History BlindIdiotTranslation / FIlm

** Then there is the ever memetically famous ''[[Franchise/StarWars Star War]] The Third Gathers: [[WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest The Backstroke of the West]]'', a bootleg version of ''Franchise/StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', translated to Chinese, with English subtitles. But in writing the subtitles, they didn't write it in the original English - [[RecursiveTranslation No, they retranslated the Chinese back into English.]] [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity ensued]]. Some of the translations are funny but comprehensible, especially if you know the original dialogue (e.g. Vader's BigNo being subtitled, "[[MemeticMutation Do Not Want!]]" or the clone pilot being chased by droid fighters reporting, "They're all over me!" being subtitled, "He is in my behind!") Other translations, especially names, are ''crazy'' but are at least somewhat (though still not always) consistent. "Jedi Council" is subtitled "Presbyterian Church" or "Hopeless Situation Parliament." Jedi Knights are called "Hopeless Situation Warriors." Meanwhile, "Obi-wan Kenobi" is variously subtitled "Ratio the Tile", "Ratio Tile", "Ratio Prosperous", "Section pulls the Ratio" or "[[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers The Willing to Compares]]". Finally, a large part of the subtitles is simply straight-up gibberish. Yet on top of this, while it may seem like this can all be down to crappy early-2000s translation software, there's evidence that someone actually listened to at least parts of the movie and tried to "correct" the subtitles. For example, "the Sand People" is rendered, "the Pathetic People" due to an apparent mishearing of "Sand" as "Sad." Similarly, "Have the protocol droid's mind wiped," is rendered, "Is my wife," in apparently another mishearing.

** Then there is the ever memetically famous ''[[Franchise/StarWars Star War]] The Third Gathers: [[WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest The Backstroke of the West]]'', a bootleg version of ''Franchise/StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', translated to Chinese, with English subtitles. But in writing the subtitles, they didn't write it in the original English - [[RecursiveTranslation No, they retranslated the Chinese back into English.]] [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity ensued]]. Some of the translations are funny but comprehensible, especially if you know the original dialogue (e.g. Vader's BigNo being subtitled, "[[MemeticMutation Do Not Want!]]" or the clone pilot being chased by droid fighters reporting, "They're all over me!" being subtitled, "He is in my behind!") Other translations, especially names, are ''crazy'' but are at least somewhat (though still not always) consistent. "Jedi Council" is subtitled "Presbyterian Church" or "Hopeless Situation Parliament." Jedi Knights are called "Hopeless Situation Warriors." Meanwhile, "Obi-wan Kenobi" is variously subtitled "Ratio the Tile", "Ratio Tile", "Ratio Prosperous", "Section pulls the Ratio" or "[[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers The Willing to Compares]]". Finally, a large part of the subtitles is simply straight-up gibberish.
*** What's the cause for a lot of this, you may ask? Apart from Chinese-to-English computer translation software not being that great, ''especially'' in the early 2000s, the unique characteristics of the Chinese language play into it. Chinese must render all foreign words using its own characters, all of which already have their own meanings. Therefore, out of context, this causes BiteTheWaxTadpole. It's hard enough to do for real words, much less totally made up ones like "Anakin" or "Obi-wan." For example, to translate the word "Jedi", the translator used the characters 绝地 to get the sound "Juédì". Except in Chinese, the characters 绝地 already have a meaning: it sounds like "Juédì" but in Chinese it literally means "end ground". "End ground" is an expression in Chinese meaning, "a battle with no possible retreat." Thus in the subtitles "Jedi Knight" is rendered as "Hopeless Situation Warrior". Repeat this same process for every off-the-wall name in the subtitles and you have your answer.

*** What's the cause for a lot of this, you may ask? Apart from Chinese-to-English computer translation software not being that great, ''especially'' in the early 2000s, the unique characteristics of the Chinese language play into it. Chinese must render all foreign words using its own characters, all of which already have their own meanings. Therefore, out of context, this causes BiteTheWaxTadpole. It's hard enough to do for real words, much less totally made up ones like "Anakin" or "Obi-wan." For example, to translate the word "Jedi", the translator used the characters 绝地 to get the sound, "Juédì". Except in Chinese, the characters 绝地 already have a meaning: it sounds like "Juédì" but in Chinese it literally means "end ground". "End ground" is an expression in Chinese meaning, "a battle with no possible retreat." Thus in the subtitles "Jedi Knight" is rendered as "Hopeless Situation Warrior". Repeat this same process for every off-the-wall name in the subtitles and you have your answer.

