Dubbing children’s animation into Arabic: songs, voices and values

Children watch the same episode ten times, and a parent is usually half-listening from the next room. A dub that would pass in a documentary gets caught quickly in a cartoon: the song that doesn’t scan, the hero whose voice changed in season two, the joke that made no sense in Arabic.

We have dubbed animation for children’s channels and platforms across the Arab world since 1992. These are the decisions that shape a children’s dub, roughly in the order they come up.

Modern Standard Arabic is the default, with good reason

Most children’s animation in the region is dubbed into Modern Standard Arabic. One version reaches every Arab market, and many parents like their children hearing correct fusha on screen. For preschool series it is almost always the right call.

A dialect can work for family comedy and feature films aimed at one audience. We have dubbed SpongeBob SquarePants and Monster High into Egyptian Arabic, which suits their humour; most of our preschool work is in Modern Standard Arabic. If you are unsure, our piece on Modern Standard Arabic or a dialect sets out the trade-offs.

Plan the songs before anything else

Theme tunes and songs inside episodes take the longest to get right. The adapter writes new Arabic lyrics that keep the melody, the rhyme and the number of syllables on each note, in language a five-year-old can sing along to. Then a singer records them, often someone other than the actor who voices the character.

Two things make this far easier:

• The instrumental track. Without the music on its own, without vocals, the song has to be rebuilt, which costs time and money.
• A decision on which songs are dubbed and which stay in the original with subtitles. Agree it at the start, per song.

Young voices that last a whole series

Most child characters in a dub are voiced by adults who specialise in young voices. Real children sound wonderful, but their voices change, and a long-running series can outlast a child actor’s voice by a season or two. Whichever you choose, cast with the whole run in mind.

For preschool content, ask for slower, clearer delivery than you would want for older viewers. Small children are still learning the words.

A values review before recording

Before a script goes to the booth, someone should read each episode for scenes, jokes or references that channels in the region may not air, or that parents would object to. Most of the time the fix is in the dialogue: a line rewritten, a reference swapped for one that works locally. Occasionally a scene needs a picture edit, and that is a decision for you or your distributor, so flag it early rather than at delivery.

Agree with the broadcaster or platform which guidelines apply. Editorial standards differ from one channel to the next.

On-screen text and learning segments

Preschool shows often teach letters, numbers or words, and the picture is built around English. A segment about the letter B does not survive translation on its own. Decide early whether these segments are replaced, adapted with new graphics or cut, and who makes the graphics. The same goes for signs, labels and title cards.

Delivery

Ask for clean music-and-effects tracks with the music and songs on separate stems, so the Arabic songs sit properly in the mix. Agree the loudness standard of the channel or platform, and listen to a full episode at home volume: children’s audio should never jump or shout at the listener.

Where to start

Send us the title, the number and length of episodes, how many songs there are and your delivery date, and we’ll recommend the Arabic and send voice samples for the main characters. Our Arabic dubbing page shows more of how we work, and the anime dubbing page covers anime for children and families.

Planning to bring an animated series to Arab children? Request a quote. We reply within 24 hours.