Completely Different Title / Italian

Anime and Manga

• The Bush Baby is Le voci della savana (The Voices of the Savannah)
• The Italian version of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch removes "Pichi Pichi Pitch" from the title and replaces it with "Principesse Sirene". This despite the fact that "Mermaid Melody" is a subtitle and "Pichi Pichi Pitch" the series' name. There are a few apparent reasons for this, one that Gratuitous Japanese isn't common in Italy so no one will know what pichi pichi is, and another that advertising the fact that they're all princesses is good for marketing any girls' series.
  • The most important reason is probably that "pichi pichi pitch" sounds like silly kitten-speak in Italian. Had they left it in everyone would have ignored that part of the title anyway.
• Transformers: Super-God Masterforce got its Italian release as Transformers Pretenders, to blend better with the series before's title.
• The first three seasons of Pokémon: The Series have different names in Italy: The first is just Pokémon, the second is Oltre i Cieli dell'Avventura ("Beyond Adventure's Skies") and The Johto Journeys turns into Always Pokémon.
• Fushigi no Umi no Nadia (Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water) became "Il mistero della pietra azzurra" ("The Mystery of the Azure Stone").
• Lady!! was known as Milly - Un giorno dopo l'altro (Milly, One Day After Another) in Italy.
• Igano Kabamaru is Ninja Boy, and was later changed to Sei Forte Ninja Boy ("You are strong Ninja Boy") in reruns on local channels from 2019 onwards.
• Kimagure Orange Road is known as È quasi magia Johnny (It's almost magic, Johnny, where Johnny is Kyosuke's Italian dub name).
• Kodocha was renamed "Rossana" as a Protagonist Title. The main character's name ("Sana") was treated as a shortening of Italian female name Rossana.
• The '90s in Italy were especially bad for anime on Mediaset, because many of them were given overly long and completely nonsensical titles. Some examples:
  • Hello! Sandybell became La mia amica Sandy Bell ("My friend Sandy Bell"). The same dub also Bowdlerised a lot of it's content.
  • Slayers turns into Un incantesimo dischiuso tra i petali del tempo per Rina ("A spell closed between time's petals for Rina"). It's even worse... at first they COULDN'T manage to get the WHOLE title on the screen so it was shortened to Un incantesimo dischiuso tra i petali del tempo then they discovered the magic of font size and got it whole on screen during the opening.
    • And for some reason, merchandising released in Italy when the show was airing for the first time called the show with another different title, which luckily is shorter: Gli Incantesimi di Rina ("Rina's spells")
  • Magic Knight Rayearth became Una porta socchiusa ai confini del sole ("A half-closed door at the borders of the Sun").
  • Kaitou Saint Tail became Lisa e Seya, un solo cuore per lo stesso segreto ("Lisa and Seya, only one heart for the same secret").
  • Boys over Flowers became Mille emozioni tra le pagine del destino per Marie Yvonne ("A thousand emotions between destiny's pages for Marie Yvonne").
• Haikarasan Ga Tooru was an old manga adapted into an anime that was translated and broadcasted in Italy as "Mademoiselle Anne". Yes, a Japanese series (with a very Japanese setting no less) was given a French title by Italian people. It doesn't get better than that.
• Captain Tsubasa is know as Holly e Benji: due fuoriclasse ("Holly and Benji: two champions" where Holly is diminutive of Oliver, the name of Tsubasa while Benji is the name of Genzo)
  • Similarly, the anime Attacker You! is known as Mila and Shiro. The worst is that Shiro (Love Interest of Mila) is only a secondary character and it makes no sense that he is on the title.
• Mischievous Twins: The Tales of St. Clare's became "Una scuola per cambiare" (A School For Change).
• Tokimeki Tonight became Ransie la strega ("Ransie the Witch").
• Ai Shite Night became Kiss Me Licia ("Licia" being the Italian name of the female main character).
• Urusei Yatsura was named Lamù after Lum, even if she's not supposed to be the main character.
• While Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT remain with the original title, Dragon Ball Z became "What's my destiny Dragon Ball" for no apparent reason other than Gratuitous English.
  • Similarly, the anime remake of Doctor Slump became "What a mess Slump e Arale".
• Sailor Moon has different titles after the first season. "Sailor Moon R" became Sailor Moon - La luna splende ("The moon shines"). "Sailor Moon S" became Sailor Moon e il cristallo del cuore ("Sailor Moon and the Heart Crystal"). "Sailor Moon Super S" became Sailor Moon e il mistero dei sogni ("Sailor Moon and the mystery of dreams"). And "Sailor Moon Sailor Stars" became Petali di stelle per Sailor Moon ("Petals of stars for Sailor Moon").
• Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun instead became Hanako-kun. I 7 misteri dell'Accademia Kamome (Hanako-kun: The 7 Mysteries of Kamome Academy).
• Marmalade Boy became "Piccoli problemi di cuore" ("Little love problems").
• Miracle Girls became "È un po' magia per Terry e Maggie" (something like "It's a bit of magic for Terry and Maggie").
• Persia, the Magic Fairy is "Evelyn e la magia di un sogno d'amore" (Evelyn and the magic of a dream of love).
• Tokyo Mew Mew became "Mew Mew - Amiche vincenti" ("Mew Mew - Victorious Friends").
• Jura Tripper became I segreti dell'isola misteriosa ("Secrets of the Mysterious Island").
• Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair is "Fiocchi di cotone per Jeanie" ("Cotton Flakes For Jeanie").
• Bosco Adventure became Principessa dai capelli blu, or "Blue-Haired Princess", referring to the main character Princess Apricot (or "Lucilla" in the Italian adaptation).
• The anime of F was titled Motori in pista ("Motors on the Track"), which was then used as a subtitle when the translated manga was finally published in Italy decades later.
• Episode 23 of Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash★Star, originally titled "A Showdown At Last! Menacing Akudaikaan" is retitled to "La sacrificio di Michiru e Kaoru". ("Michiru and Kaoru's Sacrifice")
• Yakyū-kyō no Uta was called "Pat, la ragazza del baseball" (Pat, the Baseball Girl).

