[REL] Lilly the Little Fish (2017) [Bulgaria]

[Moonee]

Am I the only one that found this tremendously boring?

I watched this on Tubi English dub and I swear virtually the entire movie when someone talked, it was done through voiceover by the narrator

Unless I was half asleep and wasn't paying attention to the movie

[ghost]

Am I the only one that found this tremendously boring?

No. We are at least two.

[Moonee]

i watched it because the synopsis sounded too cute

little boy turning into a little girl and vice-versa everytime they are looked at

I regretted watching it
Almost 2 hours of a waste of time

[Night457]

I watched this on Tubi English dub and I swear virtually the entire movie when someone talked, it was done through voiceover by the narrator

I had to look this one up on my drives. (Don't ask how many variations I have.) Naturally the version with Russian VoiceOver has the same problem. The original Bulgarian ALSO has a narrator who will not shut up and does most of the dialog too. This is one of the reasons I never watched it. If I wanted constant narration I would read a book. Narration in place of spoken dialog is also why I am not especially fond of the 1960's TV version of "Alla vi barn i Bullerbyn" no matter how much I usually love anything Astrid Lindgren. Most later adaptations of her work had a sensible balance between the ACTUAL-ACTORS-SPEAKING and representations of the author's "voice". (Which I think some of the time was Astrid herself.) A little bit of narration goes a long way!

Anyway, original language with subtitles of "Lilly" would not save it for you. My insistence on previewing my downloads sometimes saves me some grief. I get justly (?) criticized for unfairly judging and rejecting movies from a quick scroll-through preview but haha it works out for me because I knows what I likes and I no longer need 2 hours watching to figure it out.

[Moonee]

yeah lol

One of the main things I enjoy when watching movies with children in them is what their voice sounds like
Sometimes they can have the most sweetest and angelic voices and I kinda enjoy that kind of thing

Not gonna lie, if the narration would shut up as you said and I was able to hear the actual characters voices, I guarantee I would have enjoyed this movie much more

[DreamScape]

The movie is basically someone reading or reciting a fairy tale, like reading a story to a child. And yes, I would have preferred to have the characters speak for themselves.

[Night457]

I figured a fairy tale narration is what they were going for. I am just not sure that works for the full runtime of a feature-length movie. Can anyone think of other movies that do the same thing in their original language version? Characters who speak for themselves sort of is one of the reasons sound movies are "better" than books, just as the video portion makes them "better" than books on tape. There was some actual character dialog heard in the Bulgarian version so maybe they have full audio recorded on set among their master tapes. Maybe we should have a letter writing campaign for them to release an Alternate Cut telling the story with the characters speaking and eliminating the narrator! But since the director and writer are the same person that might be a hard sell.

[Moonee]

I don't think eliminating the narrator entirely is necessary

I'm fine with the narration if it's used properly
Just not in EVERY Scene and at least have the characters speak

[Night457]

I agree with you and I do not generally object to a little narration. I just think a radical complete change could prove that the story can work on film without it.

I was reading the very positive IMDB reviews which seemed to focus on the visuals, which were very strong from what I saw. Also the music, which I did not listen long enough to notice. (Music really DOES take time to appreciate, at least more than a few seconds at a time.) One reviewer seemed to be aiming directly a ME and my quick dismissal:

Often, those who criticize without watching the movie betray their own ignorance. What kind of person judges a book by its cover? Such behavior baffles me.

Actually, I HAVE read books because of the cover art and fully enjoyed them...