Lost in translation: Foreign movie titles

Previously on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog, I've featured movies where the Chinese translated title got more than a little lost in translation. This week I spread the net slightly further afield as I take a look at weirdly translated movie titles from all around the world...

"You're going to need a bigger blog."

1) Jaws

As I'm sure everyone knows, Jaws was a blockbuster movie about a deadly shark that terrorised the fictional New England island of Amity Island. It was a great title, and arguably the perfect way to capture the scary essence of the movie.

However, the French movie title, while not quite as catchy, was nevertheless also very appropriate because in France Jaws was known as 'The Teeth Of The Sea'.

Jaws > The Teeth Of The Sea

2) Little Fockers

The ideal movie title should give the viewer a small clue as to what the movie is about without revealing too much of the plot, but it should also be catchy. Whoever translated the Thailand title for 'Little Fockers' didn't quite fully grasp this, because in Thailand 'Little Fockers' was known by the rather long-winded title of 'Zany Son-In-Law, Zippy Grandkids, Sour Father-In-Law'.

It's certainly not as catchy as Jaws!

Little Fockers > Zany Son-In-Law, Zippy Grandkids, Sour Father-In-Law

"You're going to need a bigger belly."

3) Knocked Up

In Peru 'Knocked Up' was rather amusingly known as 'Slightly Pregnant'. I'm pretty sure that's not how biology works! Pregnancy is either yes or no, it's not a scale!

The Peruvian movie title translators may therefore wish to take a few extra lessons in the birds and the bees before settling on translated movie titles in future.

Knocked Up > Slightly Pregnant

4) Weekend At Bernie’s

I've mentioned before that several Chinese movie title translations give the plot away, but that trend is not exclusive to China. The Spanish translation of 'Weekend At Bernie's' also reveals a key aspect of the plot because in Spain 'Weekend At Bernie's' was known as (spoiler alert) 'This Dead Person Is Very Alive'.

Weekend At Bernie's > This Dead Person Is Very Alive

5) Army of Darkness

Perhaps the most bizarre translated movie title on this list is the Japanese translation for Army Of Darkness, because in Japan 'Army Of Darkness' was for some weird reason translated as 'Captain Supermarket'.

Admittedly, prior to his battle with the Army Of Darkness, Ash narrates that he was a supermarket clerk at an S-Mart, but that's a very insignificant aspect of the plot. And even if you overlook the tenuous supermarket link, Ash was a supermarket clerk, not a supermarket captain!

Army Of Darkness > Captain Supermarket

6) Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker

Perhaps the most literal translation on this list is the Ukrainian translation of 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker', which in Ukraine was translated very literally as 'Star Wars: Skywalker. Climbing'.

Among Star Wars fans, it was unofficially known in the rest of the world as 'A big steaming pile of corporate vomit'.

A Big Steaming Pile Of Corporate Vomit > Star Wars: Skywalker. Climbing.

7) The Producers

Madonna.
Still going strong after all these years.

I've never seen The Producers, but after reading the plot summary I discovered it was, as you would expect from the title, a movie about producers.

Given that The Producers was a movie about producers, I was rather surprised therefore to learn that when The Producers was released in Italy it was known as 'Per Favore, Non Toccate Le Vecchiette' which literally translates as 'Please Do Not Touch The Old Women'.

The Producers > Please Do Not Touch The Old Women

8) I Heart Huckabees

I Heart Huckabees is a movie about the Huckabees corporation wanting to open a new Huckabees store on the outskirts of a small town. The English title of the movie chose to focus on the corporate money-grabbers who were in favour of the soulless globalist chain store, hence the title 'I Heart Huckabees'. However, the Hungarian title chose instead to focus on the locals who weren't quite so keen on the money-motivated corporation, hence the Hungarian title, 'Multinationals Go Home!'.

The Greece title was less confrontational, but neverthless still carried a similar message, with 'I Heart Huckabees' being known in Greece as 'The Meaning Of Life And How To Lose It'.

I Heart Huckabees > Multinationals Go Home! > The Meaning Of Life And How To Lose It

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My short story 'The Cashier Who Didn't Work Saturdays' may sound like it was named as a result of a poorly translated title, but it wasn't! That's what I deliberately decided to call it!

You can find more strangely translated movie titles, with a particular focus on Chinese movie titles, in my previous blog posts:
Lost In Translation: Chinese movie titles (part 1)
Lost In Translation: Chinese movie titles (part 2)