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Dubbing (also known asre-recording andmixing) is apost-production process used infilmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known asdoubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to create the final product.
Often this process is performed on films by replacing the original language to offer voiced-over translations. After sound editors edit and prepare all the necessary tracks—dialogue,automated dialogue replacement (ADR), effects,foley, and music—the dubbing mixers proceed to balance all of the elements and record the finishedsoundtrack.
While dubbing and ADR are similar processes that focus on enhancing and replacing dialogue audio, ADR is a process in which the original actors re-record and synchronize audio segments. This allows filmmakers to replace unclear dialogue if there are issues with the script, background noise, or the original recording.
The term "dubbing" also commonly refers to the replacement of actors' voices with those of different performers, typically reciting their dialogue in a different language from the original for international audiences.[1][further explanation needed]
In many countries, dubbing was adopted, at least in part, for political reasons. In authoritarian states such asFascist Italy andFrancoist Spain, dubbing could be used to enforce particular ideological agendas, excising negative references to the nation and its leaders and promoting standardized national languages at the expense of local dialects and minority languages. Inpost-Nazi Germany, dubbing was used to downplay events in the country's recent past, as in the case of the dub ofAlfred Hitchcock'sNotorious, where the Nazi organization upon which the film's plot centers was changed to a drug smuggling enterprise.[3] The first post-WWII movie dub wasKonstantin Zaslonov (1949) dubbed from Russian into theCzech language.[4]
InWestern Europe afterWorld War II, dubbing was attractive to many film producers as it helped to enableco-production between companies in different countries, in turn allowing them to pool resources and benefit fromfinancial support from multiple governments. The use of dubbing meant that multi-national casts could be assembled and were able to use their preferred language for their performances, with appropriate post-production dubs being carried out before distributing versions of the film.[3]
Automated dialogue replacement (ADR) is the process of re-recording dialogue by the original actor (or a replacement actor) after the filming process to improve audio quality or make changes to the initially scripted dialog. In the early days oftalkies, a loop of film would be cut and spliced together for each of the scenes that needed to be re-recorded, and then the loops would be loaded onto a projector one by one. For each scene, the loop would be played repeatedly while the voice actor performed the lines, trying to synchronize them to the filmed performance. This was known as "looping" or a "looping session". Loading and reloading the film loops while the talent and recording crew stood by was tedious. Later, videotape and thendigital technology replaced the film loops, and the process became known as automated dialogue replacement (ADR).[6][7]
In conventional film production, aproduction sound mixer records dialogue during filming. During post-production, a supervisingsound editor, or ADR supervisor, reviews all of the dialogue in the film and decides which lines must be re-recorded. ADR is recorded during an ADR session, which takes place in a specializedsound studio. Multiple takes are recorded, and the most suitable take becomes the final version, or portions of various takes may be edited together.[8]}
As of 2020,[update] the automated process includes various techniques, such as automatically displaying lines on-screen for the talent, automated cues, shifting the audio track for accurate synchronization, and time-fitting algorithms for stretching or compressing portions of a spoken line. There is software that can sort outspoken words from ambient sounds in the original filmed soundtrack, detect the peaks of the dialog, and automatically time-fit the new dubbed performance to the original to create accurate synchronization.[9]
Sometimes, an actor other than the original actor is used during ADR. One example is theStar Wars characterDarth Vader, portrayed byDavid Prowse with a full costume and full face mask; in post-production,James Earl Jones dubbed the voice of Vader.[10]
