1563: Synonym Movies

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Synonym Movies

Title text: Fans eagerly await 2015's 'Space Fights: Power Gets Up', although most think 1999's 'Space Fights: The Scary Ghost' didn't live up to the hype.

Explanation

This comic shows several "Synonym Movies". It takes several well known movies, but changes each word of their names into a synonym. So Star Wars has turned into Space Fights, The Lord of the Rings into The Jewelry God and Star Trek into Space Trip. All these movies series have the same heading, and then a subtitle. There are ten of them in the comic, and two more in the title text.

The use of synonyms makes all these movies look ridiculous, for example, "The Sword Wizard Is Back" is a laughable sounding movie^{[citation needed]}, whereas "Return of the Jedi" sound perfectly reasonable to us. Randall may be poking fun at movies that have ridiculous titles already, for instance some people think this applies to a title like "Terminator: Genisys".

The title text refers to the latest Star Wars movie (2015-12-18), after Disney acquired the movie rights. The movie is called Star Wars: The Force Awakens and has now turned into Power Gets Up. As usual, with any Star Wars related material, there is a huge fan base that eagerly awaits the new movie. But then again many people fear that it will not live up to their expectations, as was the case with the fourth movie, first of the three movies in the second installment of Star Wars, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, dubbed here as The Scary Ghost. As mentioned in the title text, that movie did not live up to the hype.

A similarly humourous effect is achieved in 1133: Up Goer Five which explains the Saturn V rocket, but words and phrases are replaced with synonyms which are chosen from the most common English words. This renders ordinary words like "rocket" into "flying space car", or "helium" into "funny voice air" for example.

See also 1568: Synonym Movies 2.

Table of the titles

• All cases of Star Wars have turned into Space Fights.
• Lord of the Rings to The Jewelry God.
• Star Trek has been turned into Space Trip.

Synonym	Real Title	Notes
Space Fights: Sudden Optimism	Star Wars: A New Hope	If you suddenly feel optimistic, you could say that you have gained a new hope.
Space Fights: The Government Wins This One	Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back	In the second Star Wars movie the Empire comes out on top — as opposed to the first and third where a Death Star is destroyed at the end of each of the movies. So the government = the Empire, wins that movie.
Space Fights: The Sword Wizard Is Back	Star Wars: Return of the Jedi	In the context of a narrative device, a jedi is a kind of wizard, wielding the Force (like magic) and the lightsaber (a kind of sword).
The Jewelry God: The Jewelry Team	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	The fellowship has become a team in the synonym version.
The Jewelry God: Double Houses	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Two towers are a heck of a lot bigger than double houses... But at least there are two in either case.
The Jewelry God: We Have a Czar Again	The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Czar is a title for Slavic monarchs, generally regarded as equivalent to king.
Space Trip: The Movie	Star Trek: The Motion Picture	Today we would say ""The Movie" rather than "The Motion Picture".
Space Trip: That Guy is Angry	Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan	Khan (a fictional villain in the series) is now just That Guy, and wrath has been turned down to merely anger.
Space Trip: Where is the Vulcan?	Star Trek: The Search for Spock	Spock is of the alien race Vulcan, and the search has turned into the question where is he?
Space Trip: Let's Go Back	Star Trek: The Voyage Home	When you decide to travel home you could also say let's go back.
Space Fights: Power Gets Up	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	From the title text. When you awake, you typically get up (from the bed). Force and power are related terms, but have differences in both real life and Star Wars.
Space Fights: The Scary Ghost	Star Wars: The Phantom Menace	From the title text. Ghost = Phantom. A menacing phantom would be quite scary.

Transcript

[Ten DVDs on a shelf. The first three stand together to the left, the two to the right leaning on the first. The next three are standing straight in the middle and then the next four are standing straight to the right. The movie titles are written on the back of the DVD cases, in white on the gray DVD cases. The text is written, so it is supposed to be read when the DVD is lying down.]

Space Fights: Sudden Optimism

Space Fights: The Government Wins This One

Space Fights: The Sword Wizard Is Back

The Jewelry God: The Jewelry Team

The Jewelry God: Double Houses

The Jewelry God: We Have a Czar Again

Space Trip: The Movie

Space Trip: That Guy is Angry

Space Trip: Where is the Vulcan

Space Trip: Let's Go Back

[Caption below the frame:]

Synonym Movies

Trivia

• Some would say that Space is not a proper synonym of Star.
  • Counter to this you could ask: "How many flaming balls of gas did you see engage in battle in those movies?"
  • Seen from that perspective the combined words "Space Fights" is a proper synonym for "Star Wars".