** Then there is the ever memetically famous ''[[Franchise/StarWars Star War]] The Third Gathers: [[WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest The Backstroke of the West]]'', a bootleg version of ''Franchise/StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', translated to Chinese, with English subtitles. But in writing the subtitles, they didn't write it in the original English - [[RecursiveTranslation No, they retranslated the Chinese back into English.]] [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity ensued]]. Some of the translations are funny but comprehensible, especially if you know the original dialogue (e.g. Vader's BigNo being subtitled, "[[MemeticMutation Do Not Want!]]" or the clone pilot being chased by droid fighters reporting, "They're all over me!" being subtitled, "He is in my behind!") Other translations, especially names, are ''crazy'' but are at least somewhat (though still not always) consistent. "Jedi Council" is subtitled "Presbyterian Church" or "Hopeless Situation Parliament." Jedi Knights are called "Hopeless Situation Warriors." Meanwhile, "Obi-wan Kenobi" is variously subtitled as, "Ratio the Tile", "Ratio Tile", "Ratio Prosperous", "Section pulls the Ratio" or "[[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers The Willing to Compares]]". Finally, a large part of the subtitles is simply straight-up gibberish.

** Then there is the ever memetically famous ''[[Franchise/StarWars Star War]] The Third Gathers: [[WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest The Backstroke of the West]]'', a bootleg version of ''Franchise/StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', translated to Chinese, with English subtitles. But in writing the subtitles, they didn't write it in the original English - [[RecursiveTranslation No, they retranslated the Chinese back into English.]] [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity ensued]]. Some of the translations are funny but comprehensible, especially if you know the original dialogue (e.g. Vader's BigNo being subtitled, "[[MemeticMutation Do Not Want!]]" or the clone pilot being chased by droid fighters reporting, "They're all over me!" being subtitled, "He is in my behind!") Other translations, especially names, are ''crazy'' but are at least somewhat (though still not always) consistent. The "Jedi Council" is subtitled "Presbyterian Church" or "Hopeless Situation Parliament." Jedi Knights are called "Hopeless Situation Warriors." Meanwhile, "Obi-wan Kenobi" is variously subtitled as, "Ratio the Tile", "Ratio Tile", "Ratio Prosperous", "Section pulls the Ratio" or "[[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers The Willing to Compares]]". Finally, a large part of the subtitles is simply straight-up gibberish.

*** What's the cause for a lot of this, you may ask? Apart from Chinese-to-English computer translation software not being that great, ''especially'' in the early 2000s, the unique characteristics of the Chinese language play into it. Chinese must render all foreign words with its own characters, all of which already have their own meaning. Therefore, out of context, this is the cause of BiteTheWaxTadpole. This is hard enough to do for real words, much less totally made up ones like "Anakin" or "Obi-wan." For example, to translate the word "Jedi", the translator used the characters 绝地 to get the sound, "Juédì". Except in Chinese, the characters 绝地 already have a meaning: it sounds like "Juédì" but in Chinese it literally means "end ground". "End ground" is an expression in Chinese meaning, "a battle with no possible retreat." Thus in the subtitles "Jedi Knight" is rendered as "Hopeless Situation Warrior". Repeat this same process for every off-the-wall name in the subtitles and you have your answer.

** What's the cause for a lot of this, you may ask? Apart from Chinese-to-English computer translation software not being that great, ''especially'' in the early 2000s, the unique characteristics of the Chinese language play into it. Chinese must render all foreign words with its own characters, all of which already have their own meaning. Therefore, out of context, this is the cause of BiteTheWaxTadpole. This is hard enough to do for real words, much less totally made up ones like "Anakin" or "Obi-wan." For example, to translate the word "Jedi", the translator used the characters 绝地 to get the sound, "Juédì". Except in Chinese, the characters 绝地 already have a meaning: it sounds like "Juédì" but in Chinese it literally means "end ground". "End ground" is an expression in Chinese meaning, "a battle with no possible retreat." Thus in the subtitles "Jedi Knight" is rendered as "Hopeless Situation Warrior". Repeat this same process for every off-the-wall name in the subtitles and you have your answer.

