Dubbing animated films into Lithuanian was still a novelty in the early 2000s. At the time, LRT journalists had the opportunity to witness how the legendary Shrek film found its Lithuanian voice. Take a look at the archival footage.
Shrek was voiced by Giedrius Arbačiauskas, Donkey by Aidas Giniotis, and Fiona by Aldona Vilutytė. Arbačiauskas joked that the characters and the actors who voiced them had something in common.
“The body type is similar,” he told LRT in 2004. “As for lifestyle… I don’t live in a swamp, but when you start voicing a character, you feel their inner tremor, their inner spirit, and you try to capture and hold on to it throughout the film. It’s a very interesting job.”
Vilutytė, whose voice brought Princess Fiona to life, also described dubbing animated films as a pleasure. “I really like my work – acting in theatre, dubbing,” she said.
Meanwhile, Giniotis said that voicing animated characters was also challenging, especially as Donkey was originally voiced by Eddie Murphy, whose rapid-fire delivery was difficult to match.
“It’s hard, because Eddie Murphy speaks very quickly and uses slang that we don’t allow ourselves. That creates difficulties, but we try to overcome them,” the actor said.
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