of British English). Another stereotypical Aussie
linguistic feature is the euphemistic interjection ‘crikey’, which was trans-
lated in dubbing as cribbio. Bunny’s accent stands out from those of the
other (mostly American) characters as evidenced by Jack Frost insulting
the Easter Bunny by calling him a kangaroo during an argument. This is
an example of humour based on linguistic variation mixed with cultural
elements. An adult American/international audience is supposed to laugh
at this combination of linguistic and visual features. Example 5.15 shows
Bunny getting offended by Jack’s comments.
Example 5.15

BUNNY But none of ’em believe in CALMONIGLIO Ma nessuno crede in
ya. Do they? Y’see, you’re invisible, te, vero? Tu sei invisibile, amico.
mate, it’s like you don’t even exist. Come se non esistessi.
TOOTH Bunny! Enough! DENTOLINA Calmoniglio! Ora basta!
JACK No, the kangaroo’s right. JACK No, il canguro ha ragione.
BUNNY The … the what? What’d you CALMONIGLIO Il … il cosa? Ehhhh?
call me? I’m not a kangaroo, mate. Come mi hai chiamato? Io non sono
un canguro, amico.
BACK TRANSLATION
CALMONIGLIO But no one believes
you, do they? You’re invisible,
friend. Like you didn’t exist.
DENTOLINA Bunny! Enough now!
JACK No, the kangaroo’s right.
CALMONIGLIO The … what? Eh?
What did you call me? I’m not a
kangaroo, friend.
In the original version the differences between the General American

spoken by the Tooth Fairy and Jack Frost and the Australian English
spoken by the Easter Bunny are conveyed in the above exchange by
phonetic features as well as Bunny’s more informal register (’em, ya,

Y’see) and the frequent use of ‘mate’. In the dubbed version no distinc-
tion can be perceived between these characters’ accents and speech style.
The only linguistic feature of the Easter Bunny in Italian is his use
of amico, a calque from ‘man’ and ‘mate’, which is common in Italian
dubbese but never used in contemporary spoken Italian (on the transla-
tion of ‘man’ and the use of amico in dubbing see Pavesi 2005; Forchini
2013; Formentelli 2014; Minutella 2015 among others). A translation
problem arises later on in the film when Bunny’s accent is openly
mentioned in the dialogue.
Example 5.16

JACK FROST Ah, look. I … I’m sorry JACK FROST Senti, mi dispiace per
about the whole, you know, the la storia, insomma, la storia del
kangaroo thing. canguro.
EASTER BUNNY It’s for the accent, isn’t EASTER BUNNY È per come salto,
it? giusto?
BACK TRANSLATION
JACK FROST Look. I’m sorry about
the story, you know, the kangaroo
thing.
EASTER BUNNY It’s because of the
way I jump, right?
This represents a translational hurdle. The difference between Amer-

ican English and Australian English is not conveyed in dubbing, in the
voice/accent of the dubbing actors. As a result of erasing regional accents
the final lines in the exchange in Example 5.16 had to be rewritten,
modifying Bunny’s line. The reference to accent had to be eliminated
and another element found that could be associated with a kangaroo.
The Italian dubbed version thus transforms the reference to the Easter
Bunny’s accent to one about the way he moved. The dialogue writer’s
solution is creative, humorous and does not hinder comprehension.
Other Australian characters can be found in the film Finding Nemo
(2003) when the little fish is captured and taken to Sydney. This specific
variety of English is used in this case to provide setting, give couleur
locale and create a postcarding effect (Wahl 2005, 2008). Some of the
250 V. Minutella
fish that Nemo, Marlin and Dory meet in addition to the dentist and
other characters have an Australian accent. In particular, the three sharks
that Marlin and Dory meet (Bruce, Anchor and Chum) speak with an
Australian and New Zealand accent. They are voiced by Australian actors
Barry Humphries and Eric Bana and New Zealand actor Bruce Spence.
Australian actor Geoffrey Rush voiced the friendly pelican Nigel. This
once again seems to suggest that Pixar attempted to cast native speakers
of specific varieties in order to provide authentic characterisation and
believable accents. In the dubbed version of the film the Australian iden-
tity of the characters is neutralised by making them all speak standard
Italian, although a colloquial register is used. It is worth noting that
the cockatoo Nigel in the Rio films also speaks New Zealand English
that is neutralised in dubbing and turned into standard Italian. The
homogenising and standardising norm thus also applies to Australian and
New Zealand English.
5.5 Social and Regional Varieties

of American English
This section will focus on how the dubbing of social and regional
varieties of American English and non-standard varieties is dealt
with. More specifically, Southern American English, AAVE and New
York/Brooklynese will be described since these are the varieties most
widely used to provide quick characterisation and stereotypes. As pointed
out in Chapter 4, the speech of several secondary characters is filled with
phonetic, lexical and syntactic features of such non-standard varieties of
American English.
5.5.1 Southern American English
In Rango the main female character Beans is voiced by Isla Fisher,

contriving a Southern American English accent. Her speech often
displays non-standard grammar such as the use of ‘ain’t’, double negation,
regularisation of the third person singular and omission of the auxiliary,
as can be seen in Examples 5.17–5.19 (non-standard grammar in italics).
Example 5.17

BEANS You ain’t from around here, are BEANS Tu non sei di queste parti,
you? vero?
BACK TRANSLATION
BEANS You’re not from around
here, are you?
Example 5.18

BEANS Now that just don’t make no BEANS Ecco, non ha senso. Ora
sense. Now, listen. Someone is senta. Qualcuno butta l’acqua nel
dumping water in the desert. I seen deserto. L’ho visto con i miei occhi.
it with my own eyes. BACK TRANSLATION
BEANS Right, this does not make
sense. Now, listen. Someone is
dumping water in the desert. I’ve
seen it with my own eyes.
Example 5.19

BEANS It just don’t make no sense. […] BEANS La cosa è proprio senza
And the Mayor is the only one who senso. […] e il sindaco è l’unico a
don’t seem to be affected. cui non manca l’acqua.
BACK TRANSLATION
BEANS This just makes no sense.
[…] And the Mayor is the only
one who doesn’t lack water.
As can be seen in Examples 5.17–5.19, non-standard syntax is never

conveyed in the dubbed version which uses standard Italian without
any grammar mistakes. The non-standard, stigmatised variety of English
spoken by this female character is not conveyed in Italian and no
compensatory strategies are adopted. Her register is neither informal nor
colloquial. The dubbed version represents what has been found to be a
typical feature of dubbed language: a register shift in which the dubbed
version has a higher register compared with the original dialogue.
252 V. Minutella
Several other characters display instances of non-standard dialect in

this film, especially the family of thieves. In Example 5.20 the non-
standard features indexing a regional and social variety of English are
neutralised in the dubbed version where, as usual, standard Italian is
used.
Example 5.20

SON 1 Sheriff, we didn’t kill nobody. SON 1 Non abbiamo ucciso nessuno.
We done tunnelled into that vault, Abbiamo sì scavato fino al caveau
but there weren’t nothing in it. ma non c’era niente.
SON 2 Somebody done robbed that SON 2 Qualcuno ha rapinato la banca
bank before we robbed it. […] prima di noi.
That’s what I been trying to tell […] È questo che cercavo di dirti,
you, Pappy. papi.
BACK TRANSLATION
SON 1 We didn’t kill anybody. We did
tunnel into that vault, but there
was nothing.
SON 2 Somebody robbed that bank
before we did. […] That’s what I’ve
been trying to tell you, daddy.
Although no non-standard grammar is used in the dubbed version,

an attempt at compensation and conveying the roughness of the charac-
ters’ speech is made in the performance using pronunciation that is less
standard and diction that is not neutral. It is a matter of voice quality,
performance, modulation and pronunciation.
In Rango the contrast between educated and less educated speakers
is evident both visually (physical appearance, costumes) and verbally
(standard English vs non-standard English). Such a contrast mirrors
the power relationship/social distance that pervades the film. While Mr
Merrimack (the bank manager), the Mayor and Rango speak standard
American English, the rustic inhabitants of the town and some crimi-
nals who are less educated speak non-standard American English with
a marked Southern American accent. Nevertheless, despite the fact that
the linguistic representation is important and provides a stark contrast
between characters in the original by using standard American English
(General American) and a non-standard, stigmatised variety (Southern
American English), the linguistic identity of the characters is neutralised

in the Italian dubbed version. The only way to characterise the criminals
and the less educated, rougher, town inhabitants was to work on voice
quality and on providing some sporcatura (i.e., diction that is not neutral
and somehow defiled in that it betrays the origin of the speaker), but
without resorting to ungrammaticalities. When I asked dialogue writer
and dubbing director Fiamma Izzo why these characters spoke like the
other more educated characters in the film and were not given a more
specific linguistic characterisation in Italian, she explained that it was
impossible to convey non-standard dialect in the dubbed version due
to the conventions and norms that apply to dubbing products for chil-
dren such as the distributor not allowing ungrammaticalities (Izzo, p.c.
4 March 2019).
As previously discussed, Mater from the Cars trilogy is another char-
acter speaking Southern American English. He has been dubbed using a
similar technique to sporcatura (with a very slight Tuscan pronunciation)
and using an informal register. Cookie, the unhygienic chef in Atlantis, is
another interesting, uneducated and rough character speaking Southern
American English and using several instances of non-standard grammar
typical of this variety of English. His lines are interspersed with colloquial
words and non-standard English items such as using ‘them’ for ‘those’,
‘done bite’ for ‘has bitten’, double negation and ‘ain’t’.
Example 5.21

COOKIE Shoot. That ain’t nothing. COOKIE Ahh, sono bazzecole.
BACK TRANSLATION
COOKIE Ah, it’s just trifle.
In the above example Cookie uses the informal, American English

interjection shoot —as also frequently uttered by the rusty tow truck
Mater in the Cars trilogy—and two instances of non-standard dialect:
‘ain’t’ and double negation (‘ain’t nothing’). These two characters are in
fact similar in the way that they speak. In the Italian dubbed version the
social dialect and non-standard features that characterise Cookie are not
reproduced through a specific accent or non-standard grammar, although
254 V. Minutella
a kind of compensation strategy is adopted by making him use disloca-

tion (questo l’ho fatto—“this I’ve done it”), a more informal register and
less common words such as ciccia rather than grasso or carne, dannate
(damned) and pizzichi/bazzecole (pittance/trifle). Although non-standard
syntax is avoided in the Italian dubbed version, dislocation is used since
it is a typical feature of less formal spoken Italian. Voice quality and
performance also contribute to characterisation.
5.5.2 African American Vernacular English (AAVE)
The aim of this sub-section is to describe the different ways in which

selected AAVE features are used in some animated films and how they
are dealt with in dubbing. As pointed out in Chapter 4, the films in
the corpus contain several male characters speaking AAVE (on AAVE
features see Green 2002; Lippi-Green 2012). Characters speaking AAVE
can be found in Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Madagascar 2: Escape to
Africa and the Rio films. Their speech displays some typical non-standard
grammatical and intonation features that immediately index an African
American identity. None of these features are transferred to the Italian
dubbed versions that use standard Italian with no accent, thereby neutral-
ising the connotations attached to AAVE. Since all the characters speak
standard Italian the distinction between speakers of BrE and AmE is lost.
However, a common compensation strategy that is sometimes adopted
(e.g., for the characters of Oscar in Shark Tale and Pedro and Nico in
Rio) is to resort to a colloquial register. This, together with the voice
quality of the dubber, contributes to establishing the linguistic identity
of these characters. Non-standard syntax is never used.
Racist representations of African American characters and the way
they speak are thus avoided in the dubbed versions of the films anal-
ysed. Dubbing professionals refrain from mocking black speech in
the form of black minstrelsy that was used in the 1950s in dubbing
(with grammar mistakes, broken Italian and an exaggerated and ridicu-
lous pronunciation to signal that the characters were black) (Zanotti
2012). This is in line with the contemporary more respectful trend
in dubbing of avoiding non-standard varieties and broken Italian for
African American characters. Zanotti points out that according to “cur-

rent translational norms […] neutralization is the translation strategy
adopted in Italian dubbing” (2012, p. 167) of African American speech.
While early dubbings conveyed a highly stereotyped and racist portrayal
of African Americans through the use of broken Italian and ridiculous
and exaggerated pronunciation (Zanotti 2012, pp. 158–163), in the
wake of the Civil Rights Movement the approach of dubbing profes-
sionals changed and “the strategy of neutralizing variation was chosen as
more adequately representative of the speech of African American charac-
ters, even when the original dialogues displayed some dialectic markers”
(Zanotti 2012, p. 163).
The Madagascar films are good examples of how AAVE is used in
animated films and how the linguistic identity of characters differs
according to whether they use AAVE intonation and rhythm only (with
standard grammar) or whether they also use AAVE non-standard gram-
matical features. Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa will be used here to
illustrate the dubbing strategies adopted to deal with AAVE and other
varieties of English. As previously observed, in Madagascar the protag-
onists are four animals who have escaped from the New York zoo and
who all speak American English. The lion Alex and the giraffe Melman
speak General American, while the main characters voiced by African
Americans (the zebra Marty and the hippo Gloria) use an AAVE into-
nation without any non-standard grammatical features typical of AAVE.
The positive minor characters Florrie and Zuba (Alex’s parents, living in
Africa) also use standard grammar.
Conversely, the negative hippo Moto Moto, who is represented as
arrogant and inarticulate, speaks AAVE with an emphasis on non-
standard grammatical features including some non-standard morphosyn-
tactic features such as copula omission, double negation and omission of
the third person -s. The native African hippo Moto Moto (as opposed
to the domesticated animals coming from the New York zoo) has a
huge body and muscles and is surrounded by female hippos who are
all in love with him. The hippo seems to portray what Bucholtz and
Lopez have defined as the “valorized stereotypes of young working-class
African American men’s style, including coolness, physical toughness and
sexual self-confidence” (2011, p. 682). Black rapper and leader of the
256 V. Minutella
Black Eyed Peas will.i.am voiced Moto Moto in the original version. His
comments on his vocal performance for Moto Moto confirm that it was
deemed important to emphasise the coolness of the character: he calls
Moto Moto’s voice his “dark chocolate voice” explaining that “it’s like
Barry White but uhm, cooler” (Madagascar 2, DVD extras). However,
the visual and verbal representation of Moto Moto is definitely nega-
tive and caricatural. Although he is handsome and attractive, he is also
too self-confident and too focused on physical appearance. Moreover,
his lines suggest that he is not very smart. For instance, when we first
meet Moto Moto he swaggers out of the water to the lyrics of the song
Big and Chunky sung by will.i.am. Gloria says “So you must be Moto
Moto” and he replies “The name so nice you say it twice.” However,
while saying this line he sticks up three fingers showing he cannot count
and making himself look ridiculous. Moto Moto is portrayed as being
shallow and definitely having limited verbal dexterity. This is especially
the case when he courts Gloria since he keeps repeating the same concept
(that he likes her because she is chunky, plumpy and huge) and cannot
find other words or other ways of expressing his feelings. The following is
the exchange between Gloria and Moto Moto in which the female hippo
tries to find a reason—other than physical attraction and the fact that
they belong to the same species—for choosing Moto Moto as her mate.
Gloria asks Moto Moto why he likes her and what he finds special about
her.
Example 5.22

GLORIA Okay, so what is it about me GLORIA D’accordo, allora, che cosa ci
that you find so interesting? trovi in me di così interessante?
MOTO MOTO Well, You are the most MOTO MOTO Ah, sei la ragazza più
plumpenest girl I’ve ever met. cicciottosissima che abbia mai visto.
GLORIA Okay. Other than that GLORIA D’accordo. A parte questo.
MOTO MOTO Let’s see … Yeah, well, MOTO MOTO Vediamo … hm, sì, be’,
you know … you chunky. Ha. sai, sei tracagnotta, eh eh.
GLORIA Right. GLORIA Certo.
MOTO MOTO Ehm … My gosh, girl, MOTO MOTO Hm, accipicchia,
you huge. ragazza, sei enorme.
(continued)
(continued)
GLORIA You said that. GLORIA L’hai, l’hai già detto.
MOTO MOTO Oh, yes right … hmm MOTO MOTO Oh! Sì, è vero. Hm,
we don’t have to talk no more. ehm, mi basta questo a me.
BACK TRANSLATION
GLORIA Okay, so what do you find in
me that is so interesting?
MOTO MOTO Well, You are the
plumpest girl I’ve ever met.
GLORIA Okay. Other than that.
MOTO MOTO Let’s see … Yeah, well,
you know … you are chunky. Ha.
GLORIA Of course.
MOTO MOTO Ehm … My gosh, girl,
you are huge.
GLORIA You, you’ve already said
that.
MOTO MOTO Oh, yes right … hmm
that’s enough for me.
In the above exchange syntactic features typical of AAVE (and other

non-standard varieties of English) in Moto Moto’s lines clearly contribute
to creating a negative and comic characterisation. Typical AAVE features
found in Moto Moto’s lines are double negation (“we don’t have to talk
no more”), copula deletion (“My gosh, girl, you huge”) and omission of
the -s in the third person singular (“she love that I’m chunky”). Moto
Moto also uses an ungrammatical superlative adjective (“plumpenest”
rather than “plumpest”). These non-standard grammatical features are
not conveyed in the dubbed version: there is no non-standard grammar
with the exception of the a me mi construction, which is considered
redundant and incorrect in traditional grammar, a pleonasm that is
nevertheless often used in informal spoken Italian and a dislocation
that provides emphasis. Whereas in the past a me mi was considered
a grammar mistake, in contemporary Italian it may be acceptable for
emphasis, but only in an informal spoken register. Moto Moto also uses
the vocative ‘man’ to address Melman, although the two do not know
one another: “Good, we’re kind of busy here, man.” ‘Man’ is a famil-
iariser typical of informal American English that is often resorted to
in film and TV dialogues among young males to express closeness or
aggressiveness towards the interlocutor. In dubbed Italian it is frequently
omitted or translated by the stock translation amico, which is a marker of
258 V. Minutella
dubbese (on the translation of ‘man’ in dubbing see Pavesi 2005; Forchini
2013; Formentelli 2014; Minutella 2015 among others). In the dubbed
version Moto Moto says “Sì, bravo, abbiamo un po’ da fare qui, amico.”
The presence of amico in Italian can be interpreted as an attempt by
the dialogue writer/dubbing director to convey, at least at the lexical
level and in terms of register, the characterisation of the hippo. While
non-standard syntactic features are not conveyed, we witness a certain
lowering of the register in order to match the linguistic characterisa-
tion of the cool but not very clever hippo. In the original film Moto
Moto’s portrayal is thus a negative, stereotypical representation of the
coolness of African Americans through common non-standard linguistic
forms and stock lexical and syntactic structures typically used to repre-
sent non-standard varieties such as double negation, auxiliary deletion,
use of ‘ain’t’ and the vocative ‘man’. Moto Moto’s portrayal seems similar
to “racist representational practices of the past” (Zanotti 2012, p. 167)
since the hippo’s behaviour and language contribute to creating a nega-
tive image. The fact that Gloria realises in the end that she actually loves
the shy and sensitive Melman, the giraffe, voiced by white actor David
Schwimmer (Ross in Friends), who speaks Standard American English
(General American) and expresses his deep feelings in a romantic and
clear way, may not be coincidental.
Moto Moto is not the only character in the corpus of films who
displays the non-standard grammar and morphosyntactic features asso-
ciated with AAVE. Donkey from the Shrek films and Oscar from Shark
Tale also share similar linguistic qualities. Double negation, copula dele-
tion and the use of ‘ain’t’ can be found in the lines uttered by Oscar. The
sentence in Example 5.23 from Shark Tale illustrates what happens to
such non-standard traits in the Italian dubbed version.
Example 5.23

OSCAR Yeah, that’s funny. I ain’t OSCAR Questa è comica! Io non ho
afraid of nothin’, it’s just… paura di niente, solo che …
BACK TRANSLATION That’s funny!
I’m not afraid of anything, it’s just
that …
The non-standard syntactic features of Oscar’s language are neutralised

in the dubbed version. Nevertheless, in the dubbed version directed by
Mete it is possible to observe some strategies used to compensate for
this loss of characterisation such as resorting to a colloquial register and
humorous invented words that also refer to the underwater world.
The birds Pedro (a red-crested cardinal voiced in the original version
by will.i.am) and Nico (a yellow canary voiced by black actor and musi-
cian Jamie Foxx) also have a specific linguistic characterisation in the
English version in that they have a rap style and use colloquial slang
words and expressions and some non-standard grammar features typical
of AAVE. Such features are important and convey characterisation and
humour. In the dubbed version directed by Guadagno a more colloquial
style is conveyed through lexical choices (see Bruti 2014, pp. 95–97),
while non-standard morphosyntactic features are neutralised. Anglicisms
also appear to contribute to creating this linguistic characterisation. In
such a case dubbing resorts to register variation rather than accent. The
character of Donkey in the Shrek saga also uses several non-standard
features that are considered typical of AAVE. Much like what happens
in Rio and Shark Tale, the Italian lines of this character neutralise
non-standard features, but attempt to compensate for this loss and
somehow express Donkey’s attitude, personality and informality by using
a colloquial register and creative lexical choices (see Minutella 2014,
2015).
5.5.3 New York/Brooklyn Accent
The two alligators Stan and Carmine in the film The Wild/Uno zoo in
fuga speak with a New York/Brooklyn accent with some Italian Amer-
ican features. In the English version these loud and funny alligators
are voiced by actors Lenny Venito and Joseph Siravo who often play
Italian American characters and star in The Sopranos. In the Italian
dubbed version the funny alligators are given a southern accent with
some dialect features. The New York accent is turned in dubbing
into regional Italian since dubbing actors Stefano de Sando (Stan) and
Pasquale Anselmo (Carmine) (both from Calabria) use their own accent
and dialect, intertwining Calabrese and Sicilian-accented Italian and
260 V. Minutella
sometimes using dialect words and expressions. This is a case of localisa-

tion and hypercharacterisation which makes the alligators in the Italian
version extremely funny. The use of such Italian varieties does not trigger
any specific stereotypes since the characters are not negatively portrayed
in the film. Examples 5.24–5.26 will illustrate the approach adopted in
dubbing (dialect words and regional phonetic features in the dubbed
version in italics).
Example 5.24

CARMINE Ah! The big female with the CARMINE Ahh, hai capitu. A
spikes on her melon! fimmina ca tena i puncigliuni supa
STAN They’re tourists! a capa!
STAN Sono turisti!
BACK TRANSLATION
CARMINE Ah. I got it. The female
who has spikes on her head!
STAN They’re tourists!
Example 5.25

CARMINE All right. […] Yeah, sure. Of CARMINE e till’haiu dittu! […] Sì,
course we’re gonna help yas. We’re cetto, sicuro che vi aiutiamo. Siamo
one big family, right? Except for tutti quanti una grande famiglia,
that guy there. He scares the … ggiusto? A parte u picciriddu …
porcarì cum’è bbruttu!
BACK TRANSLATION I told you! […]
Yes, sure, of course we’re gonna
help you. We’re all a big family,
right? Except for the little one
there … Jeez, he’s so ugly!
Example 5.26

STAN Now. Follow me, ’cause you STAN E adesso venite cummia. Pecchè
four won’t last ten minutes in this da soli non durate neanche cinque
neighborhood. It’s a jungle down minuti. È ‘na ggiungla qua ssotto.
here. BACK TRANSLATION Now you come
with me. ’Cause if you’re alone you
won’t last five minutes. It’s a jungle
down here.
Choosing a marked Italian regional variety for these comic characters

by using authentic Calabrese and Sicilian accents and inserting dialect
words and expressions that may be not familiar or easily comprehensible
to the average Italian (child) audience is a case of adaptation and trans-
formation in dubbing. It is brought about by making use of a localisation
strategy that resorts to hypercharacterisation that is aimed at providing a
comic effect.
The thief and pirate DVD seller Duke Weaselton in
Zootopia/Zootropolis is another minor character who speaks colloquial
American English, with some non-standard grammar and slang words
with a New York/Brooklyn accent. In the Italian version he is dubbed by
star talent actor and comedian Frank Matano (from Campania) who has
a broad Neapolitan accent and uses dialect words. Hypercharacterisation
is brought about using a localisation, transformation and domestication
strategy in which the weasel’s linguistic and cultural identity is exagger-
ated and has a comic function. However, Dore (2019) points out that
using regional Italian in such a way has been criticised for perpetuating
the negative Italian stereotype associating Neapolitans with criminality
(for a detailed analysis of Duke Weaselton and the Italian dubbed
version of Zootopia see Dore 2019). A further character whose linguistic
characterisation supports such a translation trend is the mouse Mike in
Sing. As pointed out in Chapter 4, in the original version Mike has an
East Coast/New York/Bronx accent “with a touch of Italian mafia, and
he is voiced to sound like a gangster.”4 According to Dubbing director
4I would like to thank Claudia Gvirtzman Dichter for her comments on Mike’s voice.
262 V. Minutella
Mete in the original version Mike has a slight Italian accent, so it was
decided to render his lines “with a Neapolitan cadence, in order to
add a touch of colour, that Neapolitan speech melody, rather than an
accent” (Mete, p.c. 9 June 2020). Whether Mike has a specific Italian
or New York accent in the original version of the film may be subject
to debate but is irrelevant here. What is important is that his cool street
flavour, gangster speech style and East Coast accent5 made him stand
out somewhat from the other characters. The dubbing team decided to
use a southern Italian accent to bring this about.
Examples 5.24–5.26 confirm that southern regional varieties of Italian
tend to be used for characters sporting a New York/Brooklyn accent. As
pointed out in Chapter 3, the use of a Sicilian or a southern regional
variety for characters speaking with a Brooklyn accent was mentioned by
dubbing professionals as a common strategy in dubbing.
5.6 Exceptions or When Dubbing Uses

Italian with an Accent
This section summarises the rare cases in which the Italian dubbed
version of an animated film does not neutralise native varieties of English
but rather uses an English (British) accent or turns a native English
variety into a regional Italian one, domesticating some characters or even
the whole film. Examples of English-accented Italian and Italian with a
regional accent used to dub native varieties of English can be found in Ice
Age 2 (2006), Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), Cars 2 (2011), Brave (2012) and
Planes (2013). The above-mentioned examples (i.e., in Sect. 5.5.3) of a
New York accent turned into Calabrese, Sicilian and Neapolitan should
be added to these.
5.6.1 English-Accented Italian in Dubbing
In our corpus of films very few characters are given an English accent in
Italian dubbing. Analysis of the films reveals that such exceptions are due
5Iwould like to thank Giselle Spiteri Miggiani, Christopher Taylor, Shan Hirst, Stuart Doherty
and Antonio Romano for providing comments on this character.
to specific functions or roles of the characters or to extra-filmic reasons

that will be outlined in the following sections.
Historical and Literary Figures, Well-Known Living People

and British Symbols
As previously pointed out, in Cars 2 two British characters in the Italian

dubbed version use Italian with an English accent: the Queen and Lewis
Hamilton. In this case the dubbed voices are the same as those of the
original film (Vanessa Redgrave and Lewis Hamilton). They speak in
Italian with a slight English accent. In this film there are several other
British characters who nevertheless speak standard Italian in the dubbed
version. There may be a couple of reasons only the Queen and Hamilton
are given an English accent in dubbing. First, it may be due to the
fact that they have a less central role in the film and speak fewer lines.
Dubbing professionals have emphasised their preference for Italian with
standard pronunciation because they believe that a foreign or Italian
regional accent is often associated with comedy or parody and should
not be overused. The second reason for giving the Queen and Hamilton
an English accent in the dubbed version may be the fact that they repre-
sent well-known real living people. The same can be said of the statue
of Shakespeare in Gnomeo & Juliet since the character portrays a literary
figure—a symbol of Britishness. British actor Clive Riche (who lives in
Italy) dubbed the statue of Shakespeare in the Italian version with a slight
English accent (see Minutella 2016).
Britishness Referred to in the Dialogues/Plot
In Disney’s Planes (2013) Bulldog is a cold and sarcastic plane taking

part in the Wings Around the Globe rally, who displays a British flag
and speaks standard British English. It is also worth noting that the name
of the plane is a common trope symbolising British nationalism. In this
case the function of the British English variety in the film is a combi-
nation of various functions in Ranzato’s taxonomy (2018b, p. 236): to
264 V. Minutella
identify a British character in a predominantly American or interna-

tional context (the other planes belong to several nationalities, although
the hero predictably speaks General American) and to elicit humour.
Moreover, Bulldog’s Britishness is referred to in the dialogues and is
thus functional to the plot. Bulldog shows a dry British humour and
contrasts with the warmer, less sophisticated, rustic Dusty (the Amer-
ican hero). As pointed out in Chapter 4, Bulldog is voiced by comedian
John Cleese (famous for his roles in Monty Python, Fawlty Towers and
A fish Called Wanda and for his impersonation of unkind upper-class
men). In Planes Bulldog “has that pseudo-middle class English accent,
the sort you might expect from an RAF officer in a, not too serious,
film”6 (Taylor, p.c. 8 July 2019). We might add that another function of
this British accent combined with the plane’s behaviour is to portray a
comic stereotype of British men since he has a dry sense of humour, he
is controlled and detached, apparently insensitive and does not express
his feelings. However, at a certain point we realise that he is actually
sensitive and quite emotional. In the Italian dubbed version Bulldog
speaks Italian with an English accent. The plane is dubbed in Italian by
Birmingham-born John Peter Sloan (former actor, comedian, musician
and teacher of English who lived in Italy and was popular for his video
lessons “Real life English, Instant English – Revolution!”). Sloan is thus
a non-professional dubber and falls into the category we have called ‘a
star talent’. Choosing to mark/differentiate Bulldog’s speech style in the
dubbed version through an English accent and thus opting for a native
speaker of British English is due to the fact that the film itself shows and
clearly states Bulldog’s British identity. Moreover, during exchanges in
the film some characters (and Bulldog himself ) comment on his British-
ness. As explained by Morville: “In Planes we chose John Peter Sloan,
because the character of Bulldog often made jokes about the English or
their way of interpreting reality […] How can you get him to say ‘we
English’ with a perfect Italian accent? So we chose an English star talent”
(Morville, p.c. 4 June 2019). As a result, the lines uttered by Bulldog
in Italian show a slight English accent, pronunciation and intonation as
6I would like to thank Chris Taylor for his comment on Bulldog’s accent and on his precious
feedback on several characters.
in “Gare indoor?” (where ‘indoor’ is pronounced the RP English way

with a long vowel). Example 5.27 containing the line “I don’t cry, I’m
British” shows how the British stereotype is exploited and made fun of
both visually and verbally to provide parody and how this is transferred
into Italian.
Example 5.27

BULLDOG Thanks for your help, BULLDOG Grazie per tuo aiuto,
matey. Oh. I couldn’t have done it amico. Non ce l’avrei mai fatta
without … you?! You saved me? senza di … tu? Tu mi hai salvato?
What did I tell you, boy? Every Che cosa ti avevo detto, ragazzo?
plane for himself. […] Yes, but this Ogni aereo per sé, giusto? […] Sì,
is a competition. Now you’re dead ma questa è una competizione! Ora
last. And I owe you my life. (he sei all’ultimo posto! Hm hm. E io ti
cries) devo la vita.
DUSTY Are you crying? DUSTY Che fai, piangi?
BULLDOG I don’t cry, I’m British! BULLDOG Io non piango, sono
Thanks, matey. inglese! Grazie, amico.
BACK TRANSLATION
BULLDOG Thanks for your help,
friend. I would never have done it
without … you?! You saved me?
What did I tell you, boy? Every
plane for himself, right? […] Yes,
but this is a competition. Now
you’re in last place! Hmm hm. And I
owe you my life.
DUSTY What are you doing, are you
crying?
BULLDOG I don’t cry, I’m English!
Thanks, friend.
Bulldog, his behaviour and lines are a humorous parody of the

stereotypes associated with the Brits. As pointed out by Rojek, the
stereotypical qualities of the British are a “conviction of innate superi-
ority,” “emotional frigidity” and indifference and “extreme self-control”
through the constriction of emotions (2007, pp. 131–132). Moreover,
in Example 5.27 Bulldog also uses British English lexis: the vocative
‘matey’ is a British informal noun. It is a familiariser used to address
someone in a friendly way or when the speaker is annoyed with someone
(Collins English Dictionary, online). Employing an English-born star
talent dubber who can speak Italian (John Peter Sloan) ensures that
266 V. Minutella
the character has a natural-sounding real accent—not a mock one—

and provides a kind of authenticity in character portrayal in the dubbed
version, especially when combined with recreating the comic persona
of Bulldog. The British identity of Bulldog is conveyed in the dubbed
version through a number of verbal means: the lines are uttered with
an English accent, the first sentence contains ungrammaticalities (omis-
sion of the definite article before ‘aiuto’ in “Grazie per tuo aiuto, amico”)
and the use of the vocative amico (friend) which, as previously noted,
is typical of Italian dubbed language and derives from the translation of
‘man’, but is not used in spoken Italian. The example of Bulldog in Planes
seems to support the comments made by the professionals in Chapter 3:
if a character must speak Italian with a foreign accent, then the profes-
sionals prefer to opt for dubbers who are native speakers of that language
and to avoid English-accented Italian since it carries comic connotations.
English Accent Due to the Marketing Strategy of Using Star

Talents
Choosing to make a character speak Italian with an English accent may

also be the outcome of a marketing strategy. Examples can be found in
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) and in Brave (2012) in which the dubbers
are all native speakers of English. By choosing a star talent dubber whose
native language is English the character voiced by this celebrity will natu-
rally speak Italian with an English accent in the dubbed version. This
is done for marketing reasons—not because of the character’s identity,
a specific dialect in the film/plot, the role of the character or his/her
British or American identity. As observed in Chapter 4, in the Italian
dubbed version of Ice Age: The Meltdown and in the following films of
this tetralogy the British pop singer Lee Ryan (ex-member of the boy
band Blue) dubs a minor comic character, the opossum Eddie, speaking
Italian with an English accent. While all the other characters speak stan-
dard Italian, Eddie speaks with a slight English accent because of the
dubber’s native language and because Ryan did not know any Italian
at all. Guadagno explains that adding an English accent in the dubbed
version just for this character is an exception that adds humour to Eddie
since his pronunciation is funny. Moreover, the craziness and the child-
like aspect of the character is emphasised by the English accent (p.c. 4
March 2019).
Other exceptions to the norm of using standard Italian for native
varieties of English are the lines delivered by the three lords (Lord
MacIntosh, Lord MacGuffin and Lord Dingwall) in Disney-Pixar’s Brave
(2012). The three lords are dubbed by star talents (i.e., non-professional
dubbers) from various areas whose diction is not neutral and whose
origin can be detected from their voice. Giobbe Covatta (Lord Ding-
wall) is from Puglia in the south, Enzo Iacchetti (Lord MacIntosh) is
from Lombardia in the north, while Shel Shapiro (Lord MacGuffin) is an
English musician and actor who has lived in Italy for many years. In the
Italian dubbed version some sporcatura (colouring) signals the geograph-
ical origin of the character, thus enabling a southern (Pugliese) accent,
a northern (Lombardo) accent and an English accent, respectively, to
just be detected. This is perhaps due to the fact that the lords and their
sons are comic characters. Their looks, behaviour and speech style are
supposed to trigger humour. In any event they are not main characters
and do not speak many lines.
5.6.2 Italian Regional Accents for British/American

Characters
As observed before, the film corpus contains very few cases of minor
characters who are portrayed as British or American in the original
version, yet who undergo adaptation, localisation and transformation
in the dubbed version. Such characters, including Lord Dingwall and
Lord MacIntosh in Brave, several characters in Gnomeo & Juliet and
minor characters speaking with a New York accent in Zootopia, The
Wild and Sing (Duke, Stan and Carmine, Mike) are dubbed with a
regional accent in Italian. As previously observed, the whole dubbed
version of Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) is an exception to the homogenising
and neutralising norm that applies to native varieties of English. In fact,
although several British dialects are portrayed in this film (see Bruti and
Vignozzi 2016; Minutella 2016), they are completely domesticated and
268 V. Minutella
turned into regional Italian in the Italian dubbed version. Further exam-
ples include the statue of Shakespeare speaking Italian with an English
accent, while all the other characters speak Italian with a regional accent;
Lord Redbrick’s Cockney accent becoming Sicilian; Lady Bluebury’s RP
being turned into a northern accent/dialect; Nanette’s Standard Scottish
English becoming Neapolitan and Tybalt’s Cockney becoming Calabrese.
As discussed in Minutella (2016), in the Italian version of Gnomeo &
Juliet the dubbing professionals decided that all the characters should
speak Italian with a regional accent. This is a rare example of trans-
forming and localising the story very creatively and transposing it to the
Italian context. It is the result of a dubbing strategy undertaken at the
macro-level in which the decision is taken by the dubbing supervisor and
the distributor (for a detailed analysis of this film see Minutella 2016).
The cases of Gnomeo & Juliet and to a lesser extent of Brave (for Lord
Dingwall and Lord MacIntosh) testify to the fact that dubbing profes-
sionals do resort to using regional Italian rather than standard Italian in
rare cases, for comic purposes. This is again in line with dubbing profes-
sionals’ statements that a regional or foreign accent conveys humour,
has a comic function, and should be used with caution in dubbing (see
Chapter 3).

