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33 Overseas Rip-offs of Popular American TV Shows and Movies

Live, from Finland, it’s Saturday Night...

33 Overseas Rip-offs of Popular American TV Shows and Movies

March 20, 2024

America: the land of innovation. Who else would have thought of something so daring as a fat cartoon man who hates his family, or a television show on Saturday night? TV producers the world over have it easy: Just sit back, watch the American masters at work and then copy their best ideas beat for beat.

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33

Simpsons Rip-off

Georgia ripped off The Simpsons and barely bothered to disguise it. The Samsonadzes pretty much swiped the core of The Simpsons and put a new name on. The main differences? The kids are teenagers, and there's a talking parrot instead of Maggie. Amazingly, the creator said that they didn't intend to make a Simpsons copy, just a show relevant to Georgian society. CRACKED.COM — Source

32

Italy has its own Batman porn parody. In 1982's Bath-man dal pianeta Eros, Bathman is an alien from the planet Eros who teams up with masturbating sidekick Robina. BATH-MAN DAL PIANETA EROS Instead of fighting villains, this dynamic duo masturbates them to a happy ending. CRACKED.COM — Source

31

To cash in on The Princess and the Frog hype, somebody made a lazy, innuendo-loaded ripoff. The Frog Prince is about a frog dishing out lies to get laid, in a royal court with a helicopter parent king and a whiny young princess. the Frog PRINCE To top it off, nothing ever happens, and the animation is as lifelike as a kindergarten doodle. It's as if the very idea of effort was personally offensive to the animators. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

Turkey's Demir Yumruk Devler Geliyor combines Batman and Superman into one bizarre character. The movie has SuperBatman fight Fu Manchu, a supervillain who's a mix of gay and Asian stereotypes and Bond villain cliches. DEMIR YUMRUK DEVLER GELIYOR ENVER OZER PERI CANSEL SULEYMAN TURAN ORCUN ALKAN KAYHAN YILDIZOGLU INON CAL - ere IN SEX PC - - FC XX WTW ALTAN GÜNBAY SuperBatman always chooses the most violent solution, and since there are zero special effects, most of the movie is just him beating up some poor stuntmen. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

Uganda's answer to The Expendables makes the original look like French arthouse cinema. Operation Kakongoliro! has virtually no plot. It's just a collection of scenes of Ugandans shooting and/or punching each other. CASH BAMON FILM PRODUCTIONS CALL 075459 WAKALIWOOD TUGULA OIL presents OMUKADDE NE BYUMA SGANDAR PAPENDABLES OPERATION SASI KAKONGLIRO KAKONGOLIRO Cooming SOON from Uganda & KICKSTARTER The effects look like they were taken from an early 2000s video game (but if they actually were, it'd be an improvement). CRACKED.COM — Source

28

In the Indonesian knockoff Mr. Bean movie, Bean is a ghost who has to escape Indonesian hell. There was an uproar after the movie's release, as audiences thought it would be a real movie (which the studio kinda implied) and felt tricked. MR UNDONESIA DIGOYANG GERGAJI BEAN KESURUPAN DEPE COMING SOON The lead actor was hired because he looked like Rowan Atkinson, and felt ashamed when he found out he was being used to trick people. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

The USSR had its own, more hardass version of Winnie the Pooh. In the shameless ripoff Vinni Pukh, from 1969, comrade Pukh has a voice that sounds like a Soviet officer's, unlike the gentle tones of the Western original. СОЮЗМУЛЬТОМАЬМ ПРЕДСТАВЛЯЕТ: ВПЕРВЫЕ- ЛЕГЕНДАРНЫЕ МУЛЬТФИЛЬМЫ В КНИГАХ! ВИННИ- ПУХ И ДЕНЬ ЗАБОТ СКАЗКУ A.MHANA The whole cartoon, and especially the crude backgrounds, looks like it was drawn by exhausted gulag prisoners at gunpoint. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Operation Kid Brother stars Sean Connery's brother Neil as James Bond's brother. Both Bond and Sean Connery exist in the world of this '60s Italian knockoff, and Neil is the brother of both. He's somehow even more awesome than either one (he's a surgeon, hypnotist, scientist, ladies' man, and more). NEIL CONNERY IS TOO MUCH SUCH CLOSE FINENDS... SUCH BEAUTIFUL ENERIES DANIELA BIANCHI ADOLFO CELI OPERATION KIDBROTHER IS TOO MUCH FOR ONE MOTHER! Even a few Bond actors (Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Daniela Bianchi, and Adolfo Celi) got dragged into this mess. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

Titanic: The Animated Movie is a garbled cash grab, made up of stolen parts. The movie indiscriminately ripped characters from other cartoons, like 101 Dalmatians and Speedy Gonzalez, and grafted them onto the plot of James Cameron's Titanic. The result makes all the sense you'd expect. TITANIC And, to make the story kid-friendly, a pack of dolphins shows up at the end and saves everyone. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

If you took Cars and stripped out all the charm, but added bad innuendo, you'd get Little Cars. Somehow, the filmmakers thought a cheap Cars copy for kids would be better with lazy puns about things like the size of female cars' headlights. The Little Cars IN THE GREAT RACE And to make kids resent their parents even more, there's no tension, just a series of vaguely connected events happening. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Bee Movie knock-off Plan Bee is a weird combination of political themes and sexual subtext. The plot is about a beehive rising up against a tyrannical queen bee, culminating in a group-sex-like scene of the queen's defeat. PLAN BEE And, as subtle metaphor, the bees fly around U.S. national landmarks, discuss the achievements of former presidents, and comment on the awfulness of monarchy. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