Film (Animation)

• Spirited Away became La città incantata ("The Enchanted City"). Some early sources also reported the title Il viaggio di Chihiro, or "Chihiro's Journey", which is how the title had been translated in several other countries.
• The Emperor's New Groove is known as Le follie dell'Imperatore ("The Emperor's Follies").
• The translation of the Pixar Shorts usually keeps the title unchanged, except for Lifted, which became Stu - Anche un alieno può sbagliare (Stu - Even an alien can be wrong) for some reason.
• Tangled became "Rapunzel-l'intreccio della torre", or "Rapunzel-Tangle Of The Tower".
• Rise of the Guardians was renamed Le 5 leggende (The Five Legends).
• The Good Dinosaur is renamed Il viaggio di Arlo (Arlo's Journey).
• Norm of the North is titled Il viaggio di Norm (Norm's Journey), because it was released in Italy in the same month as The Good Dinosaur, so they hoped that inattentive kids would watch the latter.
• Zootopia is now Zootropolis, as with most European countries.
• The Rescuers became Le avventure di Bianca e Bernie ("The Adventures of Bianca and Bernie") with Bernie being Bernard's Italian dub name. The sequel The Rescuers Down Under is renamed Bianca e Bernie nella terra dei canguri ("Bianca and Bernie in the Land of Kangaroos").
• The Fox and the Hound became Red e Toby nemiciamici, literally "Red and Toby-Frenemies", with Red and Toby being the Italian names of Tod and Copper, respectively.
• The Great Mouse Detective became Basil l'investigatopo. "Investigatopo" is a pun on "investigatore" (detective) and "topo" (Italian word for "mouse").
• The How to Train Your Dragon movies had that title become simply Dragon Trainer.
• Moana was renamed Oceania for Italian release to avoid confusion with the famous Italian porn star of the same name, and the heroine renamed Vaiana.
• The Swan Princess became L'incantesimo del lago (The spell of the lake).
• The Star became Gli Eroi del Natale (The Heroes of Christmas).
• Rock-A-Doodle became Eddy e la banda del sole luminoso ("Eddy and the Shining Sun Gang").
• Hoodwinked! became Cappuccetto Rosso e gli insoliti sospetti ("Little Red Riding Hood and the Unusual Suspects").
• Minions: The Rise of Gru became Minions 2 - Come Gru diventa Cattivissimo ("How Gru becomes Despicable")
• The Italian release of Monster Mash (2000) was titled Chi ha paura? ("Who is afraid?")
• Ducktales The Movie Treasure Of The Lost Lamp became Zio Paperone alla ricerca della lampada perduta ("Scrooge McDuck in search of the lost lamp").
• Rumble became Steve - Un mostro a tutto ritmo ("Steve - Full Rhythm Monster")
• In a relatively minor change compared to other entries in the Scooby-Doo franchise (see the "Western Animation" folder), SCOOB! became Scooby!

Film (Live-Action)

