Sad Story of Luna Maya Dubbing Process for 'MULAN' While Her Pet Dog Passed Away

Kapanlagi.com - Luna Maya was chosen by Disney to be one of the voice actors for the Indonesian dubbing version of the live-action MULAN film. She voiced the character named Xianniang, played by international actress Gong Li.

Considering this is her first experience voicing a Hollywood production, Luna felt proud. However, at the same time, she also struggled to synchronize the Indonesian dialogue with the English lip movements.

"When speaking in English, the words are short, but when translated into Indonesian, they become longer. So, when speaking with a flat voice, with an expression that seems cold, cruel, it has to match the quick facial expression. So, it's difficult for me," said Luna during a virtual conference session via Zoom on Thursday (11/19/2020).

1. Crying Over the Loss of Jelly

© instagram.com/lunamaya

There is a sad story when the dubbing process for MULAN was taking place. At the same time, Luna Maya was grieving because she lost her dog named Jelly due to illness.

"So when I was about to go to the studio, I thought about visiting my sick dog. When I arrived there (at the clinic), I held her, but she was no longer there. So I brought her in the car. When I arrived at the studio, I came to the location with tears streaming down, crying. When asked why, I answered 'Jelly passed away'," recalled this 31-year-old woman.

2. Asking for One Dubbing Process

Unable to hold back her tears, Luna Maya's voice became shaky. Therefore, she asked the dubbing team in the studio to complete the voice recording process in one day so that it would not be inconsistent if continued the next day.

"I told my friends who were helping me in the studio, 'My voice will be different, you know. Because if we cry and continue tomorrow, the voice will definitely be different. What if we finish everything today so that the voice remains the same, not inconsistent'. Then, from the original schedule of two days, it became one day. Thank God, what was thought to take three hours turned out to take one era," Luna explained.

3. Thank You to Jelly

After providing the voice for Xianniang, Luna Maya expressed her gratitude to Jelly. The process of losing (the character) allowed her to experience the emotions needed to bring the character to life.

"I am thankful for the scene where Xianniang cries. And I was able to feel it because I was heartbroken that day. It was a bit sad, but it was very helpful because I needed the sadness. Thank you, Jelly," she said with a smile.

(kpl/abs/rsp)