What first interested me in researching Miyazaki's films were the differences between the English subtitles and the English dubbing. In most movies, even foreign ones, there are rarely differences between the subs and dubs other than the occasional misspelling or misunderstanding; however, when Studio Ghibli's films made their way over to America, much of the films' English dubbing was changed, so Japanese to English translation remained the same for the subtitles while the spoken words in English may have changed drastically. This may have been done to integrate English voices along with cultural differences, an intention to match the mouth movements by changing words for different syllables, and the addition of quite a few one-liner quips. While some of these add to the quirky comedy of Studio Ghibli films, these changes made for American audiences can also take away from the purposefully quiet and calm natures in parts of these films or even change a character entirely.

One of the first films to see many changes to the dubs was Castle in the Sky or Laputa depending on the version. The dialogue includes a significant amount of added chatter and background dialogue that was not included in the subtitles and, therefore, was not in the original movie. One of the most interesting changes from Japan to America was in a decision about the main character, Sheeta, and the many, much older, pirate sons of the pirate mother Dola. Sheeta is told to work in the kitchen by cleaning and cooking. Although all of the pirate sons are visually nervous to be around a female other than their mother, there is never a mention of love, with the exception of their mother saying that they should find a woman to marry like Sheeta. However, in the American version, one of the sons comes in to offer his help to Sheeta in the kitchen and makes a pronouncement of love. This difference of mother figure to romantic interest is somewhat inappropriate due to the potential age difference. American filmmakers may have wanted to include more comedy to the scene through the romantic portrayal, but this would also go against Hayao Miyazaki's typical beliefs on how girls in his movies do not need a love interest.

One change in My Neighbor Totoro was made for cultural reasons. As the two young girls get to their new house with their dad, the subtitles show that in Japanese, their dad mentions that they should take their shoes off before entering the house. While this manner is not uncommon in America, it is imperative to do in Japan. When dubbed, the filmmakers took out this line which may have made it strange for the young girl to wiggle across the floor with her feet in the air since her shoes were still on. The cultural change may have kept young Americans from being confused, but it could have also kept them from being curious. In a discussion on the podcast, Kinda Funny Reviews, Tim Gettys mentioned that watching the original version allowed him the potential to be curious as a child and ask questions about other cultures, which he found important.

Although Spirited Away’s English dub was phenomenally done, there was one line that was added during an intense moment. The monster, No-Face, is chasing after Chihiro throughout the bathhouse, puking from the medicine she gave him and eventually spitting out characters he had swallowed earlier. Pixar’s lucky charm, John Ratzenberger (who has voiced a character in every Pixar movie) plays a character who gets puked out closer to the end of No-Face’s tirade. There is no response from this character in the Japanese version, but in the English version he says, “Now that’s an esophagus.” This moment is played for laughs, but the intensity of No-Face’s chase scene is starting to intentionally slow down at this point. He is becoming weaker and even barely able to stand up when he pukes out this character. This potential moment of ma showing the audience his sickness leaving him could have been ruined by a quick one-liner added by American filmmakers. While this did not ruin the film, it is that unintentional fear of silence that could ruin an important moment of rhetorical silence.

Because of Miyazaki’s success, all of his movies have now been given English dubs. As Hayao Miyazaki does not speak English, it is up to others to make the changes into English. For most English dubs, people will often simply change the Japanese to English and that will be that; however, for these movies, the filmmakers wanted to change the spoken English to match the mouthing of the characters. This would mean changing phrases because there are many differences in terms of syllables from Japanese to English. These filmmakers may have also taken some creative liberties and added things that weren’t in the original film. There are a select few mainly from Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service, but there may be even more in films further down the line.

Finally, Kiki’s Delivery Service is infamous in the Studio Ghibli fan world for being the most changed film with the biggest variety of versions. The first Disney version changed two Japanese songs to American pop songs, changed sound effects, and made a few other cultural changes. However, the main change that makes the difference in terms of silence is Kiki’s cat, Jiji. Jiji is her black cat companion. In the Japanese version, the voice of Jiji is female. In English, Jiji is male. The actor who portrayed Jiji in English ad-libbed many lines, especially during specifically quiet moments where there was no action. Those silent scenes were purposeful, especially for another intentionally created coming-of-age story. Although some Americans who watched this version first loved the added-in lines, many of the quippy, sarcastic lines take away from the potential for rhetorical silence.

One intentional silence throughout the film happens when Kiki becomes unable to speak to Jiji. As a witch, moving to a new city to learn her skills, Kiki is able to speak with Jiji for the first half of the film. When she begins to lose confidence in herself, she becomes unable to fly and unable to speak to Jiji. At the climax of the movie, she regains her ability to fly and Jiji continues to sit on her shoulder. In the English version, the actor added a line that makes it seem as though she has regained this ability to speak to the cat. The creators of the film have explained the purpose behind this intentional silencing of the cat in that Kiki is growing and leaving her childhood behind, like speaking to animals. This intentional rhetorical silence is changed in the English version, so the meaning changes as well. In the most recent version, they have taken out some of the quippy lines, the line at the end, and switched back to the Japanese songs while keeping the English, male voice; therefore, they kept a bit of both, which may have unfortunately angered some Americans.

American filmmakers making changes in Studio Ghibli's films was a problem almost from the very start as many films had been changed by cutting the film, changing the music, changing the portrayal of the film through its poster, and of course, adding its dubs. After one ignored contract and one snail-mailed katana with a note with only two words: "no cut," Studio Ghibli was finally free from these changes to their movies as they made an excellent partnership. Hayao Miyazaki joined with Pixar's John Lasseter to do the English dubbing for Studio Ghibli and Disney's famous Spirited Away. Although we can't be sure that there haven't been changes since, no changes have made headlines like these did.