• Kind Hearts and Coronets became Sangue blu, meaning "Blue Blood".
• The Fly (1958) was renamed L'esperimento del Dr. K ("Dr. K's Experiment"), which is not even the initial of the main character.
• Cold Pursuit became Un uomo tranquillo ("A Quiet Man").
• Dead Poets Society was retitled evocatively L'Attimo Fuggente (The Fleeting Moment).
• George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978) was released in Italy as Zombi. Italian director Lucio Fulci then released his own zombie movie, which had nothing to do with Dawn, and titled it Zombi 2 to cash in on the success of the former. Zombi 2 was subsequently released in the US as Zombie; future films in the series, however, shared the numbering on both sides of the pond, confusing many American viewers as to why they can't find Zombie 2 anywhere.
• The Evil Dead (1981) was retitled "La casa" ("The House"), with the freaking Bates House on the one-sheet and the tagline 'It looks like a normal house... from outside'. This became a problem when the horror film House (not that one) was released on the Italian market. The latter was then retitled "Chi è sepolto in quella casa?" ("Who is Buried in that House?").
• Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs became "La casa nera" ("The Black House").
• The Italian title of I, Madman is Sola... In Quella Casa ( [She Is] Alone... In That House).
• Italy's strange trend of mentioning houses in horror movie titles reached its apex with the title they gave Prom Night (1980), Non Entrate In Quella Casa (Don't Go Into That House), despite NONE of the danger in the movie being related to houses, but to an abandoned hospital and a high school.
  • The 2008 version was titled Che La Fine Abbia Inizio (Let The End Begin).
  • That trend is still alive and kicking, as The Devil's Rejects was renamed La Casa Del Diavolo (House Of The Devil, no, not that one).
• Haunted house movie Burnt Offerings was retitled Ballata macabra ("Macabre Ballad"). Not only does this title have nothing to do with the film itself, but for once the film stars an actual house and there's no mention of it!
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl has been re-titled La maledizione della prima luna ("The Curse of the First Moon"). Okay, there is a curse involved, but still... Subsequent films in the Pirates of the Caribbean series have been titled "Pirati dei Caraibi" ("Pirates of the Caribbean"), followed with a more appropriate subtitle.
• Total Recall (1990) has been renamed Atto di forza ("Act of (brute) force").
• The Chase became Sesso e fuga con l'ostaggio, which translates to "sex and escape with the hostage". Which is technically what happens in the movie, but still.
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) has the Italian title of Non Aprite Quella porta (Don't Open That Door) probably referring to the door of the Sawyer house.
  • The Gate became Non aprite quel cancello (Don't Open that Gate).
  • And yet again: Monster in the Closet became Non aprite quell'armadio (Don't Open That Closet).
• The Italian title for The Crazies (1973) and its remake was La Città Verrà Distrutta All'Alba (The Town Will Be Destroyed at Dawn, which is a huge spoiler for the movies).
• The Hangover movies are called Una Notte Da Leoni ('A Lions' Night', which means a definitely awesome night), thus making the wolfpack a lionpack; the Italian tagline for the first sequel is even 'The Lions Are Back'. This is due to the fact that the closest Italian word to mean 'hangover', 'postumi' can also mean 'the late', thus not conveying the exact type of movie this is.
• Trial and Error, a 1998 film with Jeff Daniels, was renamed Ancora più scemo ("Even Dumber"), just to capitalize on the success of Daniels' earlier film, Dumb and Dumber, which in Italy was named "Scemo e + scemo" (more or less an exact translation of the title). The two films are of course totally unrelated.
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind became Se mi lasci ti cancello (If you leave me I will erase you). Which again is technically what happens in the movie, but still...
  • It's of particular note that immediate titles like these are used in Italy for very cheesy comedies; deeper films tend to have more elaborate titles. Naming the film like that made most Italians think they were going to see a film far more mindless than Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind actually is. Not all were pleased.
  • More important, the title format is a follow-up of Runaway Bride, traslated "Se Scappi Ti Sposo" ("If You Run Away I'll Marry You"), "Intolerable Cruelty" traslated "prima ti sposo poi ti rovino" ("I'll marry you then I'll bankrupt you") and others. When you get a cheesy format, it's hard to leave it.
• Horrible Bosses ended up being retitled Come Ammazzare Il Capo... E Vivere Felici (How To Do Your Boss In... And Live Happily Ever After).
• Get Smart, the movie, was renamed "Agente Smart - Casino Totale". "Casino Totale" is both a pun on Casino Royale (with a different pronounciation) and a slang expression that means more or less "A complete mess".
• Meet the Spartans became "3ciento", which is an intentional misspelling of the title of the parodied movie, made to look like a cross between sms-speak and southern dialectal pronounciation of the word "cento" (hundred).
  • Speaking of Seltzer & Friedberg, Vampires Suck was given the much better title Mordimi ("Bite Me").
  • Again speaking of "parody" movies, Stan Helsing was retitled "Horror Movie", to capitalize on the little success Seltzer & Friedberg's films still have. Never mind that Scary Movie itself did it before.
• Mel Brooks' Silent Movie became "L'ultima follia di Mel Brooks" ("Mel Brooks' Latest Craziness").
  • Previously, Blazing Saddles was "Mezzogiorno e Mezzo di fuoco", High Noon and a Half of Fire (as High Noon is known as "High Noon of Fire" there).
  • The Producers is inexplicably translated as Per favore non toccate le vecchiette ("Please don't touch the old ladies"). While some old ladies play a major role in the film, it's unknown why they put them in the title.
• Wag the Dog was probably too difficult to translate properly, so they gave the film the completely nondescript title "Sesso e potere" ("Sex and Power").
• A strange trend for some teen movies of the Eighties: the Teen Wolf movies were renamed "Voglia di vincere" ("Will to Win"), and the first The Karate Kid film became "Per vincere domani" ("To Win Tomorrow").
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail is titled just "Monty Python" in the Italian release. Monty Python's Life of Brian was called "Brian di Nazareth" ("Brian of Nazareth"). The other Python films were released with a correct translation of the title, though.
• There is a blog (in Italian) with lots of examples. As you can see, Ahnuld's films often have their titles completely changed.
• Jacob's Ladder was renamed "Allucinazione perversa" ("Perversed allucination")
• Shaun of the Dead was renamed "L'alba dei Morti Dementi" ("Dawn of the Dead Idiots")
• The Killing Fields had the less historically accurate, but much cooler, title "Urla del silenzio" ("Screams of Silence").
• Law Abiding Citizen was renamed Giustizia Privata (Private Justice).
• Another cool new title: Stagecoach is known as "Ombre Rosse" ("Red Shadows").
• As Good as It Gets became the more descriptive "Qualcosa è cambiato" ("Something Changed").
• Maximum Overdrive was renamed "Brivido" ("Shiver"). As if Stephen King's name wasn't an already big clue of this being a horror film...
• Coming to America became "Il principe cerca moglie", or "The Prince is looking for a wife", which sums up perfectly the main plot.
  • Its belated sequel Coming 2 America similarly becomes "Il principe cerca figlio", or "The Prince is looking for a son". They're consistent if anything.
• In Italy, Scrooged is called "S.O.S. Fantasmi" (S.O.S. Ghosts).
• In Italy I Love You Phillip Morris was released as "Colpo di fulmine - Il mago della truffa" (something like "Love At First Sight - The con artist"), and promoted as the usual wacky Jim Carrey comedy vehicle, rarely if ever mentioning Ewan McGregor's character and all the gay tones of the story.
• Godzilla movies are really bad about this:
  • Godzilla vs. Megalon is called "Godzilla-ai confini della realtà", which could be translated as "Godzilla - At reality's borders", except that "Ai confini della realtà" is also The Twilight Zone's Italian name.
  • Destroy All Monsters is named "Gli eredi di King King", or "King Kong's heirs". What.
• The first two Die Hard movies are called Crystal Trap and 58 Minutes to Die; unsurprisingly, many viewers didn't understand the relation between the movies.
• In Italy, Airplane! is called The World's Craziest Airplane. The sequel added a ...Crazier than before to the title.