In the Turkish E.T. ripoff Badi, the alien is a terrifying abomination. Not on purpose, though. It's just that the budget was so low, Badi ended up looking like he crawled out of the X-Files. BADi Doose - CENCEZ SAYHAN TOLGA SONMIZ SERDAR SAYMAN KURU OCTAIN YENERTURK ZAFER 20.8 - NEW una The movie follows all the plot beats of Е.Т., but it takes place in a depressing slum and Reese's Pieces are replaced by a mysterious grey pile. Badi is a fitting name, it turns out. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

A Car's Life is an aggressively nonsensical Pixar ripoff. The movie is about rebellious teenage car Sparky and his female car friend. She eventually gets murdered by a bad-guy car who, it turns out, had no motive for it. A Sparty's Car's by Adventure Life 6 Then the cops arrive and bust him for driving without a license (but ignore the murder). Everyone laughs. The movie ends. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

With Future Cops, China managed to out-crazy the Street Fighter movie. The plot? In 2043, a knockoff of Street Fighter bad guy M. Bison gets the death sentence. To save him, his henchmen travel back in time to 1993 to brainwash the sentencing judge. - JOHN MOONS ON - WONG JRO - ANDY LAU JACKS CHEUNG ARRON KMCK CHINGRY - DOY CHEUNG SAVOS YAM DA CHENG Future Cops The good guys overhear this and follow them back to 1993. Then things get very weird, and the movie becomes a parade of gaming and comic book references. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

The fake Bruce Lee flick The Dragon Lives Again also has a knockoff of ... Popeye. After Bruce Lee's 1973 death came a flood of Bruceploitation movies. This was probably the weirdest of the bunch. FILM MISSIONS WHO LOVE BRUCE LEE THE JCE ack DRAGON LIVES AGAIN It pitted Popeye, Caine from Kung Fu, and a (very unconvincing) Bruce Lee against Clint Eastwood (played by someone else), Dracula, James Bond, and the Exorcist. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

Ever wanted a mashup of Charlotte's Web and Babe? No? Well, Spider's Web: A Pig's Tale exists anyway. The Hunter S. Thompson-esque plot is about a pig and a snake on a road trip that involves a gas station robbery, a high-speed chase, crabs firing rockets, and Hollywood. Spiders Web A PIG'S TALE @ The movie ends with a betrayal, an attempted murder by sausage-making machine, and a last-minute rescue. The moral? Don't lie. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

GoodTimes Entertainment's business model was making bad copies of Disney movies. They made their own animated movies based on public domain stories behind Disney classics like Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast. Weirdly, their interpretations ended up being uncannily like Disney's. Aladdin Disney sued, but only managed to get GoodTimes to clearly label their VHS boxes, so well-meaning grandmas wouldn't get confused. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

Hamas ripped off Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse for its propaganda. In the Hamas TV show Tomorrow's Pioneers, Farfour (AKA Mickey) and Assud (AKA Bugs), played by actors in creepy costumes, urge Palestinian kids to overthrow the corrupt Zionist regime. 6 اللي Fruits And, horrifyingly, to kill Jews. In one episode, Assud even promises to finish them off and eat them. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

SNL around the world In 2018, a Chinese version of SNL was pulled from its streaming home weeks after its debut, even though it was apolitical in nature compared to its American model. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

SNL around the world From 1993 to 1998, German viewers got to watch RTL Samstag Nacht It was a live-to-tape sketch show that featured only nine players. SAMSTAG - NACHT RTL CRACKED COM — Source

13

SNL around the world Saturday Night Live bil Arabi entertained audiences in the Middle East and North Africa It was canceled by Egyptian officials during its fourth season over sexual expressions that are inappropriate for viewers. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

SNL around the world SNL Finland attempted to entertain Scandinavians with material lifted from the American show. It was canceled after a single season. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

SNL around the world Italy got Saturday Night Live from Milano between 2006 and 2011. Then they moved on to other things. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Huh, quitting is so atypical of the French

SNL around the world In France, Le Saturday Night Live lasted only a single episode. They got to air their version of the More Cowbell sketch, though. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

SNL around the world SATURDAY NIGHT In December 2021, it was announced that Sky in the U.K. was partnering up with Comcast to develop a new British version of SNL CRACKED.COM — Source

8

This is not the only depressing foreign version of 'Cowbell' you'll see here

SNL around the world Saturday Night Live Spain lifted material from the American SNL and aired on Thursdays. It's no surprise it was canceled after a few episodes. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

SNL around the world From 1985 to 1988, the U.K. had Saturday Night Live on Channel 4. The show had such cast members as Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, among others. ISR CRACKED.COM — Source

6

SNL Quebec

SNL around the world SNL Québec entertained French Canadians in 2014 and 2015. It was canceled due to studio budget cutbacks, though. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

SNL Mexico

SNL around the world SATRDAI NIGHT MÉXICO Kickstarted in 2013, Saturday Night Live México was consulted on by American SNL alum Horatio Sanz. It was officially canceled in 2017. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

SNL around the world СУББО ВЕЧЕР ШОУ Russia had Суббота Вечер Шоу (Saturday Evening Show) a taped sketch comedy show that was canceled after two episodes in 2013. Eventually, though, all six taped shows aired late night in 2014. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

SNL around the world Saturday Night Live South Korea has been going strong since 2011. One of their sketches went viral when they spoofed 50 Shades of Grey with finger shadow puppets. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

SNL around the world YUJI NATSUNA TAKASHI AYABE YOSHIMURA Saturday Night Live Japan was only 45 minutes long (good!) and aired once a month (bad!). It's not too big of a surprise that it ended after six months in 2011. YU NAOMI SAWABE WATANABE CRACKED.COM — Source

1

SNL Polska

SNL around the world Poland's version, SNL Polska lasted from 2017 to 2018. It did its best to replicate the classic SNL studio set-up. CRACKED.COM — Source

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