Abominable , a collaboration between Dreamworks and Shanghai-based Pearl Studio, is the first animated film available with Chinese dubs across all 4000+ U.S. theater locations through the app Theater Ears. The film is also the first animated film with wide releases worldwide featuring a modern Chinese setting as well as the first major animated film directed, produced, and written by women.
The dubbing for the film in Chinese is done by Zhang Zifeng, Arthur Chen Feiyu, Wan Qian and Cai Ming. The film includes music by Angela Chang (below) and Wang Sulong. Coldplay’s Fix U is the only song that plays in both languages. If you are fairly well-versed in Chinese pop culture, I highly recommend the Chinese dubs as I think it has more jokes and a stronger emotional message. The only main thing you might be missing out is that the English dubs by Chloe Bennet and Tenzing Norgay Trainor had ridiculous romantic chemistry, while the Chinese dubs felt more like brother-sister.
To use it, download the app and download the right theater/showtime combo beforehand. Make sure your phone is charged and bring your own headphones. The app uses some sort of magical sound-canceling technology to cancel out the English dialogue. Note that you don’t want to use sound-isolating headphones since when there’s no dialogue, you just hear the outside sound. Also, if you go to the bathroom, the audio continues to work and you’ll miss less of the show
Wow, that’s so cool using technology to screen bilingual dubbed animation which allows the Chinese dubbed one available in more theatres nationwide! I’m curious which other animated movies (not necessarily Chinese) have used the same technology.
How about the soundtrack for the English dubbed version?
A lot of the major films are available with Spanish dubs. Just looking through my app, Abominable, Hustlers, and It 2 are the three available in Spanish right now. at my theater.