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen became The Legend of the Extraordinary Men. Apparently, they wanted to avoid any involuntary reference to the Northern League, one of Italy's major government parties.
• The Long Kiss Goodnight is... Spy.
• The most well-known and mocked case is the title given to Deliverance, Un Tranquillo Weekend Di Paura (A Quiet Weekend Of Fear / A Quiet Scary Weekend). Italian comedian Giorgio Panariello joked that the title makes no sense, "like saying, 'Una Bellissima Giornata Di Merda' (A Beautiful Shitty Day / A Beautiful Day Of Shit)".
• The Fat Albert movie is called My Big Fat Friend Albert, since the movie shares a director with My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
• The Hudsucker Proxy was quite an arcane title for Italian audiences at the time, so they renamed it Mister Hula Hoop. It gets to the point.
• This Means War (2012) was renamed Una Spia Non Basta (One Spy Is Not Enough) quoting The World Is Not Enough.
• A rather puzzling case was the Italian title for Pitch Perfect, which ended up being... Voices. Yes, the english word.
  • Made even more puzzling when the sequel came by and kept the original title instead of becoming Voices 2.
• The Home Alone series got interesting Italian titles: the first was Mamma, ho perso l'aereo (Mom, I missed the plane) the second Mamma ho riperso l'aereo - mi sono smarrito a New York (Mom, I missed the plane again - I got lost in New York), the third is Mamma, ho preso il morbillo (Mom, I got measles), the fourth is Mamma, ho allagato la casa (Mom, I drowned our home) and the fifth is Mamma, ho visto un fantasma (Mom, I saw a ghost).
• Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. became Daleks il futuro tra un milione d'anni (Daleks: a million years into the future)
• Shanghai Noon became Pallottole cinesi ("Chinese Bullets").
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes is called in Italian L'alba del Pianeta delle Scimmie ("Dawn of the Planet of the Apes")... which would be, coincidentally, a literal translation of the sequel's title. So that one was renamed Il Pianeta delle Scimmie - Revolution (Planet of the Apes - Revolution).
• Belle (2013) became La ragazza del dipinto ("The girl in the painting").
• The Good, The Bad, The Weird became Il buono, il matto, il cattivo ("The good one, the crazy one, the bad one") to correspond with Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo.
• O.C. and Stiggs became Non giocate con il cactus ("Don't play with the cactus"... no, we don't get it either).
• Analyze This became Terapia e pallottole ("Therapy and bullets").
• Trading Places became Una poltrona per due ("An armchair for two").
• Planes, Trains and Automobiles became Un biglietto in due ("One ticket between two people").
• The film adaptation of Matilda became "Matilda 6 mitica", something like "Matilda you're cool". The number 6 in the title is a pun on Italian word "sei" which means both "six" and "you are".
• The little-known western The Culpepper Cattle Company was renamed Fango, sudore e polvere da sparo ("Mud, Sweat and Gunpowder").
• Chappie was given the interesting Portmanteau Humandroid as a title, most likely because the original title sounded too much like a popular Italian brand of dog food, and is also written similarly to the Italian word "chiappe", meaning "buttcheeks".
• Suburban Commando became Cose dell'altro mondo, meaning "Things/Stuff From Another World" which is also an idiom meaning "that's unbelieveable/outrageous".
• Since a literal translation would be the same as the actual Italian title for the second Fifty Shades book (see below), Fifty Shades Of Black is called Cinquanta Sbavature Di Nero ("Fifty Smudges Of Black").
• Made In Dagenham, a relatively light-hearted film about women's sewing machinists strike of 1968, was inexplicably translated as "We want sex!", after a scene where a "We want sex equality" banner is seen - and misinterpreted - while not fully displayed. Yeah - the English title was translated into a completely different English title, suggesting a silly oversexualized comedy, or even perhaps a soft-porn film.
• Cool World was renamed Fuga dal mondo dei sogni, or "Escape from Dream World".
• Jingle All the Way became Una promessa è una promessa, or A Promise is a Promise.
• National Lampoon's European Vacation became Ma guarda un po' sti Americani! (Gee, look at these Americans!)
• Perfect Assassins became The Breed of the Murder.
• Wicked Little Things became Zombies-Revenge of the Innocent.
• Bloodsuckers from Outer Space became Transformer.
• Cold Sweat became Man from Two Shadows.
• Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things became The Siege of the Living Dead.
• Werewolves on Wheels became The Night of the Demons.
• The Vampire Bat became simply The Vampire.
• The Devil Bat became The Night of the Bats or Nights of Terror, depending on the version.
• Hoosiers became Colpo vincente ("Winning Shot").
• I Come in Peace became Unconventional Weapon.
• Time After Time became The Man that Came from the Impossible.
• The Frighteners became Sospesi nel tempo, or Suspended in Time.
• Encino Man means nothing to Italian audiences, so they renamed it Il mio amico scongelato ("My Unfrozen Friend").
• Army Of One (the 2016 film starring Nicolas Cage) was renamed Io, Dio e Bin Laden ("Me, God and Bin Laden").
• SLC Punk! became Fuori di cresta ("Off the Ridge").
• Harry and the Hendersons became Bigfoot e i suoi amici ("Bigfoot And His Friends").
• Christopher Robin became Ritorno al Bosco dei 100 Acri (Return to the 100 Acre Woods), which happens to be the title of the authorized sequel to the Winnie the Pooh books.
• Paul Blart: Mall Cop was renamed Il superpoliziotto del supermercato ("Supercop from the Supermarket").
• Sylvester Stallone's films in Italy are sometimes renamed after the character he plays in them, most famously First Blood was turned into Rambo. So, when Bullet to the Head came out, they renamed it there Jimmy Bobo... and it was an utter flop, since nobody could take a film with such a silly-sounding title seriously. It got to the point that a site/blog about action movies used to give the satirical "Jimmy Bobo Prize" to the stupidest-sounding names they could find in those movies' ending credits.
• Las brujas de Zugarramurdi AKA Witching And Bitching was retitled Le streghe son tornate ("The Witches are Back"), which was a famous slogan adopted by Italian feminist groups in the 1970s. Fitting since the film has a strong feminist undercurrent.
• Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood became Un ragazzo veramente speciale ("A Really Special Guy").
• Ford v Ferrari became Le Mans '66 - La grande sfida ("Le Mans '66 - The Big Challenge").
• Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile became Ted Bundy - Fascino criminale ("Criminal Charm").
• The 'Burbs became L'erba del vicino, a shortened form of the Italian idiom "L'erba del vicino è sempre più verde", the equivalent of "The grass is greener on the other side of the fence". To be fair the film's original title can't be really be translated into Italian.
• Dead Heat became Sbirri oltre la vita ("Cops Beyond Life").
• Coneheads mostly kept its title around the world (since "Conehead" is the surname the aliens adopt while living as a human family), but in Italy it was retitled "Teste di cono", a literal translation of "coneheads".
• High and Low (1963) became Anatomy of a Kidnapping.
• Mad Max became Interceptor.
• My Bloody Valentine became Valentine's Day.
• The Crucible became The Seduction of Evil.
• Yojimbo became The Challenge of the Samurai.
• The Evil became The Roots of Fear.
• I'm Gonna Git You Sucka became Run Away, Run Away... Then I'll Catch You!
• Weird Science became The Explosive Woman.
• Murders in the Rue Morgue became Dr. Mirakle.
• Alice, Sweet Alice became Communion with Crimes.
• The Princess Bride became The Fantastic Story.
• To Kill a Mockingbird became The Darkness Beyond the Hedge.
• Bonnie and Clyde became Gangster Story.
• Food of the Gods 2 became Denti assassini, or "Killer Teeth". The first The Food of the Gods was translated correctly though.
• Hawk the Slayer became The Sword of Hawk.
• Children of the Corn (1984) became Blood Red Grain.
• The Blob (1958) became Deadly Fluid, and the 1988 remake was named Il fluido che uccide ("Killer Fluid").
• Escape from New York became 1997: Flee New York.
• Evil Laugh became Murderous Fury.
• Bad Taste became Out of Mind.
• Citizen Kane became Fourth Estate.
• But I'm a Cheerleader became Girls at the Crossroads.
• Hush became The Terror of Silence.
• The Town That Dreaded Sundown became The City That Was Afraid.
• Black Belt Jones became Quick Johnny.
• Cast a Deadly Spell became Murders and Spells.
• Innocent Blood became Love to the Last Bite.
• Stone Cold became Impact Force.
• Fright Night (1985) became Vampire Slayer.