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Discussion

Space Trip would probably be Star Trek, right? 141.101.98.166 05:17, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Is this supposed to be related to "Thing explainer"? But then there are words like government, and Vulcan... --Zzyss (talk) 06:51, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

No I do not think so. It is not simple words, just different words with he same meaning --Kynde (talk) 08:29, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Funny, I would've said "The Sword Wizards Are Back"... I've always interpreted that instance of Jedi as being plural. --vor0nwe (talk) 08:04, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

It could refer to Luke, the only Jedi alive at the end of the movie... --Kynde (talk) 08:29, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Leia Amidala Skywalker died? Didn't noticed that. -- Hkmaly (talk) 10:50, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Funny, I always assumed it referred to Anakin, as it's the move where his sith side is freed and his Jedi side "returns".--141.101.98.163 11:59, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Leia was never established as a Jedi - at least, not in the movies. There are only two places (both in Return of the Jedi) where it's hinted that she has any Force power at all: First, when Luke tells her that she's his sister and she says she's somehow always known, and second when Darth Vader divines her existence from Luke's feelings and suggests that she could be turned to the Dark Side. Neither of these scenes serve to establish her as a potential Jedi, so I don't think she could be reasonably included in OH WHAT THE HELL I'M SUCH A GEEK. KieferSkunk (talk) 18:57, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Not enough of a geek. When Kenobi says "That boy is our last hope," Yoda informs him that there is another. This, combined with Vader's implication she can be turned to the Dark Side - something that is only ever presented as a concern for those with Force power - clearly indicates that Leia is a potential Jedi. Further, at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, she hears Luke "calling" for her, another indication of Force sensitivity. - Val

I would like to add that the novelization of Return of the Jedi, which I believe was canon at the time, strongly implies Leia Organa (at the time, as of 2019 I believe her full name at time of death was General Leia Skywalker Organa Solo, explaining how her padawan took her last name) used the Force to kill Jabba. I'm pretty sure the title is plural (like in the German translation) and can refer to Luke, Anakin, and/or the Jedi Order as a whole (I always interpreted it as the Order as a whole) - Human Physics Padawan 162.158.86.144 (talk) 06:30, 31 August 2023 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I would like to interject that Yoda's other hope is probably Anakin/Vader, who actually is the person who defeated the last (canon) Sith in existence. This also fulfilled the prophesy from the fantom menace.HisHighestMinion (talk) 05:50, 21 July 2016 (UTC)

I add another vote for plural. I believe it refers to the concept of Jedi which all but died out in the prequels (the only living Jedi were hidden and inactive). The film is about the Jedi returning both into existence and into... being active. TheHYPO (talk) 15:36, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

In German the title is "Rückkehr der Jedi-Ritter" which would translate back into "Return of the Jedi Knights" - Plural. So it is/was naturally plural for me, too. But, of course, German movie titles are no reference to the actual meaning. Since some years we occasionally use English titles in Germany, too. But somehow they are different to the original English titles... (No worry: Star Wars is Star Wars - but even that was translated in the 70's to "Krieg der Sterne") Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 09:50, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Now this is real funny: in Spanish the title is "El retorno del Jedi" which refers to one single Jedi, so it is/was naturally singular for me. I never even considered the possibility of "Jedi" referring to several people - until now. 173.245.49.74 11:20, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Also, Spanish movie titles (especially in the 1980s and 1990s) have less even to do with original titles than German ones. "Star wars" became "La guerra de las galaxias" (which means "The galaxy war" and is not much of a stretch). However, "The money pit" is "Esta casa es una ruina" (This house is a wreck), "Switch" is "Una rubia muy dudosa" (A very dubious blonde) and "Trading places" is "Entre pillos anda el juego" (sort of "This game is about rascals"). These are mere examples, it looks like in the 1990s every movie had to triple its title length when translated into Spanish. 173.245.49.74 11:33, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

In Latin America The Money Pit was Hogar, dulce hogar (Home, sweet home). Switch was Pasaporte al cielo (A passport to heaven). Trading places was De mendigo a millonario (From beggar to millonaire). It's absurd that they translate all titles twice. Xhfz (talk) 21:41, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