This chapter has analysed how native varieties of English are repre-
sented and tackled in dubbing in a selection of recent animated films
and has provided further evidence of the homogenising norm that
applies in Italian dubbing to what we have termed native varieties of
English. In fact, when characters speak English natively, the differences
between such accents as General American, Standard British English
or RP, Cockney, Scottish English and Australian English are obliter-
ated and homogenised. The case studies examined have illustrated that
this is also true of British regional and social dialects and non-standard
varieties of American English. With very few exceptions, most charac-
ters speaking English natively, irrespective of whether they speak more
general standard varieties or particular dialects or sociolects, are turned
into characters who speak standard Italian with an unmarked accent.

The linguistic identity of characters indexed by differences between these
geographical and social varieties is thus obliterated in dubbing. The loss
of accent and lexical or grammatical features is sometimes compensated
by register variation, by lexical choices or by the vocal performance of
the dubbing actor (i.e., his/her interpretation in the dubbing studio).
Nuances in the differences between various accents that provide charac-
terisation in the original films and immediately hint at specific character
types or stereotypes are completely erased in dubbing. As a conse-
quence, the stereotypes associated with these native accents are also
lost. This analysis confirms scholarly research into Italian dubbing and
insights provided by dubbing professionals who argue that differences
between an American, British, Scottish or Australian English variety and
between regional varieties of American or British English are impossible
to convey and are usually homogenised into one target language variety.
The chapter has illustrated there are very few exceptions to this
homogenising norm in the corpus of animated films analysed and
has explained the reasons for such exceptions. Three main cases have
emerged in the corpus. An English accent is sometimes heard in dubbing
if the animated character is dubbed by an English voice talent (usually
a celebrity)—this is often the result of a marketing strategy. Evidence
for this is supported by the fact that characters in the original films do
not have any specific British, American or national characterisation or
a marked regional or social accent. Moreover, English pronunciation is
due to the fact that the British or American voice talent naturally speaks
Italian with an English accent. Another rare case in which an English
accent is heard in dubbing is when the character represents/embodies a
well-known symbol of Britishness such as a historical literary figure or
someone alive today the audience identifies as British (Ranzato 2018a,
p. 236). Examples are the Queen in Cars 2 (voiced by Vanessa Redgrave),
the statue of Shakespeare in Gnomeo & Juliet (dubbed by Clive Riche)
and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton as himself.
A third reason for resorting to English-accented Italian in dubbing is
when the Britishness of the character is openly stated in the film (i.e.,
if the English identity of the character is meaningful, commented on
within the film dialogue and/or visually represented). In this case an
English accent is used to convey contrast, to differentiate a character
270 V. Minutella
whose nationality is stated in the dialogue and/or is functional to the

plot. A case in point is the plane Bulldog in Planes. The chapter has also
highlighted that English-accented Italian can have a comic function (i.e.,
it adds humour to the character who becomes funnier and in some cases
ridiculous such as Bulldog in Planes and Lord MacGuffin in Brave). It
may be argued that adding an English accent often has a comic func-
tion or at least a comic outcome. Whether the audience laughs with the
character or at the character, however, is not clear.
It is also worth pointing out that in all cases where an English accent is
heard in dubbing, a native speaker of English (i.e., an English or Amer-
ican actor/actress or star talent) will perform the accent—not contrived
by an Italian dubbing actor or celebrity. This appears to be an attempt
on the part of dubbing professionals to recreate believable characters as
far as accent is concerned and a natural-sounding, realistic Italian with
a foreign accent—not an unnatural, contrived, mock accent or a farcical
imitation of an accent. Naturalness and authenticity of accent appear to
be the norm. Dubbing professionals seem to aim at accuracy of repre-
sentation and depiction of authentic language, although sometimes they
emphasise some accent features in order to provide a parodic and caricat-
ural image/representation. The performance of English-accented Italian
thus appears to be a compromise between naturalness, authenticity and
emphasis in order to create a comic figure or a stylised representation
(Coupland 2001; see Green 2002, p. 202 on minstrelsy). Analysis of the
films thus provides further support for dubbing professionals’ insights
and comments reported in Chapter 3: if a foreign accent is required, they
prefer to have dubbing actors who are native speakers of the language
or employ dialect coaches. This happens for characters whose British
identity must be conveyed in the dubbed version.
Analysis of native varieties of English in Italian dubbing has also
shown that there are very rare cases in the sample in which an Italian
regional accent is used in dubbing to portray comic characters speaking
native varieties of English in the original film. Cases in point are the sea
lions in Finding Dory (the London accent is turned into a mild southern
Italian accent), two of the Scottish lords in Brave (dubbed by star talents
using their own southern and northern accents) and several characters
in Gnomeo & Juliet (a rare case since all the characters are localised by
making them speak regional Italian). The New York–accented characters

of Stan and Carmine in The Wild (who speak Calabrese and Sicilian) and
Duke Weaselton (speaking Neapolitan) in Zootopia/Zootropolis should be
added to these. This might suggest that marked regional Italian vari-
eties (especially from the south) along with many dialect words may
be adopted as a strategy to somehow convey the comedy of comic and
rough characters. A further element worthy of attention is that the
Southern American English variety is neutralised in dubbing and that
non-standard varieties are not conveyed: dubbing neutralises all the nega-
tive connotations associated with AAVE and Southern American English
and always uses standard Italian grammar.
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6
Languages Other Than English/Foreign
Languages in Italian Dubbing:
Preservation, Neutralisation, Reduction
or Adaptation?
6.1 Introduction
This chapter explores how multilingualism in the films making up the
corpus is dealt with in Italian dubbing. It illustrates films containing
dialogue in languages other than English (i.e., foreign languages or FLs)
and examines whether languages other than English are maintained,
quantitatively reduced or eliminated in the dubbed versions. In other
words, whether the multilingualism of the original film remains what we
have called ‘marked’ in the dubbed film (i.e., conveyed) or whether it is
‘unmarked’ (i.e., not conveyed). Twelve films contain lines in languages
other than English. These are Atlantis, Toy Story 3, Despicable Me 2,
Madagascar 3, Gnomeo & Juliet, Sing, Rio, Planes, Cars, Cars 2, Ferdi-
nand and Coco. The languages are Atlantean (an invented language),
French, Russian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian and Spanish. The
occurrence of only a few words or expressions is not considered in this
chapter. Analysis of the films has revealed that the most frequent trans-
lation strategy in dubbing is to mark the foreign language. When the
original English language film contains dialogue in an FL, this is almost
always retained in the dubbed version. Borrowing De Bonis’ terminology
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8_6
280 V. Minutella
we can say that the prevailing strategy in Italian dubbing is that of

“preservation” of multilingualism (De Bonis 2014). We should also note
that the techniques adopted to mark foreign dialogue in the dubbed
versions replicate those used in the original versions (see Díaz Cintas
2011). In other words, if in the original version of the film the foreign
dialogue is left untranslated, then it usually remains untranslated in the
dubbed version. If it is subtitled, then subtitles are added in the dubbed
version. If it is interpreted by a character within the film, then the same
character translates it into Italian in the dubbed version. This is a case
of diegetic interpreting, which consists of an “act of (oral) interpreting
which takes place within the story world through the agency of a char-
acter in the narrative” (O’Sullivan 2011, pp. 80–81). The macro-strategy
of preserving the foreign language is chosen in almost all the films anal-
ysed and can therefore be considered a norm in the Italian dubbing of
animated films.
There are only three exceptions to the practice of following the solu-
tion adopted in the original version to mark foreign speech. The first can
be found in Planes where an exchange in French is dubbed into standard
Italian in the dubbed version, therefore neutralising the multilingual situ-
ation. The second and third exceptions occur in the Cars films when the
FL is Italian and therefore coincides with the language of the dubbed
version. Here dubbing resorts to neutralising an utterance by using stan-
dard Italian (once) and adopting an Italian dialect that is equally difficult
to decode for an Italian audience.
The main modes chosen by Italian dubbing practitioners to deal with
the presence of an FL in animated films can be summarised as: keeping
it untranslated, subtitling it, getting a character in the film to interpret
it, dubbing it into standard Italian and dubbing it with an Italian dialect.
The following sections will discuss the films Atlantis and Toy Story 3
in more detail since they are key examples of dubbing practices (the
strategies adopted in other films will be summarised).
6 Languages Other Than English/Foreign Languages … 281
6.2 Atlantean and French in Atlantis: The

Lost Empire (2001)
Disney’s Atlantis makes extensive use of languages other than English,
particularly the invented language of Atlantean and French. Atlantean is
based on various languages and was created for the film by linguist Marc
Okrand – creator of the Klingon and Vulcan languages for Star Trek. In
the film Milo tries to explain how this language works by saying that “if
you deconstructed Latin, you overlaid it with some Sumerian, throw in
a dash of Thessalonian, you’d be getting close to their grammatical struc-
ture.” Milo is the only character who can decode this language in written
form since people from Atlantis only speak the language but cannot read
it. Milo thus helps them by deciphering some written texts. In Atlantis
otherness is marked by using Atlantean and French either untranslated
or subtitled. The dubbed version uses many strategies to represent this
important linguistic differentiation and the ‘otherness’ of Atlanteans –
strategies that tend to emulate the methods used in the original version
of the film.
As observed in Chapter 4, Atlantean is spoken in the opening
sequences. In the original version English subtitles are provided so that
the audience can decode what the inhabitants of Atlantis are saying. This
is vital due to the length of the dialogues and their relevance to estab-
lishing the setting of the story. These are instances of the occurrence of
L3 dialogue that is “meant to be understood by the audience”; in other
words, “the message is required for understanding” (Santamaria Guinot
and Tubau 2018, p. 200). In the dubbed version the characters speak
Atlantean (the original voice track is maintained) and subtitles in Italian
are placed on the upper part of the screen (the original English subtitles
occupying the bottom part of the screen).
When some Atlanteans find the wounded Milo later on in the film
they utter a few words in their language. They are left untranslated in
the original version perhaps to highlight their ‘otherness’ or enhance
suspense. It may also be because the audience can partly guess the
meaning of the foreign words from the images and the situation (i.e.,
the Atlanteans are probably wondering who the stranger is). In this case
the mise en scène can be interpreted “as [a mode] of translation which
282 V. Minutella
facilitate[s] foreign speech on screen while avoiding or minimising the

use of subtitles” (O’Sullivan 2011, p. 7). These Atlantean lines are left
untranslated in the dubbed version too.
A few sequences later a group of Atlanteans confront the members of
the expedition and one of them addresses the explorers in this ‘incom-
prehensible’ language. Their initial utterances are left untranslated in
the original version, which creates tension and highlights the language
barrier. The Italian dubbed version once again emulates the method
used in the original version, thus leaving the original track untranslated.
Nobody seems to understand the Atlantean people except for Milo who
is attempting to speak in the foreign tongue. This surprises the female
Atlantean Kida who begins talking to Milo. Although they exchange
several lines in Atlantean, again no subtitles are provided. The audience
(like the American explorers in the film) are left to wonder what they
are saying. Leaving such foreign speech untranslated contributes to char-
acter portrayal, emphasises otherness and conveys the dramatic effect of
the scene, not only establishing a bond between Milo and the native
people, but also distancing them from the other US explorers. The scene
also emphasises the central role played by language and translation in the
film and the part Milo plays as an interpreter, although the explorers soon
realise that these people can actually speak several languages and can also
communicate in English. Milo asks Kida (in French) whether she speaks
French and the French mineralogist in the group (Molière) is excited
by this news. He then whispers some untoward words in Kida’s ear
that the (adult) audience immediately understands since Kida punches
him in the face. These few snippets of French are left untranslated in
the original version either because it was felt they would be understood
by the average Anglo-American audience or because the visual elements
and the character’s behaviour help the audience in decoding them. The
dubbed version preserves the FL, marks its presence and replicates the
use of French dialogue unsubtitled. The exchange between Milo, Kida
and Molière is shown in Example 6.1.
Example 6.1

MILO Parlez-vous français? MILO Parlez-vous français?
KIDA Oui, monsieur. KIDA Oui, monsieur,
MOLIERE She speaks my language! … MOLIERE Parla la mia lingua! Eh …
Pardon, mademoiselle, voulez vous Pardon, mademoiselle, voulez vous
… …
BACK TRANSLATION
MILO Do you speak French?
KIDA Yes, sir.
MOLIERE She speaks my language!
Eh, excuse me, Miss, would you
like to …
Note that Kida and Milo’s lines in Atlantean and the lines in French in
this scene appear to be redubbed by Italian dubbing actors Stella Musy
(Kida), Massimiliano Manfredi (Milo) and Claudio Bisio (Molière).
This method of dubbing over a foreign language using a new voice is
not very common, but “is used especially if the character involved is
heard speaking both main source language and foreign language” (Spiteri
Miggiani 2019, p. 173). This enables the characters to have the same type
and quality of voice rather than having the original actors’ voices when
they speak the foreign language (Atlantean in this case) and the dubbing
actors’ voices when they speak Italian, thus avoiding a disruptive effect
(2019, p. 167).
Once the explorers realise that the Atlantean people do speak their
language, communication switches to English (the language of the
colonisers/invaders). However, when Kida later introduces the US
explorers to her father (the King of Atlantis), she speaks Atlantean with
him since it is their native language and the newcomers cannot under-
stand it except for Milo. As the exchange is quite long and it is important
for the audience to understand the meaning of the conversation, the
Atlantean dialogue is subtitled in English in the original version of the
film. The Italian dubbed version marks this foreign language by main-
taining spoken Atlantean and adding Italian subtitles placed on the upper
part of the screen. Moreover, the lines in Atlantean are redubbed by
the Italian dubbing actors in order to maintain the same voice in the
dialogues throughout. Although it is possible to detect a slight difference
284 V. Minutella
in the Atlantean words used, this does not hinder comprehension or the
quality of the dubbed version since Atlantean is a fictional language. The
English and Italian subtitles of the exchange between Kida and the King
are shown in Example 6.2.
Example 6.2
Original version (subtitles) Dubbed version (subtitles)

KIDA Greetings, Your Highness. I KIDA I miei omaggi, Altezza. Le ho
have brought the visitors. portato dei visitatori.
KING You know the law, Kida. No KING Conosci le regole, Kida. Nessun
outsiders may see the city and live. forestiero può restare in vita dopo
KIDA Father … these people may be aver visto la città.
able to help us. KIDA Padre, questa gente potrebbe
KING We do not need their help. essere in grado di aiutarci.
KIDA But father … KING Non abbiamo bisogno del loro
KING That is enough. We will discuss aiuto.
this later. KIDA Ma, padre …
KING Basta così. Ne parleremo dopo.
BACK TRANSLATION
KIDA Greetings, Your Highness. I
have brought you the visitors.
KING You know the rules, Kida. No
foreigner can live after seeing the
city.
KIDA Father, these people might be
able to help us.
KING We do not need their help.
KIDA But father …
KING That is enough. We will talk
about this later.
The evil Commander Rourke then interrupts them and switches

language, addressing the King in English. The King replies in excellent
English with no specific foreign accent and a very formal register.
In the Italian dubbed version all instances of the foreign Atlantean
dialogue are equally marked using a preservation strategy and tech-
niques such as adding subtitles or not translating the foreign fictional
language. As a result, the foreignness of the Atlantean language and
the identity of Atlanteans as remote and different people is preserved
in the dubbed version. The use of subtitles, redubbing in the foreign
language and keeping foreign lines untranslated all in the same film are
translation modes that are rarely used in dubbed animated films (and
perhaps more generally in Italian dubbed films). Atlantis thus consti-

tutes a rare example of multilingualism and the centrality of translation
in animation. However, the film visually and verbally brings about some
stereotypical representations, especially in the portrayal of some members
of the expedition such as Italian Vinnie, French Molière, Latina Audrey
and southern ‘hick’ Cookie all of whom will be discussed in the following
chapters.
6.3 Spanish in Toy Story 3 (2010)

The longest stretch of language other than English in the corpus is
uttered by Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 3. We can recall that the Amer-
ican English–speaking space ranger toy starts speaking perfect, native-like
Spanish due to a twist in the plot. His behaviour is also affected by
this change of language since he dances to Gipsy Kings’ music, flirts
with Jessie and quotes lines from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. As
pointed out by Santamaria Guinot and Tubau (2018, p. 205), the use
of Spanish as L3 by Buzz “helps to create a certain identity.” Buzz’s “per-
sonality becomes more romantic and brave when he speaks in Spanish”
and his “identity changes together with attitude” (2018, p. 205). The
space ranger toy utters 11 turns in Spanish all of which are subtitled
in English so that an Anglo-American audience can understand them.
The dialogues are important and need to be translated, although it
might be argued that young children would be unable to really under-
stand what Buzz says since they would not be able to read the subtitles.
However, children would probably still get the gist of Buzz’s lines from
his behaviour and body language and from his friends’ reactions. More-
over, a young audience would be in the same situation as the toys in
the film who are faced with a foreign incomprehensible language they
cannot understand. This creates a situation that is in itself humorous.
In the dubbed version such multilingualism and incomprehensibility are
maintained since Buzz speaks Spanish (Italian subtitles translating the
286 V. Minutella
English ones are added at the bottom of the screen). The beginning of
Buzz’s transformation is shown in Example 6.3.
Example 6.3

SPANISH BUZZ Bitácora Espacial. Me SPANISH BUZZ Bitácora Espacial. Me
he despertado de hipersueño en un he despertado de hipersueño en un
planeta extraño. planeta extraño,
ENGLISH SUBTITLES Star Log. I’ve ITALIAN SUBTITLES Diario Spaziale.
awakened from hyper-sleep on a Mi sono svegliato dal sonno
strange planet. impergalattico su uno strano
HAMM Now what did you do? pianeta,
REX I did what you told me …! HAMM Che cosa hai combinato?
SPANISH BUZZ Estoy rodeado por REX Ho fatto quello che mi avete
criaturas extrañas y desconozco sus detto!
intenciónes! SPANISH BUZZ Estoy rodeado por
ENGLISH SUBTITLES I’m surrounded criaturas extrañas y desconozco sus
by alien creatures of unknown intenciónes!!!
intent! ITALIAN SUBTITLES Sono circondato
SPANISH BUZZ ¿Quién anda ahí? da creature aliene con ignote
¿Amigo? O Enemigo? intenzioni!
ENGLISH SUBTITLES Who goes there? SPANISH BUZZ¿Quién anda ahí?
Friend? Or foe? ¿Amigo? O Enemigo?
WOODY Uh … Amigos! We’re all ITALIAN SUBTITLES Chi è là? Amico?
amigos! O nemico?
WOODY Ehm … Amigos! Eh, eh.
Siamo tutti amigos!a
Note a No back translation is provided for Example 6.3 since the Italian subtitles
are very close to the original English subtitles
Note that the voice of Buzz in Spanish is that of Spaniard Javier

Fernandez-Peña—not that of his American voice actor (Tim Allen). The
same voice is heard in the Italian dubbed version. Toy Story 3 is thus
a further example of the tendency to mark FL in the dubbed version
by maintaining and reproducing the presence of L3 (preserving the
multilingual situation) and replicating the technique used in the orig-
inal version (using L2 subtitles to translate L3 dialogue and keeping the
original L3 audio track for the Spanish dialogue).
6.4 Preservation Strategy for Russian,

French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese
and Spanish
Other films adopt the same strategy of preserving multilingualism and
replicating the techniques used in the original version to signal the pres-
ence of a language other than English. They will be summarised below
and the techniques used in each film will be pointed out.
Despicable Me 2 (2013) contains an instance of untranslated Russian
spoken by two guards. The opening sequence of the film is set in a land
covered in snow outside a “Top Secret Research laboratory, Arctic circle”
(so the captions read). Russian is spoken by the guards who are playing
cards outside the laboratory and are interrupted by the arrival of a big
magnet that steals the whole lab. It is clear from the images (i.e., the
men’s gestures) that they are talking about the game of cards and the
magnet.1 Use of the Russian language is an instance of audio-postcarding
(Wahl 2005, 2008), which has the function of setting the scene and
pointing out that the guards are ‘other’. The men’s lines in Russian are
left untranslated in the original version of the film. The Italian dubbed
version adopts the same technique: it keeps the original audio track with
no translation since the function of the Russian dialogue is simply to set
the scene.
In Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2013) the evil animal control
officer Chantel DuBois speaks a caricatural French-accented English (see
Minutella 2018). Her French linguistic identity is conveyed by voice
actress Frances MacDormand through accent, intonation, stereotypical
French pronunciation and the use of spectacular fragments (Rampton
1999, p. 423) such as oui, monsieur, attention and Qu’ -est-ce que c’est?
However, in order to characterise DuBois a longer stretch of foreign
language is used. According to Planchenault (2015, p. 117), the presence
of a foreign language is more than just evocation “when it is spoken for
more than a few words or a few lines.” The scene in which DuBois sings
the famous French song by Edith Piaf Je ne regrette rien is an instance of
1I would like to thank my colleagues Nadia Caprioglio and Massimo Maurizio for their
comments and translation from Russian into Italian.
288 V. Minutella
such presence of a foreign language. This is a comic scene which takes

place in a hospital where Capitaine Chantel DuBois visits some injured
police officers who are sleeping and wakes them up by singing the song in
a theatrical way. Her performance is so powerful that the men stand up
and even break the plaster casts they are wearing. The song is left in L3
(French) unsubtitled. The Italian dubbed version replicates the original
version, leaving the French song (still sung by Frances MacDormand)
untranslated. The original track of the film is maintained and no subtitles
are added. Although DuBois in the Italian version is dubbed by dubbing
actress Barbara Castracane while the song is sung by MacDormand, I
would argue that the presence of two voices does not have a disruptive
effect since the voice of the dubbing actress is very similar to the original.
As pointed out by Spiteri Miggiani, “the only strategy that could perhaps
reduce this ‘disruptive effect’ lies in choosing a dubbing voice similar to
the one belonging to the original actor, so that the difference between
the two voices may become less noticeable” (2019, pp. 167–168). This
also appears to confirm dubbing director Alto’s comment that great care
was taken in choosing the right voices for the Italian version of this film.
Japanese is used in two films for no apparent reason other than for,
say, comedic purposes. In Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) Japanese spoken by
the Scottish frog Nanette has little to do with setting the story or with
representing otherness. When Nanette sees Juliet disguised as a ninja
warrior ready to go on her mission to pick a rare orchid from a nearby
garden Nanette bows to her and utters a line in Japanese (“Anata wa
sono huku ga tote-mo niai masune”).2 This sentence literally means
“That outfit really looks good on you” and is translated into a concise
and very informal English subtitle summarising the gist of Nanette’s
comment: “You look hot!” It appears after she finishes her line rather
than being synchronised with it. Immediately afterwards when Juliet is
silently leaving the garden, Nanette shouts in English “Take care! …
I’ll tell your Dad you’re doing your hair!” These utterances are accom-
panied by Japanese subtitles that are unlikely to be read by anyone in
an Anglo-American audience. The subtitles translate as “Good luck! I’m
2I would like to thank Miwa Gofuku and Keiko Rokutanzono-Gofuku for the transcription
and translation from Japanese into English.
going to tell your father that you’re taking a bath.” The few spoken
and written Japanese lines have a comedic function. They are aimed
at playing with languages, with the audience’s expectations, with inter-
textuality (allusion to Japanese films) and with multilingualism and
translation itself. The Japanese spoken, the subtitles, the soundtrack
and the visual elements (Juliet’s ninja warrior disguise and movements)
are combined in such a way as to make the sequence humorous. The
formality of Japanese movements and language contrast with Nanette’s
loudness and informal Scottish-accented English. In the Italian dubbed
version the Japanese sentences and the English subtitles are retained so
that the Italian viewers of the DVD version hear the Japanese line but
read the English subtitle (i.e., “You look hot!”), which further compli-
cates the language/translation issue. Only if we select Italian subtitles
from the DVD menu does an Italian subtitle appear on the upper part
of the screen: “Sei uno schianto!” translates “You’re hot!” This brief but
comic exchange in Gnomeo & Juliet adds to the number of languages an
Italian audience has to process when watching the film, makes the scene
more comedic and at the same time confusing. The film Sing provides
a further example of the use of Japanese and the tendency to replicate
choices made in the original version of the film. A quintet of red pandas
auditioning for the show sing a Japanese song and only speak Japanese.
This results in miscommunication with the owner of the theatre Buster
Moon. The lines in Japanese are left untranslated, leaving the audience
to wonder what the animals mean. During the rehearsals Moon tries to
speak Japanese, reading from a book. His Japanese utterances are left
untranslated as in the original version, but the audience realises that
Moon has said something inappropriate since one of the red pandas
slaps him and then they all leave offended.3 Getting characters to speak
Japanese thus has a comedic purpose.
The Rio films also have a few lines in a language other than English. As
previously pointed out, despite its Brazilian setting, Rio (2011) contains
very few Brazilian Portuguese words since the main characters, even the
3I would like to thank Miwa Gofuku for translating the Japanese in the film. The red pandas
tell Buster Moon “We feel very fortunate to be taking part in this show” and “We will sing
once more for you”. When Buster Moon speaks Japanese, intending to be nice to them and
telling them that they are good, he actually says “You guys smell really bad, especially your
toenails.”
290 V. Minutella
Brazilian ones, speak an unmarked American English (Bruti 2014, p. 93;

De Rosa 2014; Petrucci 2015). There is only one major instance of
Brazilian Portuguese in Rio when the Brazilian blue macaw Jewel attacks
the American (from Minnesota) and human-raised blue macaw Blu. The
first encounter between the two blue macaws is marked by the brief use
of Brazilian Portuguese by Jewel. This shows her ‘otherness’ and high-
lights her Brazilian identity (her origins). Nevertheless, as soon as she
hears Blu speak English she recognises his American accent and switches
to perfect, native-like General American. From then on the Brazilian
born and raised Jewel only speaks English with an unmarked General
American accent (see Bruti 2014; De Rosa 2014; Petrucci 2015). The
blue macaws’ first encounter is shown in Example 6.4.
Example 6.4

JEWEL Quem é você? Que que está JEWEL Quem é você? Que estás
fazendo aqui? a fazendo aqui?
BLU (unintelligible) BLU (unintelligible)
JEWEL Quê? JEWEL Quê?
BLU You’re standing on my throat. BLU Mi stai strangolando.
JEWEL Oh, you’re an American! JEWEL Uhm, non sei di qui.
BACK TRANSLATION
JEWEL Who are you? What are you
doing here?
JEWEL What?
BLU You’re choking me.
JEWEL Uhm, you’re not from here.
Note a I would like to thank Susan Souza for her help with Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is left untranslated in the original version with no

subtitles and the Italian dubbed version replicates this choice. However,
the dialogue writer had to modify the content of the final comment
by Jewel, making her say “you’re not from here” rather than “you’re
American” since as far as the Italian audience is concerned Blu speaks
Italian—not American English. Rio also contains other instances of
audio-postcarding (Wahl 2005, 2008) (i.e., using foreign accents and a
few foreign words or expressions to give local colour to a film, convey the
setting of the story or point out the nationality of the speaker). These are
a radio programme and a football match commentary on TV in Brazilian
Portuguese. Although they do not contribute to development of the plot,

they do provide couleur locale. They are kept in the original language
untranslated, thus reproducing the choices in the original version (i.e.,
the preservation strategy is adopted). Note that the dubbed version of
Rio 2 contains an extra bit of Brazilian Portuguese that is not present in
the original English version of the film. The song Beautiful Creatures was
composed for the soundtrack of Rio 2 and performed by Barbatuques, a
Brazilian group famous for creating music through tapping techniques.
The English version of the film contains the song in English, whereas
the Brazilian version of this song Você Chegou (“You’ve arrived”) is used
in the Italian dubbed version.4 This song can be considered “a musical
feature of the acoustic landscape” of the film (O’Sullivan 2011, p. 70)
which was added in the dubbed version.
Ferdinand (2017) also contains a few lines in Spanish uttered by
the owner of the Casa del Toro (Moreno), by the men working for
him and by a few minor characters. They are meant to provide setting
and highlight the Spanish identity of the characters. Spanish words and
expressions in the original version are maintained in the dubbed version.
An example is Moreno’s “Caballeros, preparénse! […] parate allí,” which
is left untranslated in the dubbed version. Other instances of Spanish
spectacular fragments are present in this film and they are always kept
in dubbing. Disney-Pixar’s Coco (2017) also contains the Mexican folk
song La llorona sung by Mama Imelda and Ernesto De La Cruz. The
song is sung in Spanish in the original version and left untranslated in
the dubbed version.
6.5 Neutralising Foreign Identities:

French in Planes
Disney’s Planes (2011) contains a sentence uttered in French by French
Canadian plane Rochelle (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus). This sensual
4I would like to thank Susan Souza for her comments on Brazilian Portuguese.
292 V. Minutella
female plane with a sharp wit and icy heart is courted by Mexican plane
El Chupacabra and usually speaks French-accented English interspersed
with French words. However, when her heart is won by El Chupacabra’s
romantic serenade, she switches to her own language and addresses him
in French. El Chu does not understand her words and asks his friend
Dusty what Rochelle means. Dusty comments that he does not under-
stand French either, but Rochelle’s words must mean something nice
since “French Canadian is the language of love … in Québec.” Using
a language other than English makes it stand out from the surrounding
dialogue and emphasises the obscurity of its meaning for other characters
and for the audience. Moreover, the comment about Québec makes it all
the more intriguing. No subtitles are provided for the French sentence
so that the audience is in the same situation as the characters in the
film (unless they can understand French). The function of French in this
scene is to provide character portrayal, highlight otherness/difference and
convey contrast and confusion. It is worth pointing out that despite the
reference to Canada, the sentence uttered by Rochelle does not have any
specific Canadian/Québécoise element or accent.5
In the dubbed version no foreign language is used in this scene as a
result of the localisation strategy adopted to distribute the film in various
countries. The filmmakers decided to give Rochelle the same nationality
as the country in which the film was dubbed (Miller-Zarneke 2014,
p. 76). As a result, in the Italian version Rochelle becomes Italian and
her name is Azzurra. She is dubbed by Italian actress Micaela Ramazzotti
who is a star talent—not a professional dubber. Although Rochelle speaks
with a French accent and uses French words in the original version, in the
dubbed version Azzurra loses her French ethnicity and linguistic identity.
She speaks standard Italian with no specific accent and is given a kind of
‘sexy’ voice. However, this creates a translation challenge when Dusty
makes a reference to the French Canadian language. Since L3 in the
source text (i.e., French) becomes Italian in the target text, L3 coincides
with L2 (i.e., the language of the dubbed version). The fact that in the
film El Chu does not understand Azzurra’s words constitutes a translation
5Iwould like to thank Rainier Grutman for his comments on this scene and on French
Canadian.
problem. The dubbing team therefore had to change El Chu’s line and
Dusty’s comment about French Canadian and Québec. They could have
opted to make her speak an Italian dialect (in order to convey the incom-
prehensibility of her utterance), but they did not resort to this solution.
The reason could be linked to casting a star talent whose voice needed
to be recognisable or to the fact that no Italian dialect is really associ-
ated with romanticism and sensuality. Another reason could be that the
dubbing professionals did not want to add comicality to this character.
The English and Italian dialogues are shown in Example 6.5.
Example 6.5

ROCHELLE Ah. Monsieur El Chu. AZZURRA Ah, signor El Chu, per
Comme bouffon, tu es bien essere un buffone, sei mooolto
romantique. romantico. Ah ah ah.
EL CHU What does that mean? EL CHU Porquè ha detto buffone?
DUSTY No idea, but French Canadian DUSTY Non ne ho idea, ma l’italiano
is the language of love … in è la lingua dell’amore, lo sanno
Québec. So, it’s gotta be good. tutti. Forse, è un complimento.
BACK TRANSLATION
AZZURRA Ah, Mr El Chu, for being a
buffoon, you are very romantic.
EL CHU Why did she say buffoon?
DUSTY I have no idea, but Italian is
the language of love, everyone
knows this. Maybe it’s a
compliment.
The above is an example of what Corrius and Zabalbeascoa (2011,

p. 118) call the ‘neutralisation’ of L3 and is due to a specific locali-
sation strategy and distribution policy. As observed above, neutralising
the foreign language has repercussions for the translation. El Chu’s ques-
tion “What does that mean?” would not make sense in Italian since the
audience already understands the language. As a result, El Chu asks why
Azzurra called him a buffoon and Dusty makes a comment on Azzurra’s
Italian identity and the Italian language. Neutralising the French lines
in Planes is an exception to the tendency to maintain the presence of a
foreign language in the dubbing of animated films.
Further instances of languages other than English can be found in the
Cars films and will be discussed below.
294 V. Minutella
6.6 Dealing with Italian in the Cars Films

As shown in Examples 6.6–6.10 from the Cars films, if the foreign
language is Italian (i.e., if L3 in the original version coincides with L2
the language of dubbing), then dubbing tends to transform it into an
Italian dialect or Italian with a regional accent. In the Cars films Guido
(voiced by Italian visual effects supervisor Guido Quaroni) only speaks
Italian and nobody can understand him except for his friend Luigi. In the
Italian dubbed version Guido is dubbed by ex-driver and paracyclist Alex
Zanardi who is from Emilia Romagna. In order to make Guido’s speech
incomprehensible to an Italian audience (to create the same effect as that
conveyed by Italian in the English version for an Anglo-American audi-
ence), creative director Morville decided to resort to an Italian dialect.
He points out that an often-used strategy in dubbing when a character
speaks Italian is to resort to a different foreign language such as French or
Spanish (Morville, p.c. 30 January 2016, 4 March 2019). However, such
a method could not be applied in the case of Guido and other charac-
ters speaking Italian such as Mamma Topolino and Uncle Topolino since
these cars were clearly visually represented as being Italian and comments
were also made in the film dialogues about their Italianness. They had to
be characterised as different and their speech as incomprehensible, while
still retaining their national identity. The only possible option was to
dub Guido using an Italian regional dialect. Morville opted for a Mode-
nese dialect because the characters were Ferrari supporters and Ferrari is
based in Maranello (in the Modena province). Morville researched Ital-
ians coming from that geographical area in order to find a suitable dialect
such as one spoken in the mountains that was unlikely to be intelligible
to the average Italian audience (Morville, p.c. 30 January 2016). In the
Italian dubbed version Guido thus speaks an almost incomprehensible
dialect. Guido’s friend Luigi (an old Fiat 500 car who speaks a contrived
Italian-accented English with some ungrammaticalities in the original
version) speaks with a very strong regional accent, uses some dialectal
words and often acts as an interpreter for his friend. Luigi is dubbed
in Italian by stand-up comedian Marco Della Noce who had become
popular at the time for his impersonation of a Ferrari mechanic/fanatic.
The Italianness of the characters and their otherness was therefore main-
tained (Morville, p.c. 20 April 2018) by conveying L3 of the source text
(i.e., Italian) as L3 (i.e., an Italian dialect) in the target version: L1 +
L3 (Italian) ST = L2 + L3 (dialect) TT. Example 6.6 is an extract from
Cars 2.
Example 6.6

GUIDO Non ci credo! GUIDO (speaks dialect,
LUIGI (Italian accent) Guido don’t believe incomprehensible)
you. LUIGI (Emiliano accent) Neanche
Guido ti crede.
BACK TRANSLATION
LUIGI Guido doesn’t believe you
either.
In the original version the unintelligible Italian line is interpreted by

Luigi who explains what Guido has just said in grammatically incor-
rect English (he uses don’t rather than doesn’t ). In the dubbed version
Guido’s incomprehensible line in dialect is translated by Luigi into stan-
dard Italian with a broad regional accent. In this case, however, Luigi’s
lines in Italian do not contain ungrammaticalities.
Cars 2 also contains a line in Italian subtitled into English. This
unusual solution is due to the function of the foreign language in this
scene. Mater is pretending to be a waiter and asks Guido (who is
preparing drinks) what McQueen usually drinks. When Guido replies
in Italian that he has no idea (“Come faccio a saperlo?”, “How should
I know?”), Mater does not understand him and asks for two of them.
The comic situation generated by the language barrier would not be
understood by English-speaking audiences if they did not have access to
the meaning of Guido’s words. Therefore, the filmmakers added English
subtitles for this line (shown in Example 6.7).
296 V. Minutella
Example 6.7

MATER Guido, what’s McQueen’s MATER Guido, il solito di McQueen?
usual? GUIDO (speaks dialect) Cum faghi a
GUIDO (in Italian, subtitled) Come savere’l?
faccio a saperlo? MATER Perfetto. Fammene due!
SUBTITLES How should I know? BACK TRANSLATION
MATER Perfect! Gimme two of ’em. MATER Guido, McQueen’s usual?
GUIDO How should I know?
MATER Perfect. Make me two of
those.
In the dubbed version the foreign language retains its ‘otherness’ and
Italian identity since it is turned into an Italian dialect. This is an
instance of what Corrius and Zabalbeascoa (2011, p. 120) call ‘adap-
tation’. However, while the original audience had access to the meaning
of the line through interlingual subtitles in English, the Italian dubbed
version provides English subtitles instead of Italian unless Italian subtitles
are activated on the DVD.
Michael Schumacher voices a cameo role as a Ferrari in the final
sequences of Cars. The ex-Formula One Ferrari driver voices a Ferrari
in both the original film and the Italian dubbed version. In the English
version the Ferrari first introduces himself to Guido and Luigi in English,
“Hi. Lightning McQueen told me this was the best place to get tyres.
How about setting me and my friends up with three or four sets each?” In
the dubbed version this becomes German-accented Italian. When Luigi
faints with excitement, the Ferrari then switches to Italian in the orig-
inal version of the film and no translation into English is provided. As
can be seen in Example 6.8, the Italian utterances of the original version
are rendered in two different ways in the dubbed version: Schumacher
starts speaking Italian (using exactly the same words as in the English
original version) and then switches to an incomprehensible dialect (the
parenthetic italicised note in the example is not intended to refer back
to the previous sentence, but indicates another utterance that follows it,
explaining whether it is spoken with a specific accent or in dialect).
Example 6.8

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (German MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (German
accent) Wow. Spero che il tuo amico si accent) Wow! Spero che il tuo
riprenda. Mi dicono che siete amico si riprenda (speaks dialect,
fantastici. incomprehensible)
BACK TRANSLATION
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER Wow! I
hope your friend gets better. I’m
told you’re great.
The two different strategies work as follows. The first sentence (“Spero
che il tuo amico si riprenda”—“I hope your friend gets better”) is main-
tained unaltered. It remains in Italian and can thus be understood by the
Italian target audience. The foreign language in the source text is thus
neutralised in the target text (L3 in the ST becomes L2 in the TT, coin-
ciding with the language of the other characters). On the other hand, the
second sentence (“Mi dicono che siete fantastici”—“I’ve been told you’re
fantastic”) is conveyed in the dubbed version as an L3 since it is turned
into an Italian dialect that is equally obscure to the average Italian audi-
ence. Neutralising and adapting the linguistic identity of the character
are strategies that are applied within a single turn of the speaker, thus
recreating the effect of incomprehensibility by using an Italian dialect in
dubbing.
In Cars 2 Italian is also spoken by the minor characters Uncle
Topolino and Mamma Topolino who welcome Lightning McQueen and
his friends to the fictional Italian town of Porto Corsa. They speak Italian
and Italian-accented English and are portrayed as typical Italian cars with
typical Italian habits. Examples 6.9 and 6.10 illustrate the various solu-
tions adopted in both the original film and the dubbed version to convey
the Italianness of the couple who are voiced in the original version by a
couple in real life (actors Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave).
When Uncle Topolino welcomes Luigi and Guido, he speaks Italian
(untranslated in the original version): “Luigi, Guido, che bello rivedervi.
298 V. Minutella
Bentornati! Amici, Guido e Luigi sono tornati!” The Italian language

of the original version is maintained unchanged in the dubbed version,
hence the linguistic otherness of Uncle Topolino when we first meet him
is neutralised in the dubbed version. On the other hand, during the
evening party the Italian couple notice that McQueen is sad. Mamma
Topolino speaks Italian and Uncle Topolino translates her words for
McQueen (we thus have an instance of diegetic interpreting by a
character in the film).
Example 6.9

MAMMA TOPOLINO Ma guarda, sta MAMMA TOPOLINO (speaks
morendo di fame. Gli preparerò Neapolitan) Io o vec sciupatiell,
una bella cena così ingrassa. terrà famm’. Mo’ ce preparo na
UNCLE TOPOLINO She said you look cusarella sciuè sciuè, e vir com
like you’re starving. And she’s s’arripiglia.
gonna make you a big meal and UNCLE TOPOLINO Dice che sembri
fatten you up, eh? morire di fame. Ti preparerà un bel
pasto per rimpolparti un po’, eh?
BACK TRANSLATION
MAMMA TOPOLINO He seems very
tired and skinny, he must be
hungry. I’ll prepare something real
quick, and you’ll see, he’ll get much
better.
UNCLE TOPOLINO She says you look
like you’re starving. She’ll make you
a big meal to fatten you up, eh?
The dubbed version turns the unintelligible Italian of the original

version into an equally obscure Italian dialect, which is then translated
into standard Italian by Uncle Topolino acting as a diegetic inter-
preter. Mamma Topolino’s utterance is humorous in that it typifies
the concern of a Neapolitan mother/woman.6 Dubbing assistant Maria
Grazia Napolitano remembers that when Italian actress Sophia Loren
recorded her cameo role, the Italian dubbing script was modified in
the dubbing studio so that she would speak her own native Neapolitan
dialect– not just a regional accent. The same occurred with Franco
6I would like to thank Valeria Di Donato for her comments on Neapolitan.

Nero who used his own native accent and dialect from Emilia Romagna
(Napolitano, p.c. 20 May 2020).
The same strategy is adopted in the following exchange (Example
6.10) in which Uncle Topolino speaks Italian in the original version
and the female car translates (interprets) his words. In the dubbed
version the original Italian utterances are turned into Italian dialect,
thus adopting an adaptation solution. Uncle Topolino speaks Emiliano
dialect and Mamma Topolino speaks Neapolitan mixed with a strong
Neapolitan-accented Italian.
Example 6.10

UNCLE TOPOLINO Chi trova un amico UNCLE TOPOLINO (speaks dialect) Chi
trova un tesoro. cata un amis, al cata un muc’ ed
MCQUEEN What does that mean? sold.
MAMMA TOPOLINO Whoever find a MCQUEEN Che vuol dire?
friend, find treasure. Now, mangia! MAMMA TOPOLINO Vuol dire chi
Eat! trova un amico trova un tesoro.
UNCLE TOPOLINO E dov’è la mia Mo’ mangia, guagliò!
cena? UNCLE TOPOLINO E ndov’è la me’
MAMMA TOPOLINO La cena? Fattela sena?
da solo. MAMMA TOPOLINO (speaks dialect)
Vuo’ la cena? Ma piens’ sempre a
magnà?
BACK TRANSLATION
UNCLE TOPOLINO Whoever finds a
friend, finds a lot of money.
MCQUEEN What does that mean?
MAMMA TOPOLINO Whoever finds a
friend, finds a treasure. Now, eat,
kid!
UNCLE TOPOLINO And where is my
dinner?
MAMMA TOPOLINO You want your
dinner? But do you always think
about eating?
By resorting to adaptation in which standard Italian is replaced with

an Italian dialect the dubbed version maintains the Italian identity of
the characters, linguistically differentiates them from those characters
using standard Italian and retains the function of L3 in the original
film (the unintelligibility of the characters). Furthermore, the casting of
300 V. Minutella
famous actors who speak their own regional accent and dialect results in
a credible and entertaining dialogue.

This chapter has shown that when languages other than English were
used in the animated films making up the corpus, the “preservation of
the different lingua-cultural situations” (De Bonis 2014, p. 243) was the
prevailing strategy adopted in Italian dubbing. Furthermore, the dubbed
versions appear to reproduce the choices made in the original versions
(Díaz Cintas 2011). The films contain very few cases of “quantitative
reduction of the multilingual situation” or “neutralisation of the different
languages” (De Bonis 2014, p. 243). One instance of neutralisation
involves the French of Rochelle in Planes. The examples discussed in this
chapter have illustrated that dubbing usually resorts to Italian dialects
when the different language is Italian. The Cars films have been shown
to have posed a great challenge to the Italian dubbing team who had to
find various solutions to recreating and transferring the different func-
tions of the Italian language used in the films, maintaining the Italian
identity of the characters while still providing comedy. Creative director
Morville chose Italian star talents whose voices sounded authentic when
speaking Italian, regional Italian and their native dialect.
References
Source Texts and Their Translations. The Case of L3 in Film Translation.
Target 23 (1): 113–130.
tion and Preservation of Lingua-Cultural Identities: A Critical Review of the

York, Oxford, and Wien: Peter Lang.
De Rosa, Gian Luigi. 2014. Back to Brazil: Humor and Sociolinguistic Vari-
ation in Rio. In Translating Humour in Audiovisual Texts, ed. Gian Luigi
De Rosa, Francesca Bianchi, Antonella De Laurentiis, and Elisa Perego,
Díaz-Cintas, Jorge. 2011. Dealing with Multilingual Films in Audiovisual
Translation. In Translation, Sprachvariation, Mehrsprachigkeit. Festschrift für
Lew Zybatow zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. Wolfgang Pöckl, Ingeborg Ohnheiser,
and Peter Sandrini, 215–233. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Miller-Zarneke, Tracey. 2014. The Art of Planes, Preface by John Lasseter,
Forewords by Klay Hall and Bobs Gannaway. San Francisco: Chronicle
Books.
Minutella, Vincenza. 2018. Translating Non-Native Varieties of English in
wanted . Cultus Journal 11: 144–157. Retrieved from https://www.cultusjou
rnal.com/files/Archives/Vincenza-Minutella.pdf [20 May 2020].
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3 (4): 421–427.
Audiovisual Productions. In Focusing on Audiovisual Translation Research,
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Spiteri Miggiani, Giselle. 2019. Dialogue Writing for Dubbing: An Insider’s
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Websites
Filmography
tion Studios.
Despicable Me (2010). Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Universal Pictures, Illumi-
nation Entertainment.
Rio (2011). Carlos Saldanha, 20th Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios.
Rio 2 (2014). Carlos Saldanha, 20th Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky
Studios, FortyFour Studios.
Toy Story 3 (2010). Lee Unkrich, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation
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TV Series
Star Trek (1966–1969). Gene Roddenberry, Desilu Productions, Norway

Corporation, Paramount Television, NBC.
7
Non-native Varieties of English in Italian
Dubbing: Does Foreign-Accented English
Become Foreign-Accented Italian?
7.1 Introduction
This chapter focuses on non-native varieties of English or foreign-
accented English. It examines how characters who speak English with
a non-native accent are represented in animated films and how their
linguistic identity is dealt with in dubbed versions. Recall that one
hypothesis of this book based on previous research is that when it
comes to characters who are represented as being non-native speakers
of English and who speak English with a foreign accent, their linguistic
identity tends to be maintained in the dubbed version. The conversa-
tions with dubbing practitioners summarised in Chapter 3 also suggested
that foreign characters usually maintain their characteristics in dubbing
either by casting foreign dubbing actors or by casting Italian dubbers
who contrive foreign accents usually with the help of dialect coaches or
language consultants. By summarising the translation strategies adopted
in the films of the corpus the chapter will attempt to ascertain whether
non-native varieties of English are indeed mostly retained in some way
(as suggested by dubbing practitioners) and whether we can therefore talk

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8_7
304 V. Minutella
about a dubbing norm for animated films as far as non-native varieties

are concerned.
The translation strategies available to dubbing practitioners to
deal with foreign-accented English or non-native varieties of English
are those of neutralisation (elimination of the foreign accent and
of foreign words), quantitative reduction (the foreign accent may
be reduced or totally eliminated by using standard Italian, but a
few foreign words may be still present in the character’s speech),
preservation (the linguistic identity of the character is maintained
unaltered by using foreign-accented Italian and the use of foreign
words), hypercharacterisation (the character’s linguistic otherness is
stressed by adding phonetic, lexical or syntactic elements), adapta-
tion/regionalisation/localisation/transformation (the linguistic identity
of the character is slightly modified and adapted by using a more local
identity belonging to the target culture or completely changed by modi-
fying his/her nationality). Some of the strategies may overlap. This
chapter will examine which strategies are actually adopted in the trans-
lation of foreign-accented English, thus ascertaining whether ethnolects
are indeed emphasised in Italian dubbing through hypercharacterisation,
as hypothesised in Chapter 3. “Hypercharacterisation” (Parini 2009,
p. 163) makes a character’s speech more marked not only in terms of
“pronunciation and intonation, but also at other levels” such as the
morphosyntactic and lexical. As highlighted in Chapter 3, such a strategy
is particularly found when the foreign-accented speech of the character
has the function of providing a stereotype and triggering humour. The
following sections discuss examples from various films in the corpus.
7.2 Characters Speaking Spanish-Accented

English
As pointed out in Chapter 4, several films in our corpus portray char-
acters who speak Spanish-accented English and are represented as being
Spanish, Mexican or Latin American (Latinos). O’Sullivan points out
that “we hear a buzz of Spanish in the background, occasionally emerging
into the foreground, in films set in Spanish-speaking regions […]
7 Non-native Varieties of English in Italian Dubbing … 305
because we expect some degree of acknowledgment of the film’s setting”

(O’Sullivan 2011, p. 23). Animated films set in Spanish-speaking regions
(in particular, Spain or Mexico) are filled with such “buzzes of Spanish.”
Characters speak a few words in Spanish that function as markers of loca-
tion (O’Sullivan 2011, p. 71), spectacular fragments (Rampton 1999,
p. 423) or audio-postcarding (Wahl 2005, 2008). These are usually
maintained unchanged in the dubbed versions. The animated films anal-
ysed in this book are also populated by characters who speak Spanish
with a broad accent and are represented in a humorous and stereotyp-
ical way through a combination of visual and verbal elements. Their
linguistic characterisation is meant to be funny. Di Giovanni observes
that “visual and verbal stereotypes […] are employed to narrate other-
ness” (Di Giovanni 2007, p. 93) in animated films. The linguistic
identity or otherness of such characters (i.e., their ethnolect; Salmon
Kovarski 2000) is recreated in the Italian dubbed versions using the
strategies of preservation and often hypercharacterisation. The following
sub-sections will illustrate the translation strategies adopted to deal with
Spanish-accented English.
7.2.1 Hypercharacterisation of Spanish-Accented

English (Spanish/Latino/Mexican Characters)
In Disney’s Planes (2013) El Chupacabra (‘El Chu’ to his friends) is a

Mexican plane taking part in the Wings Around the Globe race. His
Mexican identity is emphasised throughout the film both verbally and
visually and other characters tease him because of his overly romantic
and melodramatic style. His Spanish-accented English interspersed with
Spanish words is meant to indicate his nationality, convey humour and
provide a stereotypical portrayal. El Chu is a star in Mexico where he is
a telenovela actor and the indoor racing champion. Moreover, he wears a
cape and tries to seduce Rochelle by making exaggeratedly romantic and
cheesy comments. He is represented as a funny character both visually
through his behaviour and movements and verbally through his broad
Spanish-accented English. El Chu is voiced in the original version by
actor, comic and writer Carlos Alazraqui who has lent his voice to many
306 V. Minutella
animated characters in films and cartoons. El Chu’s linguistic character-

isation is maintained and emphasised in the Italian dubbed version by
the vocal performance of star talent and opera singer Gianluca Terranova
(a non-professional dubber). Examples 7.1–7.2 illustrate the comic char-
acterisation of El Chu and his use of Spanish words in the original and
dubbed versions. In Example 7.1 the English plane Bulldog makes fun
of El Chu by teasing him about his name.
Example 7.1

BULLDOG Did you say El Chupacabra BULLDOG Hai detto El Chupacabra o
or El Cuckoo-cabra? El Ciuccio-cabra?
EL CHUPACABRA You make joke? EL CHUPACABRA Me prendi in giro?
You make joke? Very well. You Mi prendi in giro? Muy bien. Tu non
leave me no choice! I eswish my me lasci altra sielta. Yo te esferzo
cape at you! You have been con la mia manteglia. Ritienite
eshamed! esvergognato.
BULLDOG I hope I can get over it. BULLDOG Spero di soppravivere. Oh!
Oh! I just did! Ce l’ho fatta!
BACK TRANSLATION
BULLDOG Did you say El Chupacabra
or El Cuckoo-cabra?
EL CHUPACABRA You make joke? You
make joke? Very well. You leave me
no choice! I eswish my cape at you!
You have been eshamed!
BULLDOG I hope I can get over it.
Oh! I just did!
As shown in Example 7.1, the Mexican plane pronounces

English sentences in the original version with a Spanish accent and
prosodic patterns, says “eswish” rather than “swish,” uses non-standard
grammar such as omitting the auxiliary do and misusing articles and
singular/plural (You make joke? ) and pronounces “joke” as /jok/ and
“You” as /dzu:/. In the Italian dubbed version adapted and directed
by Carlo Valli, El Chu has a Spanish accent and uses some Spanish
and Spanish-sounding words (sielta, te esferzo, ritienite esvergognato). The
function of such words is to trigger humour and suggest that he is a
native speaker of Spanish, but without claiming any authenticity. The
audience can tell that it is a contrived accent meant to sound Spanish
and exaggerated in order to sound ridiculous and make fun of the char-
acter. Several examples of added Spanish or Spanish-sounding words can
be found in the Italian dubbed version of Planes. In Example 7.2 El Chu
addresses the US plane Dusty Crophopper. In the dubbed version the
Spanish verb soy (I am) is added.
Example 7.2

EL CHU I am flattered, avión pequeño. EL CHU Soy lusingato, avión
pequeño.
BACK TRANSLATION
EL CHU I am flattered, little plane.
The similarity between the Spanish and Italian languages and the fact
that the Italian audience might be familiar with some Spanish words
could be the reason the Italian dubbed version uses Spanish rather than
Italian for “I am,” hence not only maintaining the linguistic otherness of
El Chu, but also exaggerating it and providing what Parini (2009) calls
‘hypercharacterisation’ in dubbing.
In Rango (2011) some characters are represented as Latinos. Spanish-
accented English interspersed with Spanish words is spoken and sung
by the narrators (four mariachi owls playing guitars and singing, telling
the story of Rango and making ironic comments) and another character,
the desert toad Rock-Eye (voiced by Joe Nuñez). Code-switching and
code-mixing permeate the lines of these characters who speak a broad
Spanish-accented English. Examples of typically Spanish words/phrases
are mojito, huevos, Adiòs, amigo! , Ay, madre de Dios! and Cojones. The
Italian dubbed version was produced by the dubbing studio Pumais
Due and Fiamma Izzo was both dialogue writer and dubbing director.
In the Italian version the mariachis are dubbed in Italian by native
speakers of Spanish (or bilinguals) thus ensuring authenticity: Saverio
Moriones (bilingual), Diego Suarez (a Spanish dubber living in Italy)
and Salvatore Gabriel Valerio (from Ecuador, not a professional dubber).
Rock-Eye is dubbed by Italian dubbing actor Renzo Stacchi. A further
character, Roadkill (voiced by Alfred Molina in the original version) is
also dubbed by Saverio Moriones. Moreover, in response to requests from
308 V. Minutella
the client, the presence of Spanish in the dubbed version was emphasised.
As explained by Izzo, the international supervisor and the distributor’s
dubbing and localisation office asked her to emphasise the Spanish
language in the dubbed version and told her that no attempt should be
made at using non-standard incorrect Italian (Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019).
Analysis of the mariachi owls’ lines demonstrates that the linguistic
otherness of the mariachi owls and Rock-Eye in the Italian dubbed
version is maintained and emphasised through hypercharacterisation.
The dubbing actors achieve this by exaggerating their pronunciation
of Spanish and adding Spanish words and expressions to the Italian.
Example 7.3 demonstrates this strategy in the prologue uttered by one
of the owls (Spanish words and pronunciation shown in italics).
Example 7.3

MARIACHI OWL We are gathered here MARIACHI OWL Siamo aquí riuniti
today to immortalise in song the life oggi per immortalare en una
and untimely death of a great ballata la vida y la prematura
legend, Rango. So sit back, relax, and departita de una grande legenda,
enjoy your low-calorie popcorn and Rango. Perciò mettetevi comodi,
assorted confections while we tell rilassati, y gustatevi i popcorn
you the strange and bewildering tale ipocalorici e i dolciumi assortiti,
of a hero who has yet to enter his mentre ve narriamo la strana y
own story. strabiliante aventura de un eroe
che deve ancora vivere la sua
istoria.
BACK TRANSLATION We are
gathered here today to
immortalise in a ballad the life
and untimely death of a great
legend, Rango. So sit back, relax,
and enjoy your low-calorie
popcorn and assorted confections,
while we tell you the strange and
bewildering tale of a hero who
still has to live his own story.
Note that whereas the owl speaks English with a slight Spanish
accent and intonation and no Spanish lexis in the original version, his
foreignness in the dubbed version is emphasised since the ethnolect is
highlighted by the insertion of several Spanish (or Spanish-sounding)
words that were not present in the English source text. Further examples
of added emphasis of the ethnolect in dubbing are the song the mari-
achi owls sing while Rango walks through the desert (Example 7.4) and
another comment the owls make about him (Example 7.5).
Example 7.4

MARIACHI OWLS Welcome, amigo, to MARIACHI OWLS Hola, mi amigo,
the land without end, the desert and mucho caldo aquí habrai, la
death are the closest of friends. We muerte y el desierto y amigos que
sing of his courage in magnificent hay. Ha tanto coraggio y prodesse
song, but pay close attention, he farà, ma fate atensione, no
won’t be here long. sobravivrà.
BACK TRANSLATION Hi, my friend,
it will be very hot here, death and
the desert are your friends. He’s
very courageous and he will be
brave. But pay attention, he won’t
survive.
Example 7.5

MARIACHI OWL Here in the Mojave MARIACHI OWL Aquí en el desierto
desert animals have had millions of de Mojave gli animali hanno avuto
years to adapt to the harsh un milione de anni para adaptarse
environment. But the lizard? He is a un ambiente inclemente. Ma la
going to die. lucertola? Está per morire!
BACK TRANSLATION Here in the
Mojave desert animals have had
one million years to adapt to the
harsh environment. But the lizard?
He is going to die.
Examples 7.4 and 7.5 show that the English original text contains
very few, if any, Spanish words and that the dubbed version is filled
with Spanish vocabulary. Izzo explains this was a deliberate choice of
the client. Spanish-accented Italian and the accurate pronunciation of
Spanish words was achieved by employing Spanish-speaking dubbers.
310 V. Minutella
The desert rain frog Rock-Eye that Rango meets in the desert speaks
with a marked Spanish accent and uses several Spanish words, including
vulgar ones. This characterisation is retained and exaggerated in the
dubbed version, as can be seen in Example 7.6 in which the desert frog
is warning Rango that a hawk that wants to eat them is arriving.
Example 7.6