• Long Shot became Non succede, ma se succede..., meaning "It won't happen, but if it does..."
• Idle Hands became Young Devils.
• The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms became The Awakening of the Dinosaur.
• It Came from Beneath the Sea became The Monster of the Seas.
• Bedeviled became Bedevil: Do Not Install It.
• The Web (1947) became Passion That Kills.
• Satan's Little Helper became Halloween Killer.
• Threads became Ipotesi sopravvivenza, or Hypothesis: Survival.
• And Now the Screaming Starts! became The Curse.
• The Blood Beast Terror became The Blood Monster.
• Heathers became Splinters of Madness.
• The Blood on Satan's Claw became The Skin of Satan.
• The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism became The Thirteenth Virgin.
• Caddyshack became Golf Ball.
• It! The Terror from Beyond Space became The Spaceship Monster.
• Midnight Run became Before Midnight.
• Child's Play (1988) became The Killer Doll.
• The Dungeonmaster became The Demon of the Infernal Galaxies.
• House of Whipcord became And Traces of Violence on the Body.
• Tourist Trap became Horror Puppet.
• The Losers (1970) became A Bunch of Bastards.
• Nam Angels became Angels of Vengeance.
• House of Usher became Alive and Dead.
• Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell became Destroy DC 59, from Space Base to Hong Kong.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except became Stryker's War.
• 976-EVIL became 976: Call for the Devil.
• Theatre of Blood became Bloody Oscar.
• Peeping Tom became The Eye That Kills.
• Chopping Mall became Supermarket Horror.
• The Toolbox Murders became The Los Angeles Ripper.
• I Drink Your Blood became The Rage of the Living Dead.
• I Eat Your Skin became The Voodoo of the Living Dead.
• Judge Dredd became Dredd: I Am the Law.
• Daughters of Darkness (1971) became The Robe of Satan.
• Poor Albert & Little Annie became The Impure Temptation.
• The Giant Claw became The Monster of the Skies.
• Creature with the Atom Brain became Atomic Bandits.
• The Wild Angels became The Savages.
• Valerie and Her Week of Wonders became Fantasies of a Thirteen-Year Old.
• Deathdream became Death Behind the Door.
• 24 Hours to Live became The Final 24 Hours.
• Frightmare (1974) became Black Criminal: The Beasts Are Among Us.
• I Spit on Your Grave became Don't Rape Jennifer.
• Trained to Kill, USA became Violent America.
• Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes became Carl Marck: 87 Minutes to Live.
• Hellions became Little Demons.
• The Bad Seed (1956) became The Black Lily.
• Frankenstein's Bloody Terror became The Nights of Satan.
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) became Nightmare: From the Depths of the Night.
• Blood Monkey became The Killer Monkeys.
• Horror of Dracula became Dracula the Vampire.
• The Outlaw Josey Wales became The Ice-Eyed Texan.
• Mad Dog Morgan became Hunted for Life.
• The Midnight Meat Train became Next Stop: Hell.
• One Cut of the Dead became Zombie vs. Zombie.
• Vampire's Kiss became Vampire Stress.
• Act of Vengeance became The Execution... A True Story.
• Captain Ron became Finché dura siamo a galla, more or less "Until it lasts, we stay afloat/we are fine".
• Split Second became Detective Stone, as in Rutger Hauer's character, also because the original title didn't make a whole lot of sense.
• The Hunger became Miriam Wakes Up at Midnight.
• My Girl became Papà, ho trovato un amico ("Dad, I Found a Friend").
• King Ralph became Sua Maestà viene da Las Vegas ("His Majesty comes from Las Vegas").
• THX 1138 became L'uomo che fuggì dal futuro ("The Man who escaped from the Future").
• The Big Doll House became Caged Sex.
• Brewster's Millions (1985) became Chi più spende... più guadagna! ("He who spends the most... earns the most!").
• Midnight Cowboy became Un uomo da marciapiede ("A man from the sidewalk") – the term "donna da marciapiede" is Italian slang for a female prostitute, so the title makes it clear that the movie is about a male prostitute.
• The 1949 film adaptation of The Blue Lagoon became Incantesimo nei mari del sud ("Spell in the South Seas"), while the 1980 film adaptation of the same novel was given a straight translation (Laguna blu).
• The King of Comedy was given the Spoiler Title Re per una notte ("King for a Night").
• Vertigo was given the extremely cool but also extremely Spoiler Title La Donna Che Visse Due Volte (The Woman Who Lived Twice).
• Wuthering Heights (1939) was titled La voce nella tempesta ("The Voice in the Tempest"). This led to at least one edition of the novel being given that title too, although the book's usual Italian title is Cime tempestose, a more accurate translation of the English.
• Men at Work (1990) was retitled Il giallo del bidone giallo, or "The giallo (in the sense of "mystery") of the yellow barrel".
• Silver Bullet became Unico indizio la luna piena ("The only clue was the full moon"), which was also the Italian title given to Cycle of the Werewolf, the Stephen King novella the film was based on.
• Stay Tuned became Frequenze pericolose ("Dangerous Frequencies").
• Horror flick Ice Cream Man became I gusti del terrore ("Flavors of Terror").
• Eaten Alive! (1976) became That Motel by the Swamp.
• The Caller (the 1987 film with Malcolm McDowell) was given the strange yet cool title La morte avrà i suoi occhi ("Death Will Have His [or Her] Eyes").
• Happy Gilmore became Un tipo imprevedibile ("An Unpredictable Guy").
• Blood Diner became Il ristorante all'angolo ("Corner Restaurant").
• The Banshees of Inisherin became Gli spiriti dell'isola ("Spirits of the Island"), most likely because both banshees and Inisherin are Irish references that are obscure to mainstream Italian audiences.
• What do Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Bad Taste and Delirious have in common? Answer: they were all given the generic title Fuori di testa ("Out of one's mind") by Italian distributors.
• The Manchurian Candidate was retitled Va' e uccidi ("Go and Kill", as an imperative command).
• One False Move (the 1992 film with Billy Bob Thornton) was renamed Qualcuno sta per morire, meaning "Someone's About to Die".
• Amazing Grace and Chuck was retitled La protesta del silenzio ("The Silence Protest"), a description of what happens in the film.
• The Cable Guy became Il rompiscatole, meaning "The Nuisance" or "The Pain in the Neck" i.e. a very annoying person.
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) was retitled Terrore dallo spazio profondo, or "Terror from Deep Space".
• Pin was bizarrely renamed Chi c'è in fondo a quella scala..., or "Who's at the end of that staircase...", probably in reference to the film's poster.
• Strays (2023) was retitled Doggy Style to make it clear that, despite the talking dogs, it is a raunchy comedy that is absolutely not for kids.
• Deadly Friend became Dovevi essere morta, or "You Should Have Died"/"You Should Have Stayed Dead" (referring to the resurrected girl).
• Doctor... Series:
  • Doctor in the House (1954) became Four in Medicine.
  • Doctor at Sea became A Doctor on the High Seas (and Meeting in Rio on the DVD release).
  • Doctor at Large became Doctor on the Move.
  • Doctor in Love became Undress, Doctor!.
  • Doctor in Distress (1963) became Doctor in Trouble.
  • Doctor in Clover became Go Ahead... Doctor!.
• Please Turn Over became The Truth in Suspenders.
• Raising the Wind became Plucked Love.
• The Guardian (1990) became L'albero del male ("The Tree of Evil").
• The Shawshank Redemption became Le ali della libertà (Freedom's Wings).
• The Steptoe and Son movie was bizarrely retitled Porca vacca mi hai rotto..., which very roughly translates to "Damn it you're pissing me off...". The original sitcom was never released in Italy.
• Claude Zidi's film My New Partner (AKA Les ripoux) was retitled with the Portmanteau Il commissadro, a fusion of "commissario" ("commissioner") and "ladro" ("thief"), to signify that the main character is a corrupt cop.
• Le Magnifique was saddled with the overly-long title "Come si distrugge la reputazione del più grande agente segreto del mondo", meaning "How to destroy the reputation of the world's greatest secret agent". Sure, it's a parody slapstick movie, but still...
• The 1984 adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter was titled Fenomeni Paranormali Incontrollabili" ("Uncontrollable Paranormal Phenomena"). The 2002 miniseries was titled L'Incendiaria'' ("The Incendiary", intended as "someone who causes fire"), just like the Italian translation of the novel. The 2022 movie has kept the English title.
• Hurlyburly was given the goofy alliterative title Bugie, baci, bambole & bastardi ("Lies, kisses, babes & bastards").
• The Wayne's World movies were renamed Fusi di testa e Fusi di testa 2 - Waynestock ("Fusi di testa" can be very roughly translated as "Wackos").
• Innerspace became Salto nel buio, or "A Jump in the Dark".

