Each song is rated on a scale of .5 (because no one likes zero) to 2 stars. Best of the bunch is in bold. More will be added as I compile.
Language not listed? Link me to YouTube, Baidu, or NicoNicoDouga (or anywhere else really).
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Hellfire
Perhaps one of my favorite songs from this movie, and to have ever come from Disney for that matter, I listened to a good number of languages for this. That isn't to say I missed some, I'm sure I skipped all of Africa. Here's the verdict.
1. German .5
Don't get me wrong, sometimes the Germans do brilliant dubs, but it was so off rhythm that it was hard to listen to.
2. French .5
The irony factor (Victor Hugo's novel was in French after all). This suffered the same problems the Germans did, perhaps more so.
3. Arabic **
Enjoyable.
4. Russian **
They picked someone very close to the American voice actor in pitch. Russian's pattern of speech also helped contribute tempo. It was one of my favorite versions.
5. E.U. Spanish **
Again, enjoyable.
6. English **
I'm biased, I grew up with this version. English will almost always get two stars unless we seriously sucked. Even though I grew up with it, it does not mean it was the best one I listened to.
7. Cantonese **
Not too surprising. The Cantonese had the same sort of rhythm going as the E.U. Spanish and it was enjoyable for that.
8. Mandarin **
Ditto Cantonese.
9. Japanese *
Surprising. Usually I enjoy Japan's take on a song, but this fell almost as flat on it's face as the German version did.
10. Hebrew * (.5 for sound quality)
Lost half a star for sound quality.
11. Finnish **
I wasn't too certain of this one, but I really did like it towards the end.
12. Icelandic **
The hardest language on earth brings a nice ring to this infernal desire.
13. Danish **
Again, not too certain of it, but it did grow on me.
14. Norweigan **
I think the Baltic States take it on dubs, they were all very good at dubbing and matching the rhythm.
15. L.A. Spanish *
How can I like E.U. and not L.A.? L.A. was too deep and a little off in some places. It didn't carry the same power the E.U. version did.
16. Catalan * (.5 for dubbing)
I enjoyed it, but the off timing in the dub lost it half a star. Otherwise it was rather nice.
17. Czech **
Excellent dub.
18. Slovak **
Ditto Czech.
19. Flemish **
This was one of the more uncertain ones I listened to. It carried everything, but was a little strange to hear. Flemish is not a language I have heard before.
20. Polish *
After all that I did not like the Polish take. Sorry motherland, but you went the Japanese route.
21. Italian ** This was by far my favorite among the dubs, even more than English. It made me feel very much like being in a cathedral with a rather frightened cardinal trying to deal with his manly desires. That is why it wins the best of the bunch award.
22. Brazilian Portuguese **
This was a pretty nifty version, the voice was very melancholic, though sometimes it was almost to the extreme.
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