Harry Potter 7 - July 21st!

[Darth Caedus]

I will always enjoy Jim Dale since I loved Pete's Dragon as a kid.

But for something as British as Harry Potter, I would choose Stephen Fry if I had a chance.

If I recall correctly, Jim Dale is british as well. I have read each book and then listened to each book on tape with Dale, mostly listen to books at work (yes, I'm that bored). I love Dale's Snape and Dumbledore, the voices fit the characters so perfectly.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Dale is Welsh I believe, but the accent is pretty much the same as Fry's. Fry has a dryer wit though and there is a big difference in the reading - I've listened to both multiple times.

 

[Darth Caedus]

Dale is Welsh I believe, but the accent is pretty much the same as Fry's. Fry has a dryer wit though and there is a big difference in the reading - I've listened to both multiple times.

I'm curious, can you explain what the differences are? I find it curious that two people reading the same material making it sound different

 

[tomandshell]

I know Dale isn't American, but his voice just doesn't have the quintessential British quality that Fry has in spades.

 

[gdb]

I love Stephen Fry's reading, but I think Jim Dale is equally good! I can't believe you don't like him. I believe last time it took quite awhile after the book was published for the UK audiobook version to be finished.

I think it's a matter of style. Dale gives a good reading but he drones on as a matter-of-fact narrator -- which is a valid style and if there wasn't a Fry option it would be fine.

But Fry is animated and does all the voices with a distint accent and screams and songs. I espcially like his line readings for Ron and Herminone shouting "Scabbers!" throughout the first few books. And I don't care how great that little actress is in the movies, Stephen's Hermione is hands down the best ever! He really captures her attitude and the way she ends her sentences with question marks just to show how clever she is.

I think I've listened to Dale reading 3 and 4 once. And Fry reading 1-3 twice and 4, 5 and 6 once. I actually have them in MP3 format so I listen to them on my iPod.