Literature

• Stephen King's The Stand was renamed "L'Ombra dello Scorpione" ("The Shadow of the Scorpion"). There is a line about Randall Flagg being "the shadow of the owl at midnight and the scorpion at high noon," but since the symbol is never repeated or expanded, it's a somewhat odd choice for the title.
• The Shining was retitled Una splendida festa di morte, or "A gorgeous party of death", but only in the very first translations. It was later published as simply Shining, without the article.
• The original Swedish title of Simona Ahrnstedt's debut novel, Överenskommelser, can be translated into "Agreements" or "Understandings". But the Italian title, "Ritratto di donna in cremisi", can be translated into "Portrait of a woman in crimson".
• The sequels for Fifty Shades of Grey are called Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, but in Italy they were renamed Cinquanta Sfumature di Nero and Cinquanta Sfumature di Rosso (Fifty Shades of Black and Fifty Shades of Red).
• Isaac Asimov's "Let's Get Together": This story has been translated into Italian several times, with two different titles; "Se saremo uniti" in 1964 and "Uniamoci" in 1968.
• The Outsiders was renamed "I ragazzi della 56ª strada", or "The Boys of 56th Street."
• The first editions of The Man in the High Castle were given the title "La svastica sul sole" ("The swastika on the sun"), referring more directly to the German and Japanese rule established in the book. A new edition in 2022 was given a more accurate translation of the original title, "L'uomo nell'alto castello".
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published in 1971 under the title "Il cacciatore di androidi" ("The android hunter"), and in 1996 as "Blade Runner", following the success of the eponymous movie in 1982. It was finally republished in the year 2000 with a literal translation of the original title, "Ma gli androidi sognano pecore elettriche?".
• Fahrenheit 451 was initially known as "Gli anni della fenice" ("Years of the Phoenix"), before switching to the original title.