** Then there is the ever memetically famous ''[[Franchise/StarWars Star War]] The Third Gathers: [[WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest The Backstroke of the West]]'', a bootleg version of ''Franchise/StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', translated to Chinese, with English subtitles. But in writing the subtitles, they didn't write it in the original English - [[RecursiveTranslation No, they retranslated the Chinese back into English.]] [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity ensued]], including translating Vader's BigNo as "[[MemeticMutation Do Not Want!]]"
--> ''"Everything ends The Peaceful Is Willing To! [[IHaveTheHighGround The geography that I stands compares you superior!]]"''
** Especially funny in every instance involving elephants, who are big and good, where they were trying to go "seems like". And using the F-word as a replacement for "work" or "do."
--> '''Do you fuck on I?'''''
** Other instances involve translating "I have been appointed to the Jedi Council" as "I was made (as in a [[TheMafia made man]]) by the Presbyterian Church" and one of the RedShirt pilots in the opening sequence getting the line "He is in my behind!" ("They're all over me!"). By the way, the Chancellor is 'D' and the Presbyterian Church want to know him at fuck.
** Several lines aren't even so much inaccurate translations as the translator apparently mishearing things. For instance, "Have the protocol droid's mind wiped" got turned into "Is my wife."
** That said, one line actually came out sounding [[AchievementsInIgnorance rather poetic, and considerably better than the original]]. Precisely, Obi-Wan's response to Vader's iconic (and one of the few lines to be preserved) accusation "you have turned her against me!" went from "you have done that yourself" to "this is your own masterpiece!".

** One of the early Russian dubs of ''Star Wars: A New Hope'' renamed Obi-Wan to "Obi-1". That being: "Obi-Odeen" - "odeen" being the Russian word for "one." They misheard "-Wan" as "One" and translated it literally.

** One of the early Russian dubs of ''Star Wars: A New Hope'' renamed Obi-Wan to "Obi-1". That is: "Obi-Odeen" - "odeen" being the Russian word for "one." They misheard "-Wan" as "One" and translated it literally.

** One of the early Russian dubs of ''Star Wars: A New Hope'' renamed Obi-Wan to "Obi-1" that is "Obi-Odeen" - "odeen" being the Russian word for "one." They misheard "-Wan" as "One" and translated it literally.

** One of the early Russian dubs of ''Star Wars: A New Hope'' renamed Obi-Wan to "Obi-Odeen". They literally translated it to the Russian word for "One", as they misheard "Wan" as "One".

** The otherwise decent Greek dub has the [[DownplayedTrope minor mistake of]], for whatever reason, changing Simba's asking Scar what he would do to him asking what would become of him.

** One of the lines in "Love is an Open Door" is "We finish each other's - sandwiches!" However, the wordplay of "sentences" vs. "sandwiches" isn't really translatable into other languages - for instance, in the French translation, the line ends up being something like "How a stranger finishes - all your sentences?" and completely ignores the "sandwiches" bit. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, this creates a problem in that now [[DubInducedPlotHole this part doesn't foreshadow that Hans is the Big Bad]].]]

* The Czech translation of ''Film/TheRock'' has become legendary in the Czech Republic. There are two major mistranslations. Firstly, "... he was trained by British Intelligence" was translated as "Byl vycvičen britskou inteligencí", but this means "He was trained by the British intellectual elite", as "inteligence" in Czech means "intelligentsia", as in scientists and academics as a social group. The second flaw was even more legendary, when Connery's character is granted "amnesty from General Attorney". In the Czech translation, it is "milost od generála Attornyho" ("amnesty from general Attorney"), as in amnesty from someone who with the rank of general and name Attorney, instead of "Prokurátor", which is the correct translation of "General Attorney".

* Czech translation of film "The Rock" became legendary in Czech Republic. In film are two great translation flaws. Part "... he was trained by British Intelligence" was translated as "Byl vycvičen britskou inteligencí", however, in this meaning, reverse translation would be "He was trained by British academicians" or "British intellect" as inteligence in Czech language mean scientists and academicians as social group, or intellect. Second flaw was even more legendary, when Connery character is granted "amnesty from General Attorney". In Czech translation, it is "milost od generála Attornyho". Reverse translation - "amnesty from general Attorney", as it was amnesty from someone who hold rank of general and name Attorney, instead of "Prokurátor", which is right translation of "General Attorney".

