15 hilarious Hollywood movie title translations

Hollywood movies are big business in Thailand, and not just for the roadside bootleg hawkers. 

But before these foreign films hit the Bangkok big screen, they need to be adapted for the Thai palate. (Never have I felt more pity for these heroic translators than when I tried watching the Thai dubbed version of "Napoleon Dynamite.")

It’s no surprise, then, that this Thai-style makeover extends right down to the movie title. 

Thai titles for Western films can be corny, hyperbolic or outright plot-spoilers, but they’re nothing if not entertaining. At least when you translate them word-for-word into English.

Here are 15 choice specimens from the last few months at the box office:

Translators decided it would be best to give "Due Date" a more descriptive title: “Odd Couple, Wacky Trip, Go Together In Time for Birth.”

1. Due Date

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis

Thai title: คู่แปลก ทริปป่วน ร่วมไปให้ทันคลอด

English translation: “Odd Couple, Wacky Trip, Go Together In Time for Birth”

2. Little Fockers

Starring: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand

Thai title: เขยซ่าส์ หลานเฟี้ยว ขอเปรี้ยวพ่อตา

English translation: “Zany Son-in-Law, Zippy Grandkids, Sour Father-in-Law”

3. Hop

Starring: Russell Brand and James Marsden

Thai title: กระต่ายซูเปอร์จัมพ์

English translation: “Superjump Rabbit”

4. The Next Three Days

Starring: Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks

Thai title: แผนอัจฉริยะแหกด่านหนีนรก

English translation: "Genius Plan Jailbreak Escape Hell”

5. Unstoppable

Starring: Denzel Washington and Chris Pine

Thai title: ด่วนวินาศหยุดไม่อยู่

English translation: “Calamity Express Can’t Be Stopped”

"Limitless" is too vague. “Destiny Medicine Changes Human Brain” is far more intriguing.

6. Mars Needs Moms

Starring: The voices of Seth Green and Joan Cusack

Thai title: ภารกิจแอบจิ๊กตัวแม่บนดาวมฤตยู

English translation: “Mission Secretly Snatch Mothers to Mars”

7. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes

Thai title: อภินิหารตำนานแห่งนาร์เนีย 3: ผจญภัยโพ้นทะเล

English translation: “Miraculous Legend of Narnia 3: Adventure Overseas”

8. Season of the Witch

Starring: Nicolas Cage

Thai title: มหาคำสาปสิ้นโลก

English translation: “End of World Super Curse”

Click to page 2 for seven more funny movie translations