10 Hilariously Terrible Translations Of Famous Movie Titles

8. Grease Is Called "Vaseline" In Argentina

Paramount Pictures

Grease is a lighthearted musical that manages to remain upbeat despite having song lyrics that allude to rape ("did she put up a fight?") and an overall lesson that encourages women to totally change their personalities to find love. Set in the 1950's, its title evokes the decade, referring to the slang term "greasers" for the popular guys (who used a lot of hairgel).

In Spanish speaking Argentina, greasers was not a slang term that ever existed. The Spanish term for grease ("grasa") specifically refers to either animal fat or motor grease. Understandably, neither were things the movie was meant to invoke. So the translators tried to find a product similar to hair grease, and came up with Vaseline.

It's a perfect example of something getting lost in translation - you can see the logic at work, but the outcome is basically the opposite of what they were going for.

Contributor
Contributor

David is an office drone and freelance writer for WhatCulture and Moviepilot, among others. He's also foolishly writing a serialised novel on Jukepop and has his own irregularly updated website. He's available for freelance work. Reach out on Twitter to @davefox990