The dialogue writer's role is to make the translation sound natural in the target language, and to make the translation sound like a credible dialogue instead of merely a translated text.[11]
In recent yearsspeech synthesis programs andartificial intelligence have been used to artificially automatically dub content. In September 2025YouTube officially launched an optional multi-language audio-dubbing feature following a two-year-long pilot program.[12]Amazon Prime Video has also tested Ai generated dubs in March 2025.[13] Development of the technology to be able to auto-dub live events has also taken place, though auto-dubs for live events are not currently widely in use.[14][15]
Localization is the practice of adapting afilm ortelevision series from one region of the world for another. In contrast to pure translation, localization encompasses adapting the content to suit the target audience. For example, culture-specific references may be replaced, and footage may be removed or added.[16]
The new voice track is usually spoken by avoice actor. In many countries, actors who regularly perform this duty remain little-known, with the exception of particular circles (such as animefandom) or when their voices have become synonymous with roles or actors whose voices they usually dub. In the United States, many of these voice artists may employ pseudonyms or go uncredited due toScreen Actors Guild regulations or the desire to dissociate themselves from the role.[17]
InAlgeria,Morocco, andTunisia, most foreign movies (especially Hollywood productions) are shown dubbed in French. These movies are usually imported directly from French film distributors. The choice of movies dubbed into French can be explained by the widespread use of the French language. Another important factor is that local theaters and private media companies do not dub in local languages in order to avoid high costs, but also because of the lack of both expertise and demand.[citation needed]
Beginning in the 1980s, dubbed series and movies for children inModern Standard Arabic became a popular choice among most TV channels, cinemas and VHS/DVD stores. However, dubbed films are still imported, and dubbing is still performed in theLevant countries with a strong tradition of dubbing (mainlySyria andJordan).Egypt was the first Arab country in charge of dubbingDisney movies in 1975 and used to do it exclusively inEgyptian Arabic rather thanModern Standard Arabic until 2011, and since then many other companies started dubbing their productions in this dialect. Beginning withEncanto, Disney movies are now dubbed in both dialects.[18]
In the Arabic-speaking countries, children's shows (mainly cartoons and kids sitcoms) are dubbed in Arabic, or Arabic subtitles are used. The only exception wastelenovelas dubbed in Standard Arabic, or dialects, but also Turkish series, most notablyGümüş, in Syrian Arabic.[19]
This practice has declined as a result of the reduction of airtime for the language onSABC TV, and the increase of locally produced material in Afrikaans on other channels likeKykNet. Similarly, many programs, such asThe Jeffersons, were dubbed intoZulu,[27] but this has also declined as local drama production has increased. However, some animated films, such asMaya the Bee, have been dubbed in both Afrikaans and Zulu by local artists.[28] In 2018,eExtra began showing the Turkish drama seriesParamparça dubbed in Afrikaans asGebroke Harte or "Broken Hearts", the first foreign drama to be dubbed in the language for twenty years.[29]
Uganda'sown film industry is fairly small, and foreign movies are commonly watched. The English soundtrack is often accompanied by theLuganda translation and comments, provided by a Ugandan "video jockey" (VJ). VJ's interpreting and narration may be available in a recorded form or live.[31]
Before 2006, most foreign movies and TV shows in Azerbaijan were shown in Russian dubbing, especially in cinemas and on TV channels. However,AzTV usually aired foreign content with full Azerbaijani dubbing.[32]
In 2006, a law was introduced requiring all foreign content on TV channels to be dubbed or voice-overed in Azerbaijani. Following this, most channels switched to Azerbaijani voice-over to follow the new rules.[33]
In 2011, a similar law was passed for cinemas. But it didn't have much effect due to the local dubbing industry not being well developed yet.[34]
In 2017, the local streaming platform TVSeans began streaming movies and shows with full Azerbaijani dubbing, mainly done by Balans Studio.[35]While full dubs became more common on TV and streaming, home media releases with full dubs remained limited.