ROCK-EYE You better run, mojito! ROCK-EYE Meglio che corri, mojito!
[…] Adiós, amigo! […] Ay! Madre de […] Adiós, amigo! […] Ay.
Dios! You! I’ll kill you! You stupid Mamacita! Tu? Yo te mato,
lizard. […] I’m gonna strangle your estúpida lucertola! Vattene via o
huevos. yo te estritolo los huevos!
BACK TRANSLATION
You better run, mojito! […] Adiós,
amigo! […] Ay! Mamacita! You! I’ll
kill you, stupid lizard! Go away or
I’ll strangle your huevos
In Example 7.6 Spanish or Spanish-sounding words are added in the

dubbed version. The strategy adopted to convey and recreate the iden-
tity and ethnicity of the owls and the frog in the Italian dubbed version is
thus to maintain and emphasise their linguistic otherness, adding lexical
elements that belong to the foreign language or sound Spanish and
stressing the Spanish accent through the performance of the dubbing
actors. This results in a comedic portrayal of these characters in order to
elicit humour. Hence hypercharacterisation is resorted to in the Italian
dubbing of these Spanish-accented characters.
A character whose Spanish-accented English contributes to a stereo-
typical, parodic representation of Mexicans is Eduardo Pérez/El Macho
in Despicable Me 2 and yet another is El Chupacabra in Planes both of
whom are located in a non-Spanish setting. As discussed in Minutella
(forthcoming), the representation of Eduardo’s otherness is conveyed
through negative verbal and visual stereotypes of Latinos in Hollywood
films described by Ramírez Berg (2002) such as the bandit (the villain
in the film) and the Latin lover (Eduardo and his son Antonio flirt and
dance with women). This may suggest that they are heavily characterised
in order to emphasise their otherness and ethnicity. The ethnolect they
speak contributes to a comic (and perhaps negative) characterisation. In

keeping with this characterisation Benjamin Bratt, who voices Eduardo
Pérez in Despicable Me 2, performs and exaggerates the Spanish/Mexican
accent to provide a comic persona or, as Coupland (2001) puts it, a
“stylised performance.”
The Italian dubbed version of Despicable Me 2 was adapted and
directed by Fiamma Izzo. Eduardo was dubbed by star talent, actor,
comedian and singer Neri Marcorè with the help of a dialogue coach.
The Italian dubbed version presents another example of hypercharac-
terisation: Eduardo’s Mexican identity conveyed in the original version
through visual elements (he has a tattoo of the Mexican flag on his
hairy chest, he dances salsa and owns a Mexican restaurant) and verbal
elements (a broad Spanish accent and the use of several Spanish words)
is not only maintained in dubbing, but is further emphasised and exag-
gerated by adding several Spanish words in the dubbed version (for a
detailed analysis see Minutella, forthcoming).
The same strategy (hypercharacterisation) is used to dub the character
of Puss in Boots (voiced by Spanish actor Banderas) who appeared first in
the Shrek saga (in Shrek 2) and gradually became popular, becoming the
protagonist of the eponymous film. As previously stated, Puss in Boots
is the only protagonist speaking a non-native variety of English in the
animated films analysed here. The booted cat is linguistically charac-
terised in the Shrek films as being foreign since he speaks with a broad
Spanish accent and his speech is interspersed with some Spanish words.
This ethnolect is maintained and emphasised in the dubbed versions of
the films once again by hypercharacterisation. This happens in Shrek 2
where the cat is dubbed by Italian professional dubbing actor Massimo
Rossi and in the other films where he is dubbed by Banderas himself
who adopts a marked Spanish-accented Italian. Moreover, as explained
by the Italian dialogue writer and dubbing director of the Shrek saga,
when Banderas dubbed his lines the client (the international dubbing
supervisor) kept asking for “more Spanish” (Vairano, p.c. 27 November
2018). The English Dialogue List and the key names and phrases (KNP)
file given to the translator and dialogue writer also contained explana-
tory notes and localisation guidelines which advised them to use Spanish
words as much as possible, to replace Spanish words in the English
312 V. Minutella
dialogue with other Spanish words or add more well-known Spanish

words in other parts of the dialogue, if and where needed (see Minutella
2015; Di Carlo, p.c. 27 November 2018). This compensation strategy
was thus adopted in the Italian dubbed version, which retained the
linguistic identity of Puss in Boots and added Spanish words that were
not in the original dialogue.
Example 7.7 from Shrek 2 illustrates how added Spanish and Spanish-
sounding words in the dubbed version constitute a translation strategy
that conveys Puss’ otherness and adds humour. Puss has just tried to
kill Shrek but has instead been captured by him. Donkey suggests they
neuter (i.e., castrate) him. Puss turns into an innocent and scared little
cat and asks them to have mercy on him.
Example 7.7

PUSS IN BOOTS Oh, no! Por favor! PUSS IN BOOTS O madrecita no, por
Please! I implore you! It was favor, ve prego, ve imploro, no era
nothing personal, señor. I was niente de personale, señor. Lo
doing it only for my family. My facevo solo por la mia familia. Mia
mother, she is sick. And my father madre está malada, e mio padre
lives off the garbage! The king vive tra y la ispasatura. Il re me ha
offered me much in gold and I oferto molto de oro e yo ho una
have a litter of brothers … nidiata de fratellini e …
BACK TRANSLATION Oh, mother! No,
please, please, I implore you, it was
nothing personal, sir. I was doing it
only for my family. My mother is
sick and my father lives off the
garbage. The king offered me a lot
of gold and I have a litter of
brothers.
Hypercharacterisation is used to emphasise the ethnolect and is

achieved by adding a high number of Spanish or Spanish-sounding words
and expressions and employing a marked Spanish accent (Minutella
2014, p. 77). In the dubbed version of the film Puss in Boots whose
dubbing director was Mete, the booted cat still retains his linguistic char-
acterisation in which Banderas’ voice and his Spanish-accented Italian is
recognisable and exaggerated.
Hypercharacterisation is also used in Turbo to dub the taco-selling

brothers Tito and Angelo who speak Spanish-accented English and
use some Spanish words in the original version. They speak a marked
Spanish-accented Italian and use more Spanish words in the dubbed
version directed by Guadagno.
Close analysis of the films in the corpus thus suggests that hyperchar-
acterisation is regularly used in dubbing to represent Spanish or Latino
characters in animated films when the function of the dialogue of such
characters is to convey stereotypes and elicit laughter. The linguistic and
ethnic identity of the characters is preserved and highlighted in dubbing.
Moreover, Spanish and Spanish-sounding words are always added. This
testifies to an attempt to stress the Spanish or Mexican identity of such
characters in the Italian version. Although the reason for adding Spanish
words may be the similarity between Italian and Spanish, it has the func-
tion of emphasising the identity of the characters, differentiating them
from other characters in the films and adding humour.
7.2.2 Reduction and Neutralisation of the Spanish

Accent in Dubbing
In the previous sub-section the Italian dubbing strategy of hypercharac-

terisation was described. It is used to provide characterisation, to create
stereotypes and to bring about humour and contrast. However, if the
function of Spanish-accented English and Spanish words in the dialogue
is to establish the setting of the whole film, then a different strategy is
resorted to. In these cases L3 may be reduced or neutralised in terms of
Spanish accent, although the foreign linguistic identity of the character
(L3) is maintained in terms of the use of Spanish words. This means that
Spanish words are usually still inserted in the dubbed dialogue to achieve
a postcarding effect, to portray characters and to represent the identity
of the speakers, but most of the characters do not speak with a marked
foreign accent since this would result in unwanted caricature. Although
there is no hypercharacterisation, their foreignness is preserved or even
quantitatively reduced by toning phonetic features down. Examples of
314 V. Minutella
use of this approach in dubbing are the films The Book of Life and Coco
(both set in Mexico).
In the dubbed version of The Book of Life, whose dialogue writer
and dubbing director was Guadagno, almost all the characters speak
standard Italian and use a few Spanish words without exaggerating
the Spanish pronunciation. A few characters speak a broader Spanish-
accented Italian, but they are minor characters who have a predominantly
comedic function (a group of nuns and Maria’s father).
In the dubbed version of Disney-Pixar’s Coco, whose dialogue writer
and dubbing director was Manfredi, the same strategy was adopted.
Almost all the characters in the original film are voiced by Latino or
Latin American characters who speak English with their own natural
accent. The dubbed version cast Italian professional dubbing actors (as
was also the case for The Book of Life) who spoke standard Italian without
a foreign accent and interspersed their speech with Spanish words. The
Mexican characters use the same Spanish words and the same number of
them (never more) as those in the original version. All the Spanish words
and all the instances of code-mixing and code-switching are retained in
the Italian version. The multilingual nature of the source text is there-
fore reproduced in the dubbed version by retaining the Spanish words.
However, the characters do not speak Spanish-accented Italian. Spanish
accents, intonation and other prosodic patterns are eliminated. This
was done for a couple of reasons. First, since the story takes place in
Mexico and the characters are all supposed to speak the same language,
there is no reason for them to speak with a foreign accent (they are all
supposed to be native speakers of the language spoken in that country).
Second, the dubbing actors are all (but one) Italian and are not native
speakers of Spanish. Therefore, it would not be natural for them to speak
Italian with an accent. Although the dubbing team worked for about
a month with voice coaches (i.e., language consultants who advised on
the pronunciation of Spanish words and expressions; Manfredi, p.c. 19
December 2019), having consultants for all the utterances in the film
not only would have been too expensive but would also have made no
sense since pronunciation would never have been native-like. Moreover,
the characters are not meant to be comic and adding a foreign accent
when speaking Italian tends to add humour. Although the dubbers
pronounced the Spanish words like natives, they used standard Italian
for the lines in Italian. Example 7.8 of an exchange between Abuelita
(Miguel’s grandmother), a mariachi in the main square of the village,
Miguel’s uncle (Tío Berto) and Miguel shows the number of Spanish
words contained in the English dialogue (in italics) and illustrates how
the Italian dubbed version deals with Spanish in the dialogue.
Example 7.8

ABUELITA (to the mariachi) My ABUELITA Mio nipote è un dolce,
grandson is a sweet little angelito piccolo, angelito, querido, cielito
querido cielito, he wants no part of … e non ne vuole sapere della tua
your music, mariachi! You keep away musica, mariachi! Quindi stai alla
from him! (to Miguel) ¡Ay, pobrecito! larga da lui. ¡Ay, pobrecito! … oh
¿Estás bien, mijo? You know better ¿estás bien, mijo? Sai bene che
than to be here in this place! You questo non è posto per te. Tu
will come home. Now! vieni a casa con me, subito!
TÍO BERTO How many times have we TÍO BERTO Te l’avremo detto mille
told you, that plaza is crawling with volte, quella plaza è un covo di
mariachis! mariachi!
MIGUEL Yes, tío Berto. MIGUEL Sì tío Berto.
BACK TRANSLATION
ABUELITA My grandson is a sweet
little angelito querido cielito, and
he’s not into your music, mariachi!
So keep away from him! ¡Ay,
pobrecito! ¿Estás bien, mijo? You
know that this is not a place for
you! You come home with me.
Immediately.
TÍO BERTO We’ve told you a
thousand times: that plaza is
crawling with mariachis!
The dubbed version retains almost all the Spanish words contained in
the original version. All the characters code-switch and code-mix English
and Spanish, which becomes Italian–Spanish code-switching and code-
mixing in the dubbed version. This happens throughout the film in order
to maintain and convey the Mexican identity of the characters and the
Mexican setting. The loss of the Spanish accent in the dubbed version
316 V. Minutella
allows the Italian version to be true to the original film locale and to
the characters without making them comic since their ethnic character-
isation is not humorous. Thus, although L3 (the foreign language and
foreign-accented English) is maintained unchanged, the foreign accent
is neutralised. Coco is particularly interesting for its extensive use of
Mexican words and informal expressions in the original dialogues, which
are retained in the dubbed version even though the meaning of some
words might not be transparent to the average Italian audience. Exam-
ples are “¡Espérame chamaco! ” uttered by Hector to Miguel, “Hey tío!
¡Qué onda! ” and the word chorizo, which are all kept untranslated in the
dubbed version. Dubbing director Manfredi explained that the decision
to retain all the Spanish words was agreed with the client and that a test
screening of the dubbed version took place in order to verify whether the
extensive use of Spanish words hindered comprehension by the Italian
audience (Manfredi, p.c. 27 September 2018).
In Puss in Boots, which is entirely set in a Spanish-speaking country
(supposedly Spain, but it looks more like a South American region),
Italian dubbing follows a strategy in which the Spanish accent is reduced.
In the Italian version the number of Spanish words is reduced and, as
previously pointed out, the only character who has a marked Spanish
accent is the protagonist dubbed by Banderas, whereas the Spanish
accent of the other characters in the film is softened or neutralised. An
interesting case in which it was decided to neutralise an accent due to the
choice of dubbing actors and the context of production is that of Kitty
Softpaws, the female protagonist (voiced by Salma Hayek in the original
version). Dubbing director Mete (p.c. 7 February 2016) explains that
they had to decide whether to give her an accent as well. The problem
with the dubbed version was that the only Spanish or Spanish-speaking
dubbing actor in the dubbing cast was Banderas, whereas all the other
characters were dubbed by Italians. As a result, the audience would notice
the difference between Puss’ natural and real Spanish accent (that of
Banderas dubbing himself speaking Italian) and the non-natural, fake
or contrived Spanish accents of other characters such as Kitty, Imelda
and the Comandante. Dubbing director Mete (p.c. 7 February 2016)
thus provides a practical and artistic reason for Puss to have a Spanish
accent, for Kitty to speak neutral standard Italian and for the linguistic
characterisation of the other characters to be reduced by allowing them a

slight foreign accent and making them use only a few Spanish words
(fewer than those in the original dialogue). Since the dubbing actors
were all Italian, their vocal performance, even in the best-case scenario
in which they were helped by good dialect coaches, would have sounded
unnatural. The Spanishness of the original dialogues is thus quantita-
tively reduced and almost neutralised in dubbing where all the characters
except Puss speak standard Italian with a mild Spanish accent.
In the dubbed version of Ferdinand a similar strategy is adopted. A
few minor characters (the bullfighter El Primero and Moreno, the owner
of the Casa del Toro) are differentiated by giving them a soft Spanish
accent and by using spectacular fragments, while the main language
spoken by the Spanish characters is standard Italian with no accent.
The Spanish words in the original dialogue are also maintained. In the
dubbed version of Ferdinand , thus, there is quantitative reduction in
terms of accent, although there is preservation of the Spanish identity of
the most stereotypical characters (in particular the bullfighter El Primero
who is represented both visually and verbally as prototypically Spanish)
and of the lines in Spanish.
The examples discussed in this sub-section appear to confirm that
when the films are set in Spanish-speaking countries and in the orig-
inal films the dominant language is Spanish-accented English, this tends
to become standard Italian in the dubbed version and some charac-
ters are often given a soft Spanish accent, although Spanish words are
retained in the Italian dialogues to convey setting where they have an
audio-postcarding function (Wahl 2005, 2008).
7.2.3 A Different Approach: From Spanish-Accented

English to Romanesco
The corpus of animated films analysed contains only one character whose
Spanish-accented English is transformed and localised to a significant
318 V. Minutella
extent in the Italian version where the character does not speak Spanish-
accented Italian or standard Italian, but rather Italian with a broad
regional accent. This is the comedic plastic flamingo Featherstone in
Gnomeo & Juliet whose identity is dramatically transformed in dubbing.
Featherstone (voiced by US voice actor Jim Cummings) is represented as
Latin American in the original English version since he speaks a kind of
exaggerated foreign-accented and broken English (he has a broad Spanish
accent, uses some Spanish words and some ungrammaticalities). Feath-
erstone’s broad Spanish-accented English and frequent mistakes portray
him as not being a native speaker of English, thus distancing him from
the two British feuding families and the other characters in the story
(Minutella 2016, p. 230). His linguistic characterisation, however, is
mainly aimed at conveying humour. In the Italian dubbed version the
plastic flamingo’s name becomes Piumarosa (pink feather) and he speaks
with a marked regional Romanesco accent. This came about because
of the dubbing team’s approach to the whole film. The team decided
to domesticate and localise the film by making all the characters use
Italian regional accents and dialects according to a north–south divide
that symbolises the feud between the families. Example 7.9 is taken
from the film dialogue in which Featherstone thanks Gnomeo and Juliet
for having freed him. It illustrates the complete transformation that this
comic character undergoes in the Italian dubbed version (Spanish words
and ungrammaticalities in italics). Several regional words and expres-
sions (in italics) convey a different, local Italian identity for the plastic
flamingo.
Example 7.9

FEATHERSTONE Do you know what it’s FEATHERSTONE Ma riuscite a
like to be trapped for twenty years? immagginavve che vvor di’ rresta’
All alone by yourself! No one for to intrappolato pevvent’anni? Solo
talk at? Hola, Featherstone. ¿Cómo come un povero allocco, nisuno
está usted? Oh! Bueno, con cui fa’ ‘na parola. Oh
Featherstone! How’s the other leg? I Piumarosa, come te bbutta? ‘Na
don’t know, Featherstone, ’member? favola, Rosapiuma! Come sta
I don’t have it. You see? I’m not l’artra zampa? A ssapello
exactly terrific company, am I? Piumarosa, ma ‘nte ricordi? L’ho
ppersa. Visto? Robba da matti, me
spiego?
BACK TRANSLATION But can you
imagine what it means to be
trapped for twenty years? Alone,
like a poor tomfool, no one to
have a word with. Oh, Piumarosa,
how are you doing? Great,
Rosapiuma! How’s the other leg? I
wish I knew, Piumarosa, don’t you
remember? I lost it! You see? It’s
crazy! Am I being clear?
Featherstone is the only example of a Spanish-accented character

undergoing a complete transformation of his linguistic identity in the
dubbing process in the corpus of films. It is an exception to the norm of
preserving the foreignness of characters and is due to the domesticating
and localising approach to the whole film.
7.3 Characters Speaking French-Accented

English (French and Canadian
Characters)
In the films analysed several characters speak French-accented English,
use French words and expressions and are portrayed as being French
(mostly) or Canadian. As pointed out in Chapter 4, a French ethnolect
or French-accented English is used to provide setting (Ratatouille, Mada-
gascar 3, Mr. Peabody and Sherman), to signal a linguistic and cultural
320 V. Minutella
otherness (a French or Canadian identity) and to convey (often exag-

gerated) stereotypes. A comic, caricatural representation is built when
visual elements are combined with an exaggerated and often contrived
French accent and intonation (see also Planchenault 2015). This occurs
for several characters in our corpus of films. In Italian dubbing most of
the linguistic features connoting Frenchness are maintained and recre-
ated, emulating the original version, although some features are also
emphasised, as we have observed for other accented versions of English.
However, the linguistic identity of French-accented characters is not
always maintained and reproduced in the Italian dubbed versions. The
following sub-sections will illustrate the various strategies used to dub
French ethnolects.
7.3.1 Preservation and Hypercharacterisation

of a French/Canadian Identity
The most frequent strategy dubbing professionals adopt to translate the

speech of a character who speaks English with a French accent involves
keeping the French identity and maintaining the linguistic otherness of
the character. When characters are represented through a stylised and
comic performance that plays on stereotypes, in several cases this French-
ness is emphasised in dubbing. Preserving the linguistic identity and
sometimes hypercharacterisation are thus recurrent strategies for French-
speaking characters. This can be seen in the Shrek films, Atlantis, Turbo,
Mr. Peabody and Sherman and Madagascar 3. Such strategies will be
discussed in greater detail by taking the example of Mr. Peabody and
Sherman. The other characters will be mentioned briefly.
In Mr. Peabody and Sherman French historical figures such as Marie
Antoinette and the protagonists of the French Revolution (as well as
the French people) are portrayed at key moments of the Revolution.
Parodies and caricatures of these personalities are conveyed both visu-
ally and verbally and historical facts are explained in a comedic way.
Although some accents appear contrived, in most cases native speakers of
French were selected. For instance, in the original version Robespierre is
voiced by French production designer Guillaume Aretos, whereas Marie
Antoinette is voiced by American actress Lauri Fraser. In the Italian
dubbed version directed by Guadagno native speakers of French were

selected to dub both Marie Antoinette (Belgian actress Sabine Cerullo)
and Robespierre (French-born actor Jacques Peyrac). Due to the type of
film and the comic purpose for portraying historic figures in this way
the linguistic representation of French characters is particularly inter-
esting and highly caricatural in the original version. The characters have
a clearly identifiable French accent in which the typical French /r/ is
emphasised and ‘th’ is pronounced as /z/ or /s/ or /v/. Their speech is
interspersed with recognisable and well-known French words or expres-
sions such as Mais oui! ; Le gâteau; Vive la revolution; Liberté, egalité,
fraternité; monsieur; and en garde. In the Italian dubbed version all the
French words are kept and the French accent is conveyed (they speak
French-accented Italian) despite being perhaps less marked for the two
leading characters. In terms of her behaviour, however, the representa-
tion of Queen Marie Antoinette is highly caricatural in the film. When
Mr. Peabody and Sherman arrive in Versailles, she is eating a slice of
cake while the French people in the streets are starving. The Queen
shouts “Cake! I love cake so much! Uuhm!” In the Italian dubbed version
she says “Un doolce! Oh, mon dieu! Non sai quanto ne vada ghiotta!
Uhuhuh!” (“Dessert! Oh, mon dieu! You have no idea how much I love
it!”). The Italian translation emphasises the Queen’s gluttony and adds
the French interjection mon dieu which represents a spectacular fragment
(Rampton 1999, p. 423) or what Planchenault considers “words […]
that are familiar to American audiences and whose use would not impede
a full comprehension of the actor’s lines” (Planchenault 2015, p. 118).
The Queen’s infamous “Let them eat cake” (itself a poor translation
of brioche) and the beginning of the French Revolution are explained
here as an unfortunate and comic incident based on a misunderstanding
during a party.
322 V. Minutella
Example 7.10

SHERMAN Now, can we have some SHERMAN Ora possiamo avere un po’
cake? di dolce?
MARIE ANTOINETTE Mais, oui! MARIE ANTOINETTE Le gâteau.
SHERMAN Oh, yeah, sorry. Hm “May SHERMAN Ah! Non il “gatto” scusi,
we” have some cake? noi volevamo un po’ di dolce.
MARIE ANTOINETTE Mais, oui! MARIE ANTOINETTE Le gâteau.
SHERMAN Maybe she can’t hear me SHERMAN Forse non sente bene per
through the hair. via della parrucca!
MR PEABODY Sherman, what the MR PEABODY Sherman, quello che
queen means is … vuole dire la regina è …
MARIE ANTOINETTE Ah! Let them MARIE ANTOINETTE Che mangino
eat cake! dolci!
MAN (French accent) And when dze MAN (French accent) E quando la
queen heard dze poor of Paris regina ha saputo che i poveri di
could not even buy bread, she said, Parigi non potevano nemmeno
“Let them eat cake”. comprare il pane, ha detto “che
mangino dooolci”.
BACK TRANSLATION
SHERMAN Now, can we have some
dessert?
MARIE ANTOINETTE Le gateau.
SHERMAN Oh, no, sorry. Not ‘il gatto’
[the cat]. We just wanted some
dessert.
MARIE ANTOINETTE Mais, oui!
SHERMAN Maybe she can’t hear me
because of the hair.
MR PEABODY Sherman, what the
Queen means is …
MARIE ANTOINETTE Ah! Let them eat
dessert!
MAN (French accent) And when dze
queen heard dze poor of Paris
could not even buy bread, she said,
“Let them eat dessert”.
In the above sequence the French “Mais oui! ” uttered by the Queen is
not understood by American boy Sherman who thinks that the Queen is
correcting him and telling him that a more appropriate and polite form
of request would be to use the verb ‘may’ rather than ‘can’ since Mais
oui! and may we are homophones. This translation challenge was solved
by the dialogue writer by replacing the French expression with another
that could be misunderstood by the boy since Le gâteau is easily confused

with il gatto (the cat).
Example 7.10 illustrates how the presence of French constituted an
important element of the dialogue and thus provided challenges for the
translator and dialogue writer who had to come up with creative solu-
tions to maintain the role of L3 in the film. Analysis of the lines spoken
by Marie Antoinette and Robespierre seems to suggest that using French-
accented English to signal the characters’ Frenchness and the setting is
authentically conveyed by French native speakers in dubbing. However,
it does not seem to be as exaggerated and caricatural as in the original
version. This might be down to the dubbing director’s request not to
exaggerate the French accent in an attempt to maintain the voice talents’
authentic or natural-sounding French-accented Italian. This approach
was indeed confirmed by Guadagno (p.c. 7 January 2016) who explained
that he adopts the policy of looking for foreign dubbing actors and
avoiding broad accents when a film contains foreign accents. However,
when it comes to the treatment of French in the Italian dubbed version
it was decided to insert some French expressions that were absent from
the English version such as Mr. Peabody’s en garde or Marie Antoinette’s
Mon dieu! Nevertheless, an Italian audience would have little difficulty
in understanding them. Preserving the French identity—albeit using
slightly different means—is thus the strategy adopted in the dubbed
version of this film.
The Shrek films feature three French minor characters who appear
very briefly. As pointed out in Chapter 4, Monsieur Hood, the Muffin
Man and Jerome are clearly identified as French and represent stereo-
types. Monsieur Hood (voiced by Vincent Cassell) speaks some lines
and sings a song with a marked French accent, uttering French expres-
sions such as “Oh la la! ” and “Be still, mon chérie.” Although the Muffin
Man only says the word “Gingy,” its pronunciation and rising into-
nation is markedly French. The camp receptionist Jerome who works
for the evil Fairy Godmother speaks French with a marked /r/. These
French linguistic features are retained in the Italian dubbed versions
of the films. The characters maintain their identity as a result of the
Italian dubbing actors mimicking and emphasising the French accent
and using French words. Monsieur Hood says “Calmatevi, mon chérie”
324 V. Minutella
with a marked French /r/. Jerome pronounces the French words “pardon”
and “madrina” with a marked French /r/ and uses /Ѐ/ rather than /tЀ/
in the word “spiacente” (“I’m sorry”) resulting in it being pronounced
as “spiasc ente.” Hypercharacterisation is brought about as a result of
the ethnolect being conveyed and foreign characterisation being recre-
ated and emphasized. However, these are minor roles where the accent is
aimed at eliciting laughter.
In the Italian dubbed version of Atlantis (2001) Paris-born geolo-
gist Gaetan Molière (Mole) (voiced by US actor Corey Burton) speaks
with a contrived French accent and intonation. He also uses French
words and expressions. In keeping with the original depiction of the
character as comic, the French accent in the Italian dubbed version is
retained but exaggerated by comedian Claudio Bisio (a star talent). The
Italian dubbed version keeps the French linguistic representation and
compensates for losses in one utterance by adding French traits to Mole’s
lines elsewhere such as “Forgive me! I could not resist” which in Italian
becomes “Excusez-moi! Non ho saputo resistere.”
In Turbo the villain is French Canadian Indianapolis 500 champion
Guy Gagné (voiced by Canadian comedian Bill Hader) who speaks with
a broad French accent. The aim of his performance was clearly not to
provide an authentic and realistic representation, but a comic, stylised
one. The same approach is adopted in the dubbed version directed
by Guadagno where Guy Gagné is dubbed by dubbing actor Franco
Mannella who gives him a French accent. The Frenchness of the driver
is maintained and reproduced in dubbing. A few recognisable French
words are used in both the original and dubbed versions. An example
is Guy’s question to Tito “Can I help you, monsieur ?” which becomes
“Ha bisogno d’aiuto, monsieur ?” The vocal performance in the dubbed
version maintains the French identity of the character without exagger-
ating it and French words are retained. Preserving the linguistic identity
of the Canadian character is clearly the strategy.
In Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted the French linguistic features
of the evil animal control officer Chantel DuBois (voiced by American
actress Frances McDormand) are highlighted to provide a caricature and
instances of ethnolect or foreign-accented English are combined with
her behaviour to convey humour with no pretense of authenticity. The
Frenchness of DuBois is also maintained in the dubbed version where she

is dubbed by Italian dubbing actress Barbara Castracane. The otherness
of this character is signalled in dubbing by resorting to foreign-accented
Italian. DuBois shows linguistic traits typical of French speakers. She has
a broad French accent and stereotypical French pronunciation (French
/r/ and ‘th’ pronounced as /s/, /z/ or /v/). She sings a French song
and uses some French words and expressions (oui, monsieur, attention,
Que-est-ce que c’est? ). The Italian dubbed version conveys and some-
times emphasises her French phonetic traits (for a detailed account see
Minutella 2018). The French identity of the cruel DuBois is preserved in
the dubbed version by using French words and a French-accented Italian
which recreates the caricatural representation of the cruel French woman.
Planchenault (2015, p. 108) argues: “the stylised French accent is
a commodified genre that can henceforth be performed, especially in
comedies, without the least preoccupation for realism.” This appears to
apply to the animated films in our corpus and their dubbed versions
when the aim of the stylised French accent is to provide characterisation,
reaffirm stereotypes and trigger humour. French-accented characters tend
to be recreated in dubbed animated films for comic reasons, sometimes
by emphasising French pronunciation (hypercharacterisation). However,
preserving the French linguistic identity of French-accented characters is
the prevailing strategy.
A different approach is adopted in dubbing when the French accent
is used to suggest the setting of the story (i.e., when the whole film is
set in a French-speaking country and French is the expected language
of communication). The Italian dubbed version of Disney-Pixar’s Rata-
touille provides interesting cases in which the linguistic features of French
characters are reduced or neutralised.
7.3.2 Reduction and Neutralisation:

The Case of Ratatouille
An interesting and important exception to the common tendency

of maintaining foreign-accented characters or non-native varieties of
English in dubbing is represented by Disney-Pixar’s Ratatouille. In
Chapter 4 it was argued that exaggerated clichés and stereotypes of the
326 V. Minutella
French, both visually and verbally, were used to characterise the French
characters in the original film. Despite the protagonists being French,
they speak General American, while most of the other characters have
a broad French accent. Furthermore, the portrayal of Colette, the only
female chef in Gusteau’s restaurant and the only female main character
in the film, is also highly parodic.
Interestingly, in the Italian dubbed version the French pronunciation
of many of the characters almost disappears despite and contrary to the
Italian tendency to convey ethnolects or foreign-accented speech when
present in the original film. In fact, only one character retains a marked
French accent. This is Chef Gusteau (the owner of the famous restau-
rant) whose motto is “anyone can cook” and who inspires the rat Remy.
Gusteau appears as a ghost and as a figment of Remy’s imagination. All
the other French-accented characters lose the French accent that defined
them in the original version and speak standard Italian. As previously
observed, this was a deliberate stylistic and editorial choice made by
Creative Director Morville and Dubbing Director Alto who believed that
it made no sense to have characters living in their own country speak
with a French accent (Morville, p.c. 25 May 2016; Alto, p.c. 25 January
2016). Moreover, according to Morville and Alto, a film in which all
the characters speak with a fake French-accented Italian would be taxing
for the audience and would distract them, making them focus on the
language and foreign accent rather than on the story itself, while the aim
of good dubbing is to remain invisible and pass unnoticed (Morville,
p.c. 28 January 2016; Alto, p.c. 25 January 2016). Dubbing should not
disrupt the audience’s suspension of linguistic disbelief (Romero Fresco
2012).
Morville explains that the creative letter accompanying the film
provided comments on the broad French accent of Gusteau, Colette
and Skinner and added some suggestions on how to treat their accents
in the dubbed version. The filmmakers asked the dubbing teams in
different territories “to keep the French flavour of the film” and advised
them to handle accents in a way they deemed appropriate and accept-
able in their respective countries (Morville, p.c. 27 May 2020). The
dubbing team therefore had some degree of freedom on how to deal with
the linguistic representation of the French characters, deciding whether
to reproduce the same characterisation with broad accents or opt for

other solutions they considered more appropriate in the target culture.
The Italian professionals responsible for the Italian version (particu-
larly, Morville and Alto) thus decided to eliminate the broad contrived
French accent that contributed to rendering the characters too caricat-
ural in the original version and pepper the dialogue to some extent with
French words, only a few of which would be enough to hint at the
location, to provide couleur locale or to acknowledge that the characters
would be speaking French. Morville also decided that the only character
speaking with a marked French accent and pronunciation would be the
ghost of Gusteau since he is an icon representing French haute cuisine
(and since he is not alive). Note that all the French words used in the
English dialogues (monsieur, bonjour, Voilà, maître, A votre santé, ma
chérie, au revoir ) are retained in the dubbed version since they would
be readily understood by an Italian audience. The dubbed version there-
fore retains the same amount of French lexis as in the original dialogues
but neutralises the contrived foreign accent of the characters (except
Gusteau’s ghost), thus resulting in a less stereotypically comical portrayal
of the French. The choice to reduce and neutralise the French-accented
English and use standard Italian in the dubbed version perhaps has the
positive outcome of reducing the negative representation of the French in
the original version. Although the visual elements remain, the linguistic
tropes are eliminated. As a result, it could be argued that dubbing actu-
ally ‘improves’ on the original version by neutralising an exaggerated
linguistic characterisation that carries negative stereotypes and is highly
caricatural. The only character apart from Gusteau’s ghost who retains
an accent is the cook Horst who is presented as being German and has a
slight German accent in both the original and dubbed versions, a char-
acteristic that is logical since he is speaking a language that is not his
own.
In the original version chef Skinner (voiced by British actor Sir Ian
Holm) is an interesting case in which accents are mixed. Skinner is an
evil anti-hero with a broad French accent, although British phonetic
features sometimes crop up in his speech. Although he can be consid-
ered an example of a character speaking French-accented English, the
British actor clearly contrives a broad French accent and the filmmakers
clearly intended to portray him as French (Morville, p.c. 27 May 2020).
328 V. Minutella
However, I would argue that it is exactly this mixture of French and

British pronunciation that makes Skinner particularly interesting, even
more evil and to a certain extent ridiculous. His physical appearance
also contributes to conveying a negative caricature of the chef. I would
thus consider Skinner’s interesting mixture of French-accented English
and British English to be a variety that suits this type of character well.
Examples 7.11 and 7.12 are cases in point. In Example 7.11 a mixture
of British and French pronunciation is used (there is no French /r/, but
“must” is pronounced as /mђst/), whereas in Example 7.12 the typical
French /r/ and French intonation are emphasised in the original version.
Moreover, the foreignness and non-native English of Skinner is repre-
sented by the omission of verb inversion in the first question. Moreover,
the lines are delivered by emphasising the French /r/ (in “are” and “dare”)
and using French syllable-timed intonation in which word stress is placed
on the last syllable. In the Italian dubbed version Skinner speaks standard
Italian with no foreign accent in both cases.
Example 7.11

SKINNER Welcome to hell. Now. SKINNER Benvenuto all’inferno. Ora,
Recreate the soup. Take as much ricrea la zuppa. Prendi tutto il
time as you need. All week if you tempo che ti serve … L’intera
must. settimana se è necessario.
BACK TRANSLATION Welcome to hell.
Now, recreate the soup. Take all the
time you need … The whole week
if necessary.
Example 7.12

SKINNER You are cooking? How dare SKINNER Tu stai cucinando? Come
you cook in my kitchen? osi metterti a cucinare nella mia
cucina?
BACK TRANSLATION Are you
cooking? How dare you start
cooking in my kitchen?
The comic ‘otherness’ and evilness of chef Skinner, that are linguis-
tically conveyed through an affected French accent mixed with some
British English phonetic features, are completely neutralised in the
dubbed version where dubbing actor Riccardo Peroni speaks standard
Italian (as shown in Example 7.13).
Example 7.13

SKINNER Larousse. Draw and quarter SKINNER Larousse. Squartalo e
this man, after you put him in the passalo sotto la pressa per anatre
duck press to squeeze the fat out of per estrargli le pigne che ha in
his head. testa e farci il pesto.
BACK TRANSLATION Larousse. Draw
and quarter this man and put him
in the duck press to squeeze the
pine cones out of his head and
make pesto sauce.
In this example Skinner’s words in the Italian dubbed version are

humorous because of the dubbing actor’s performance and the witty and
creative adaptation that adds “pine cones” and “pesto sauce” (see back
translation)—not because of an exaggerated French accent (which, of
course, he doesn’t have). The original version’s reference to the fat of a
duck (a humorous allusion to French culture and to foie gras) is adapted
to the Italian culinary tradition and turned into pesto sauce.
The dubbed version also departs from the original in the linguistic
portrayal of Colette, who is dubbed by professional dubbing actress
Domitilla D’Amico. In the original version Colette is the only char-
acter in the film who uses non-standard syntax: she makes mistakes when
she is supposed to be speaking her own native language. In the English
version Colette’s turns also contain ungrammaticalities on occasion. This
might be because stand-up comedian and voice talent Jeaneane Garofalo
had to contrive an accent and speak quite fast. However, the actress also
admitted that she improvised her role and deliberately added mistakes
to provide characterisation. Garofalo explained how she prepared for the
role and where the accent came from as follows:
330 V. Minutella
I had a CD of a French gentleman speaking English. And then I lost it.