Live-Action TV

• Knight Rider is known in Italy as Supercar. Evidently, they accepted that audiences would see it as American, but wanted a title that would be more indicative.
• The Twilight Zone (1959) became known as Ai confini della realtà ("At the Borders of Reality").
• Silver Spoons became Il mio amico Ricky ("My Friend Ricky").
• Friends With Better Lives became I miei peggiori amici ("My Worst Friends").
• Murder, She Wrote became "La signora in giallo" ("Lady in Yellow"). Not that the translators were color-blind, it's a play on words on the giallo genre of crime fiction, even if it is more an example of Little Old Lady Investigates.
• Family Matters was renamed Otto sotto un tetto ("Eight people under one roof").
• Gilmore Girls became Una mamma per amica ("A Mom For A Friend")
• Charmed became Streghe ("Witches").
• Both The Cosby Show and the Huxtables were renamed I Robinson (The Robinsons).
• Awkward. ended up with the awkward title Diario Di Una Nerd Superstar (Diary of a Nerd Superstar).
• How I Met Your Mother was renamed "E alla fine arriva mamma" ("And at the end, Mom comes by"), modeled after "E Alla Fine Arriva Polly", ("And Finally Polly Comes By"), the Italian title of Along Came Polly. After complaints, they went back to the original title for the later seasons.
• How to Get Away with Murder got the title Le Regole Del Delitto Perfetto (The Rules For The Perfect Murder).
• Full House was initially known as "Padri in prestito" ("Fathers on loan") in early seasons and eventually became Gli amici di Papà (Dad's Pals) in later seasons and reruns.
  • The sequel Fuller House, following the title above, became Le Amiche di Mamma ("Mom's Pals"). Oddly enough Netflix uses the English title for the original series and the Italian title for the sequel.
• Boy Meets World became Crescere, che fatica! ("Growing up, how tiring!"). The sequel Girl Meets World keeps the English title.
• Growing Pains became Genitori in blue jeans ("Parents in blue jeans").
• Family Ties became Casa Keaton (meaning Keaton House/Keaton Home).
• Diff'rent Strokes is known as Il mio amico Arnold ("My friend Arnold") or simply Arnold. Earlier seasons were also known as Harlem vs Manhattan.
• The Facts of Life became L'albero delle mele ("The tree of the apples")
• Sledge Hammer! became Troppo forte! ("Too Strong!").
• Charles in Charge became Baby Sitter.
• Trophy Wife became Tre mogli per un papà ("Three wives for a dad")
• Step by Step became Una bionda per papà, literally "A blonde (woman) for dad".
• Saved by the Bell is known in Italy as Bayside School.
• My Wife and Kids becomes Tutto in Famiglia that means All in the Family. The actual show named All in the Family was known in Italy as "Arcibaldo".
• Game of Thrones became Il trono di spade, which means "The throne of swords".
• 13 Reasons Why became simply Tredici ("Thirteen").
• All the shows and films with the Olsen twins got similar titles all starting with "Two twins...": Two of a Kind became Due gemelle e una tata ("Two twins and a nanny"), So Little Time became Due gemelle e un maggiordomo ("Two Twins and a butler"), Passport to Paris became Due gemelle a Parigi ("Two Twins in Paris"), Winning London became Due gemelle a Londra ("Two Twins in London"), Our Lips are Sealed became Due Gemelle in Australia...you get the point.
• Property Brothers became Fratelli in affari ("Brothers in Business").
• The Bold and the Beautiful is largely known as just Beautiful.
• Bewitched is known in Italy as Vita Da Strega ("Life As A Witch").
• The Golden Girls became Cuori senza età ("Ageless hearts").

Video Games

• Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was released as "Viaggio al Centro di Bowser", or "Journey to the Center of Bowser". This is an obvious pun on the famous novel Journey to the Center of the Earth.
• The Star Wars: The Force Unleashed series, or at least the video games therein, were released as "Il Potere della Forza" ("The Power of the Force").
• Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy became Sphinx e la mummia pasticciona ("Sphinx and the clumsy mummy").