China has a long tradition of dubbing foreign films intoMandarin Chinese, starting in the 1930s. While during theRepublic of China era Western motion pictures may have been imported and dubbed into Chinese, since 1950Soviet movies became the main import,[36] sometimes even surpassing the local production.[37] In Communist China, most European movies were dubbed inShanghai, whereas Asian and Soviet films were usually dubbed inChangchun.[38] During the Cultural Revolution, North Korean, Romanian and Albanian films became popular.[39] Beginning in the late 1970s, in addition to films, popular TV series from the United States, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico were also dubbed.[37]
Motion pictures are also dubbed into the languages of some of China'sautonomous regions. Notably, the Translation Department of theTibetan Autonomous Region Movie Company (西藏自治区电影公司译制科)[40] has been dubbing movies into theTibetan language since the 1960s. In the early decades, it would dub 25 to 30 movies each year, the number rising to 60–75 by the early 2010s.[40][41]Motion pictures are dubbed for China'sMongol- andUyghur-speaking markets as well.[42]
Chinese television dramas are often dubbed inStandard Mandarin by professional voice actors to remove accents, improve poor performances, or change lines to comply with local censorship laws.[43]
"Japanese dub-over artists" provide the voices for certain performers, such as those listed in the following table:
InPakistan "foreign films", and series are not normally dubbed locally. Instead, foreign films, anime and cartoons, such as those shown onNickelodeon Pakistan andCartoon Network Pakistan, are dubbed inHindi in India, as Hindi andUrdu, the national language of Pakistan, aremutually intelligible.However, soap operas fromTurkey are now dubbed in Urdu and have gained increased popularity at the expense of Indian soap operas in Hindi.[58] This has led to protests from local producers that these are a threat to Pakistan's television industry, with local productions being moved out of peak viewing time or dropped altogether.[59] Similarly, politicians and leaders have expressed concerns over their content, given Turkey's less conservative culture.[60]
In multilingualSingapore, dubbing is rare for western programs. English-language programs on the free-to-air terrestrial channels are usually subtitled in Chinese or Malay. Chinese, Malay and Tamil programs (except for news bulletins and other live shows), usually have subtitles in English and the original language during the prime time hours.Dual sound programs, such as Korean, Japanese and Filipino dramas, exist.[61][62]
InThailand, foreign television programs are dubbed inThai, but the original soundtrack is often simultaneously carried on aNICAM audio track on terrestrial broadcast, and alternate audio tracks on satellite broadcast. Previously, terrestrial stations simulcasted the original soundtrack on the radio.[63]
InVietnam, foreign-language films and programs are often subtitled orvoice-overed on television inVietnamese. They were not dubbed until 1985.Rio was considered to be the very first American Hollywood film to be entirely dubbed inVietnamese. Since then, children's films that came out afterwards have been released dubbed in theaters.HTV3 has dubbed television programs for children, includingBen 10, andNed's Declassified School Survival Guide, by using various voice actors to dub over the character roles.[64][65]
Countries using dubs only for children's media, and subtitles otherwise.
Mixed areas: Countries primarily using subtitles but occasionally full-cast dubs instead.
Voice-over: Countries using usually one or just a couple of voice actors while the original soundtrack persists.
General dubbing: Countries using full-cast dubs.
Belgium: The Dutch-speaking region primarily uses subtitles, but sometimes imports dubs from the Netherlands or produces their own dialect dubs for children's films. The French-speaking region uses full-cast dubs for all films.
Slovakia and Belarus: Countries with a separate official language that occasionally produce their own dubs, but generally use dubs from other countries, since their languages share a high degree ofmutual intelligibility.
