Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I’m not big on romantic comedies. In fact, the majority make me want to barf. I do like the occasional rom-com, though, as long as they’re actually good. The Princess Bride, Say Anything, and the little-known In Your Eyes are favorites of mine. Okay, I probably like more romantic comedies than I’d ever admit… I just have to be in the right mood for them.
I found the above map fascinating, which shows state by state which rom-com comes up in the most internet searches. I was quite shocked that Pretty In Pink is overwhelmingly the top-searched rom-com in the United States according to Google trends. Being a big Hughes fan (I did a big ‘ol John Hughes Blogathon back in my blogging heyday), I was super happy to see that it still remains so popular. I had no idea! Pretty In Pink (which I reviewed HERE) isn’t my absolute favorite Hughes film (I prefer Some Kind Of Wonderful, which I reviewed HERE) but knowing that my home state apparently still loves it to this day warms my tiny little frozen heart. Idaho has the best taste, though… Yay, Idahoians! As you wish! I don’t know anyone from Idaho. You too, North Dakota! *high five* Give me your heart & I’ll give you a pen!
You can see the article about the above map HERE at the Mental_Floss website, which also contains a link to a bigger image of the map.
Wait… Maybe Americans just really love The Psychedelic Furs???
By the way, if you’re going to a movie with your loved one tonight, I highly recommend The LEGO Batman Movie… π
With the release of (the hugely disappointing) Zootopia, being renamed Zootropolis in the UK & other parts of Europe, I’ve been thinking about all the movies with different titles in the US & the UK.
I understand the reason for some title changes, often due to different spellings or the name already being used for something else in another country. But some of the changes are just bizarre. With Zootopia, I believe it’s because it’s the name of some zoo that’s being opened soon in Europe?
I haven’t done much research into the reasons for the name changes in this list but I’ve put the reasons if I know them. And I’ll only be listing the titles in the United States & the United Kingdom as those are the ones I’m most aware of (I’ll start with the US title). As usual, I’ll just rank these according to what movies I like the most that happened to have different names in different countries.
So, counting down to my favorite movie, these are My Top Ten Movies With Different Titles Outside Of The United States:
10. Neighbors UK Title: Bad Neighbours Name I Prefer: Bad Neighbours Why The Change?: Probably because of the Australian soap, Neighbours, which is shown on TV in the UK.
9. A Brilliant Young Mind UK Title: X+Y Name I Prefer: X+Y Why The Change?: Not sure but the US title is closer to the name of the documentary the director made before making this movie.
8. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle UK Title: Harold & Kumar Get The Munchies Name I Prefer: Harold & Kumar Get The Munchies Why The Change?: Because White Castle isn’t a restaurant in the UK.
7. The Avengers UK Title: Marvel’s Avengers Assemble Name I Prefer: The Avengers Why The Change?: I read why somewhere but I’ve forgotten & don’t care enough to look it up again. π
6. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone UK Title: Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone Name I Prefer: Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone Why The Change?: I’m not sure but I think it had something to do with them thinking that Americans wouldn’t understand what a “Philosopher’s Stone” was. Stupid title change!
5. Joyride UK Title: Roadkill Name I Prefer: Joyride Why The Change?: I think it’s because a “joyride” in the UK refers to when a car is stolen (often by young males) and then abandoned (and often set fire to) at the side of the road. The name Roadkill does actually make more sense for this movie… (which is a guilty pleasure of mine).
4. The Peanuts Movie UK Title: Snoopy & Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie Name I Prefer: The Peanuts Movie Why The Change?: I assume because Peanuts isn’t as well known in the UK but everyone knows who Charlie Brown and Snoopy are. Because Snoopy RULES. π
3. The Road Warrior UK Title: Mad Max 2 Name I Prefer: Mad Max 2 Why The Change?: I believe because the first film didn’t get a wide release in the US so they didn’t want to promote this film as a sequel.
2. Breakin’ & Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo UK Title: Breakdance & Breakdance 2: Electric Boogaloo Name I Prefer: Breakin’, I suppose Why The Change?: No idea! Guess they just wanted to be more specific in the UK.
1. Adventures In Babysitting UK Title: A Night On The Town Name I Prefer: Adventures In Babysitting Why The Change?: I have no idea but it appears to now have the US title in the UK. Both names aren’t great but A Night On The Town really sucks.
Some Other Title Changes:
These are all the movies I could think of but I found a list with more at Wikipedia if you’re interested. There are some funny ones I didn’t know about, like Bonnie And Clyde originally being called Bonnie And Clyde…Were Killers! in the UK.
Cinema Parrot Disco 