Disney’s ‘Frozen’ has grossed over $750 million at the box office to date. Frozen opens in China, the world’s second-largest movie market, early next month.
Frozen, one of this winter’s biggest box office hits, adds yet another memorable theme song to the iconic Disney musical repertoire. “Let It Go,” originally performed by Idina Menzel, tells of the snow Queen Elsa’s decision to let go of her obstacles and embrace her powerful, icy magic.
Frozen is known as 冰雪奇缘 Bing Xue Qi Yuan (Magical Tales of Ice and Snow) in Taiwan and on the Mainland, and 魔雪奇緣 Mo Syut Kei Yun (Enchanted Snow Tales) in Hong Kong. Following Disney animation tradition, the film has undergone separate dubbing for the three regions of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China.
Hu Weina provides the voice for Elsa in the film version. Listen to it here. The pop versions in the Taiwanese and Mainland productions are provided by two Voice of China alumni, Shennio Lin 林芯儀 and Yao Beina 姚贝娜 respectively, while the Cantonese version is performed by YouTube singer Jobelle Ubalde. Mandarin-speaking fans of Frozen, the two Mandarin language productions are furthermore distinct, with different dialogue and lyrics, so you’ll be able to experience the film twice over!
Unfortunately, Disney is not in the habit of releasing official soundtracks for its Chinese language productons, so you’ll have to bear with the audio quality until a DVD release.
Yao Beina – 隨它吧 (Let It Be)
Mainland China, pop version
Pinyin lyrics: sui ta ba, sui ta ba hui tou yi mei you ban fa sui ta ba, sui ta ba yi zhuan shen bu zai qian gua bai xue fa liang pu man wo de guo wang mei you jiao yin de di fang gu li guo du hen huang liang wo shi zhe li de nv huang man tian fei shuang xiang xin li de feng bao yi yang zhi you tian zhi dao wo shuo guo de shang bu rang be ren jin lai kan jian zuo wo zi ji jiu xiang wo de cong qian duo zai xian shi meng jing zhi jian bu bei fa xian sui ta ba, sui ta ba hui tou yi mei you ban fa sui ta ba, sui ta ba yi zhuan shen bu zai qian gua xuan ya shang rang wo liu xia sui ta ba, sui ta ba fan zheng bing tian xue di wo ye bu pa liu yi dian dian de ju li rang wo gen shi jie fen li ceng jing kun rao wo de kong ju xiao shi zao wo hui yi ye li bing leng de kong qi wo zhong yu neng hu xi wo liu xia zi ji de guo qu mo diao yan lei de hen ji sui ta ba, sui ta ba hui tou yi mei you ban fa sui ta ba, sui ta ba yi zhuan shen bu zai qian gua xuan ya shang rang wo liu xia sui ta ba, sui ta ba fan zheng bing tian xue di wo ye bu pa feng bi sheng huo wo sheng ming de xuan ze bie zai zhao wo guo qu yi jing li kai wo feng xu yi yan mo sui ta ba, sui ta ba hui tou yi mei you ban fa sui ta ba, sui ta ba yi zhuan shen bu zai qian gua xuan ya shang jiu wo liu xia sui ta ba, sui ta ba fan zheng bing tian xue di wo ye bu pa sui ta ba, yeah~ sui ta ba sui ta ba
Shennio Lin – 让她走 (Let Her Go)
Taiwan
Pinyin lyrics: bai xue fen fei yi pian yin se shi jie fang yan wang qu shi chen ji yao yuan guo du fang zhu zi wo gu dan ji mo mei yi tian si xu xiang kaung feng hu xiao ju lang ban peng pai wu fa zai ya yi zui hou de ren nai bu yao kao jin, bu yao xiang xin guai guai ting hua an fen ri yu wang xi yin cang jiang qiang ju jue biao lu pao xiao suo you fang kai shou, fang kai shou bu xu yao ren he li you fang kai shou, fang kai shou bu li hui xin zhong jia suo hai yi wei ceng jing zai hu guo shei rang bao yu fan teng cong bu wei ju zheng fu bing shuang feng xue ni wo zhi jian you ju li qi yie bian de miao xiao na ying rao xin tou de kong ju yi jing bu zai zhong yao kan kan wo yao ru he qu zuo ce shi ji xian neng fou tu po mei you dui cuo, mei you shu fu, qi fei fang kai shou, fang kai shou cong jin wang hou you wo zhu zai rang ta zou, rang ta zou jue bu zai shou shang hai xin shi jie zai wo yan qian rang bao yu fan teng li liang qiang da cong di di zhi cuan shang yun xiao wo de xin ceng ceng bing feng rui li sui pian hen nan xiao xin nian dong bing jing li qi tian di jiang gai bian qian fang de lu deng dai guo qu bu yao liu lian rang ta zou, rang ta zou wu yun hou mian jiu shi shu guang rang ta zou, rang ta zou zhi sheng ji yi hui dang xin shi jie xi wang zai yan qian rang bao yu fan teng cong bu wei ju zheng fu bing shuang feng xue
Jobelle Ubalde – 冰心鎖 (Shackled Heart of Ice)
Hong Kong
Which version do you prefer? How do they compare to Idina Menzel’s original, or Demi Lovato’s cover? What about the Malay and Korean versions? Or any other languages? Let us know in the comments!
Frozen, which was released in Hong Kong on 19 December and Taiwan on 27 December, will hit Mainland Chinese cinemas come 5 February.
