Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2012
Charlize Theron made a trek to Tokyo last month to give cinema fans a sneak preview of Snow White and the Huntsman and meet with her Japanese counterpart who provided her voice for the dubbed version. The fantasy blockbuster follows the basic storyline of the fairy tale as written by the Brothers Grimm, with a Queen (Theron) wishing for a daughter (Kristen Stewart) with skin as fair as snow and lips as red a blood. But the timeless tale is given a new, epic twist with a hunter (Chris Hemsworth), who is ordered to kill Snow White but instead becomes her protector. At the Japan premiere, Theron commented “what I loved about this project is that it is a fairy tale that everyone knows, but it has been given a new form.” Koyuki (The Last Samurai) was tapped to provide the Japanese voice for Queen Ravenna. “I felt a lot of pressure dubbing the voice for a great actress like Theron,” the model and actress said. “I also enjoyed the nuances and small differences between the original English lines and the Japanese version.” The two actresses, both 36, seemed to get along well, complimenting each other’s past work at the event. When asked if she found Theron’s role scary, Koyuki replied, “it’s not a role that can be described in one word. She also has beauty and fragility. It is a deep story that I think viewers, from children to adults, can enjoy.” There is some competition for viewers’ attention, however, as another Snow White film, Mirror Mirror, starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins, also hits screens this year.