InNorth-West Europe,Poland,Portugal,Balkan,Baltic andNordic countries, generally only movies and TV shows that are intended for children are dubbed, while TV shows and movies that are intended for teenagers or adults are subtitled, although adult-animated productions (e.g.South Park andThe Simpsons) have a tradition of being dubbed.[66] For movies in cinemas with clear target audiences (both below and above 10–11 years of age), both a dubbed and a subtitled version are usually available
On 1 October 2008,Nova TV launched its sister channel Mini TV, the first Croatian television channel for children with programming entirely dubbed into Croatian.[67]RTL followed suit with the launch ofRTL Kockica in 2014.[68]
Since the 2010s, the dubbing of live-action television series and films aimed at children, teenagers and young adults has been on the rise. With the launch ofNickelodeon'sCroatian audio track in 2011, Studio NET was the first in Croatia to focus on "serious production of live-action dubbing,"[69] with most of Nickelodeon's major teen live-action titles such asiCarly (2007–2012),Sam & Cat (2013–2014),The Thundermans (2013–2018) andVictorious (2010–2013) receiving a Croatian dub. With the rise ofstreaming television in the 2020s, NET and various other studios also began producing Croatian dubs forNetflix; although the focus is still on dubbing animated series and films, a notable amount of live-action programming aimed at younger audiences has also been dubbed for Netflix, such asChupa (2023),Geek Girl (2024),Heartstopper (2022–2024),I Woke Up a Vampire (2023),Matilda the Musical (2022) andSpy Kids: Armageddon (2023).[70]
InPortugal, dubbing was banned under a 1948 law as a way of protecting the domestic film industry and reducing access to culture as most of the population was illiterate.[71] Until 1994, animated movies, as well as other TV series for children, were shown subtitled in Portugal along with importedBrazilian Portuguese dubs due to the lack of interest from Portuguese companies in the dubbing industry. This lack of interest was justified, since there were already quality dubbed copies of shows and movies in Portuguese made byBrazilians.The Lion King was the first feature film to be dubbed inEuropean Portuguese.[72] Currently, all movies for children are dubbed. Subtitles are preferred in Portugal, used in every foreign-languagedocumentary, TV series and film. The exception to this preference is when children are the target audience.[73]
InRomania, virtually all programs intended for children are dubbed inRomanian. Animated movies are shown in theaters with Romanian dubbing. However, cinemas with more screening rooms usually also provide the original subtitled version. Other foreign TV shows and movies are shown in the original language with Romanian subtitles. Subtitles are usually preferred in the Romanian market. According to "Special Eurobarometer 243" (graph QA11.8) of theEuropean Commission (research carried out in November and December 2005), 62% of Romanians prefer to watch foreign films and programs with subtitles (rather than dubbed), 22% prefer dubbing, and 16% declined to answer.[74] This is led by the assumption that watching movies in their original versions is very useful for learning foreign languages. However, according to the same Eurobarometer, virtually no Romanian found this method—watching movies in their original version—to be the most efficient way to learn foreign languages, compared to 53 percent who preferred language lessons at school.[74]
Hinterland displays a not so common example of a bilingual production. Each scene is filmed twice, in the English and Welsh languages, apart from a few scenes where Welsh with subtitles is used for the English version.[79]
InFrance, dubbing is the norm. Most movies with a theatrical release, including all those from major distributors, are dubbed. Those that are not, are foreignindependent films whose budget for international distribution is limited, or foreignart films with a niche audience.
Almost all theaters show movies with their French dubbing ("VF", short forversion française). Some of them also offer screenings in the original language ("VO", short forversion originale), generally accompanied with French subtitles ("VOST", short forversion originale sous-titrée). A minority of theaters (usually small ones) screen exclusively in the original language. According to theCNC (National Centre for Cinematography), VOST screenings accounted for 16.9% of tickets sold in France.[80]In addition, dubbing is required for home entertainment and television screenings. However, since theadvent of digital television, foreign programs are broadcast totelevision viewers in both languages (sometimes, French withaudio description is also aired); while the French-language track is selected by default, viewers can switch to the original-language track and enable French subtitles. As a special case, the binational television channelArte broadcasts both the French and German dubbing, in addition to the original-language version.