The Hong Kong version was awful. They should had a native Hong Kong Cantonese sing the song. The singer’s accent and the awful lyrics was so bad. What happened to the awesome lyricist from the past? Could they not find someone better to translate the lyrics. All the past Cantonese Disney translation and songs was so good and awesome and retained the original meanings….unfortunately, I liked the Mainland China and Taiwan mandarin one. I really want to like the Cantonese one, unfortunately, the singer ruined it for me!
The best Chinese version is Yao Bei Na’s. This is the first time that I did not loke the Cantonese version. Sucj a pity that they did not find a native Cantonese si ger to sing the Cantonese version for Hong Kong. The accent when the girl sang in Cantonese and the rendition was just awful. I loved most of the Disney songs in Cantonese, as they always have lyrics that embodies the original. The “Let it Go” Cantonese lyrics was pretty awful.
The version sung by Shennio Lin is 放開手, not 让她走.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_VmcC7epfo
(Line 4) kaung → kuang
(Line 9) ri yu → yi ru
(Line 10) jiang → jian
(Line 10) lu → lou
(Line 11) xiao → xia
(Line 20) qi yie → yi qie
You can also watch the Let It Go Song multilingually on alugha and simple switch to the language you prefer. It is there in 30 different languages as also in Chinese. Here is the link: https://alugha.com/demo.html When you click the globe at the player you can switch the language if it is not already starting the one your browser is set to.
Hi – do you know where I could find the pinyin of the lyrics for “Do you want to build a snowman?” I’ve been looking, but without success.
I tried transcribing the lyrics. Let me know if you find any mistakes~
Aisha
(knock, knock, knock knock, knock)
ni xiang bu xiang dui ge xue ren
kuai gen wo yi qi lai
wo hen jiu mei you jian guo ni
men kuai da kai
ni dao di zai bu zai
wo men shi zui hao jie mei
ci qing bu zai
yuan yin ni yao shuo chu lai
ni xiang bu xiang dui ge xue ren
shi bu shi xue ren yi yang ke ai
(zou kai, Anna)
bye bye
ni xiang bu xiang dui ge xue ren
huo zhe qi che geng jia li hai
wo xiang you xie gan qing yi guo qu
wo dui zhe qiang shang zhao pian jiang hua shuo chu lai (jian chi zhu zhen de)
zai mei ge da da fang jian
gu dan de deng dai
zhi neng kan dao shi zhong bai
(tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick)
(knock knock knock)
Aisha
wo zhi dao ni hai zai
bie ren wen ni zai na li
ta men yao wo xue yong gan zi tai
wo zai wei ni deng dai
rang wo jin lai
wo men zhi sheng xia bi ci
hu xiang guan ai
zen yang mian dui wei lai
ni xiang bu xiang dui ge xue ren
Hu Wei’na sings English/Mandarin versions live:
[code]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFk9aTqJ-aQ[/code]
Ah, I like bilingual versions of Disney songs~
On a somewhat related note, they’re prepping a Mandarin version of The Lion King Broadway musical for next year. I’m excited!
Has Disney released this movie in Taiwan for consumers? If so, where can I buy it? – US consumer
The DVD won’t be out for another few weeks, but you can preorder it on YesAsia:
http://www.yesasia.com/global/frozen-dvd-taiwan-version/1035202232-0-0-0-en/info.html
It’s also available on Blu-ray in 3D:
http://www.yesasia.com/global/frozen-blu-ray-3d-2d-2-disc-taiwan-version/1035202233-0-0-0-en/info.html
Thank you so much!!!
If anyone is interested, I did find this link to the Hong Kong release: http://www.hmv.com.hk/product/bluray.asp?sku=365274
I am a little confused about the different Asian versions Disney is distributing. My question is what is the difference is between the Mandarin dubbings for HK, Taiwan, and Mainland China. The HK and Taiwan release list Mandarin but are they the same dialect? Appreciate any clarification. Love this post and clips. Thanks again.
Oh one more thing, does Disney include pinyin subtitiles?
The Mandarin dubs for Taiwan and Mainland China are translated and dubbed by separate teams; they have different voice actors, different accents and different dialogue. Even the lyrics for the songs are different, as you can see in this post. (Disney takes a similar approach with French and French Canadian, and Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese.)
Hong Kong DVDs typically borrow the Taiwanese dubs for their Mandarin soundtracks. This is also the case for Malaysia and Singapore. I don’t think any version includes pinyin subtitles, however.
If you buy a DVD from overseas, be aware that it might be locked to a different region than your DVD player, so you might not be able to play it. However, American Blu-ray players will be able to play Blu-ray discs from Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Mainland China and Taiwan are using Mandarin (Same Dialect) but some of the words used are different. Also, the dubbing and voices are different. Not sure which Mandarin version is in the Hong Kong version, probably Taiwan’s as Hong Kong entertainment has always had close ties to Taiwan’s entertainment circle.
I am trying to buy up all the cartoons in Cantonese, as it seems that if Mainland China is going to force all of China to use Mandarin as its sole dialect, I am afraid we will see less and less Cantonese dubbed anime or other movies.
This is a much better Cantonese version.
Lies. I like the Mandarin version better.
Links to videos in other Chinese dialects: http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2014/02/25/frozens-let-it-go-in-chinese-dialects
OMG the Taiwanese version hahaha.
Actual Chinese version of Let it go. Hahahaha
@宋须勤_:Elsa：大雪~不好走啊！摘了手套很冻手啊！（诶嘿诶嘿很冻手啊，戴上手套不给瞅啊）说走~咱就走啊！英文念做let it go啊！（诶嘿诶嘿let it go啊，找片儿空地去盖楼啊）妹要嫁人~我很愁啊！该暴走时就暴走啊！老娘是攻她是受啊！（诶嘿诶嘿她是受啊，快来找我别走丢啊！）