And then I watched CNN International. There’s a French anchor who
speaks English … so I just mimicked some of the things that he was
doing, not pluralizing certain things. […] But I didn’t take French in
high school or anything, so I was sort of flying blind and hoping for the
best, because I didn’t want to be the only weak link in an otherwise great
film. (Villalobos 2007, online)
We do not know whether the actress was actually asked to insert grammar
mistakes when she voiced Colette, but the fact remains that her character
is the only one in the film who makes such mistakes. For the Anglo-
American audience watching the film the French male characters speak
French-accented but grammatically correct English, whereas Colette may
be perceived as being less educated. An example from Colette is the
line “I memorise all his recipe” which contains an ungrammaticality. In
the dubbed version Colette speaks correct standard Italian: “Conosco
a memoria tutte le sue ricette” (I know by heart all his recipes). In
the Italian dubbed version Colette speaks correct Italian like everyone
else. Therefore, her identity and characterisation differ from the orig-
inal. She has a more positive image/characterisation (she is no longer
‘less educated’ than the male characters).
Colette’s explanation of how to recognise good bread and her descrip-
tion of her fellow chefs contains several ungrammaticalities, while some
of her other sentences contain fewer grammatical inaccuracies. The
dubbed version neutralises the French-accented English and French
pronunciation of the original version (‘th’ pronounced as /z/ and French
/r/) and the ungrammaticalities (marked in italics), while it retains the
two French words (in italics).
Example 7.14
COLETTE How do you tell how good COLETTE Come si riconosce il pane
bread is without tasting it? Not the buono senza assaggiarlo? Non dal
smell, not the look, but the sound profumo, non dall’aspetto, ma dal
… of the crust. Listen. Oh! A suono della crosta. Ascolta. Aaah,
symphony of crackle! Only great una sinfonia di scrocchi. Solo il pane
bread sound this way. The only way migliore fa questo suono. L’unico
to get the best produce is to have modo per avere gli ingredienti
first pick of the day, and there are migliori è assicurarsi la prima scelta,
only two way to get first pick: e ci sono due modi per avere la
grow it yourself or bribe a grower. prima scelta: produrre in proprio o
GROWER Bonjour. dare la mancia all’ortolano.
COLETTE Voilà! The best restaurant GROWER Bonjour.
get first pick. COLETTE Voilà! Il ristorante migliore
ha la prima scelta.
BACK TRANSLATION
COLETTE How do you tell how good
bread is without tasting it? Not
from the smell, not from the look,
but from the sound … of the crust.
Listen. Oh! A symphony of crackles!
Only great bread sounds this way.
The only way to get the best
ingredients is to have the first pick
of the day, and there are only two
ways to get the first pick: grow it
yourself or tip the grower.
GROWER Bonjour.
COLETTE Voilà! The best restaurant
gets the first pick.
The dubbed version is spoken in standard Italian without a French

accent, French pronunciation or any ungrammaticalities. Moreover, the
offensive “bribe a grower,” which might suggest that French people are
accustomed to such practices, is turned into “dare la mancia all’ortolano”
(to tip the grower). It is worth noting that the Spanish dubbed version of
the above extract retains the verb “bribe.” In the Spanish dubbed version
Colette speaks French-accented Spanish, but does not make grammar
mistakes.1 The Spanish version thus retained the French linguistic iden-
tity by adopting a French accent and was perhaps closer to the original
1I would like to thank Julio De Los Reyes Lozano for his comments on the Spanish dubbed
version of this film.
332 V. Minutella
film in terms of linguistic characterisation. This comparison with the

Spanish dubbed version may suggest that the choice to neutralise the
French accent was made by the Italian dubbing team only and was not
an international dubbing policy.
A further instance in which a character’s identity is neutralised is
provided by Rochelle in Planes. As previously observed, since Disney
decided to make the Canadian plane Italian in the dubbed version, her
French-accented English and French words were completely erased. For
example, “J’en sais pas” (I do not know) became “Hm. Questo proprio
non lo so” (I really don’t know) and “You are the snow plough, oui?”
became “Saresti tu lo spazzaneve?” (Would you be the snow plough?)
7.4 German-Accented English Characters:

Hypercharacterisation in Dubbing
The linguistic features used to represent German characters in the
animated films analysed are phonological, lexical and syntactic (a few
ungrammaticalities). The function of German-accented English char-
acters is mainly to provide characterisation and humour, although a
postcarding effect signalling the setting is also present in Cars 2 and
Planes. A few German words/expressions are used in the dialogues such
as ja, nein, Guten Tag and Achtung! In the dubbed versions of the films
the German ethnolect is always maintained and emphasised. All the
German words of the original dialogues are retained and the charac-
ters speak German-accented Italian. This is usually achieved by casting
Italian dubbers who contrive a German accent, although native speakers
of German are also occasionally employed as dubbers. For instance, in
Ferdinand the three horses are voiced in the English version by German
and English actors exaggerating German pronunciation, while in the
Italian version Italian dubbers are cast who similarly speak with a broad
German accent. On the other hand, Franz in Planes was dubbed by
a native speaker of German living in Italy. Irrespective of whether the
dubbers are Italian or German, they all emphasise the German accent of
the character. Similar examples from other films in the corpus are now
discussed.
In Sing (2016) the overly energetic pig Gunter (voiced in the orig-
inal version by US comedian Nick Kroll) has a broad German accent
and intonation. His German pronunciation of certain sounds in English
(especially the German /r/) is accompanied by a number of ungrammat-
icalities and German words. This is reproduced in the dubbed version
where Gunter is perhaps made even more comical by stressing the foreign
pronunciation and inserting grammar mistakes (in italics in Example
7.15).
Example 7.15

GUNTER Ja, ja! This is me. Ja. The two GUNTER Ja! Ja! Sono me! Ja, noi
of us together. You joking me? We’re due. Vuoi prendere in giro me?
going to be spicy, no? Saremo super piccanti, no?
BACK TRANSLATION Ja! Ja! It is I!
Ja, the two of us. Are you kidding
me? We’re going to be super
spicy, no?
Gunter’s grammar constructions and lexical choices betray his foreign

origins. “You joking me?” mixes ‘are you joking?’ with ‘are you kidding
me?’. Moreover, he uses the invariant tag “no?”, which is not used by
native speakers of English. Such syntactic features denoting foreignness
are retained and emphasised in the dubbed version where non-standard
syntax such as “sono me” rather than sono io (it’s me) and marked
German pronunciation are used by professional dubber Fabrizio Vidale
to accentuate Gunter’s funny way of speaking. In Example 7.16 non-
standard syntax is used in both the original and dubbed versions.
334 V. Minutella
Example 7.16

GUNTER Ah, don’t you look so worried GUNTER Non guardare con faccia
face! I’ve got one for you, too. preoccupata! Ho uno anche per
tu!
BACK TRANSLATION Don’t look
with worried face. I have one also
for you.
The comic character of Gunter is thus dubbed through hypercharac-

terisation.
In Planes (2014) when the air race stops in Germany some German-
accented characters appear and make grammar mistakes such as the
following words uttered by a waitress in a pub: “You sad. You drink”
which is pronounced with a marked German /r/. In Italian this line is
equally stereotypically comic and grammatically incorrect: “Tu triste. Tu
beve” (You sad. You drinks). Moreover, the flying car Franz tells Dusty
that he is a huge fan of his. He speaks with a German accent, pronounces
English /w/ as /v/ and Italian /qu/ as /qv/, uses German /r/ and inserts
German words in his lines.
Example 7.17

FRANZ And I would like to say danke FRANZ E vorei tanto dirti danke
for representing all us little planes. perché rappresenti tutti noi piccoli
DUSTY Uh, you’re a car. aereoplani.
FRANZ Ja, ja, ja. But I am vot you call DUSTY Ah. Tu sei un’auto.
a Flugzeugauto, one of only six FRANZ Sì, sì, sì. Ma sono quelo che
flying cars ever built! si chiama un Flugzeugauto, una
delle sei auto volanti mai
costruite!
BACK TRANSLATION
FRANZ And I would really like to
say danke to you because you
represent all us little planes.
DUSTY Ah. You’re a car.
FRANZ Yes, yes, yes. But I am what
you call a Flugzeugauto, one of
the only six flying cars ever built!
The ethnolect constructed through German phonetic features and

exploited in the English versions of the film is reproduced in the dubbed
version where German words are retained, broad German-accented
Italian is used and ungrammaticalities are inserted. Further examples of
German-accented characters in other films are:
– DUNG BEETLE Achtung, stinky./Achtung, sterco. (The Wild )

– GRETA You call vet dancing? Nein! V is is dancing./Kvello lo chiami
t anzar e? Ha. Nein. Kvesto è t anzar e. (Ferdinand )
– PROF. ZUNDAPP Guten Tag./Guten Tag. (Cars 2)
Analysis of the lines from various animated films in our corpus has illus-
trated that the strategy of hypercharacterisation is always adopted in
dubbing for characters represented as German: elements that are typical
features of the German ethnolect are overemphasised and comedy is
thereby increased.
7.5 Russian-Accented English Characters:

Preservation and Hypercharacterisation
in Dubbing
As pointed out in Chapter 4, the animated films making up the corpus
also contain a number of characters who are represented as Russian and
speak with a marked foreign pronunciation and with ungrammaticalities.
Such a Russian identity appears to intensify in the dubbed versions. The
strategies of preservation and hypercharacterisation are often adopted in
Italian dubbing to deal with Russian-accented characters. Three examples
will be discussed in this section: Dr. Jumba Jookiba, North and Vitaly.
In Lilo and Stitch (2002) mad scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba, who ille-
gally created an abominable and evil creature, is voiced by US actor
David Ogden Stiers who contrives a foreign accent certain features of
which suggest an Eastern European accent of some kind (presumably
Russian). However, his nationality is not stated in the film. In the
dubbed version the scientist is voiced by an Italian dubbing actor who
also mimics an Eastern European or Russian accent. Dubbing director
336 V. Minutella
La Penna (p.c. 20 December 2019) points out that the creative letter
accompanying the film explained that the scientist is foreign, speaks with
a foreign accent and the dubbed version had to convey this. Creative
Director Morville adds that the creative letter sent to the dubbing team
stated that Dr. Jumba Jookiba was Russian and spoke with a broad
Russian accent. However, the dubbing teams in various countries “had
the option to replicate, reproduce or not this Russian accent performed
in the original version, according to Territory customs and sensitivities”
(Morville, p.c. 8 January 2020). In other words, the dubbing teams in
various countries did not necessarily have to match this Russian linguistic
characterisation. They could use a Russian accent (as in the original
version) or opt for some type of accent or a target language regional
dialect (Morville, p.c. 8 January 2020). Dr. Jookiba’s representation as
a non-native speaker with limited knowledge of English grammar and
a broad Russian accent is maintained in the dubbed Italian version and
arguably emphasised. His accent is typical of Russian characters in Holly-
wood films and has comic overtones. Such a dubbing strategy could be
described as one of preservation and perhaps mild hypercharacterisation.
Examples 7.18–7.20 illustrate the strategies adopted (ungrammaticalities
and foreign accent in bold).
Example 7.18

DR JUMBA JOOKIBA I designed this DR JUMBA JOOKIBA Ho progettato
creature for to be unstoppable. quello essere in modo che nessuno
lui possa fermare.
BACK TRANSLATION I designed that
the creature so that nobody can he
stop.
DR JUMBA JOOKIBA Tear him apart DR JUMBA JOOKIBA Lo farò a piezzi
with all both my bare hands! con tute mie mani nude.
BACK TRANSLATION I will tear him
apart with all my hands bare.
DR JUMBA JOOKIBA When you’re DR JUMBA JOOKIBA Quando tu è
ready to give up just let us know, disposto a te arendere fa noi
eh? sapere, eh?
BACK TRANSLATION When you is
willing to give you up let we know,
eh?
In Dreamwork’s Rise of the Guardians (2012) North (Santa Claus),

who is the Guardian of Wonder, is from Russia and speaks Russian-
accented English. The film shows him in his laboratory at the North
Pole. His marked accent is meant to provide characterisation and signal
his provenance. North has a contrived Russian accent and intonation and
uses incorrect grammar in which he omits articles and subject pronouns.
In the original version North is voiced by Alec Baldwin who contrives
a stylised Russian or Eastern European pronunciation. The character is
dubbed in Italian by professional dubbing actor Francesco Pannofino.
Dubbing director Mete explained that they recognised North’s Eastern
European/Russian accent in the original film and tried to reproduce it in
the Italian version without exaggerating it and just to provide a hint of his
foreignness (Mete, p.c. 7 February 2016). However, analysis of North’s
lines suggests that the Italian dubbed version often emphasises this non-
native variety of English, North’s Russian ethnolect and his foreignness
despite the dubbing director’s opinion. The presence of several ungram-
maticalities (deletion of articles, determiners and verb forms) portray
Russian foreignness as a caricature. Ellipsis of the subject pronoun also
sometimes occurs as in the following examples (omission of the subject
pronoun “It” in the English texts and of articles in Examples 7.19 and
7.20 and omission of the article “I” in the Italian target texts in Examples
7.19 and 7.20 and of the indefinite article “una” in Example 7.21).
Example 7.19

NORTH Is official. My powers are NORTH È ufficiale. Miei poteri sono
kaput kaput.
BACK TRANSLATION It is official. The
my powers are kaput.
338 V. Minutella
Example 7.20

NORTH Then is time you take oath. NORTH È tempo di fare giuramento.
Will you, Jack Frost, vow to watch … Giuri tu, Jack Frost, di proteggere
over the children of the world? bambini di tutto il mondo?
BACK TRANSLATION It is time to take
oath. Will you, Jack Frost, vow to
watch over children of the whole
world?
Example 7.21

NORTH Must be big deal. NORTH Deve essere cosa seria.
BACK TRANSLATION Must be big deal.
Note that North is the only character in the dubbed version

of Rise of the Guardians who has a marked accent. His contrived
Eastern European/Russian-accented English along with the non-standard
grammar of the original version is turned into a stereotypical, non-
defined Eastern European/Russian-accented Italian in which grammar
mistakes occur such as the frequent omission of articles. Neither the orig-
inal nor the dubbed version seems to aim at verisimilitude. Instead such
linguistic choices contribute to creating character (i.e., they provide a
Russian-type identity) and eliciting laughter.
The third example of a Russian-accented character is the Siberian
tiger Vitaly in DreamWorks’ Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012).
Vitaly is voiced by US actor Bryan Cranston, has a Russian accent, uses
a few easily recognisable Russian words and some incorrect grammar.
Such a linguistic characterisation is preserved and sometimes emphasised
in the Italian dubbed version where Vitaly is dubbed by professional
dubbing actor Fabrizio Pucci. The Italian dubbed version adopts the
strategies of preservation and hypercharacterisation by replicating the
Russian accent and sometimes adding grammatical errors (as shown in
Examples 7.22 and 7.23).
Example 7.22

VITALY Absolut no outsiders. So wipe VITALY Assolutamente niente
that smirn off your face and pop off! estranei. Quindi leva tuo sorrisetto
da faccia e sparisci.
BACK TRANSLATION Absolutely no
outsiders. So wipe the your smirk
off the face and disappear.
Here Vitaly is addressing Alex the lion and telling him that they
cannot get on the train to escape from the French police. Vitaly’s
dialogic turn contains puns on Russian cultural references and English
phrasal verbs: “Absolut” may refer to a brand of vodka (Absolut Vodka),
the homophony-paronymy between “smirk off ” and Smirnoff (another
brand of vodka) and another homophony between “pop off ” and Popov
(a common Russian surname and a possible reference to a famous physi-
cian). Although the Italian version cannot retain and reproduce the
cultural references and puns, it does convey humour by recreating Vitaly’s
Eastern European linguistic identity, reproducing a contrived Russian
pronunciation and using non-standard grammar. In particular, Vitaly’s
Italian displays syntactic errors such as the omission of articles or prepo-
sitions plus articles. Examples are: “leva tuo sorrisetto” rather than leva
il tuo sorrisetto and “da faccia” rather than dalla faccia. In Example
7.23 Vitaly utters the Russian word nyet, uses an incorrect negative
construction and omits the determiner for “Circus owner.” In the Italian
dubbed version nyet is retained (it is a loanword from Russian that has
become part of the Italian language) and definite articles are omitted (il
proprietario del circo becomes “proprietario di circo”).
Example 7.23

VITALY Nyet! Circus owner no allow VITALY Nyet! Proprietario di circo
stowaways! non ammette clandestini!
BACK TRANSLATION Nyet! Owner of
circus does not allow stowaways!
340 V. Minutella
The Italian dubbed version clearly hypercharacterises Vitaly by empha-

sising his ethnolect and exaggerating his Russian accent. It is a comic
caricatural portrayal aimed at triggering humour. The tiger speaks with
a fake Russian accent in both versions. As explained by dubbing director
Alto, the Russian accent was feigned for two reasons: first, they had to
maintain the effect of the original dialogue and respect the intentions
of the producers and, second, no language advisor was employed in
dubbing since this would have raised costs considerably (Alto, p.c. 25
January 2016) (see Minutella 2018, pp. 150–151).
7.6 Other Foreign Accents

We pointed out in Chapter 4 that some of the animated films in the
corpus also contain instances of Indian-accented English. In Disney’s The
Wild a flock of pigeons dance to an apparently Indian musical piece and
speak with a fake Indian accent and with some non-standard grammat-
ical features typical of Indian English. Their ethnolect is a colonial legacy
and is conveyed in the Italian dubbed version through a contrived Indian
accent and through what can be described as ungrammaticalities rather
than regional variants (as can be seen in Example 7.24) since the Italian
language has no colonial connections with India.
Example 7.24

HAMIR Benny! I’m needing till Friday HAMIR Benny, io prega te aspettare
before I am paying you back. […] venerdì prima che io paga debito di
That is not good, not good at all. gioco. […] Che bruta coosa. Che
[…] The green boxes go to the big bruta cooosa. […] Le casse verdi
water where stiff lady with spikes vanno alla grande agua. Dove
on her head … signora con bracio alzato e puntine
in testa …
BACK TRANSLATION HAMIR Benny, I
pray you wait Friday before I pay
debt. What a bad thing. What a
bad thing. The green boxes go to
the big agua. Where woman with
raised arm and little spikes on her
head …
In the original English version the Indian linguistic identity of Hamir

is quickly built up by using some phonetic and syntactic features typical
of Indian English such as the Indian pronunciation of the trilled ‘r’, the
pronunciation of ‘th’ as /d/ or /t/, the lengthening of some vowel sounds,
the use of the progressive aspect rather than the present simple and the
arbitrary use of articles (Kachru 1983, pp. 76–81). In the Italian dub this
supposed Indianness is conveyed through a contrived undefined Indian
accent and intonation and through a broken Italian in which infinitive
verbs rather than conjugated verbs are used, articles are omitted and even
the Spanish word agua is used. The Italian dialogues cannot replicate
authentic Indian features. Instead, the impression is created of an over-
the-top, exaggerated and caricatural foreign speech that is potentially
offensive but somehow manages to capture the flavour of the original
dialogue, even if it is a little overdone. It is an example of hyperchar-
acterisation in dubbing similar to that used in the Italian dubbing of
The Simpsons for Apu. As pointed out by Ferrari: “the translation has
Apu speaking Italian with a marked Indian accent, as in the original. In
addition, however, his grammar is poor and his Italian broken and incor-
rect” (2010, pp. 93–94). The same strategy of hypercharacterisation that
emphasises certain features of the ethnolect can be found in the dubbed
persona of some Indian characters in the film comedy Bend It Like
Beckham (dir. Chadha, 2002) (see Minutella 2012). On the other hand,
342 V. Minutella
note that the Indian-accented English spoken by Sacha Baron Cohen

for King Julien in the Madagascar films is neutralised in Italian dubbing
where dubbing actor Oreste Baldini gives King Julien a linguistic charac-
terisation devoid of any regional, national or ethnic connotation. Baldini
achieved comic characterisation through voice modulation and perfor-
mance. The slight Indian-accented English of Ishani in Planes and of
Nangi in Zootopia are also neutralised in the dubbed versions.
The Hotel Transylvania films feature foreign-accented Dracula (‘Drac’)
as the main protagonist. Drac is supposed to speak with a ‘Transyl-
vanian’ accent that is obviously a contrived stylised performance of an
Eastern European/Slavic-accented English conveyed by US actor Adam
Sandler. Although the vocal performance does not claim any authenticity
or pretend or aim to be a realistic portrayal of the way people from Tran-
sylvania speak, it has the aim of triggering humour by suggesting the
character’s otherness or his being ‘from there’. In the original version
Dracula’s use of a foreign accent in his non-native variety of English
such as the pronunciation of ‘th’ as /d/ is matched in the Italian dubbed
version by a similarly humorous foreign characterisation recreated by star
talent Claudio Bisio, who worked on intonation and pronunciation. A
mock and comic foreign-accented English is thus recreated in the dubbed
version as a mock and comic foreign-accented Italian. This is a further
example of preservation of a non-native variety of English in dubbing.
7.7 When Dubbing Erases Difference:

The Case of Gru in Despicable Me 2
and Rochelle in Planes
In the whole corpus of animated films analysed an interesting and quite
rare case of neutralisation and loss of a foreign identity is provided by
the character Gru in the Despicable Me films. Gru is voiced by comedian
Steve Carell who contrives an undefined foreign accent. In an inter-
view on this role Carell insisted on defining his accent as not a proper
foreign accent, but a characterisation or a vocal performance, claiming
that Gru’s voice is not based on any real existing accent that points to a
specific nationality or ethnicity. As he puts it: “I didn’t want it to be any

nationality, so it’s just vaguely eastern European.”2 Gru is represented
as a non-native speaker of English. Therefore, even if the voice actor
did not specifically mean to mimic any specific real foreign accent, his
characterisation was meant to suggest a kind of otherness and foreign-
ness. He is perceived as a foreign-accented speaker from Eastern Europe
and his otherness and foreign identity is expressed through phonological
features (rather than any syntactic interference or any lexical borrowings
from a specific language). In the Italian dubbed version of the film Gru
completely loses this linguistic characterisation and otherness since he
speaks standard Italian. As can be seen in Example 7.25, Gru’s marked
foreign pronunciation in the original version (e.g., he pronounces ‘th’ as
/d/) is neutralised in dubbing.
Example 7.25

GRU I’m sorry I did not see you der. GRU Scusami, non avevo visto che eri
lì.
BACK TRANSLATION I’m sorry. I hadn’t
seen you were there.
Gru’s Italian is marked by a slight regional Italian accent and voice

quality rather than by any kind of foreign accent. The decision to elim-
inate his foreign identity in Italian dubbing was taken for marketing
reasons. In fact, the marketing department wanted to cast an Italian star
talent—comedian and TV presenter Max Giusti—as the Italian voice for
Gru and did not deem it important to retain a foreign identity for Gru
(Izzo, p.c. 4 March 2019). The strategy of neutralisation is thus adopted
for Gru in the Italian dubbed version. This choice determines a change
in characterisation and has repercussions for translation of the dialogue.
When Gru goes on a date with a fitness-obsessed woman, during their
dinner in an Italian restaurant she comments on Gru’s exotic accent.
Since Gru speaks standard Italian with no exotic accent in the Italian
2 ‘Steve
Carell on How He Created His Despicable Me 2 Character’s “Terrible Accent”’: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-e72bwapPk (accessed on 23 December 2019).
344 V. Minutella
dubbed version, dialogue writer Izzo had to modify the content of the
lines (see Example 7.26).
Example 7.26

SHANNON Your accent is so exotic. SHANNON Hai un fisico così
[…] I know someone who can fix pittoresco. […] Il mio personal
that for you. And you’ll be talking trainer potrebbe allenarti e
normal in no time! ritroverai la forma in un
battibaleno!
BACK TRANSLATION Your body is so
picturesque. […] My personal
trainer could train you and you
would be back in shape in a jiffy!
Shannon’s offensive comment on the weird foreign accent of Gru that

can be fixed by someone she knows who can correct his pronuncia-
tion and help him speak “normal” is turned into an equally offensive
comment on Gru being unfit in the Italian dubbed version. This is
coherent with the images since Shannon is actually obsessed with fitness
(see Minutella, forthcoming).
Further instances of the foreign identity of a character being
neutralised by using standard Italian are Canadian Rochelle and Indian
Ishani in Planes and Nangi in Zootropolis. As explained in Chapter 6,
Disney decided to localise Rochelle’s character by changing her nation-
ality in various countries. As a result, her Canadian identity was trans-
formed into an Italian one in the dubbed version, thereby abandoning
her linguistic characterisation in favour of a neutral standard Italian.
Ishani’s slight Indian accent in Planes is also neutralised by making her
speak standard Italian, as is Nangi’s slight Indian accent in Zootopia.
These represent the very few cases in the whole corpus in which a non-
native variety of English is neutralised in dubbing by using standard
Italian.

By providing several examples from films in which characters speak
foreign-accented English and are portrayed as foreign in the orig-
inal version, this chapter has demonstrated that non-native varieties
of English or ethnolects (Salmon Kovarski 2000) are almost always
conveyed and often strengthened in the Italian dubbed version. Whether
preservation, hypercharacterisation, quantitative reduction or neutralisa-
tion is applied in dubbing appears to depend on the function of the
ethnolect within the film and on factors such as the type of character, the
choice of dubbing actor and whether the accent is mock in the original
version (i.e., contrived by an actor or not). Foreign-accented characters
tend to remain foreign-accented characters in dubbing. Moreover, hyper-
characterisation through phonological and sometimes syntactic features
often takes place in dubbing. Cases in which a character’s foreignness is
reduced or neutralised are rare and determined by specific requests by
the client, especially by the marketing department. These affect voice
casting and thus linguistic characterisation, as in the case of Gru in
Despicable Me 2. The choice of whether or not to give a character an
accent in the dubbed version is affected by a variety of factors such as
the function of the accent in the film (whether it is meant to provide
setting, characterisation, stereotypes or comedy), who the dubbing actor
is (whether a native speaker of the foreign language or not) and specific
requests by the client. If the foreign-accented English has the function of
indicating the setting of a story (i.e., if the story has only one setting),
then it is usually neutralised. If the setting of the story changes, then
the foreign accent might be kept to signal the change of setting, the
different nationality of the speakers or a different location. If the foreign-
accented English provides comic characterisation and stereotypes or if
the nationality or ethnicity of the character is stated in the film, then
it is always kept in some form. However, Ratatouille shows that the
dubbing team can decide to go against the choice made by the producers
in order to provide a less parodic portrayal of the characters when the
film is set in a foreign country. Coco also shows that some degree of
foreignness can be maintained in terms of use of the foreign language
346 V. Minutella
to suggest the specific setting of the story without resorting to foreign-

accented Italian that tends to emphasise comedy. Although foreign words
are kept in the Italian dialogues for signposting or audio-postcarding
purposes, the characters speak standard Italian with no marked foreign
accent. On the other hand, when foreign-accented English is used for a
prevailing comic purpose, the strategy of preservation and often hyper-
characterisation is applied to ethnolects and comic characters. A further
element that appears to emerge is that Russian and Indian characters
tend to speak with broad accents and non-standard grammar in both
the English version (regional variants in the case of Indian English and
a kind of ‘foreigner speak’ in the Russian case) and the Italian version
(ungrammaticalities in both cases).
References
30 (3): 345–375.
Self. Cultura, Lenguage y Representaciòn/Culture, Language and Representation
4: 191–209.
Stereotypes in the Nanny, the Simpsons and the Sopranos. Austin: University of
Texas Press.
Kachru, Braj. 1983. The Indianization of English: The English language in India.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
lation and Media Accessibility at the Crossroads. Media for all 3, ed. Pilar
Orero, Aline Remael, and Mary Carroll, 313–334. Amsterdam, NY: Rodopi.
Dubbing and Subtitling: the Italian Versions of Shrek. In Translating
Humour in Audiovisual Texts, ed. Gian Luigi De Rosa, Francesca Bianchi,
Antonella De Laurentiis, and Elisa Perego, 67–87. Bern: Peter Lang.
Minutella, Vincenza. 2015. ‘It ain’t ogre til it’s ogre’: The Dubbing of Shrek
into Italian. In Audiovisual Translation: Taking Stock, ed. J. Díaz Cintas and
J. Neves, 140–158. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Gnomeo and Juliet and Its Creative Italian Dubbing. In North and South.
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Quaestionis 11. Retrieved from http://statusquaestionis.uniroma1.it/index.
php/statusquaestionis/article/view/13838. 20 November 2017.
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rnal.com/files/Archives/Vincenza-Minutella.pdf, 20 May 2020.
Minutella, Vincenza. forthcoming. Translating Foreign Languages and Non-
native Varieties of English in Animated Films. Dubbing Strategies in Italy
and the Case of Despicable me 2, Journal of Audiovisual Translation 3 (3).
Morville, Roberto. 2018. Traduzione e creatività. La sottile linea rossa. Lecture,
University of Torino. 26 April 2018.
Macmillan.
Rome: Aracne.
Ramírez Berg, Charles. 2002. Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion and
Resistance. Austin: University of Texas Press.
3 (4): 421–427.
Romero Fresco, Pablo. 2012, Dubbing Dialogues Naturally: A Pragmatic
Approach to the Translation of Transition Markers in Dubbing. MonTI 4:
181–205.
iano ‘l’accento ebraico. In Traduzione multimediale: quale traduzione per
Villalobos, Brian. 2007. Janeane Garofalo Talks Ratatouille. MTV News, June
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talks-ratatouille/. 20 May 2020.
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Online References
Steve Carell on How He Created His Despicable Me 2 Character’s ‘Terrible

Accent’ (26 June 2013) YouTube video, added by PopSugar Entertainment
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Coco (2017). Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar
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The Book of Life (2014). Jorge R. Gutiérrez, 20th Century Fox Animation,
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TV Series and Programmes
Saturday Night Live (1975–ongoing). Lome Michaels, NBC.

