When the show features songs or foreign dialogue, it is customary to leave things unchanged. For example, if an English movie dubbed into French has some Spanish dialogue, the original Spanish will be kept (both for artistic and practical considerations). However, it helps when a dubbing actor has knowledge of the foreign language, because then she or he can speak the foreign lines along with the rest of the dialogue, and thus avoid the problem of voice matching.
Voice matching is crucial in films featuring songs, as in Crazy Heart or Rock of Ages, where all of the original singing remains, and only the spoken dialogue is dubbed. Voice matching is also important when dubbing a star actor whose voice is universally recognizable. Mickey Rourke, for example, has a very specific way of talking that can be well-matched by one, maybe two Québecois actors currently working in North America.
Foreign accents are evaluated on a per-show basis: accents are to be applied judiciously, because they tend to introduce semantic ambiguity. For example, when an English show featuring both Australian and American characters is dubbed in French, there will not be a difference in accents. What would be an obvious difference in the original becomes a problem when identifying who is who in the dubbed version. Here, it will be the adaptor’s job to introduce hints and indications throughout the dialogue, and the director may request that the actors subtly modify their performance through a “harder” or a “softer” enunciation.16
In general, a light foreign accent is acceptable if the plot requires a character’s background to be revealed through their accent. Of course, this is of lesser concern in comedies or animation, where accents are often part of the gag.
In Québec, dubbing is performed in français international (International French) [3], although the regional accent is markedly different. In some cases, shows are dubbed in québecois French if they contain culturally specific references and are intended for domestic distribution only. The French language version of Les Simpsons was dubbed separately for Québec and for France, to cater to the specific colloquial expressions and sense of humour of each region.
A note about absolute voice matching versus performance: distribution companies are concerned with protecting the artistic merit of star talent in the movies they promote, and will hold extensive auditions before selecting who is to dub a given part. This method favours vocal resemblance to artistic performance, and may compromise the quality of the outcome for the sake of a “better” voice match.