Western Animation

• The Legend of Zelda (1989) became Un regno incantato per Zelda (An enchanted realm for Zelda).
• The Backyardigans are known in Italy as Gli Zonzoli (from the slang term "a zonzo", meaning "going around". A proper English translation of the title would be "The Walkaroundlings")
• In Italy, Beast Wars became known as Biocombat(for the toyline) and Rombi di tuono e cieli di fuoco per i Biocombat (Thunderbolts and fire skies for the Biocombat) (the cartoon).
• The Double Dragon (1993) cartoon goes named Due draghi per una cintura nera(Two dragons for a black belt).
• My Gym Partner's a Monkey became Quella Scimmia del mio Amico ("My Best Friend's A Monkey")
• Alvin and the Chipmunks is known in Italy as Alvin Rock'n'Roll (the animated series) or Alvin Superstar (the movies, both animated and live action).
• Family Guy became I Griffin (The Griffins) as a The Simpsons reference.
• The Italian Ur-Example is probably The Flintstones, which was known as Gli Antenati ("The Ancestors") in the 60s. Later on, The Jetsons became I Pronipoti ("The Great-Grandsons"). However both series became eventually known also with their original titles from the 90s onward.
• Dr. Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop became "Pazze risate per mostri e vampiri" ("Crazy laughter for Monsters and Vampires").
• Captain N: The Game Master was renamed "Un videogioco per Kevin", or "A Videogame for Kevin" - okay, can't complain too much about that.
• The Emperor's New School, is named A scuola con l'Imperatore ("At school with the Emperor").
• Spiral Zone became "Capitan Dick". No, not Dirk (as in Dirk Courage, the show's main character), Dick.
• Gravedale High becomes "Mostri o non mostri, tutti a scuola", or "Everybody go to school, monsters or not".
• My Little Pony Tales was renamed Vola, Mio Mini Pony (Fly, My Little Pony) to match its Alternative Foreign Theme Song.
• Many episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic get completely different titles: the most curious ones are "Rainbow Dash and the Adventure Book" and "Fluttershy, an Excellent Model".
• The Magic School Bus (Books/Series) is known in Italy as "Allacciate le cinture! Viaggiando si impara" ("Fasten your seatbelts! Traveling is Learning!"), although the original, untranslated title is also seen in the show.
  • Averted with the sequel series, The Magic School Bus Rides Again (Il magico scuolabus riparte)
• Denver the Last Dinosaur became Ti voglio bene, Denver ("I love you, Denver").
• Stunt Dawgs is called Il pericolo è il mio mestiere (Danger is my job)... which is also the Italian title for Stunts and Danger Theatre.
• Sidekick became I Fantaeroi, which can be translated as "The Fantastic Heroes" or something like that... which is kinda lying about the show's premise (which involves superhero sidekicks, and not superheroes)
• The Total Drama series is known as A Tutto Reality ("Going full Reality Show"), while most of the subtitles were translated literally, except for World Tour becoming just Il Tour ("The Tour") and The Ridonkolous Race becoming Missione Cosmo-Ridicola ("A Cosmo-Ridiculous Mission"). Also, Total Dramarama became A Tutto Reality: Le Origini ("The Origins")
• Monster Farm became Quella strana fattoria ("That strange farm") when it was broadcast on Mediaset.
• Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Production became Bugs: A Looney Tunes Production or simply Bugs!. After Season 2 renamed the show New Looney Tunes, the new title was retroactively given to Season 1 in 2018 reruns.
• Star vs. the Forces of Evil has Marco's name added in the title, becoming Marco e Star contro le forze del male.
• The Powerpuff Girls to Le Superchicche. Averted with the 2016 reboot who keeps the English title.
• Tiny Toon Adventures was called I Favolosi Tiny ("The Wonderful Tinys") in their first airing, but in reruns the English title came back.
• Oggy and the Cockroaches was initially called Maledetti Scarafaggi ("Damn Cockroaches") in their first airings which includes the first three seasons. Later seasons and other reruns use different titles like Oggy e i Maledetti Scarafaggi ("Oggy and the Damn Cockroaches", now the most well-known Italian title), Oggy forever and Oggy a spasso nel tempo ("Oggy Through Time").
• The Raccoons became known as I mille colori dell'allegria (The Thousand Colors of Joy).
• Scooby-Doo
  • The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was originally called Scooby Doo, pensaci tu! ("Help us out there, Scooby-Doo!"), but in the 80's it was renamed Scooby Doo e i 4 amici "più" ("Scooby-Doo and the four "plus" pals"), and nowadays it's known with the literally translated title Scooby-Doo, dove sei tu?.
  • The New Scooby-Doo Movies became Gli speciali di Scooby-Doo ("Scooby-Doo Specials")
  • What's New, Scooby-Doo? became Le Nuove Avventure di Scooby-Doo ("The New Adventures of Scooby-Doo").
• Monsters at Work became Monsters & Co. La serie - Lavori in corso! ("Monsters, Inc. The Series - Work in Progress!")
• A Matter of Loaf and Death, the final Wallace and Gromit short, was renamed Il mistero dei dodici fornai assassinati ("The Mystery of the Twelve Murdered Bakers") since the pun wouldn't work.
• While it ultimately didn't air, the Italian dub of the Earthworm Jim cartoon was going to be renamed Jim l'Astroverme ("Jim the spaceworm").
• Craig of the Creek is simply Craig.
• Short-lived Free for All became Fuori di zukka (an alternative spelling of "Out of one's mind"/"Completely bonkers").
• The Hair Bear Bunch became Napo orso capo (Napo the Boss Bear), with Hair Bear/Napo being dubbed in Neapolitan dialect. (Napo can be seen as a shortening of "Napoletano" = "Neapolitan")
• Tales From The Cryptkeeper became Brividi e polvere con Pelleossa, or "Shivers and Dust with Skin-and-Bones", Skin-and-Bones being the Crypt Keeper's name in the adaptation (but only in the cartoon). Also, the Vault Keeper was renamed "Dr. Tibia".
• Iznogoud was renamed with the Italian proverb/popular saying Chi la fa l'aspetti!, meaning essentially "What goes around comes around".
• Creepy Crawlers was renamed La fabbrica dei mostri ("The Monster Factory"), that was also the Italian name of the toy the show was vaguely based on.
• Saban's Adventures of Oliver Twist was renamed Scodinzola la vita e abbaia l'avventura con Oliver ("Wag your tail at life and bark adventure with Oliver"), a title based entirely on the fact that Oliver is an anthropomorphic dog in this version.
• Hailey's On It! was renamed Hailey c'è! ("Hailey is Here!").
• Fangface was known in Italy as either Attenti a Luni ("Beware of Luni") or Luni, il lupo con il dentone ("Luni, the wolf with a big tooth"), with "Luni" (from luna, "Moon") being Fangface's name in the adaptation.
• The New Archies was retitled Zero in condotta (Zero for Conduct) since Archie Comics and their main characters were hardly popular in 1980s Italy.

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