* The infamous ''E.T. the Porno'' has as its full title one case of this onto Portuguese (as even if the movie's German, the bootlegs seemingly got the Brazilian version): "E.T. of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varginha_UFO_incident Vagina]]: A Fuck Out of This World" became ''THE E.T. OF VAGINA: ONE SETTLES OF THE OTHER WORLD Or Specially Terrestrian: The extraterrestrial one''

* The 2011 film ''Film/MrPoppersPenguins'' was released in France as ''Monsieur Popper et ses pingouins'', which is a mistranslation: in French, a "pingouin" is an "auk"; the word for "penguin" is "manchot". However, penguins are often referred to as "pingouins" in French, even though this usage is technically inaccurate, and they may have done this deliberately so the title didn't lose its [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal alliterative appeal]]. Averted in Quebec, where the movie was released under the title ''Monsieur Popper et ses manchots''.

* The 2011 film ''Film/MrPoppersPenguins'' was released in France as ''Monsieur Popper et ses pingouins'', which is a mistranslation: in French, a "pingouin" is an "auk"; "penguin" is "manchot". However, penguins are often referred to as "pingouins" in French, even though this usage is technically inaccurate, and they may have done this deliberately so the title didn't lose its [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal alliterative appeal]]. Averted in Quebec, where the movie was released under the title ''Monsieur Popper et ses manchots''.

* The 2011 film ''Film/MrPoppersPenguins'' was released in France under the title ''Monsieur Popper et ses pingouins'', which is a mistranslation of the original title. In French, "pingouin" means an "auk," while a "penguin" in French means a "manchot." Averted in Quebec, where the movie was released under the title ''Monsieur Popper et ses manchots''.

* Daniel Lehmussaari of ''Film/DeathAcademy'' fame tends to provide his own English subtitles to his films, with mixed results. For example, ''Svart död'' features an exchange where a character mutters "Svammel"[[note]]"ramblings", or in this case claiming somebody else is talking "nonsense"[[/note]], which gets rendered as... "Waffle." (While he is half right in that the verb form "svamla" could be translated to "waffling", the noun forms don't really work the same way.)

** Then there is the ever memetically famous ''[[Franchise/StarWars Star War]] The Third Gathers: [[WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest The Backstroke of the West]]'', a bootleg version of ''StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', translated to Chinese, with English subtitles. But in writing the subtitles, they didn't write it in the original English - [[RecursiveTranslation No, they retranslated the Chinese back into English.]] [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity ensued]], including translating Vader's BigNo as "[[MemeticMutation Do Not Want!]]"

* Found in ''Good Morning People'', a student film shown at 2008 Asian American Showcase. Most of the spoken lines were in Japanese, with subtitles translating it literally, keeping the original Japanese grammar and sentence construction intact.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5cAHrA8Qiw This]] version of ''{{WesternAnimation/Foodfight}}'' found by Website/YouTube personality, {{LetsPlay/Critikal}}, is embedded with some extremely misinterpreted and inaccurate subtitles, that can only be occasionally deciphered as having first been translated into Finnish then back into English by someone with a very poor grasp on the English language.

** One of the lines in "Love is an Open Door" is "We finish each other's - sandwiches!" However, the wordplay of "sentences" vs. "sandwiches" isn't really translatable into other languages - for instance, in the French translation, the line ends up being something like "How a stranger finishes - all your sentences?" and completely ignores the "sandwiches" bit. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, this creates a problem in that now this part doesn’t foreshadow that Hans is the BigBad.]]

** One of the lines in "Love is an Open Door" is "We finish each other's - sandwiches!" However, the wordplay of "sentences" vs. "sandwiches" isn't really translatable into other languages - for instance, in the French translation, the line ends up being something like "How a stranger finishes - all your sentences?" and completely ignores the "sandwiches" bit. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, this creates a problem in that now there's nothing in the song foreshadowing that Hans is the BigBad.]]

* A unusual example of a country completely butchering its own subtitles is ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'', which came with some hilariously misquoted subtitles such as "I'll man his grave" instead of "on Marni's grave".