Unlike in Austria and Germany, cinemas in German-speaking Switzerland historically strongly preferred subtitled versions of foreign-language films. Swiss film distributors commissioned dual-language prints with both German and French subtitles as the primary version, with the dubbed version also shown. In recent years, however, there has been a shift towards dubbed versions, which now account for the majority of showings.[81]
InHungary, dubbing is almost universally common. Almost every foreign movie or TV show released in Hungary is dubbed into Hungarian.[82] The history of dubbing dates back to the 1950s, when the country was still under communist rule.[83] One of the most iconic Hungarian dubs was of the American cartoonThe Flintstones, with a local translation byJózsef Romhányi.[84] The Internetes Szinkron Adatbázis (ISzDB) is the largest Hungarian database for film dubs, with information for many live action and animated films.[85] On page 59 of the Eurobarometer, 84% of Hungarians said that they prefer dubbing over subtitles.[74]
In the past, foreign movies were all subtitled in Polish.[86]
In the 1980s, due to budget cuts, state-run TV saved on tapes by voicing films over live during transmission. Overall, during 1948–1998, almost 1,000 films were dubbed in Polish. In the 1990s, dubbing films and TV series continued, although often also for one emission only.[citation needed] In 1995,Canal+ was launched in Poland. In its first years, it dubbed 30% of its schedule, including popular films and TV series such asFriends, but this proved unsuccessful.[87]
InSpain, dubbing has been more widespread since 1932, when theSecond Republic decided to introduce it in Madrid and Barcelona. The first film dubbed into Spanish to be known wasDevil and the Deep, in 1932.[88][89] Dubbing, after theSpanish Civil War, was reinforced by the regulations promulgated by the Government ofFrancisco Franco on April 23, 1941, at its time based onMussolini's Language Defense Law of 1938.[89] This law had two political purposes: Nationalism through linguistic identity and, more subtly, control through censorship of foreign ideas that could be alien to national interests.[90]
InBrazil, foreign programs are invariably dubbed intoBrazilian Portuguese onfree-to-air TV, with only a few exceptions. Films shown at cinemas are generally offered with both subtitled and dubbed versions, with dubbing frequently being the only choice for children's movies. Subtitling was primarily for adult audience movies until 2012. Since then, dubbed versions also became available for all ages. As a result, in recent years, more cinemas have opened in Brazil, attracting new audiences to the cinema who prefer dubbing. According to aDatafolha survey, 56% of Brazilian movie theaters' audience prefer to watch dubbed movies.[91] Most of the dubbing studios in Brazil are in the cities ofRio de Janeiro andSão Paulo.[92]
The first film to be dubbed in Brazil was theDisney animation"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1938. By the end of the 1950s, most of the movies, TV series and cartoons on television in Brazil were shown in its original sound and subtitles. However, in 1961, a decree of PresidentJânio Quadros ruled that all foreign productions on television should be dubbed. This measure boosted the growth of dubbing in Brazil, and has led to several dubbing studios since then.[93] The biggest dubbing studio in Brazil wasHerbert Richers, headquartered inRio de Janeiro and closed in 2009. At its peak in the 80s and 90s, the Herbert Richers studios dubbed about 70% of the productions shown in Brazilian cinemas.[94]
Formerly, all French-language dubbed films in Quebec were imported from France and some still are. Such a practice was criticized by former politicianMario Dumont after he took his children to see theEuropean French dub ofShrek the Third, which Dumont found incomprehensible.[96] After his complaints and a proposed bill,Bee Movie, the film fromDreamWorks Animation, was dubbed in Quebec, making it the studio's first animated film to have a Canadian French dub, as all DreamWorks Animation films had previously been dubbed in France.[97] Before this,Flushed Away also received a Canadian French dub.[citation needed]
