10 Movie Titles With Ridiculous German Translations
1. Moana
German Title: Vaiana - Das Paradies Hat Einen Haken
English Translation: Vaiana - The Paradise Has A Snag
Other than Lilo and Stitch (2002), Moana is the only Disney film based in Oceania and the first to have Polynesian characters as its protagonists; it's a fun family flick equipped with wit, catchy tunes and a simple yet prevalent, coming to self-message: a strong female character who seeks and finds her own way without the help of any demigods.
On the flip side, connoisseurs of rather tasteless movies might be well familiar with the original name of the Disney heroine, Moana which is identical to the famous Italian porn actress Moana Pozzi. With that in mind, the title was changed to "Oceania" for the Italian market because... water.
In Germany, it was distributed under the title Vaiana - with "Vai" meaning water in Tahitian language. By that logic, its unclear why the film distributors even bothered translating the title to a language nobody speaks in Germany rather than going for something like Wassana or Ozeania. (Wasser means water in German and Ozean is self-explanatory)
What is clear is the kind of dread they were trying to avoid which is one of a young mother who suddenly realizes that the movie she had just purchased for her 9-year old-son to watch was actually a steamy blue film.