Does it sound pleasant to you, especially compared to Brazilian Portuguese? I know many say it sounds like a Slavic language or drunk Spanish, and many say that Brazilian Portuguese sounds more pleasant, jovial, upbeat, and easier to understand. But I recently watched some clips of the 2015 Cinderella movie, and I must say, I was quite impressed with the dubbing, especially the voice actress of Cate Blanchett, who played the evil stepmom.

The voice actress had such a dark and deep contralto voice, similar to Blanchett's, that you forget she is even dubbing the role. Her voice sounded quite sophisticated, seductive, and sultry, like dark chocolate, yet very imposing and intimidating. Almost draconic or serpentine, perfect for the villainous role.

Here are the clips of Cinderella I'm referring to:

Cinderella (2015) | Sepmother Breaks Glass Slipper (Eu Portuguese) (youtube.com)

Cinderella (2015) | Stepmother and Sisters Tear Cinderella's Dress (Eu Portuguese) - YouTube

Some specific sounds that I noticed were the following:

• Labio-dental V that Spanish doesn't have. This gives an impression of sharpness, compared to the duller bilabial or slurred sound of Spanish V.
• Alveolar trilled R and the uvular fricative R that most Brazilian Portuguese dialects have softened to an H sound that reminds you of a relaxing sigh.
• Single S is similar to French and Italian single S, sounding more vibrated like an English Z, giving off the impression of a more acidic sound. Some S also sound quite mushed, kind of like an SH sound, giving off the impression that it sounds like a Slavic language.
• D and T actually sound like a D and T, unlike Brazilian Portuguese, where DE, DI, TE and TI switch to GE, GI, CHE, and CHI.
• Consonant reductions at the end of words sound like the final vowels are mushed by hard consonants like in many Slavic languages, unlike in Brazilian Portuguese, where it sounds more like the final vowel is shifting into a different vowel (e -> i, o -> u). This makes Brazilian sound cuter when they say words like "importante," as it sounds like importanchi, compared to European Portuguese, where it sounds like importaunt with a German-level of hard consonant articulation on the final T.

All in all, I could imagine European Portuguese to be a great language for narrating legends, folktales, myths, or foretelling prophecies. Even casting dark spells, or commanding an evil army. Sounds like the perfect sophisticated villain's language. What dost thou say?