8
(Re)Positioning Italianness in Animated
Films: No Accent, Foreign Accent, Regional
Italian or Dialect?
8.1 Introduction
This chapter explores what happens when the third language in the orig-
inal film (L3) coincides with the second language or the language of the
dubbed version (L2) (i.e., when the characters are represented as being
Italian or of Italian origin and speak English with an Italian accent, an
Italian-American ethnolect and use Italian words and expressions). As
previous chapters have pointed out, both scholarly research and dubbing
practitioners agree that when the original films contain characters who
are represented as being Italian and who are linguistically characterised
by making them speak Italian-accented English that is contrived and
comic, such a linguistic differentiation and identity is maintained and
conveyed in the dubbed version by making them speak Italian with a
regional accent or foreign-accented English. This chapter provides exam-
ples illustrating the various strategies adopted in the animated films in
our corpus to recreate characters who speak Italian-accented English in
the original film within Italian dubbing.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8_8
352 V. Minutella
8.2 Italian American English

and Italian-Accented English
in Animated Films
In the films analysed several characters display certain linguistic features
that are typically associated with the Italian variety spoken by Italian
Americans and often used in Hollywood films. This variety can be
defined as an ethnolect since it represents the ethnic origin of the speaker,
signalling that he/she is not a native speaker of the language (Salmon
Kovarski 2000). Although this Italian American ethnolect is exagger-
ated in films, it has specific phonological and intonational features,
lexical features (the insertion of Italian words and expressions and Ital-
ianised English words) and certain syntactic features such as the use
of non-standard grammar (especially the omission of the third-person
singular -s; the ellipsis of auxiliaries, verbs or subjects; and multiple nega-
tion). Parini has described the typical elements of the Italian American
ethnolect in terms of pronunciation (as represented in mafia comedies
and in Shark Tale) as follows:
– /th/ interdental voiceless fricative pronounced as /t/ instead of /θ/

– /th/ interdental voiced fricative pronounced as /d/ instead of /ð/
– /er/ in word endings pronounced as /A/ instead of /ђ/
– silent /h/ in words beginning with aspirated /h/ (Parini 2019, p. 254).
Such features are also found in the animated films analysed where
they are often exaggerated. Furthermore, Parini’s comments about mafia
comedies equally apply to animated films: “these peculiar phonological
traits are over-emphasized if compared to dramatic mafia films. This,
once again, is related to the purposes of comedies, as a heavy and exag-
gerated use of accents adds to the comicality of the character” (2017,
p. 105).
A phonological element that appears to be overused in the speech
of characters represented as Italian in our corpus of animated films
should be added to the above characteristics: the stereotypical addition
of an extra schwa (i.e., ‘uh’) sound pronounced between words. This is
sometimes described by non-linguists as a kind of vowel sound that is
8 (Re)Positioning Italianness in Animated Films … 353
pronounced between words. In manuals for actors and in English film

scripts this is indicated as an ‘a’ sound inserted between some words
ending and starting with a consonant. This seems to be a stereotyp-
ical trait of how Italians speaking English are aurally represented. This
is confirmed by Herman and Herman’s Foreign Dialects: A Manual for
Actors, Directors, and Writers (1997, p. 147). This sound is considered the
most salient feature/characteristic of the Italian dialect (English spoken
by Italians). It may be due to the fact that Italian words end in vowels,
while many English ones do not (at least when spoken). Herman and
Herman describe this feature as follows:
To compensate for the lack of vowel-sound word-endings, Italians, in

speaking English, insert an aspirate “uh” between their words when
the first word ends with a consonant and the following word begins
with a consonant. This is, perhaps, the most important distinguishing
characteristic in the entire Italian dialect. (Herman and Herman 1997,
p. 147)
Herman and Herman also warn actors that “the aspirate ‘uh’ is the most
important identification tag in the Italian dialect and one which is easily
overdone because of its simplicity” (1997, p. 151). This phonological
feature appears to be extensively used when non-Italian actors put on
an Italian accent in order to portray Italian or Italian American char-
acters and thus signal their Italian identity. In his Accents: A Manual for
Actors, Blumenfeld points out that “[t]he most well-known phenomenon
in a standard Italian accent […] is the insertion of a schwa in between
consonants” (2002, p. 216).
Our analysis of representations of Italianness in the animated films of
the corpus confirms that this is one of the most evident features of the
speech of characters. Moreover, it adds a certain caricatural comicality
to them since this pronunciation is often exaggerated in the perfor-
mance of non-native speakers of Italian compared with Italian speakers
of English. Moreover, the English Dialogue Lists of animated films sent
to the translator and dialogue writer sometimes transcribe the lines of
Italian characters by adding ‘-a-’ between words and explain in a note
that ‘-a-’ is the stereotypical addition of an extra vowel sound at the end
354 V. Minutella
of some words when Italians speak English. Examples 8.1, 8.5 and 8.8
demonstrate this. Certain characters represented as being Italian or of
Italian origin are discussed in what follows. Their linguistic characterisa-
tion and the dubbing strategies adopted in the Italian dubbed versions
will be pointed out.
8.3 Italian
-Accented English: Foreign-Accented
Italian in Madagascar 3
In the original version of Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted the
sea lion Stefano and the leopard Gia present features of this type of
contrived Italian American variety. This mock Italian-accented English,
which evokes stereotypes of Italians and Italian Americans speaking
English, is turned into an equally mock Spanish-accented Italian in the
dubbed version, thus retaining the foreignness and European identity
of the speakers. Such a translation strategy enables the dubbed version
to highlight Stefano and Gia’s linguistic otherness from the American
zoo animals (who speak General American in the original version and
standard Italian in the dubbed version) and from the French-accented
Chantel Dubois and the Russian tiger Vitaly. Nevertheless, such a stylised
representation plays a part in enhancing the film’s comedy. As a result,
“the unlikely Italian accent or Italian-American spoken by Stefano is
thus turned in the dubbed version into an equally unlikely and exagger-
ated Italian with a Spanish accent, interspersed with some Spanish and
Spanish-sounding words (escappò, escussame, el, no le guste)” (Minutella
2018, p. 151). Dubbing director Alto felt that a fake, mock Spanish-
accented Italian was chosen because it replicated the function of the fake
Italian-accented English of the original version and because the func-
tion of such a characterisation was to show that they were foreign and
make the audience laugh—not to provide a realistic portrayal of Italian
speakers of English. No attempt was thus made to aim at realism (Alto,
p.c. 26 January 2016). Stefano’s lines in Example 8.1 illustrate this point
and show how the strategy of hypercharacterisation was applied in the
dubbed version by replacing phonetic features that index Italianness in

English with elements that index Spanishness in Italian.
Example 8.1

STEFANO I don’t-a-tink Vitaly likes STEFANO Oh, no! Credo che a Vitaly
dat idea! no le guste esta idea.
BACK TRANSLATION Oh, no! I think
Vitaly doesn’t like this idea.
Example 8.1 illustrates that Stefano’s speech contains the stereotypical

salient features of an Italian ethnolect (/d/ and /t/ for ‘th’, addition of
a schwa sound /ђ/ between words, ungrammaticalities). In the dubbed
version the pronunciation of some consonants and the use of Spanish
words and expressions are features of Spanish-accented Italian. The rele-
vant strategy appears to be compensation since in some utterances “the
non-native traits are neutralised in the dubbed version, but this loss
is compensated by introducing foreign features in other parts of the
dialogue” (Minutella 2018, p. 152). Both Stefano and Gia speak Spanish-
accented Italian interspersed with Spanish and Spanish-sounding words
and exaggerate the Spanish accent. In other words, hypercharacterisa-
tion is the strategy adopted (see Minutella 2018). The Italian American
ethnolect of Gia characterised by ‘h’ deletion and ‘th’ pronounced as /d/
is transformed and emphasised in dubbing by using a higher number of
non-native foreign features such as foreign/Spanish-sounding pronunci-
ation, Spanish-sounding words and ungrammaticalities. Changing the
identity of Stefano and Gia and having them lose their Italianness
does not create major problems in the film since their nationality is
never mentioned and is not essential to the plot. Dubbing director Alto
explains that the only visual reference to Stefano’s Italian identity are the
colours of the Italian flag on his collar. However, it is a minor detail that
was not noticed by the dubbing team when they dubbed the film since
they watched it in black and white (Alto, p.c. 26 January 2016), as is
often the case.
356 V. Minutella
8.4 Italian-Accented English and Italian

American: Regional Italian or Italian
Dialect
As previously pointed out, Italian with a regional accent or Italian dialects
are often used in dubbed animated films to convey the linguistic differen-
tiation of characters who are marked in the original version by speaking
Italian-accented English. Moreover, we have noted that the varieties of
Italian frequently used in the dubbed films are Southern. The dubbing
professionals consulted also admitted that they often use a Sicilian variety
to connote characters, especially when the character is Italian American
and at the same time a mobster or criminal. Previous studies have stressed
the large use of Sicilian and Neapolitan in Italian dubbing because of
their associations with organised crime and their supposed comic effect.
Several scholars (Pavesi 1994, 2005; Rossi 2006; Chiaro 2008, 2009;
Parini 2009, 2017, 2019; Ferrari 2010; Iaia 2015 among others) have
argued that there is a tendency in dubbed Italian to use just a few
regional varieties of Italian and that a Sicilian regiolect is often stereo-
typically associated with mobster characters being Italian American in
mobster comedies and animation as well—not only in dramas. Ferrari
(2010) and Iaia (2015) have highlighted that Italian dubbing tends to
perpetuate Italian stereotypes of the South, thus marking the “Otherness
of the South.” As argued by Ferrari, “the separation between northern
and southern Italy […] is both accepted and hard to overcome not
only because it is rooted in Italian history, but also, and more prob-
lematically, because such separation is perpetrated in the stereotypical
and often comical representation of southern characters” (2010, pp. 96–
97). A similar point is made by Iaia in his analysis of the translation
of humorous discourse in films, sitcoms and cartoons where regional
stereotypes of southern people and their diatopic and diastratic varieties
are reused “to represent the characters’ otherness, producing humorous
discourse” (Iaia 2015, pp. 80–81). The norm of making mobsters and
thugs speak a stereotyped Sicilian is confirmed for animated films too.
However, other southern Italian regional varieties are also used, as
will be illustrated below. The following analysis explores the type of

characterisation that emerges in dubbed animated films in the corpus.
8.4.1 Vinny in Atlantis
In Disney’s Atlantis one of the members of the expedition, Vincenzo

‘Vinny’ Santorini, is a bomb demolition expert who was born in Palermo
and “spent some time in a Turkish jail.” In the original version Vinny
is voiced by Don Novello, a comedian popular for his Saturday Night
Live character Father Guido Sarducci. He also appeared in The Godfa-
ther Part III . Novello gives Vinny a clear linguistic characterisation by
using an Italian American accent. In the dubbed version Vinny is dubbed
by Calabrian-born Pasquale Anselmo who usually dubs Italian Ameri-
cans and whose voice is often associated with Sicilian characters, as he
contrives a Sicilian accent. The Italian American ethnolect spoken in the
English version is turned in dubbing into a Sicilian regiolect and Sicilian-
accented Italian with the use of Sicilian words (for a detailed account of
the linguistic features typical of the Sicilian regiolect see Parini 2009,
2019). Examples 8.2–8.4 illustrate that Vinny’s speech is localised in the
dubbed version to a great extent and that he speaks a Sicilian regiolect at
the phonological, syntactic and lexical level by using Sicilian regionalisms
such as piccirì and picciriddo (they both mean ‘kid’).
Example 8.2

VINNY Hey, junior, if you’re looking VINNY Ehi, piccirì, se tte vuoi fare un
for the pony rides, they’re back giro sulle giostrine sono laddietro.
there. BACK TRANSLATION Hey, kid. If you
want to go on the merry-go-round,
they’re back there.
358 V. Minutella
Example 8.3

VINNY Maybe I should do this later, VINNY Cheddisci è mmeglio se
huh? continuo dopo?
BACK TRANSLATION What do you
say, is it better if I do this later?
Example 8.4

VINNY Kid, relax. We don’t get paid VINNY Picciriddo statti calmo. Gli
overtime. straordinari non ce li pagano.
BACK TRANSLATION Kid, relax. They
don’t pay us overtime.
Converting Vinny’s Italian American ethnolect in the original version

into a Sicilian characterisation in the dubbed version also features
a particularly intense representation of Sicilian features by means of
hypercharacterisation.
The common dubbing convention equating thugs, mobsters, crim-
inals or men involved in dubious dealing with a Sicilian regiolect is
thus also applied in this film. Disney’s creative director Morville (p.c.
28 January 2016) explains that he had tried to avoid such an associa-
tion. When they dubbed the trailer for the film he chose a dubber from
Abruzzo who would use his regional accent and dialect. However, once
he watched the full film he noticed that the visuals showed Vinny’s ID on
which his birthplace was given as Palermo. Hence the character had to
be Sicilian in order not to clash with the images. The ethnolect spoken
in the original version is thus conveyed and emphasised in the Italian
dubbed version of Atlantis and associating speaking with an Italian
American accent like Sicilian with criminality is maintained.
8.4.2 Don Lino and Sykes in Shark Tale
In the dubbed version of Shark Tale (2004) the Italian American

ethnolect of the original film is again turned into a Sicilian regiolect since
the film openly alludes to The Godfather films. Italian American mobster
shark Don Lino (dubbed by Stefano De Sando), his son Frankie and
his entourage speak Italian with a broad Sicilian accent and use several
dialect words such as amuninne (let’s go) and cu’mmia (with me). More-
over, Examples 8.6 and 8.7 show that the ethnolect is emphasised not
only through hypercharacterisation (exaggerating Sicilian phonological,
syntactic and lexical features) but also by adding creative and comic
neologisms combining Sicilian words and words pertaining to the fish
world such as pesciotti (pesci + picciotti), squalozzi (squali + scagnozzi ),
trinchia (triglia + minchia) and cucozze (cucuzze + cozze).
Example 8.5

DON LINO Now, you’re making-a-fun of DON LINO Ehi, ti vuoi divertire
me? cu’mmia?
BACK TRANSLATION Hey, do you
want to make fun of me?
Example 8.6

DON LINO (to the piranhas) How are my DON LINO Come stanno i mei
little babies this morning? pesciotti stamattina?
BACK TRANSLATION How are my
little fish-kids this morning?
360 V. Minutella
Example 8.7

DON LINO What did I ever do to DON LINO Ma io a te che trinchia ti
you? ho fatto?
BACK TRANSLATION But what the
shell did I do to you?
Furthermore, the pufferfish Sykes who works for Don Lino and speaks
Italian American in the original version is dubbed by dubbing director
and actor Marco Mete using a Neapolitan accent. He also uses several
Neapolitan words such as guagliò and guaglioni (guy/guys). The Italian
dubbed version of the film maintains the American gangsterspeak and
retains the stereotype, adopting the Sicilian and Neapolitan regiolects
to connote the negative yet comic characters. Although such transla-
tion strategies render the characters and the dialogues more comical, they
still exploit Italian stereotypes of the South and reaffirm the connection
Sicilian and Neapolitan have with organised crime. As pointed out by
Parini:
Italian professionals seem to have followed the tendencies which have

become established in the Italian dubbing industry when it comes to
translating the variety spoken by Italian American gangsters in American
films, relying on certain specific strategies that allow them to maintain
the stereotype. Therefore, it is possible to talk about stereotyping also in
translation. (2019, p. 260)
As pointed out in Chapter 3, the dubbing professionals consulted for this

study—even those who fiercely criticise the use of negative stereotypes
in films and in dubbing—believe that the Sicilian variety of Italian must
be adopted and is justified if the film makes allusions to previous mafia-
related films. It might be argued that use of the Sicilian ethnolect is called
for not only by the original film itself but also by the filmmakers’ inten-
tions since they deliberately created the characters as animated and comic
allusions to The Godfather characters. The film met with critical reac-
tions by Italian American associations in the United States for its negative
portrayal of ethnic stereotypes (see Parini 2019). On the other hand, the
Italian dubbed version of the film was not criticised. As explained by

Parini:
In Italy no protests whatsoever have been made against the use of specific
regiolects or dialects (such as Sicilian or Neapolitan) in its dubbed version
– although the same concern expressed by Italian Americans regarding
the potential danger of exposing children to the message that people of
Italian descent are criminals may apply to a corresponding association
with Southern Italians for Italian viewers. (2019, p. 260)
8.4.3 Mr Big in Zootopia/Zootropolis
In the original version of the 2016 Disney film Zootopia an Italian Amer-
ican accent is given to the tiny arctic shrew Mr Big whose behaviour and
speech are again clearly inspired by The Godfather films. The stereotyp-
ical and caricatural representation of Mr Big is conveyed through visual
and verbal elements. The visual elements in the scene provide intertextual
links to previous representations of mobsters and add a layer of humour
to the scene. Despite his name, Mr Big is minuscule, but he is powerful
(he has huge polar bears as bodyguards) and scary (he threatens to kill
Nick and Judy by “icing them”; i.e., throwing them into iced water).
Moreover, Nick must kiss his hand as a sign of respect. In the English
version Mr Big is voiced by Maurice LaMarche, who contrives an Italian
accent, using lexis and syntactic structures typical of this ethnolect. In the
Italian dubbed version Mr Big is given a Sicilian accent and is voiced by
Sicilian actor Leo Gullotta who emphasises his original Sicilian accent.
This confirms the stereotype and the dubbing professionals’ common
practice/convention: if the character is a thug or alludes to The Godfather,
then he must have a Sicilian accent. Note, however, that an attempt at
realism and naturalness was made since a dubbing actor from Sicily was
chosen. Gullotta and Teresa Mannino (cast to dub Mr Big’s daughter Fru
Fru) are in fact comedians known for their Sicilian identity. Linguistic
features typically associated with the Italian American ethnolect in the
original performance are transferred to the Sicilian variety of Mr Big,
while Fru Fru speaks with a less marked accent both in the original
and dubbed version. The linguistic characterisation of Mr Big in the
362 V. Minutella
original version uses Italian American phonetic features, the Italianised

word Gram-mama and the Italian word cannoli (a Sicilian sweet). In the
Italian dubbed version Gullotta’s interpretation of the character involves
hypercharacterisation by using marked lexical, syntactic and phonolog-
ical features. The Sicilian actor appears to exaggerate his own natural
Sicilian accent, producing a stylised performance of the Sicilian regiolect,
but without using real dialect words. As explained by Dore:
The Italian version adopts a literal approach to the translation of Mr

Big’s speeches, with hints of informal spoken Italian (e.g. the contrac-
tion of ‘ti ha’ as ‘t’ha’, ‘chiappe’ for butt). In addition, actor and dubber
Leo Gullotta emphasises his own Sicilian accent in order to achieve the
maximum humorous effect. The most distinctive phonetic traits in his
performance are connected to the use of typical Sicilian phonology in
standard Italian words. (2019, p. 5)
The phonological and syntactic elements exploited by the dubbing actor

emphasise the Sicilianness of Mr Big, conveying humour and a caricature
of the godfather Vito Corleone and resulting in a comic yet exaggerat-
edly stereotypical portrayal. The representation of Mr Big’s character in
this film provides an example of how “the existing stereotypes regarding
Italians in the source culture and Sicilians in the target culture are […]
maintained and reinforced” (Dore 2019, p. 5).
8.4.4 Luigi in the Cars Films
To recap, in the Cars films the character Luigi is an Italian Fiat 500 car
who owns the Casa della Tires and is a huge fan of Ferraris. Due to his
Italianness he is linguistically characterised by speaking English with a
broad Italian accent. Luigi is voiced by American actor Tony Shalhoub
who affects an Italian American ethnolect: his lines display phonological
and syntactic features typically found in this variety such as the schwa
(‘-a-’, /ђ/ or ‘uh’) sound between words and other elements (as described
above after Parini 2019). His utterances are often ungrammatical and
he sometimes uses Italian words. In the Italian dubbed version Luigi is
voiced by stand-up comedian Marco Della Noce who gave him a marked
regional accent without using dialect words and improvised some comic
gags and lines while dubbing in the studio. The Italian-accented variety
of the original version (filled with several ungrammaticalities) is turned
into grammatically correct Italian whose markedness and funniness is
conveyed by the dubbing actor’s modulation of his voice and his use
of the Emiliano accent (which is typical of the region where Ferrari is
located). In Example 8.8 (from Cars) the Italian identity of Luigi and
thus his being a non-native speaker of English is exaggerated in the
original version by inserting ungrammaticalities (“he fix”, “Luigi take,”
“you not”) and using a marked Italian accent. In the dubbed version
the comic identity of Luigi is conveyed only through the regional Emil-
iano accent (non-standard syntactic features, marked pronunciation and
Italian words in English are all in italics).
Example 8.8

LUIGI (Italian accent) You have a slow LUIGI (Emiliano accent) Hai la
leak. Guido, he fix. You make-a-such valvola che perde. Guido te la
a nice-a-new road. You come-a-to my ripara. Hai fatto giù una strada
shop. Luigi take-a-good care of you. molto bella. Entra nel mio
Even though you not a Ferrari. negozio. Luigi ti tratterà bene,
vedrai, anche se non sei una
Ferrari.
BACK TRANSLATION You have a
slow leak. Guido will fix it. You’ve
made such a nice new road. Come
into my shop. Luigi will take good
care of you, you’ll see. Even
though you are not a Ferrari.
8.4.5 Francesco Bernouilli in Cars 2
In Cars 2 the arrogant Italian racing car Francesco Bernouilli is repre-

sented as stereotypically Italian through visual and verbal means that
are highly caricatural. He is voiced by Italian American Brooklyn-born
John Turturro who provides the Italian-accented English of the char-
acter. The features of this variety (as described above) can be found in
the lines uttered by Francesco who speaks with a marked Italian accent
364 V. Minutella
and pronunciation (‘h’ deletion, ‘-a-’ or schwa sound added between

words, ‘th’ pronounced as /d/, etc.), uses some Italian words and some
ungrammaticalities. In the Italian dubbed version Francesco’s comic Ital-
ianness is transformed into Neapolitan. Since a celebrity dubbing actor
was requested for this role, the well-known Neapolitan actor and director
Alessandro Siani was cast because of his popularity and perhaps because
he has personified a cunning old devil and a braggart in his previous
roles. It might be argued that the American stereotype of Italians is trans-
lated with a similar Italian stereotype of Neapolitans (loud, flirtatious,
boastful, rude and comic). Moreover, choosing a Neapolitan regiolect
to represent the Italian stereotype may be perceived as further empha-
sising the negative connotations attached to southern Italian varieties. In
Example 8.9 Francesco’s English in the original version is characterised
by a marked Italian accent, while in the dubbed version a Neapolitan
accent is matched with dialectal words and expressions such as “nun ce
sta” rather than non c’è (there isn’t), “guagliò” (kid, used here as ‘man’ or
‘guys’) and “assai” (a lot).
Example 8.9

FRANCESCO BERNOULLI (Italian FRANCESCO BERNOULLI (Neapolitan
accent) Lightning McQueen would accent) Per Saetta McQueen nun ce
not have a chance against sta Speranza … contro Francesco.
Francesco! I can go over Guagliò, io posso andare oltre i
three-hundred kilometers an hour! trecento chilometri all’ora! Che in
I-i-in miles that is like, uh … migliaaa sarebberooo … assai!
w-w-w-way faster … than C-comunque molto più veloce di
McQueen! McQueen!
BACK TRANSLATION Lightning
McQueen would not have a chance
against Francesco! Kid, I can go
over three-hundred kilometers an
hour! In miles that would be like …
a lot! Anyway much faster than
McQueen!
In Example 8.10, on the other hand, Francesco speaks English in the

original version with an Italian accent, makes ungrammaticalities (omis-
sion of the subject pronoun ‘it’) and uses Italian or Italian-sounding
words (“mama,” “amico”). In the dubbed version, the most evident
features are the Neapolitan accent and the use of “u” rather than il (the).
Example 8.10

FRANCESCO BERNOULLI (Italian FRANCESCO BERNOUILLI (Neapolitan
accent) Is no insult. When Francesco accent) Non era un insulto.
is away from home, he misses his Quando Francesco è lontano da
mama … just like you miss your tow casa, gli manca la sua mamma,
truck, amico. proprio come a te manca u carro
attrezzi, amico tuo.
BACK TRANSLATION It was not an
insult. When Francesco is away
from home, he misses his mamma
… just like you miss the tow truck,
your friend.
Example 8.11

FRANCESCO BERNOULLI (Italian FRANCESCO BERNOULLI (Neapolitan
accent) (yelling) Mama! Don’t worry, accent) Mamà! Tranquilla, mamà!
Mama! McQueen is very sad! I will McQueen è molto triste! E quando
beat his cry-baby bottom today! vincerò, se metterà a chiagne
comm nu criatur!
BACK TRANSLATION Mama! Don’t
worry, mama! McQueen is very sad.
And when I win, he’ll start crying
like a baby.
In Example 8.11 we can see how the offensive line uttered by

Francesco in the English dialogue is rendered less vulgar in the dubbed
version where the humour is conveyed by an expression in Neapolitan
meaning ‘to cry like a baby’. The translation/adaptation strategy adopted
in the Italian dubbed version of Cars 2 in order to recreate the comic yet
slightly negative Italian character of Francesco therefore appears to be one
366 V. Minutella
of localisation using regional Italian and at times also hypercharacterisa-

tion since added humour is provided by the dubbing actor’s performance
and extensive use of Neapolitan words and expressions.
8.4.6 Leonardo and Mona Lisa in Mr. Peabody

and Sherman
In Mr. Peabody and Sherman the WABAC takes the protagonists back in
time to Renaissance Florence where they meet Leonardo and Mona Lisa
exactly when the Italian painter was working on the famous painting. In
the original version Leonardo and Mona Lisa are voiced by US actors
Stanley Tucci and Lake Bell, whereas in the Italian dubbed version they
are voiced by Italian actors from Tuscany Luca Biagini and Lisa Poccardo.
When Leonardo and Mona Lisa speak, their English displays a series of
peculiarities at the phonetic, lexical and syntactic level that are typical
of the variety spoken by Italians and Italian Americans described above.
Their language contributes to creating a comic, caricatural portrayal of
the stereotype of Italians speaking English. Their speech also contains
some Italian words (“abbondanza,” “perfetto”) and some ungrammati-
calities (Leonardo: “Believe-a-you me,” “No move, no move!”), which
connote them as being Italian non-native speakers of English living in
Italy rather than Italian Americans living in the United States. The comic
effect of the exchange between Leonardo and Mona Lisa is enhanced by
their physical appearance and their actions and movements: Leonardo’s
exaggerated gesticulations (hand and arm movements), their loud voices
and Leonardo’s cries when Mona Lisa asks him to say something funny.
The visual and verbal representations of the historical characters seem
to adopt the stereotypical characteristics of Italians. The film provides
a caricatural, stereotypical verbal and visual portrayal for humorous
purposes. It is a case of complex humour since the filmmakers play with
the audience’s world knowledge and provide a comic, absurd explana-
tion of the origin of the painting, combining cultural references with
aural and visual comedy. In the Italian dubbed version the (Tuscan)
dubbing actors speak a Tuscan regional variety/regiolect that has its own
specific pronunciation and intonation and colloquial words pertaining
to the local dialect such as “grullo” (stupid) and “questa bischeraccia”

(this silly woman). This domesticating and localising choice renders the
linguistic representation more believable since it provides naturalness to
the interaction, perhaps a kind of faithfulness to Leonardo’s Tuscan iden-
tity and a further layer of humour. The exaggerated Italian traits of the
English dialogues are turned into an equally marked Tuscan regional
variety (Tuscan vernacular) in the Italian dubbed version. Phonolog-
ical features stereotypically associated with Italians or Italian Americans
speaking English and a few ungrammaticalities are inserted in the orig-
inal version to show the non-native use of the English language. This
provides a caricatural portrayal that highlights the already parodic visual
representation. In the Italian dialogues several phonological features and
words typical of the Tuscan regiolect are used and the dubbing actors’
vocal performance heightens the sense of authenticity. An important
difference between the English and the Italian versions is that the Italian
dialogue is a natural-sounding, authentic Tuscan, while in the English
version an Italian American ethnolect is contrived by the actors and is
therefore obviously fake. The enjoyment of the scene in English and
in Italian might be affected by the fake nature of the former and the
naturalness of the latter.
8.4.7 Creative Transformations, or When Dubbing

Adds Italian Regional Dialects
The corpus of animated films analysed contains two (and therefore

rare) cases of regionalisation, added localisation and domestication since
the Italian dubbed versions contain various characters speaking regional
Italian with some dialect words, although no Italian American or Italian
characters are present in the original films.
A very creative, exceptional and extreme case of localisation is Gnomeo
& Juliet (2011). As pointed out in Chapters 4 and 5, in this film
several native varieties of mainly British English are used and the trans-
lation strategy adopted in the dubbed version is to turn each of them
(except for the statue of Shakespeare’s lines) into broad regional Italian
varieties with some dialect words. Lord Redbrick’s Cockney is thus
368 V. Minutella
transformed into Sicilian, Tybalt’s into Calabrese, Lady Bluebury’s posh

accent becomes regional Italian from the Veneto-Lombardia area, the
General American of the Chorus becomes Pugliese, Nanette’s Scot-
tish English becomes Neapolitan, etc. Professional dubbing actors from
various regions were cast and creative director Morville and dubbing
director Baldini asked them to speak with their own regional accents
and have a go at experimenting with dialects. The choice to completely
domesticate and “indigenise” (Ferrari 2010) the film was taken by
Morville who thought that transposing the story of the lovers back
to an Italian context and reinterpreting it as a north–south divide
could be an interesting and amusing dubbing strategy. The final result
is perhaps an over-the-top, not always easily understandable mixture of
Italian dialects that betrays the original’s Britishness, but is definitely an
interesting and creative attempt to localise the film and connote the char-
acters through regional accents and dialects in the same way in principle
as they are in the original version. It can be considered a case of “cre-
ative dubbing” (La Polla 1994). It is generally the case that dubbing is
criticised for levelling out variation and not being able to convey and
reproduce the nuances of various English varieties. However, if all the
varieties were to be conveyed through Italian ones in a single film we
would hear several regional accents, each carrying specific local conno-
tations and cultural stereotypes. They would have nothing specific in
common with American or British accents and different connotations
would therefore be imposed on the film characters. The dubbed version
of Gnomeo & Juliet can be interpreted as an attempt to break with norms
in dubbing and to try experimenting with Italian regiolects, which was
possible because of the type of film and its comic plot1 (for a detailed
description of the film in English and its Italian dubbed version see Bruti
and Vignozzi 2016; Minutella 2016; Grochowska-Reiter 2017).
Another exceptional case of a film in which regional Italian is added
and used to a certain extent is Zootopia/Zootropolis (2016) despite there
1A small reception study carried out with 10 Italian students from different regions taking a
master’s degree (April–May 2020) showed that the use of regional Italian and dialects in this
film was not well received. The students were quite critical of the choices made in the dubbed
version that they considered exaggerated, parodic and fake, and too distant from the original
film.
being no characters speaking Italian or Italian American in the original

dialogues. As previously pointed out, a Sicilian regiolect is used for the
mobster Mr Big. Moreover, star talents were cast for cameo roles: Frank
Matano (from Campania) dubbed Duke Weaselton and Paolo Ruffini
(from Tuscany) dubbed Yax. Although they have only a few lines of
dialogue, they speak with accents from their native regions. This has the
aim of adding comedy and making the characters funny since regional
Italian is often used in cinema to provide humour. However, the final
result also reinforces specific Italian stereotypes, in particular the Sicilian
mobster and the Neapolitan criminal (Dore 2019) and the “Otherness of
the South” (Iaia 2015). The thief Duke Weaselton speaks a non-standard
variety of English, displaying stigmatised features such as “ain’t,” double
negation (“ain’t nothin’”) and “them” rather than those. Combining such
linguistic features with his behaviour provides a negative characterisation
that is recreated in the dubbed version by making the weasel speak with
a marked Neapolitan accent and dialect words. The dubbed version of
Zootopia also contains another character who speaks regional Italian: the
yak Yax (a hippie receptionist at the yoga centre). The fact that a Tuscan
accent was given to the hippie Yax and not to Duke Weaselton shows
that voice casting was probably motivated by considerations about the
type of character that the star talents had to dub and the origins of the
star talent. The dubbing team probably thought that a Tuscan accent
would be a better fit for a laid-back hippie receptionist at a yoga centre
than for a thief in Little Rodentia (an allusion to Little Italy) and that
a Neapolitan accent would be more suitable for a thief and pirate DVD
seller. The exploitation and re-use of Italian national stereotypes in Italian
dubbing is thus still a common practice which is resorted to in order to
trigger humour and to accommodate a large number of non-professional
star talent dubbers who are called on to dub minor roles in animated
films by the marketing department. Since their Italian is unlikely to be
‘polished’ and impeccable, they are often asked not only to speak with
their own accent but also sometimes to emphasise it in order to add
comicality to their character.
370 V. Minutella

