Follow TV Tropes

Following

Western Animation / Animal Soccer World

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/animalsoccerworld_1.jpg
Animal Soccer World is an animated movie by Dingo Pictures, which was also made into a Playstation 2 game by Phoenix Games, with their usual puzzles and coloring pages.

Feeling bored after a long period without any newsworthy events, a group of ambiguously-anthropomorphic animals decide to organize a soccer match to create some excitement.

The movie is notable for being a bit of a crossover between Dingo's other animated films, due to featuring many of the animal characters from their previous works.

A round of applause for the UNBELIEVABLE TROPES!

  • Adaptation Name Change: In the Edutain4Kids Digital Book of Animal Soccer World, Wabuu is renamed to Dingo. It's worth mentioning that at some point in the past, the cover for a Wabuu book was shown on the site, which was never released. Whether this means that Dingo is a separate character from Wabuu, or that ASW's Wabuu had his name changed after the Wabuu book was cancelled is unclear.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: Castor (and his absent companion Pollux) was very evil in The Dalmatians, but here, his worst traits are being arguing with Jako over the ownership of a ball, and refusing to let Krummel play on the team due to being too small.
  • Animals Not to Scale: Many examples, such as a cat nearly being as tall as an elephant.
  • Anthropomorphic Zig-Zag: The animals in the band and playing in the soccer match turn bipedal when they do so, even if they are quadrupeds for most of the movie.
  • Artistic License – Music: The band's music consists of a banjo, 3 types of drums, and a violin, but the band is playing a violin, one drum, a cello, and a saxophone. And to put the icing on the cake, the cello-playing donkey tells the violinist cat "only the guitar solo, it is still a problem".
  • Artistic License – Sports:
  • "Blind Idiot" Translation:
    • In the Swedish dub, the dog asks the Ambulance Duck "Is it difficult?" whereupon the duck answers "No, only abrasions and bruises". The dog was actually asking if the injuries of the black panther are severe.
    • The English dub is far, far worse, leading to hilariously Google Translate-y lines like "Everyday's the same, the same of nothing happen".
  • Broken Record: As per other East-West/Art Media dubs, ominous jungle drums (with the occasional hit of dramatic synth strings) are looped over the entire movie, including over other music.
  • Continuity Nod: In Lion And The King, Dundee mentions his Uncle Albert. Here, Albert actually appears as one of the players...and uses exactly the same character model as Dundee.
  • Covers Always Lie:
    • The video game versions. If you're expecting a football/soccer simulator featuring teams of animals, you're sadly mistaken. What you get is a generic activity center with coloring pages and sliding puzzles, and an animated movie about animals organizing a soccer game.
    • The cover art shows a lion with a crown kicking a ball into the goal. While the movie does contain a lion king character, he does not participate in the soccer match.
    • The back cover to the French version gives a completely different plot from other versions, stating that the soccer match is being organized as a way to settle tensions between wild and domesticated animals. Aside from the fact that one team consists of jungle animals and the other contains dogs, the rivalry between one dog and one panther is just part of the motivation for organizing the match.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: Jacko names his soccer team "the Jungle Kings, the kings of the jungle".
  • Evasive Fight-Thread Episode: The soccer game conveniently ends in a tie, preventing any side from being shown as better. A follow-up match is announced, but the movie ends soon after, so its outcome will remain unknown.
  • Football Hooligans: A gang of goose hooligans show up for the animal soccer game. They're stereotypically attired and some have weapons with them before the game even starts. They play no part in the film after being introduced.
  • Foul Waterfowl: The infamous hooligans: a bunch of rude geese wearing BDSM gear that barge into the football stadium.
  • Funny Animal: Harry, a fully-clothed anthropomorphic pelican with human hair, is accompanied by a regular pelican that serves as his messenger.
  • Gentle Giant: Butcher. The biggest, strongest dog in town. Absolutely terrified of getting hit with a soccer ball. He ends up using his status as a desirable player to help snag Grommel a spot on the team.
  • Insane Troll Logic: Butcher initially refuses to be the goalkeeper for the Wild Dogs, as he is afraid of being struck by a soccer ball. He then agrees to join thinking that Grommel's soccer kicks aren't strong enough to hurt him, even though they are supposed to be on the same team. Regardless, Grommel uses this opportunity to get himself added to the team.
  • Large Ham: Both Harry and the vultures. Especially once the game starts.
    "Oh man, such a bad decision! One of the worst decisions in Soccer all time!"
    "What's this, ladies and gentlemen!? CHAOS, ANARCHY!!"
  • Misplaced Wildlife: Nearly all of Dingo's animal characters from their previous movies make an appearance here, regardless of their natural habitat. Lions, dogs, seals, squirrels and panthers are just a few examples.
  • Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here: Harry complains about having nothing to report on, which, alongside the rivalry between Castor and Jacko, lead to the soccer match being organized to create something newsworthy.
  • Pets Versus Strays: The back cover to the French version gives a completely different plot from other versions, stating that the soccer match is being organized as a way to settle tensions between wild and domesticated animals. Very much downplayed in the actual movie. Aside from the fact that one team consists of jungle animals and the other contains dogs, the rivalry between one dog and one panther is just part of the motivation for organizing the match.
  • Shout-Out:
    • The film includes a cat named Fritz.
    • Jacko appears to have been named after Australian rules footballer Mark "Jacko" Jackson, famous for his appearances in television commercials for Energizer and Nutri-Grain during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
  • The Song Remains the Same: The band's song is sung in Dutch, even in the original German version.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: Ominous jungle music is played over the entire movie, even in scenes where it's very unfitting. Averted in the original German dub.
  • Visual Pun: One that, unfortunately, doesn't translate into most other languages: the hooligans are geese. The German word for "goose" is "gans."
  • Weaksauce Weakness: Butcher, a large, muscular bulldog identified as one of the dog team's key potential players, initially refuses to play owing to his intense fear of being hit by a soccer ball. His attempts to overcome this fear constitutes one of the film's main "arcs".


Top