What 16 Popular Characters Are Called in Other Countries
![What 16 Popular Characters Are Called in Other Countries](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/0/2/769202_320x180.jpg)
It's a harsh fact of life that not everyone around the world speaks English. Can you believe it? And yet, they still want to partake in popular culture -- but on their terms. So, just like they use the metric system (the enlightened, practical-minded savages!), they also convert American movies and shows to their culture -- and that often includes the names. There are so many popular characters in books, movies, and TV shows. But who is the most popular? And why do they appeal to us? In this article, we'll take a look at some of the most popular characters and try to figure out what it is that makes them so special. We'll also discuss how these characters have evolved over time and what their popularity says about us as a society. So read on to find out more about your favorite characters and what they are called in other countries.
Here, allow us to be the Vincent Vega to your Jules Winfield and tell you what they call Donald Duck in Italy.
Donald Duck
![PAPERINO Nope, the name has nothing to do with paper- it just means little goose. Yes, that's right- the world's most famous duck is a goose in Italy.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/9/8/769198.jpg)
Source: The Local
![Bruno Diaz Most Batman characters were given Spanish names in Latin America, SO Bruce Wayne became Bruno Diaz. Dubs were still using these names as late as Batman: The Animated Series, in the 1990s.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/9/2/769192.jpg)
Source: Screen Rant
![MUSCLOR Honestly, is Musclor a sillier name than He-Man'? No, not really. But is it tons more epic? Hell yeah it is! The French really know how to play this game.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/8/7/769187.jpg)
Sources: ActuaLitte, French intro on YouTube
![Dart Fener The dubbing director thought that Darth Vader wouldn't sound menacing to Italians, still mostly unused to English sounds in the 1970s SO he changed it.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/9/1/769191.jpg)
Source: Guerrestellari.net
![Severus Piton Snape kinda sounds like snake, SO Italian translators made him a specific snake. The fact that he's actually named after a village in England, not snakes, was apparently overlooked.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/9/9/769199.jpg)
Sources: FlashAcademy, Screen Rant
![Cortex Minus You have to admit, Minus and Cortex are totally names the Brain would choose for Pinky and himself. Perhaps he was personally involved in the French dubbing?](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/9/3/769193.jpg)
Source: French into on YouTube
Moana
![Vaiana Moana's name was changed in Europe for a variety of reasons, such as the original being trademarked in Spain. Oh, and because there's an Italian porn star named Moana Pozzi.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/0/1/769201.jpg)
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
![Dagobert Duck Uncle Scrooge can't be too happy that his German name erases his Scottish heritage. Fun fact: A real-life German extortionist went by the name of Dagobert as a... tribute?... to McDuck.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/0/0/769200.jpg)
Sources: Wikipedia, Los Angeles Times
![Le Sphinx It's quite a riddle in itself. why would the French call Riddler the Sphinx? Then you remember the mythological sphinx and its famous riddle, and feel like the world's greatest detective for solving it.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/9/0/769190.jpg)
Sources: Wikipedia, GreekMythology.com
![Barracuda Really, why have a hot-tempered character named Baracus when you can easily turn him into Barracuda? The French translators pity the fools around the world who didn't think of that.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/8/6/769186.jpg)
Source: TeleStar
Optimus Prime
![convoy Before Hasbro bought a bunch of Japanese toys and gave them new names, Prime was just a truck dude named Convoy- and he still has that name in Japan.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/9/6/769196.jpg)
More: 6 Classic Kids Shows Slapped Together From Recycled Material
![SATOSHI Obviously, Ash Ketchum isn't Ash Ketchum in Japan. Pokemon's creator, Satoshi Tajiri, gave him his own name, as the character is essentially himself as a child.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/8/5/769185.jpg)
Source: Time Magazine
![Tamara The Avatar's waterbending companion was given a different name in Greece, as katara (spelled κατάρα) is Greek for curse. (The name change isn't always consistent in the dub, though).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/8/8/769188.jpg)
Source: CBR, Glosbe Dictionary
![THE ATHLETIC ELF (ibrottaalfurinn in Icelandic) LazyTown's English translators certainly weren't lazy when they came up with the name Sportacus. Still, how awesome would have it been to keep the elf part?](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/8/9/769189.jpg)
Source: LazyTown Wiki
Bob the Builder
![CALUM CLACHAIR Clachair is stonemason in Scottish Gaelic. Calum, however, is not Bob, but... well, Calum. It keeps the alliteration, though.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/9/5/769195.jpg)
Sources: BBC, Glosbe Dictionary
![COUNT DOOKAN The change was small, but all-important, as the original name sounds like conde do cu -Portuguese for Count of the Ass.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/9/4/769194.jpg)
Source: Wookieepedia