This chapter has shown that strategies differing from the norms char-
acterising the findings in the previous chapters are applied when L3 in
the original version is Italian American or Italian-accented English. The
Italian American ethnolect is spoken by characters who are stereotyp-
ically presented in the original films as being Italian and whose looks
and behaviour allude to mafia films, to criminals or to those involved
in dubious dealings. However, an Italian American ethnolect or Italian-
accented English is also given to other types of characters to indicate their
Italianness and personality. Even if the characterisation in the original is
not necessarily criminal but nevertheless negative, the “Otherness of the
South” is still applied in the dubbed version where Sicilian, Neapolitan or
Calabrese regiolects are used. If, on the other hand, other (more positive)
connotations are attached to the characters or the characters are Italian
living in Italy or the film plot provides hints at their regional origin,
then other Italian regiolects are used. This is the case for Leonardo and
Mona Lisa (Tuscan) and for Luigi (Emiliano) in Cars for historical and
plot-related reasons, respectively.
Regardless of character type, the presence of Italian-accented English
usually calls for a strategy in which L3 is maintained and the character
and his/her Italianness are linguistically differentiated. We also noted
the rare use of a broad range of Italian regiolects in dubbed versions
where characters in the original film had no Italian connections, but
where the varietal distinctions reflected in principle those of the orig-
inal film. The preferred option in the animated films in the corpus is to
make the dubbing actors speak Italian with a slight or marked regional
accent or to mix standard Italian and Italian dialect. Longstanding stereo-
types are indeed triggered by specific Italian regional accents. As admitted
by Morville, dubbing professionals are fully aware that stereotypes exist
and they deliberately re-use them in dubbing. In the animated films
analysed such stereotypes continue to be applied, perhaps in order to
provide quick characterisation and trigger humour, since they are usually
given to minor characters. A revolutionary translation practice would
be to subvert these associations and use regional accents for completely
different characters. However, it is likely that current Italian stereotypes
will continue to be applied in order to provide a quick way to build and

recognise a character.
What clearly emerges is that native speakers of an Italian regiolect are
usually selected as dubbers. Leonardo and Mona Lisa, Mr Big, Fru Fru,
Don Lino and Francesco are cases in point. This confirms the dubbing
professionals’ comment that they aim at authenticity of accent. When
they decide to deviate from the norm of using standard Italian with
a neutral accent and opt instead for characters with a regional Italian
accent, they ask the dubbing actors to speak with their natural native
accent and look for native speakers of specific regiolects.
The examples analysed have shown that the purpose behind using a
regional Italian accent, regional Italian with a regional lexis or regional
Italian dialects is almost always to render the characters comical. This
confirms the dubbing professionals and scholars’ claims that there is
a close relationship between dialect/regional accent and comedy (on
the functions of dialect in Italian cinema see Rossi 2015). Sicilian is
often used for negative characters and is associated with the mafia and
criminality. Neapolitan also carries negative connotations. The negative
stereotypes attached to dialects from the south, especially Sicilian and
Neapolitan, seem to be reinforced in the dubbed versions of the various
animated films analysed.
Nevertheless, generally speaking, regional Italian and dialects are
mostly exploited to convey humour. However, dialects should be used
with caution in order to avoid unintended comic and parodic overtones.
The main functions of Italian dialects in dubbing appear to be character
portrayal (if the character is defined as Italian), unintelligibility (other
characters do not understand them) and humour, and Italian accents
may also signal Italianness and convey humour.
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9
Conclusion
This book has described the dubbing process of a selection of animated

Hollywood films in Italian. It has attempted to shed light on the various
people, factors and stages that impinge on the final dubbed product.
Chapter 2 showed that, contrary to what happens for other audiovisual
texts, the localisation or dubbing process of animated films produced by
big majors is always controlled by the production house and/or distrib-
utors. These overseeing parties provide guidelines on how to address
specific translation issues or elements in the film dialogue (including the
use of languages and accents), supervise and guide the whole process,
providing advice on voice casting and revising adaptation and dubbing
sessions. The role of specific people involved in the dubbing process
and of the texts accompanying the film (i.e., the English Dialogue List
and other documents such as the creative letter) were also described.
Chapter 3 dealt with how to translate multilingualism and linguistic
variation (both regional and social) in dubbing. Previous research was
summarised, common dubbing strategies were outlined and comments
made by dubbing practitioners on the language of dubbing and on their
approach to standard Italian and varieties of English and Italian were
documented on the basis of personal interviews. Chapter 4 looked at
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8_9
376 V. Minutella
the ways in which linguistic variation and multilingualism were used in

the selected corpus of Hollywood animations and how they often inter-
acted with the visual mode to create identities. The use of languages
and language varieties in each of the 37 films in the corpus was briefly
described as a basis for the following chapters that analysed the dubbing
strategies used in the Italian versions of these films. Patterns in char-
acter portrayal in the original films emerged, in particular the dominance
of a standard American English variety, General American (GenAm),
and of several stereotypes relating to specific groups and languages or
language varieties, including native and non-native varieties of English
as well as languages other than English. The remaining chapters dealt
with these three linguistic characterisations: native varieties of English
(Chapter 5), languages other than English (Chapter 6) and non-native
varieties of English (Chapter 7) in terms of the dubbing strategies iden-
tified in the corpus. The interesting but tricky case of non-native English
with clear Italian features was dealt with in Chapter 8. In what follows
the norms identified in the corpus are set out and broadly follow these
four groupings.
The distinction between native varieties and non-native varieties of
English proved useful in accounting for the dubbing strategies adopted
to deal with linguistic variation. Whether a character speaks English
natively or non-natively actually appears to determine the strategy
adopted by dubbing professionals to (re)create the linguistic identity of
characters. It was also shown that the multimodal nature of animated
films exploits verbal and visual stereotypes by combining them to create
humorous characters and that the visual elements of the animation must
be taken into account when analysing the way characters speak and when
deciding how to transfer such identities to another language.
The analysis conducted for this book has shown that it is indeed
possible to find patterns and regularities in the way identities are created
in the original films and recreated in Italian dubbing using language
varieties. For instance, characters who speak a native variety of English
in the original version tend to speak standard Italian with no marked
regional accent in the dubbed version in keeping with previous research
findings for feature films. A clear regularity found in the dubbed films
making up the corpus is that this so-called “homogenising norm” empha-
sised by Chiaro (2008, 2009) only applies to native varieties of English.
9 Conclusion 377
Chapter 5 showed that the various British, American and Australian

accents that provide identity and characterisation in the original versions
of the films are indeed neutralised, homogenised and levelled out into
standard Italian. With very few exceptions, all the characters speaking
English natively—whether standard national varieties, regional and social
varieties or non-standard varieties—follow this pattern in the dubbed
versions. Differences between speakers of native varieties of English thus
tend to be almost always levelled out and standardised. This confirms the
dubbing practitioners’ comments provided in Chapter 3 and previous
research on the translation of regional and social varieties of English.
The very rare exceptions to this norm consist of a few English-accented
characters with a clear English identity, a few characters with an Italian
regional accent (in specific films), a formal register for some speakers of
RP, a colloquial register for the speech of AAVE and for the Southern
American English of Mater, and a southern Italian variety for characters
speaking with a New York/Brooklyn accent. The homogenising norm
proposed by Chiaro (2008) is thus applied for most native varieties of
English. As far as native varieties of English are concerned, neutralising
and homogenising linguistic variation by using a standard variety of the
target language can therefore be considered a dubbing norm in animated
films.
A second norm is that the presence of a foreign language (i.e., a
language other than English) is retained as in the original film, some-
times with subtitles or translation by another character. The strategy of
preserving the language and foreign identity of the character appears
to be a dubbing norm in animated films, whereas for other audiovi-
sual products research has shown that a variety of strategies are adopted.
Expressions in languages other than English inserted into the English
dialogue also tend to be maintained. Furthermore, the dubbed versions
respect and reproduce the choices made by the filmmakers for the orig-
inal version when neither translation nor subtitles are used. However,
analysis of the corpus has shown that the use of foreign languages and of
subtitles is quite limited in animated films, as one would expect from a
genre aimed largely at children. Our analysis has also shown that when
the foreign language is Italian and therefore L3 in the original film coin-
cides with L2 (the language of the dubbed version), then an Italian
dialect is usually adopted to maintain the Italianness of the character
378 V. Minutella
while still fulfilling the function of the foreign language such as making
characters incomprehensible to one another, showing the diversity of
characters (contrary to the homogenisation norm established for native
varieties of English) and conveying humour. The strategy of preservation
(De Bonis 2014) is thus applied to languages other than English.
Another important pattern and thus a norm found in the dubbed
animated films analysed is that foreign-accented speech (i.e., non-native
English) is retained in dubbing by making use of foreign-accented
Italian. A preservation strategy is often adopted. Such varieties of English
are retained and often strengthened in dubbing. The many examples
examined in the present study have shown that foreign-accented English
or “ethnolects” (Salmon Kovarski 2000) tend to be recreated by using
the same foreign accent in the dubbed language as in the original
language, by replicating the same quantity of words and expressions from
the foreign language or even by hypercharacterising (exaggerating the
accent/foreign-sounding character and adding other foreign words). The
cases of “hypercharacterisation” (Parini 2009) discussed show how this
strategy is adopted, especially when the characters in the original films
are represented through a combination of verbal and visual stereotypes
(since they are meant to be caricatures). Stylised representations in the
animated films of the corpus do indeed abound when the function of the
accent is to enhance comedy. The linguistic identity of Mexican, Spanish,
Italian, Russian and German characters is almost always recreated in
Italian dubbing often by means of hypercharacterisation. Neutralisation
of a foreign linguistic identity seldom occurs in our corpus, although it
is sometimes adopted for specific reasons such as for Gru in Despicable
Me and Rochelle in Planes. Note that characters who are represented as
being Russian, German and Indian speak Italian laced with ungrammat-
icalities in the dubbed versions (replicating and amplifying the choices
made in the original versions). This highlights their poor command of
the language or, in the case of Indian characters, a stylised non-standard
variety, thereby apparently making them appear somehow ‘inferior’ and
funnier compared with characters from other countries.
Note also that the analysis conducted on characters speaking foreign-
accented English has shown that dubbing strategies can vary according
to the function of the language and accent in the original film. In fact,
9 Conclusion 379
if the function of foreign-accented English is to establish the setting

of the whole film, then in the dubbed version the characters do not
speak with a marked foreign accent since this would result in an unin-
tended caricature. An alternative strategy is to give only a few characters
a foreign accent in the Italian dubbed version. Our analysis coupled
with information gathered from the dubbing professionals has thrown
light on the dubbing process and translation policies regarding films
such as Ratatouille and Coco in which the French and Mexican settings
were important to the plot and French-accented English and Spanish-
accented English had specific functions. In such cases the dubbed
versions avoid hypercharacterisation. Although foreign words and expres-
sions are replicated in the dubbed version by transferring the same
words and expressions, there is a tendency to avoid marked accents.
The dubbing of Ratatouille has been taken as an example of this since
the strategies adopted by the dubbing team did not reproduce the film-
makers’ approach to linguistic diversity and characterisation. Although
French-accented English is largely used in the original version where it
has a comic and parodic intent and effect, in the Italian dubbed version
the marked French accent of most of the characters is either completely
eliminated or considerably reduced. In the case of Coco, the filmmakers
did not aim at providing caricatures, hence the Spanish accent is not too
marked in the original version except for some comic characters. In the
dubbed version Spanish words are used, but the Mexican characters do
not speak Spanish-accented Italian.
Chapter 8 has explored what happens in dubbing if the charac-
ters speaking a foreign language speak Italian or if characters speaking
foreign-accented English are Italian or Italian American. If the foreign
identity of the character in the original version is Italian and therefore
coincides with the language of the dubbed version, then in the dubbed
version this third language (L3) is turned into a regional Italian variety.
It may also be turned into a different foreign identity such as Spanish,
although this strategy occurs only once in the corpus (i.e., in Mada-
gascar 3). If the foreignness of a character achieved by use of the Italian
language implies incomprehension and miscommunication (because the
character speaks Italian instead of Italian-accented English in the original
version), then a real Italian dialect is used (as shown in the examples of
380 V. Minutella
the Cars films). A further norm thus appears to be that of resorting to

regional Italian (marked regional accents) and, to a lesser extent, Italian
dialects to convey Italianness with a comic function. Note that no protag-
onists (except for Gnomeo and Juliet) speak with a regional Italian accent
and that only secondary/minor characters do so. Standard Italian tends
to be used for the protagonists.
Italian characters in the original films sometimes play the part of
foreigners who have a poor command of English. However, this lack
of verbal proficiency is lost in dubbing by getting characters to speak
regional Italian with broad accents and to use dialect words. This results
in a difference in linguistic identity, though it may be argued that the
use of a marked regional variety is associated with a lower level of educa-
tion within an Italian cultural context since dialects tend to be spoken in
rural areas—not in educated or more formal contexts.
The link between the choice of language variety and certain char-
acterisations is important when it comes to dubbing choices. For the
animated films analysed in our corpus there appears to be a quantita-
tive prevalence of diatopic/diastratic varieties from the Italian south and
centre–south. Moreover, the tendency to make mobsters and thugs speak
with a stereotyped Sicilian accent and use dialect words is noteworthy. It
usually signals criminality, especially associated with the mafia, and also
connoting a lack of education. Neapolitan is also often used for nega-
tive characters, but also exceptionally for Juliet’s comic helper, the frog
Nanette. It thus has a double function, connoting both criminality and
comedy. Since these diatopic and diastratic varieties are associated with
characters whose representation is not entirely positive, the dubbing of
the animated films studied appears to perpetuate some negative stereo-
types of people from the south, particularly Sicilian and Neapolitan
(but also Calabrese). Regional stereotypes of Italians are thus applied in
dubbed animated films. This supports previous studies on animated TV
series and videogames by Iaia (2015, pp. 80–81) and on The Simpsons by
Ferrari (2010) (see also Dore 2019; Parini 2019).
Nevertheless, the analysis conducted here has shown that dubbing
also uses other Italian diastratic and diatopic varieties. These are usually
the native dialects and regional varieties of the dubbing actors/voice
talents dubbing animated characters who may be cast exactly because
9 Conclusion 381
of their origins or may be asked to use their own accent in order to

make the character funnier. For instance, the Tuscan of Yax in Zootopia
and Leonardo and Mona Lisa in Mr. Peabody and Sherman is conveyed
by Tuscan star talents chosen because of their origins and popularity;
the Neapolitan of Francesco Bernoulli in Cars 2, Duke Donnolesi in
Zootopia and Nanette in Gnomeo & Juliet is performed by actors from
Campania. This confirms the dubbing practitioners’ comments that they
prefer to provide a believable and authentic-sounding performance when
they resort to Italian with a regional accent or dialect, (Izzo, p.c. 4 March
2019; Morville, p.c. 1 March 2019, quoted in Chapter 3).
Although departures from the above norms can be found, they can be
considered exceptions. Dubbing strategies that diverge from the above
patterns are linked to specific factors related to individual films and their
context of production/distribution. Although the dubbing professionals
have explained that each film is unique and decisions must be taken on
a case-by-case basis, the analysis carried out here shows that dubbing
strategies do indeed appear to follow accepted norms.
If we consider the existing literature on dubbing strategies in non-
animated films, the suggestions put forward in Chapter 3 and apply the
theoretical framework of Zabalbeascoa and Corrius (2014) to systematise
how dubbing renders linguistic differentiation or heterogeneity, then we
can schematise the relevant patterns in the animated films in our corpus
broadly as follows:
– When L3 is a native variety of English, linguistic differentiation in

the source text disappears from the target text and native varieties of
English are homogenised into a neutral standard Italian. This means
that national, geographical or social varieties of English are neutralised
and standard Italian with no accent is spoken by the characters in the
dubbed version (L1 + L3 ST = L2 TT). This is the prevailing norm
in Italian dubbing.
– When L3 is a non-native variety of English or a language other than
English (either a foreign natural language or a made-up language),
linguistic heterogeneity is maintained, conveyed and often emphasised
(L1 + L3 ST = L2 + L3 TT).
382 V. Minutella
– When L3 is Italian or Italian American and coincides with L2 of the

target text, linguistic differentiation is conveyed through adaptation,
in a slightly modified way. In this case an Italian dialect or regiolect
(Italian with a regional accent) is used in the dubbed version (L1 + L3
ST = L2 + L3 TT). In rare cases L3 (Italian) is turned into a different
language (e.g., Spanish).
There is an alternative schematisation to that of Zabalbeascoa and

Corrius (2014) based on the findings of our analysis which borrows
from and merges the terminology used by Parini (2009) and De Bonis
(2014, 2015a, b) in addition to the homogenising and standardising
convention of Chiaro (2008), as suggested in Chapter 3. The macro-
strategies adopted in dubbing in our corpus to deal with multilingualism
and linguistic variation are neutralisation/homogenisation, preservation,
quantitative reduction, adaptation/domestication/localisation and trans-
formation, as well as hypercharacterisation. A more nuanced schema than
the three-part framework presented above follows (a few exceptions to
these tendencies can be identified and are due to a variety of factors):
– Native varieties neutralisation. When the linguistic identity of a

character in the original film is conveyed through native varieties
of English, the dubbed version applies a neutralisation strategy. The
current study has illustrated some exceptions to this norm such as well-
known people, literary/historical figures, star talents with an accent
and an English identity relevant to the plot/caricature.
– Language other than English preservation. When a character speaks
a language other than English, the strategy of preservation of the
language is always adopted in dubbing by following and replicating
the original method of presentation that may or may not have subtitles
or a diegetic interpreter.
– Non-native varieties of English hypercharacterisation. When the
linguistic identity of a character is conveyed through non-native vari-
eties of English or foreign-accented English, the most frequent strategy
adopted is that of hypercharacterisation (especially if the function of
the accent is comic and is combined with visual stereotypes). This
occurs in several films and for several characters where the foreign
9 Conclusion 383
accent and foreign words are amplified in the dubbed version and
additional foreign words are often inserted in the dubbed dialogue.
Although this is especially the case with Spanish-speaking characters,
it is also often the case with Russian, German and Indian characters.
– Non-native varieties of English preservation. In many cases the
strategy of preservation is used in which the foreignness of the char-
acter is kept, the same number of foreign words is used and the same
accent is maintained.
– Non-native varieties of English quantitative reduc-
tion/neutralisation. In some cases the strategies of quantitative
reduction or neutralisation may occur, especially when the foreign-
accented English has the function of establishing the setting. This
happens in the dubbed versions of Coco in which Spanish words are
preserved but there is quantitative reduction/neutralisation of the
Spanish accent to avoid caricatures and The Book of Life in which
the accent is neutralised and some Spanish words are used. However,
it might be argued that in the original English films the presence of
Spanish-accented English was not meant to provide a caricature of
Mexicans but rather an audio-postcarding effect (The Book of Life)
and postcarding and realism (Coco). Ratatouille represents a case of its
own since the broad, clichéd French-accented English spoken by some
characters in the original version was meant not only to establish the
setting but also to convey humour. In the dubbed version the quan-
titative reduction of such foreignness and the neutralisation of the
accent for Colette and other characters (though still keeping French
words and expressions) represents the way in which the dubbing team
recreated a different, less comic linguistic characterisation for the
French characters.
The present study has demonstrated that the homogenising norm in

which variation is levelled out and standard Italian is used for all vari-
eties thus applies only to what we have called native varieties of English.
Preservation and hypercharacterisation are the main strategies used for
non-native varieties of English. The strategies of quantitative reduc-
tion and neutralisation are used for non-native varieties/foreign-accented
English only in a few cases such as when the foreign accent has the func-
tion of signalling the setting, thereby avoiding a parodic representation
(Ratatouille and Coco).
384 V. Minutella
There are a number of gains and losses in translation when it comes

to dubbing the Italian version. Dubbing has been criticised for levelling
out variation and not being able to convey and reproduce the nuances
of various English varieties (especially distinctions between native vari-
eties and internal social and regional variation within British English and
American English). In such cases there is definitely a loss of regional
and social variation. However, were all the varieties conveyed in a
single film by Italian ones, we would hear several regional accents each
carrying specific local connotations and cultural stereotypes distant from
the American or British ones. Additional new connotations would be
imposed on the film characters and their identity would be changed.
However, the levelling out of variation is also a gain when it comes to
stigmatised, non-standard varieties of American English such as Southern
American English and African American Vernacular English since the
negative connotations attached to such varieties are neutralised in the
dubbed version. Although there is a certain synergy between verbal and
visual elements when it comes to establishing character identities, the
neutralisation of connotations attached to these non-standard varieties
does not appear to cause major problems for the visual–verbal interac-
tion. The loss of variation in the case of Ratatouille can also be seen as
a gain since the Italian version manages to eliminate the negative and
caricatural stereotypes attributed to the French as well as the negative
portrayal of the female protagonist.
Another element that emerges from the present study is that the
exploitation and re-use of Italian national stereotypes in Italian dubbing
is still a common practice. They are resorted to as a comic means and
often to accommodate a large number of non-professional, star talent
dubbers who are called on to dub minor roles in animated films by
the marketing departments of the production company or distributor.
Since the Italian pronunciation of star talent dubbers is not neutral and
difficult to change, they are often asked to speak Italian using their own
accent and sometimes to emphasise it in order to add comicality to the
character they are dubbing.
One last remark should be made about the dubbing process and its
agents. The author’s interactions with the dubbing professionals have
highlighted the important role played by the client in the choices made
9 Conclusion 385
regarding languages and accents. During these interactions it was noted

that the dubbed version we watch is the result of several phases, that
the interpretation and translation of the source text is controlled and
guided by the client, and that constraints such as voice casting, economic
factors (budget), marketing strategies and the specific requirements of
the client affect the final dubbed product. All these elements contribute
to the creation of the Italian dubbed version of animated films, and
the dubbing professionals argue that each film is unique. Nevertheless,
the fact remains that norms in translational practice have been found
to exist in our study of animated films regarding the way in which
multilingualism and language varieties are recreated in dubbing.
This book has provided a comprehensive account of how animated
films produced by big US majors are dubbed in Italy. It has described
the post-production process of dubbing, the agents and texts involved
and the strategies adopted to deal with language variation and multi-
lingualism. It has also highlighted the presence of dubbing norms in
translation behaviour. Studies on the perception and reception of the
linguistic representation of characters in animated films in the original
and dubbed versions and on the use of standard Italian, regional Italian
and dialects as well as foreign-accented Italian in dubbing enable us to
provide a fuller picture of the language identities, linguistic variation and
translation involved in dubbing.
Future projects may well find it worthwhile to investigate the impact
such strategies have on how children perceive specific nationalities and
accents through the original and dubbed versions. Since the accents of
native speakers of English are erased in dubbing, an Italian audience
will not be exposed to such richness of accents and varieties as those
presented in the original English such as Australian, Scottish, Cockney,
General American, Southern American and African American varieties.
They would be exposed to less varied and rich lingua-cultural identities.
On the other hand, since the foreign accents of non-native characters
in dubbed versions are conveyed and often hypercharacterised and visual
stereotypes often interact with verbal ones in order to provide caricatures,
the Italian audience will be exposed to similarly negative stereotypes
of the Spanish and the French, but especially the Russians, Germans
and Indians. In dubbed films, where many characters speak standard
386 V. Minutella
Italian and there is less diversity and variety compared with the original
films, characters who are ‘foreign’ or ‘other’ are often hypercharacterised
stereotypes. It might be argued, however, that dubbing practitioners are
sensitive to the parodic function of a French accent or a Spanish accent
and try to reduce it in Italian dubbing, especially when the story is set in
a French-speaking or a Spanish-speaking country.
When it comes to the use of broad regional Italian accents and dialects,
getting criminal or negative characters to adopt Sicilian, Neapolitan and
southern varieties implies that the audience is exposed to such stereo-
types. The negative stereotypes and discrimination found in the original
versions where criminals are portrayed as Italian American or hailing
from New York is therefore transposed to an Italian cultural context.
Although the main function of animated films is to entertain the audi-
ence and make them laugh, poking fun at specific nationalities or regions
is problematic, especially when such products have children as their main
audience. How such animated films and their characters are received is
thus worth exploring (on reception studies in audiovisual translation see
in particular Di Giovanni and Gambier 2018).
References
ledge.
tion and Preservation of Lingua-cultural Identities: A Critical Review of the
and Elisa Ghia, 243–266. Bern: Peter Lang.
9 Conclusion 387
De Bonis, Giuseppe. 2015b. Tradurre il multilinguismo al cinema: Lingue,

identità culturali e loro rappresentazione sullo schermo. Forlì: Università di
Bologna, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. Online at http://amsdottorato.unibo.
it/7201/1/debonis_giuseppe_tesi.pdf. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
Di Giovanni, Elena, and Yves Gambier (eds.). 2018. Reception Studies and
Audiovisual Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Accents in Disney’s Zootopia and Its Italian Dubbed Version. In InTRAlinea
Special Issue: The Translation of Dialects in Multimedia IV , ed. Klaus Geyer
and Margherita Dore. Online at http://www.intralinea.org/specials/article/
2465. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
of Texas Press.
Texts. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Rome: Aracne.
tion. In Reassessing Dubbing: Historical Approaches and Current Trends, ed.
Publishing Company.
iano ‘l’accento ebraico’. In Traduzione multimediale: quale traduzione per
Sundance Kid in Spain. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 22: 255–270.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676x.2012.695380.
Websites
388 V. Minutella
Filmography
Atlantis. 2001. Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, Walt Disney Feature Animation,
Brave/Ribelle. 2012. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell, Walt
Studios.
tion Studios.
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. 2012. Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath,
Mr. Peabody and Sherman. 2014. Rob Minkoff, Bullwinkle Studios, Classic
tion Studios.
The Book of Life. 2014. Jorge R. Gutiérrez, 20th Century Fox Animation, 20th
Century Fox, Reel FX Creative Studios, Chatrone, Mexopolis.
The Wild. 2006. Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams, C.O.R.E. Feature Animation,
Zootopia. 2016. Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush, Walt Disney Pictures,
Walt Disney Animation Studios.
The Simpsons. 1989–Ongoing. James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Sam Simon,

Appendix 1: List of Films Analysed
(in Alphabetical Order)
This appendix contains information about the films analysed in this

book.1 The title of the film is followed by the year of production, the
name of the director(s) and the name of the production company. The
following column contains the budget and cumulative worldwide gross.
The last column contains the names of the Italian dialogue writer and
dubbing director. When the dialogue writer is also the dubbing director,
only one name is provided.
1 Informationabout the original versions of films is taken from the Internet Movie Database
(www.imdb.com) and information about the Italian dubbed versions is taken from Antonio
Genna’s website (https://www.antoniogenna.net/).
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2021 389

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8
390 Appendix 1: List of Films Analysed (in Alphabetical …
Italian
Budget and dialogue
cumulative writer and
Production worldwide dubbing
Film title Year Director company grossa director
Atlantis: The Lost 2001 Gary Disney Budget Carlo Valli
Empire/Atlantis: Trousdale, $120,000,000
L’impero perduto Kirk (estimated)
Wise Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$186,053,725
Brave/Ribelle-The 2012 Mark Disney Pixar Budget Carlo Valli
Brave Andrews, $185,000,000
Brenda (estimated)
Chapman Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$538,983,207
Cars 2006 John Disney Pixar Budget Carlo Valli
Lasseter $120,000,000
(estimated)
Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$461,983,149
Cars 2 2011 John Disney Pixar Budget Carlo Valli
Lasseter, $200,000,000
Bradford (estimated)
Lewis Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$559,852,396
Coco 2017 Lee Disney Pixar Budget Massimiliano
Unkrich, $175,000,000 Manfredi
Adrian (estimated)
Molina Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$807,082,196
Despicable Me 2013 Pierre Illumination Budget Fiamma Izzo
2/Cattivissimo me 2 Coffin, Entertainment, $76,000,000
Chris Universal (estimated)
Renaud Pictures Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$970,766,005
(continued)
Appendix 1: List of Films Analysed (in Alphabetical … 391
(continued)
Italian
Budget and dialogue
Ferdinand 2017 Carlos 20th Budget Marco
Saldanha Century $111,000,000 Guadagno
Fox, Blue (estimated)
Sky Cumulative
Studios worldwide
gross
$296,069,199
Finding Dory/Alla 2016 Andrew Disney Pixar Budget Carlo Valli
ricerca di Dory Stanton, $200,000,000
Angus (estimated)
MacLane Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$1,028,570,889
Finding Nemo/Alla 2003 Andrew Disney Pixar Budget Carlo Valli
ricerca di Nemo Stanton, $94,000,000
Lee (estimated)
Unkrich Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$940,343,261
Gnomeo & 2011 Kelly Rocket Budget Cinzia De
Juliet/Gnomeo&Giulietta Asbury Pictures, $36,000,000 Carolis,
Touchstone (estimated) Oreste
Pictures Cumulative Baldini
worldwide
gross
$193,967,670
Hotel Transylvania 2012 Genndy Sony Budget Cecilia
Tartakovsky Pictures $85,000,000 Gonnelli,
(estimated) Alessandro
Cumulative Rossi
worldwide
gross
$358,375,603
Hotel Transylvania 2 2015 Genndy Sony Budget Cecilia
Tartakovsky Pictures $80,000,000 Gonnelli,
(estimated) Alessandro
Cumulative Rossi
worldwide
gross
$474,800,000
(continued)
(continued)
Italian
Budget and dialogue
How to Train Your 2010 Dean DreamWorks Budget Marco Mete
Dragon/Dragon DeBlois, $165,000,000
trainer Chris (estimated)
Sanders Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$494,878,759
Ice Age 2: The 2006 Carlos 20th Budget Marco
Meltdown/L’era Saldanha Century $80,000,000 Bardella,
glaciale 2: il disgelo Fox, Blue (estimated) Marco
Sky Cumulative Guadagno
Studios worldwide
gross
$667,036,530
Ice Age 3: Dawn of 2009 Carlos 20th Budget Marco
the Dinosaurs/L’era Saldanha, Century $90,000,000 Bardella,
glaciale 3: l’alba dei Mike Fox, Blue (estimated) Marco
dinosauri Thurmeier Sky Cumulative Guadagno
Studios worldwide
gross
$886,686,817
Lilo and Stitch 2002 Dean Disney Budget Carla
DeBlois, $80,000,000 Vangelista,
Chris (estimated) Leslie La
Sanders Cumulative Penna
worldwide
gross
$273,144,151
Madagascar 2005 Eric DreamWorks Budget Carlo Valli,
Darnell, $75,000,000 Massimiliano
Tom (estimated) Alto
McGrath Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$542,063,846
Madagascar 2: Escape 2008 Eric DreamWorks Budget Carlo Valli,
to Darnell, $150,000,000 Massimiliano
Africa/Madagascar 2 Tom (estimated) Alto
McGrath Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$603,900,354
(continued)
(continued)
Italian
Budget and dialogue
Madagascar 3: 2012 Eric DreamWorks Budget Carlo Valli,
Europe’s Most Darnell, $145,000,000 Massimiliano
Wanted/Madagascar Tom (estimated) Alto
3: ricercati in McGrath, Cumulative
Europa Conrad worldwide
Vernon gross
$746,921,274
Mr. Peabody and 2014 Rob DreamWorks Budget Marco
Sherman Minkoff $145,000,000 Guadagno
(estimated)
Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$275,698,039
Planes 2013 Klay Hall Prana Budget Carlo Valli
Studios, $50,000,000
Disneytoon (estimated)
Studios Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$239,258,712
Puss in Boots/Il gatto 2011 Chris DreamWorks Budget Marco Mete
con gli stivali Miller $130,000,000
(estimated)
Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$554,987,477
Rango 2011 Gore Paramount Budget Fiamma Izzo
Verbinski Pictures $135,000,000
(estimated)
Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$245,724,603
Ratatouille 2007 Brad Disney Pixar Budget Carlo Valli,
Bird, $150,000,000 Massimiliano
Jan (estimated) Alto
Pinkava Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$623,722,818
(continued)
(continued)
Italian
Budget and dialogue
Rio 2011 Carlos 20th Budget Marco
Sky Cumulative
Studios worldwide
gross
$483,866,518
Rio 2 2014 Carlos 20th Budget Marco
Sky Cumulative
Studios worldwide
gross
$498,781,117
Rise of the 2012 Peter DreamWorks Budget Marco Mete
Guardians/Le cinque Ramsey $145,000,000
leggende (estimated)
Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$306,941,670
Shark Tale 2004 Bibo DreamWorks Budget Ruggero
Bergeron, $75,000,000 Busetti,
Vicky (estimated) Marco Mete
Jenson, Cumulative
Rob worldwide
Letterman gross
$363,530,196
Shrek 2001 Andrew DreamWorks Budget Francesco
Adamson, $60,000,000 Vairano
Vicky (estimated)
Jenson Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$484,409,218
Shrek 2 2004 Andrew DreamWorks Budget Francesco
Adamson, $150,000,000 Vairano
Kelly (estimated)
Asbury Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$923,075,336
(continued)
(continued)
Italian
Budget and dialogue
Shrek the Third/Shrek 2007 Chris DreamWorks Budget Francesco
terzo Miller, $160,000,000 Vairano
Raman (estimated)
Hui Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$804,438,141
Sing 2016 Garth Illumination Budget Marco Mete
Jennings, Entertainment $75,000,000
Christophe (estimated)
Lourdelet Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$634,151,679
The Book of Life/Il 2014 Jorge R. 20th Budget Marco
libro della vita Gutiérrez Century $50,000,000 Guadagno
Fox (estimated)
Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$99,783,556
The Wild/Uno zoo in 2006 Steve Disney Budget Simona Izzo,
fuga ’Spaz’ $180,000,000 Fiamma Izzo
Williams (estimated)
Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$102,338,515
Toy Story 3 2010 Lee Disney Pixar Budget Carlo Valli
Unkrich $200,000,000
(estimated)
Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$1,066,969,703
Turbo 2013 David DreamWorks Budget Marco
Soren $135,000,000 Guadagno
(estimated)
Cumulative
worldwide
gross
$282,570,682
(continued)
(continued)
Italian
Budget and dialogue
Zootopia/Zootropolis 2016 Byron Disney Budget Massimiliano
Howard, $150,000,000 Manfredi
Rich (estimated)
Moore, Cumulative
Jared worldwide
Bush gross
$1,023,784,195
a The budget estimates and the cumulative worldwide gross of each film
throughout this appendix are taken from the Internet Movie Database (www.
imdb.com)
Appendix 2: List of Italian Dubbing Experts
Consulted About Their Professional
Practice (2015–2020)
Several Italian dubbing professionals were consulted about their profes-

sional practice and provided information about the dubbing process of
animated films. Such interactions took place between 2015 and 2020
and consisted of personal communications (face to face, email, tele-
phone) and lectures. The dubbing professionals are listed below in
alphabetical order by surname followed by the role or roles they play
and the type of interaction I had with them.
1. Massimiliano Alto: dubbing director, dubbing actor, singer (face to

face, telephone)
2. Oreste Baldini: dubbing actor, dubbing director (telephone)
3. Stefano Brusa: dubbing actor, dialogue writer, dubbing director
(email, telephone)
4. Elena Di Carlo: translator and dialogue writer (email, face to face,
lectures)
5. Chiara Gioncardi: dubbing actress (telephone)
6. Marco Guadagno: dubbing director, dubbing actor, dialogue writer
(email, face to face, telephone)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8
398 Appendix 2: List of Italian Dubbing Experts …
7. Fiamma Izzo: dubbing director, dialogue writer, singer (email, face

to face, telephone)
8. Leslie La Penna: dubbing director, dubbing actor, dialogue writer
(email, face to face)
9. Massimiliano Manfredi: dubbing director, dubbing actor, dialogue
writer (email, face to face, lectures, observation of dubbing sessions)
10. Marco Mete: dubbing director, dubbing actor, dialogue writer
(email, telephone)
11. Roberto Morville: creative director, translator and dialogue writer
(email, face to face, lectures, telephone)
12. Maria Grazia Napolitano: dubbing assistant (email, face to face,
lectures, observation of dubbing sessions)
13. Serena Paccagnella: translator and dialogue writer, dubbing assistant
(email, face to face)
14. Alessandro Rossi: dubbing director, dubbing actor, dialogue writer
(email, telephone)
15. Francesco Vairano: dubbing director, dubbing actor, dialogue writer
(face to face, telephone)
16. Carlo Valli: dialogue writer, dubbing director, dubbing actor (email,
observation of dubbing sessions).
Index
A 246, 247, 250, 258, 259, 261,

