Disney film 'Cars' is first full-length foreign movie dubbed into Ukrainian (06/25/06)

Disney film 'Cars' is first full-length foreign movie dubbed into Ukrainian

by Yana Sedova
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - For Ukrainians, "Cars" is more than just a Disney film about hot rods that talk.

On its opening date, June 15, it became the first full-length foreign movie dubbed into the Ukrainian language - a decision voluntarily made by the film's distributor, B&H Distribution Co.

"We are already ahead of the pack, considering (a Ukrainian government) resolution demands only 20 percent of copies to be in Ukrainian," said Bohdan Batruh, the general manager of B&H Distribution Co., which is based in Kyiv.

For all of Ukraine's independent years, all foreign films displayed in Ukrainian movie theaters were dubbed in Russian.

In January, the Cabinet of Ministers passed a resolution establishing Ukrainian-language dubbing quotas for foreign films.

Starting in September, 20 percent of the copies of a particular film distributed to movie theaters must be in Ukrainian. The figure will increase to 50 percent in January 2007 and 70 percent by June 2007.

"This year, we are celebrating 15 years of Ukrainian independence and we've got a generation that has never seen a single movie on the wide screen in Ukrainian," said Ihor Likhovyi, the minister of culture and tourism.

"They simply don't know what it looks like and how it sounds. This is a disturbing situation since all perceptions are formed in childhood - whether something is mine or not, if it is native or not," he added.

Half of the copies of "Cars" were dubbed into Ukrainian, and the other half into Russian. More than 100 theaters all over Ukraine agreed to join the so-called test-drive, accepting both the Russian and Ukrainian versions.

Each theater's director will decide the showing times of the movies, and moviegoers will have the option of selecting which language they prefer. Only three theaters rejected the Ukrainian version. (The distributor declined to reveal where the three theaters are located.)

"They were too biased, but I think when they see the box office results of the movie, they will come and ask for permission (to show the movie in Ukrainian)," said Mr. Batruh.

It's unclear whether the effort will be profitable, or perhaps repel eastern and southern Ukrainians who have been rebelling against the Ukrainian language in recent months.

"We are very privileged to be able to dub this film into the Ukrainian language," said Christian Boneff, a spokesman for Buena Vista International, the company that handled the film's release and invested into dubbing the film into Ukrainian.

"We are happy to make history with you. Why this particular film? We primarily make family films. 'Cars' was just perfect," Mr. Boneff said.

The film features the voices of well-known Ukrainians actors such as Ostap Stupka, Olha Sumska, Yurii Kovalenko and Andrii Sereda, among others.

Finding professionals was a concern, said Mariush Yavorovski, a Walt Disney Co. representative.

"Everyone put his soul into the movie," he said. "It was a collective effort. We had to work for many years to reach such a level in other countries."

"Cars" is full of jokes that were hatched during the dubbing process itself. They reflect Ukrainian humor and possess that special native color which could become the driving force for its success.

By the year's end, three more movies will be dubbed in Ukrainian, among them "Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest."

Western filmmakers seem more optimistic about the Ukrainian-language market than local distributors, who made a formal request to the Ukrainian government last winter to cancel the Ukrainian quota resolution.

Pessimists cited two main obstacles that impede the project: viewers don't want to see movies in Ukrainian because they have gotten used to the Russian language. Secondly, they don't have access to technical equipment that allows high-quality dubbing.

"Our society often protests against things it doesn't know," said Mr. Likhovyi, who went to see "Cars" with his son. "It's so natural for Ukrainians to create fear and suffering and then finally see that there is nothing to be afraid of."

Mr. Batruh is also ready to defend the interests of children who do not speak Russian.

"There are many children in western Ukraine who do not understand movies in Russian and this is absolutely natural for them," Mr. Batruh said. "We must pay attention to these children because they are our target audience."

Technical hurdles are also being overcome as Kyiv-based Pteproduction Studio handled all the dubbing related to "Cars," in addition to future projects.

Against a background of never-ending political quarrels concerning the status of two languages, viewers will vote for the Russian or Ukrainian version of the movie in box offices.

Whatever the result, "Cars" in Ukrainian will certainly find a grateful audience, at least due to its high-quality professional dubbing, good sense of humor and the pure charm of a new Walt Disney story.

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