In theUnited States andEnglish-speaking Canada,live-action foreign films are usually shown in theaters with their original languages and English subtitles. It is because live-action dubbed movies rarely did well in United States box office since the 1980s. The 1982 United States theatrical release of Wolfgang Petersen'sDas Boot was the last major release to go out in both original and English-dubbed versions, and the film's original version actually grossed much higher than the English-dubbed version.[98][99] Later on, English-dubbed versions of international hits likeUn indien dans la ville,Godzilla 2000,Anatomy,Pinocchio,The Return of Godzilla andHigh Tension flopped at United States box offices.[100][101][102][103] WhenMiramax planned to release the English-dubbed versions ofShaolin Soccer andHero in the United States cinemas, their English-dubbed versions scored badly in test screenings in the United States, so Miramax finally released the films in United States cinemas with their original language.[103][104]Still, English-dubbed movies have much better commercial potential inancillary markets; therefore, more distributors would release live-action foreign films in theaters with their original languages (with English subtitles), then release both original versions and English-dubbed versions in ancillary markets.[105]
Because over 25% of Australians speak a language other than English at home, some cinemas show foreign-language films, for example in Chinese (the most spoken language in Australia other than English). There are also Chinese-language cinemas in Australia, such as theHoyts Mandarin cinema inChatswood,Sydney.[111]
French Polynesia almost exclusively shows films and television programs in either French or English. However, in 2016, Disney'sMoana became the first film to be dubbed into theTahitian language.[115]
Disney has also started dubbing films into Māori. These films are shown in cinemas in New Zealand and some parts of Australia and then released globally onDisney+. In 2019, the filmMoana was dubbed into Māori.[117] In 2022,The Lion King (Māori:Te Kīngi Raiona) andFrozen were dubbed into Māori.[118][119]
Netflix provides both subtitles and dubbed audio with its foreign language shows, including Brazil's dystopian3% and the German thrillerDark. Viewer testing indicates that its audience is more likely to finish watching a series if they select to view it with dubbed audio rather than translated subtitles. Netflix now streams its foreign language content with dubbed audio as default in an effort to increase viewer retention.[121]
Hispanic America andSpain use different versions of dubbed films and series.[122] Due to the variety of Spanish accents in Latin America, the dubbing for this region is made inStandard Spanish, which avoids colloquialisms and whose pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammatical features are not recognizable as belonging to any particular Latin American country.[123] For this reason, it is made in different countries, mainly in Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, for the entire continent.[124] In addition, some films have been dubbed to the accent of a certain region of Spanish-speaking Latin America, such as the animated movieThe Incredibles, which in addition to being dubbed intoEuropean andStandard Spanish, was dubbed into theRioplatense andMexican varieties.[125]
Similarly, inFlanders, theDutch-speaking region ofBelgium, cartoons are often dubbed locally by Flemish artists[126] rather than using soundtracks produced in theNetherlands.
^Chaume, F. (2013). Research paths in audiovisual translation: The case of dubbing. In The Routledge handbook of translation studies (pp.306-320). Routledge.
^"Nickelodeon lokalizacija TV kanala - Audio / Video usluge" [Nickelodeon TV channel localization - Audio / Video services].net-zg.hr (in Croatian). 4 February 2012.Archived from the original on 24 June 2024. Retrieved24 June 2024.The task - to increase the capacity to 5 audio studios, to dub over 700 episodes and, for the first time in Croatia, to make a serious production of live-action dubbing - both TV series and films.
^"Polémica: dobragem da série 'Einstein' gera críticas ao AXN".O Jornal Económico (in Portuguese). 3 February 2017. Archived fromthe original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved29 March 2017.Ao contrário de alguns mercados como o espanhol e brasileiro, o público português não se mostra recetivo a esta opção.
^abcSpecial Eurobarometer 243 of the European Commission with the title "Europeans and their Languages", published in February 2006 with research carried out in November and December 2005. Barely 2% of Romanians consider watching original-language versions most effective into learning a new language (Table QA7b).Archived 27 August 2006 at theWayback Machine
^Grund, Bernhard (1967).Das kulturelle Leben der Deutschen in Niederschlesien unter polnischer Verwaltung. 1947-1958. Bonner Berichte aus Mittel- und Ostdeutschland. Bonn und Berlin: Bundesministerium für gesamtdeutsche Fragen. p. 119.
^"Ley Federal de Cinematografía" [Federal Law of Filmmaking](PDF) (in Spanish). Cámara de Diputados. 28 April 2010. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved22 January 2011.
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Castellano A. (a cura di), "Il Doppiaggio, profilo, storia e analisi di un'arte negata", Roma, AIDAC-ARLEM, 2001
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