Accent 1, 3, 5–7, 14, 15, 25, 41, 264, 270, 283, 288, 297, 300,
43, 52, 55, 58–60, 62, 66, 67, 305, 311, 321, 324, 327, 332,
75, 77, 79–88, 90–113, 123, 335, 338, 342, 345, 353, 360,
127, 128, 130, 132–134, 136, 362, 364, 366, 367, 381, 397
138, 139, 141–143, 145–147, Adaptation 4, 20, 24–30, 32, 34,
149–157, 159–161, 163, 172, 36–39, 44, 48, 49, 51–54, 78,
173, 176, 180, 182, 184, 81, 261, 267, 296, 299, 329,
186–191, 193, 196, 198–201, 375, 382
217–226, 228, 230–233, African American Vernacular English
235–245, 247–250, 252, 259, (AAVE) 127, 129–133,
261–264 135–138, 140, 155, 156, 170,
Actor 3, 8, 9, 38, 40–44, 49, 54, 172, 174, 181, 183–186, 217,
56–62, 64, 92, 96–98, 101– 250, 254, 255, 257–259, 271,
104, 108, 127, 130, 132–134, 377, 384
138, 145–147, 149–151, 153, American English (AmE) 14, 93,
157, 159, 165, 169, 173, 175, 127, 130, 132, 133, 135,
178, 179, 184, 187, 189, 191, 136, 139, 142, 143, 151, 152,
194, 196, 199, 220, 224, 226, 157, 162, 168, 169, 172, 173,
233, 235, 237, 239–241, 243, 180–182, 185–188, 217–219,

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56638-8
400 Index
224, 226, 231, 235, 247, 249, C

250, 252–255, 257, 258, 261, Celebrities 43, 58, 60–64, 107, 109,
268, 290, 384 155, 186, 191, 266, 269, 270,
Animated films 1–4, 7–9, 12–15, 364
19–22, 24–26, 30–32, 38, 42, Characterisation 1, 3, 6, 8, 14, 25,
43, 45, 47, 50, 53, 55–62, 30, 36, 45, 52, 55, 66, 86,
65–67, 75, 77, 81–86, 88, 92, 90, 91, 93, 95–97, 99, 100,
95, 96, 98, 99, 101, 103, 105, 102, 104–106, 108, 109, 111,
107–110, 124, 126, 128, 165, 124, 126–128, 132, 136, 139,
180–182, 186–189, 192, 195, 142, 143, 146, 148, 150, 153,
197, 199, 202, 203, 217–220, 157, 159, 162, 163, 165, 167,
239, 240, 242, 254, 255, 262, 169, 172, 173, 177, 180, 181,
268, 269, 280, 284, 293, 300, 185, 186, 188, 189, 191–193,
303–305, 311, 313, 317, 325, 195–199, 203, 217, 221–224,
332, 335, 340, 342, 351–353, 226, 231–233, 235, 238–242,
356, 367, 369–371, 375–378, 247, 250, 253, 254, 257–259,
380, 381, 384–386, 397 261, 269, 305, 306, 310–313,
As recorded 44, 46 316–318, 324, 325, 327, 329,
Australian English (AusE) 14, 127, 330, 332, 336–338, 342–345,
133, 135, 160, 161, 182, 189, 354, 357, 358, 361, 369, 370,
217, 219, 238, 247–249, 268, 376, 377, 379, 380, 383
269 Client 13, 24–26, 31, 32, 39, 44,
Authenticity 95, 99, 101, 102, 108, 45, 49, 51–56, 58, 67, 85, 87,
163, 182, 191, 192, 196, 197, 88, 91, 96, 104, 112, 113,
233, 266, 270, 306, 307, 324, 200, 308, 309, 311, 316, 345,
342, 367, 371 384, 385
Cockney 81, 127, 134, 153, 154,
157, 158, 166, 173, 176, 188,
189, 217, 218, 236–240, 268,
B 367, 385
British English (BrE) 5, 14, 92, Collaborative dubbing 64
93, 127, 130–135, 139, 141, Comedian 44, 61–63, 102, 107,
143–145, 147, 148, 153, 154, 110, 111, 139, 161, 162, 186,
157, 158, 160, 161, 163–166, 191, 199, 261, 264, 294, 311,
173, 174, 176, 178, 180–182, 324, 329, 333, 342, 343, 357,
187, 188, 217, 219, 220, 223, 361, 362
225, 226, 230–232, 236, 238, Comedy 2, 3, 7, 80, 82, 83, 95, 96,
247, 248, 254, 263–265, 268, 100–102, 104, 105, 108, 162,
269, 328, 329, 367, 384 196, 197, 202, 203, 245, 246,
Index 401
263, 271, 300, 325, 335, 341, Diction 5, 41, 58, 60, 66, 89, 90,
345, 346, 352, 354, 356, 366, 97, 106, 109–111, 223, 252,
369, 371, 378, 380 253, 267
Consistency sheet 51 Distributor 21–28, 30, 33, 39, 45,
Constraints 9, 21, 29, 58, 385 56, 58, 64, 67, 85, 86, 96,
Contrived 81, 97, 101, 102, 106, 136, 253, 268, 308, 375
111, 112, 130, 138, 160, 161, Diversity 378, 379, 386
165, 177, 191, 198, 201, 270, Domestication 81, 261, 367
294, 306, 316, 320, 324, 327, Dubbed version 2, 8, 10, 14, 20,
337–342, 345, 351, 354, 367 22, 24, 26–29, 37, 38, 42, 49,
Creative director 8, 13, 26, 31, 38, 50, 52–58, 60–63, 65, 67, 76,
39, 44, 46, 56, 57, 60, 63, 67, 78, 79, 81–83, 85–88, 92, 93,
85, 88, 97–99, 104, 107, 108, 95–102, 105–107, 109, 111,
223, 235, 294, 300, 326, 336, 128, 200, 218, 221–224, 226,
358, 368, 398 227, 231–235, 237–247, 249,
Creative letter 46, 54–56, 67, 87, 251–254, 257–264, 266–268,
326, 336, 375 270, 279–287, 289–292,
294–299, 303, 305–312,
314–318, 320, 321, 323–333,
335–340, 342–345, 351, 354,
D 355, 357–371, 376–379, 382,
Dialect 3, 5–7, 14, 25, 36, 41, 64, 383, 385, 389
67, 75–82, 84, 85, 88, 91, 93, Dubbese 89, 249, 258
94, 99–113, 127, 128, 130, Dubbing 4, 6–10, 13, 14, 19–22,
153, 159, 182, 188, 217, 219, 24–28, 31–33, 37–39, 43, 45,
232, 239, 241–243, 252, 253, 50, 52, 53, 55, 59, 63–67, 75,
259–261, 266, 268, 270, 271, 78, 80, 81, 83, 84, 86–91,
280, 293–300, 303, 317, 318, 97, 99, 102–104, 106, 108,
336, 353, 356, 358, 361–363, 109, 111–113, 203, 217–219,
367–371, 377, 379–382, 385, 222, 223, 227, 235, 240–242,
386 249, 253–255, 259, 261–263,
Dialogue List 30, 37, 47–49, 87, 268–271, 279, 280, 283, 288,
235 293, 294, 300, 304, 307,
Dialogue writer 4, 8–10, 13, 22–26, 309, 310, 313, 316, 318,
28–39, 44–47, 49, 52, 53, 55, 320, 323–326, 329, 332, 336,
59, 86–88, 100, 103, 106, 341–343, 345, 351, 355–358,
107, 246, 249, 253, 290, 307, 360, 363, 368, 369, 371, 375,
311, 314, 322, 323, 353, 389, 377–382, 384–386, 398
397, 398
402 Index
Dubbing actor 8, 9, 13, 22, 23, 31, Dubbing script 3, 4, 9, 37, 43, 50,
32, 39–45, 55–60, 63, 66, 89, 51, 53, 231, 298
90, 93, 95, 97, 99, 100, 106, Dubbing stage 24, 26, 53
112, 113, 231, 235, 237, 239, Dubbing studio 4, 9, 10, 22, 24, 26,
242, 246, 259, 269, 270, 283, 31, 37–39, 43–46, 63, 239,
303, 308, 310, 311, 314, 317, 269, 298, 307
323, 324, 329, 335, 337, 338, Dubbing supervisor 21, 23, 25–32,
342, 345, 361–364, 366–368, 36, 38, 52, 56, 60, 67, 85, 88,
370, 371, 380, 397, 398 104, 268, 311
Dubbing agent 22
Dubbing assistant 9, 13, 22, 24, 31,
32, 39, 41, 42, 45, 54, 55, E
103, 298, 398 Eastern European accent 102, 161,
Dubbing booth 9, 30, 32, 38, 39, 166, 191, 201, 335
42, 44, 45, 59, 90 Ethnicity 95, 147, 292, 310, 343,
Dubbing director 8–10, 12, 13, 22, 345
24–30, 32, 34, 36, 38–41, Ethnolect 77, 82, 83, 136, 138,
43–45, 52, 53, 55, 56, 142, 172, 204, 304, 305, 308,
59–61, 63–65, 86–88, 90, 96, 310–312, 319, 324, 326, 335,
99–101, 104, 105, 107, 110, 337, 340, 345, 346, 351, 352,
111, 113, 200, 221, 231, 238, 355, 357–362, 367, 370, 378
253, 258, 261, 288, 307, 311,
312, 314, 316, 326, 335, 337,
340, 354, 355, 360, 368, 389, F
397, 398 Fake accent 98, 100, 102
Dubbing process 3, 7–9, 13, 19, Foreign accent 5, 77, 79, 82–87, 92,
21–27, 30–34, 43, 52, 55, 58, 95–100, 102, 108, 111–113,
60, 66, 67, 85, 99, 319, 375, 123, 165, 167, 169, 190, 191,
379, 384, 397 200, 201, 266, 268, 270, 284,
Dubbing professional 8, 9, 13–15, 290, 303, 304, 313, 314, 316,
20–26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 43, 317, 323, 326–328, 335, 336,
45, 49, 50, 53–55, 58, 84–86, 342–346, 378, 379, 383, 385
89–92, 94, 95, 103–106, 108, Foreign-accented English 5, 14, 15,
109, 112, 113, 185, 218, 77, 82–84, 112, 124, 127,
226, 242, 254, 255, 262, 263, 129, 132, 134, 138, 161,
268–270, 320, 356, 360, 361, 164–167, 177, 183, 190, 191,
370, 371, 376, 379, 381, 384, 203, 303, 304, 316, 324, 342,
385, 397 345, 346, 351, 378, 379, 382,
383
Index 403
Foreign-accented Italian 83, 304, German-accented English 130, 131,

325, 342, 346, 378, 385 141, 143, 144, 147, 164, 168,
Foreign language 5–7, 15, 52, 77, 175, 176, 179, 199, 332
79, 84, 88, 91, 95, 99, 103, German-accented Italian 145, 296,
107, 112, 113, 149, 164, 165, 332, 335
175, 193, 202, 203, 279, 283,
284, 287, 292–297, 310, 316,
345, 377–379 H
French 21, 25, 49, 91, 92, 96, 98, Head of dubbing 23–25, 30, 38, 39,
101, 106, 127–129, 131, 134, 56, 67
138, 143–147, 161, 162, 164, Heterolingualism 6, 77
166–168, 192, 193, 202, 218, Homogenisation 218, 378, 382
226, 279–283, 285, 287, 288, Humour 2, 37, 48, 96, 104, 105,
291–294, 300, 319–332, 339, 123, 124, 137, 139, 142,
379, 383, 385, 386 153, 159–161, 163, 164, 167,
French-accented English 79, 129– 182, 188, 189, 191, 192,
131, 135, 138, 140, 143, 145, 194, 196–199, 201, 202, 225,
147, 162–164, 168, 192, 193, 234, 240, 241, 246–248, 259,
287, 292, 319, 323, 327, 328, 264, 266–268, 270, 304–306,
330, 332, 379, 383 310, 312–314, 318, 324, 325,
French-accented Italian 79, 321, 332, 339, 340, 342, 361, 362,
323, 325, 326 365–367, 369–371, 378, 383
Frenchness 187, 320, 323–325 Hypercharacterisation 79, 96, 260,
261, 304, 305, 307, 308,
310, 311, 313, 320, 324, 325,
G 334–336, 338, 341, 345, 346,
General American (GenAm) 14, 92, 354, 355, 358, 359, 362, 366,
127–129, 131, 133, 135–138, 378, 379, 382, 383
140, 141, 144, 145, 147–149,
151, 152, 154–158, 161–164,
166–170, 172–174, 176, 179, I
181, 183, 185, 188, 195, 217, Identity 1, 3, 7, 15, 55, 78, 95,
226, 230, 248, 255, 264, 268, 96, 101, 107, 109, 129, 130,
290, 326, 354, 368, 385 145, 153, 159, 164, 175, 177,
German 61, 64, 82, 91, 92, 95, 190, 194, 195, 199, 201–203,
100, 101, 111, 127, 130, 219, 236, 238, 241, 247, 250,
131, 139, 141, 143–145, 164, 254, 261, 264, 266, 269, 270,
168, 174–176, 179, 198, 327, 284, 285, 290, 291, 293, 294,
332–335, 378, 383, 385 296, 299, 300, 304, 305, 310,
404 Index
311, 313, 315, 317, 318, 320, J

323–325, 330, 332, 335, 338, Japanese 153, 154, 175, 176, 202,
342–344, 351, 353–355, 361, 203, 279, 288, 289
363, 367, 376, 377, 379, 382,
384, 385
Indian English 138, 139, 141, 340,
K
341, 346
Key names and phrases (KNP) file
Interpreting 34, 78, 264, 280, 298
46, 49–51, 53, 67, 87, 311
Interviews 58, 96, 193, 220, 242,
342, 375
Invented language 76–79, 167, 202,
203, 279, 281 L
Italian 2, 4–6, 9, 10, 14, 15, 22–24, L1 76, 77, 177, 295, 381
27, 29–32, 34, 36–39, 41, 44, L2 76, 107, 286, 292, 294, 295,
46, 49, 52, 53, 56, 59–63, 66, 297, 351, 377, 381, 382
67, 76, 78, 80–82, 85, 86, 89, L3 76, 77, 107, 177, 281, 285, 286,
92–94, 97, 99–102, 104–109, 288, 292–295, 297, 299, 313,
111, 112, 127, 129, 136, 316, 323, 351, 370, 377, 379,
142, 172, 174, 197, 200, 202, 382
217, 219, 221, 226, 227, 232, Language of dubbing 5, 6, 13, 15,
233, 238, 242, 245, 247, 253, 66, 67, 75, 80, 84, 89, 90, 97,
255, 258, 259, 261–264, 266, 112, 294, 375
268–270, 279, 280, 282, 284, Latino 129, 143, 148, 169, 175,
286, 287, 289, 290, 292–300, 178, 194–197, 304, 307, 310,
305, 307, 308, 314, 316, 318, 313, 314
320, 323, 325, 326, 329, 332, Lectern 39, 42
334, 335, 337–339, 341–343, Lexis 6, 81, 82, 93, 94, 130, 191,
345, 351–371, 376, 377, 379, 194, 222, 243–245, 265, 308,
381, 383, 384, 386, 389, 397 327, 361, 371
Italian-accented English 129, 138, Linguistic differentiation 103, 238,
140, 142, 144, 165, 166, 197, 281, 351, 356, 381, 382
198, 294, 297, 351, 354, 356, Linguistic identity 1, 4, 13, 77, 79,
363, 370, 379 111, 124, 146, 148, 185, 219,
Italianness 106, 143, 294, 295, 297, 226, 237, 240, 253–255, 269,
353, 355, 362, 364, 370, 371, 287, 292, 297, 303–305, 312,
377, 380 313, 319, 320, 324, 325, 331,
Italian regiolects 79, 86, 368, 370, 339, 341, 376, 378, 380, 382
371 Linguistic variation 2, 7, 8, 10, 13,
14, 76, 80, 82, 91, 112, 124,
Index 405
150, 153, 163, 173, 203, 223, N

248, 375–377, 382, 385 National varieties 4, 14, 77, 112,
Localisation 4, 20, 21, 23, 24, 28, 182, 377
30, 58, 67, 86, 104, 237, 260, Native variety of English 14, 77,
261, 267, 292, 293, 308, 311, 84, 92, 112, 124, 127, 133,
366, 367, 375 139, 141, 145, 147, 150, 155,
Loop 22, 31, 40, 41, 64 160, 172, 180–183, 188, 189,
204, 217, 219, 240, 245, 247,
262, 267, 268, 270, 376–378,
381–383
M
Natural language 77, 381
Majors 1, 20–23, 26, 27, 31, 38, 50,
Neutralisation 78–81, 83, 244, 293,
53, 55, 56, 61, 67, 86, 145,
300, 304, 342, 343, 345, 378,
180, 183, 290, 375, 384, 385
382–384
Marked 5, 6, 15, 41, 79–82, 91,
Non-native variety of English 4, 5,
93, 95, 104–107, 127, 128,
14, 77, 83, 84, 112, 127, 128,
134, 138, 139, 150, 157, 164,
130, 137–139, 141, 143, 157,
172, 181, 183, 186, 187, 201,
160, 162, 163, 165, 167, 173,
221, 223, 224, 236, 238, 241,
174, 181, 182, 190, 204, 303,
243, 247, 248, 252, 261, 269,
304, 311, 325, 337, 342, 344,
271, 279, 281, 284, 290, 304,
345, 376, 381–383
310–313, 316, 318, 321, 323,
Non-standard 5, 14, 36, 83, 93, 97,
324, 327, 330, 333–335, 337,
127, 130, 136, 138, 142, 152,
338, 341, 343, 356, 361–364,
157, 172, 174, 181, 184–186,
367, 369, 370, 379, 380
217, 219, 234–237, 250–255,
Marketing (department) 31, 58, 61,
257–259, 268, 306, 329, 333,
63, 66, 111, 343, 345, 369,
339, 346, 363, 377, 378, 384
384
Mexican 88, 143, 151, 155, 163–
166, 168, 169, 175, 177, 178,
194–197, 291, 304–306, 310,
O
311, 314, 315, 378, 379, 383
Mock accent 101, 270 Original version 41, 42, 54, 78,
Multilingualism 6, 7, 13, 14, 75–78, 79, 81, 83, 91, 95, 101, 102,
101, 112, 124, 202, 203, 279, 106–108, 237, 238, 241, 248,
280, 285, 287, 289, 375, 382, 256, 259, 261, 267, 280–283,
385 286–292, 294–300, 306–308,
311, 313–316, 320, 321, 323,
327–329, 333, 336–339, 342,
345, 354, 356, 358, 360–363,
406 Index
365–367, 370, 376, 377, 379, 259, 261, 262, 268, 271, 300,
383, 386, 389 343, 366–369, 371, 379, 380,
Otherness 87, 92, 93, 95, 101, 103, 385, 386
123, 136, 188–192, 200, 202, Register 35, 36, 94, 130, 132, 172,
203, 217, 281, 282, 288, 290, 173, 218, 222, 231, 234, 237,
295, 296, 298, 304, 305, 308, 249, 251, 254, 257–259, 269,
310, 312, 320, 325, 329, 342, 284, 377
343, 354 Revision 26, 46
Rewriting 20, 36–38, 153
Rough translation 22, 32, 33, 35, 64
P Russian 64, 96, 97, 127, 138, 140,
Performance 7, 40, 42, 53, 57, 59, 165, 166, 174, 177, 199, 200,
60, 93, 99–101, 110, 191, 202, 287, 335–340, 346, 378,
221, 222, 231, 235, 237, 245, 385
246, 252, 254, 269, 270, 288, Russian-accented English 133, 140,
306, 310, 311, 320, 324, 342, 177, 199, 337
361, 362, 367, 381 Russian-accented Italian 338
Preservation 78, 79, 84, 280, 284,
291, 300, 304, 305, 335, 336,
338, 342, 345, 346, 378, 382, S
383 Scottish English (ScE) 127, 154,
159, 179, 182, 189, 218,
240–243, 245–247, 268, 368
Q Setting 2, 7, 10, 91, 92, 104, 123,
Quantitative reduction 78, 79, 300, 127, 128, 137, 143, 145, 149,
304, 317, 345, 382, 383 153, 155, 164, 175, 177, 182,
188, 190, 192, 193, 196–198,
202, 203, 226, 241, 243, 249,
R 287, 289, 291, 305, 310, 315,
Received pronunciation (RP) 79, 317, 319, 323, 325, 332, 345,
127, 130, 131, 144, 154, 161, 346, 383
173, 187, 217, 220–226, 231, Sociolinguistics of performance 7
240, 268 Sound technician 22, 23, 32, 39–41,
Reduction 84 45
Regiolect 356–362, 364, 366, 367, Source text (ST) 3, 22, 29, 34, 45,
369–371, 382 51, 67, 76, 79, 204, 219, 292,
Regionalisation 367 295, 297, 309, 314, 381, 385
Regional Italian (RI) 5, 6, 67, 75, Southern American English 94, 127,
82, 85, 93, 105, 109, 111, 129, 142, 144, 152, 157, 158,
Index 407
172, 181, 183, 184, 217, 232, 192–198, 200, 201, 219, 226,
250, 253, 271, 377, 384 234, 239, 250, 255, 260,
Spanish 21, 58, 61, 64, 79, 88, 90, 261, 264, 265, 269, 304, 305,
91, 96, 99, 106, 127, 129, 310, 313, 320, 323, 325, 327,
130, 138, 141, 143, 147–149, 345, 354, 356, 360, 361, 364,
151, 152, 157, 164, 165, 169, 368–371, 376, 378, 380, 382,
170, 177–179, 191, 194–196, 384, 385
279, 285, 291, 294, 304–308, Stylisation 7
310–317, 319, 331, 354, 355, Subtitling/Subtitles 2, 7, 46, 78, 96,
378, 379, 383, 385 97, 101, 203, 218, 280–286,
Spanish-accented English 129–131, 288, 289, 295, 296, 377, 382
143, 145, 148, 151–158, Supervisor 25, 27–31, 39, 56, 86,
162–166, 169–171, 177–179, 96, 294, 308
193, 195–197, 304, 305, 307, Syntax 6, 81–83, 234, 251, 254,
310, 313, 317, 318, 379, 383 329, 333
Spanish-accented Italian 309, 311,
312, 314, 318, 354, 355, 379
Spectacular fragments 134, 143, T
145, 151, 155, 167, 195, 196, Target text (TT) 20, 45, 46, 219,
287, 291, 305, 317, 321 292, 295, 297, 337, 381, 382
Sporcatura 97, 253, 267 Test screening 88, 316
Standard Italian 5, 6, 41, 58–60, 62, Time code 64
75, 79–81, 83, 85, 89–93, 96, Transformation 261, 267, 286, 318,
104, 105, 109–111, 217–219, 319, 382
222, 223, 225, 226, 233, Translation strategies 14, 36, 77,
235, 237, 238, 240–246, 250, 112, 124, 204, 226, 245, 255,
252, 254, 266, 267, 269, 279, 303–305, 312, 354, 360,
271, 280, 292, 295, 298, 299, 367
304, 314–318, 326–331, 343, Translator 4, 7–9, 13, 22, 32–36,
344, 346, 353, 354, 362, 370, 47, 49, 52, 76, 78, 87, 311,
375–377, 380, 381, 385, 386 323, 353, 397, 398
Star talent 31, 58–64, 66, 75,
108–111, 261, 264–267, 270,
292, 293, 300, 306, 311, 324, U
342, 343, 369, 384 Undefined 101, 102, 111, 158, 165,
Stereotypes 1–3, 8, 81, 82, 93, 94, 166, 341, 342
102, 108, 109, 123, 124, Ungrammaticalities 47, 142, 143,
136, 142, 152, 153, 163, 171, 146, 153, 191, 199, 253,
172, 175, 182–185, 188–190, 266, 294, 295, 318, 329–333,
408 Index
335–337, 340, 346, 355, 103, 109–111, 132, 134, 148,

363–367, 378 169, 219, 221, 231, 233, 240,
Unmarked 80, 217, 269, 279, 290 242, 256, 261, 263, 283, 288,
Untranslated 88, 96, 177, 202, 203, 300, 305, 311, 342, 343, 366
280–282, 287–289, 291, 297, Voice actor 1, 3, 42, 56, 129, 131,
316 133, 135, 137, 140, 141,
144–152, 154, 156, 158, 159,
161–164, 166–168, 170, 171,
V 173–179, 191, 195, 242, 247,
Varieties 1, 3, 5–7, 13, 14, 24, 75, 286, 318, 343
77, 79–82, 91, 93, 94, 96, Voice casting 24, 25, 43, 54, 56, 57,
113, 123, 124, 127, 128, 130, 60, 65, 108, 183, 221, 345,
134, 135, 137, 140, 141, 144, 369, 375, 385
145, 149–153, 155, 157, 160, Voice quality 1, 43, 54, 56, 57, 62,
165, 169, 172, 173, 178–183, 93, 175, 220, 222, 223, 238,
185, 188, 194, 203, 217–219, 239, 252–254, 343
221, 223, 226, 236, 247, 250, Voice talent 22, 26, 39, 40, 42, 59,
252, 254, 258, 268, 269, 271, 64, 152, 178, 185, 241, 269,
328, 356, 364, 367, 375, 377, 323, 329, 380
378, 380, 384, 385 Voice test 21, 31, 55–57, 63, 100
Voice 7, 21, 32, 39, 42, 43, 55–58,
60, 61, 66, 77, 93, 94, 101,

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PALGRAVE STUDIES IN TRANSLATING AND INTERPRETING

SERIES EDITOR: MARGARET ROGERS

More information about this series at

Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2021

Cover credit: Getty Images/Glen Allison

The idea of this book developed out of my experience teaching a post-

variation and multilingualism in animated films from a wider perspec-

Turin, Italy Vincenza Minutella

I am extremely grateful to all the dubbing professionals who have

I am grateful to Hilary Siddons for her language revision and trans-

2 Dubbing Animated Films: A Complex Collaborative

The Italian Adaptation/Italian Dialogues

3 Translating Language Varieties and Multilingualism

Foreign-Accented English or Foreign

4 Linguistic Variation in Animated Films from 2001

4.3.12 Language Variation in How to Train Your

Australian English 189

5 Americans, Brits, Aussies, Etc.: Native Varieties

5.4 Australian English 247

6 Languages Other Than English/Foreign Languages

7 Non-native Varieties of English in Italian

8 (Re)Positioning Italianness in Animated Films: No

8.4 Italian-Accented English and Italian American:

Appendix 1: List of Films Analysed (in Alphabetical

Appendix 2: List of Italian Dubbing Experts Consulted

Table 2.1 English Dialogue List 47

Table 4.13 Language varieties spoken in Puss in Boots/Il gatto con

This book focuses on the issue of the portrayal and recreation of

Accents constitute an important part of many stereotypes. We use index-

© The Author(s) 2021 1

Film uses language variation and accent to draw character quickly,

Similarly, Kozloff notes that “[r]ecognizable, clichéd dialects are used

American English and more specific regionally, socially marked or non-

While the language spoken by most Italians in conversation is therefore

of the current book). The Italian language of dubbing is different from

the simplest possible definition of a multilingual text would be to say that

If multilingualism is understood in such a wide way (co-occurrence

how Italian dubbing professionals deal with this linguistic characterisa-

Napolitano (dubbing assistant), Serena Paccagnella (translator, dialogue

1The list of dubbing professionals is also contained in Appendix 2.

narrative of the book in the form of my own personal comments. It is

1. Atlantis: The Lost Empire/Atlantis: l’impero perduto (2001, Disney,

2. Shrek (2001, DreamWorks, dir. A. Adamson, V. Jenson) (F. Vairano)

21. Rango (2011, Paramount Pictures, dir. G. Verbinski) (F. Izzo)

They are well-known professionals who usually also work on feature

1.2 Outline of the Book

encounter when they have to deal with language variation, accents of

highlighting the presence of recurrent patterns and thus norms, as well as

Grutman, Rainier. 1996. Langues étrangères et savoir romantique: considéra-

Toury, Gideon. 1978/1995. The Nature and Role of Norms in Translation. In

Recent research in audiovisual translation has stressed the need to unveil

2.2 The Dubbing Process: Main Agents,

in the dubbing/post-production process can be called ‘dubbing agents’

in the dubbing process of animated films produced by big US majors

2.2.1 The Distributor and Its Dubbing

Chaume points out that “dubbing is an industry […] partly driven by

Dubbing and Localization Department (since localisation, as we have