In Finnish, it's "Jedin paluu", which translates literally as "The Jedi's return", again in the singular. Star Wars is translated to Tähtien sota, which roughly means "The stars' war" (plural possessive). The Money Pit is Rahareikä, literally "Money Hole" (or "The Money Hole", Finnish doesn't have words for the, a, or an), Switch is called "Apua, olen muuttunut naiseksi" (roughly "Help, I'm a changed woman") and Trading Places is Vaihtokaupat (literally "Shops Swap"). 141.101.98.207 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

My favourite example in Germany is "Once upon a time in the West" (as far as I can tell a direct translation from the Italian original) which is "Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod" in Germany: "Play the song about death/of Death to me" (don't know if The Death or just death is meant). This is one of the rare occasions on which I prefer the German title, while the English translation of the German title sounds quite silly, imho. However, back to topic: The word "Jedi" is used as plural and singular in each English and German (at least I'm not aware of ever having heard "Jedis" in either language). While in German it's quite easy to distinguish them by the article (Der (sg)/ Die (pl)) even that is the same in English (The). Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 13:04, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Actually, the Italian title would translate to "Once upon a time there was the West". "Il ritorno del Jedi" implies one Jedi only. Red Lieutenant (talk) 07:54, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia does note that Czar had become a title equivalent to King by the 19th Century, so perhaps that ought to be mentioned regarding "We Have a Czar Again." 173.245.54.41 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Specifically, Цар, or "Tsar" would in Bulgarian and Russian mean the equivalent of (native) monarch, while Крал/"kral" would be reserved for foreign monarchs. When referring to an emperor, you'd use император/"imperator". Thus I would argue that "Czar", as the western spelling of Tsar, is a reasonable facsimile for "King". Meledin (talk) 14:11, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Gaaaah! Power and force are not synonyms! Power and force-velocity are! Edit:thx whoever 108.162.221.75 10:41, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

You can probably put that in the same category as the mass delusion about what weight actually is. (SWIDT?) 141.101.99.90 14:35, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Not the same, right, but given the other variables remain the same, the Power raises aequivalent to Force. The sentence in whole remains correct that way. 162.158.90.235 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

The movie cases look like they form an upside down V, I and I. Could this also be a reference to the new Star Wars movie? --141.101.98.30 19:50, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

I doubt it. It's not obvious enough. KieferSkunk (talk) 21:22, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

"Conveniently" forgot Space Trips V: The Ultimate Border and VI: A Pristine Land, did we Randall? 108.162.250.165 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

"Ultimate border" sounds too good. I would suggest:"Remote border" or "The furthest we have been from home (so far)". Continuing: "Space Trip: Overlooked Land ", "Space Trip: Full House", "Space Trip: Touched for the very first time", "Space Trip: Trouble with locals", "Space Trip: Recurring villian", "Space Trip: Space Trip", "Space Trip: Who turned off the light?", "Space Trip: To Infinity!" Carewolf (talk) 10:35, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

"Pristine Land" or "Overlooked land" doesn't really resonate with either the movie or the play. Why not "Space Trip VI: Life After Death"? 141.101.98.145 16:34, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

He also skipped Space Fights: When Identical Twins Attack and Space Fights: The Bad Wizards' Comeback.

Make that 2002's Space Fights: The Lookalikes' Offensive - Human Physics Padawan 162.158.86.144 (talk) 06:30, 31 August 2023 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

And of course Foreigner, Foreigners, Foreigner Cubed, Born-Again Foreigners, and Foreigners Fighting Carnivores. 162.158.255.52 10:33, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Great, now we have to add Demigod who Stole Fire and Foreigner: Agreement. 172.68.211.82 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Alright, now I'm going to try to do the DC and Marvel Cinematic Universes. Feel free to add or change if you think you could put something better in.

Marvel:

The Angry Green Guy Ferric Man Ferric Man Defends Himself Against the Government Thunder God Patriotic Commanding Officer Everyone From the First Five Films Ferric Man Loses His Gadgets Patriotic Commanding Officer: His Enemy is His Old Friend Thunder God: (The Dark World) Defenders of the Star System Everyone From the First Nine Films Fight a Robot Formicidae Man Patriotic Commanding Officer against Ferric Man Mystic Superhero Defenders of the Star System Again Arachnid Man Returns Thunder God: The Apocalypse (At present)

DC: Übermensch Übermensch II Übermensch III Übermensch IV: No More Nuclear Weapons Chiroptera Man (1989) Chiroptera Man Comes Back Eternal Chiroptera Man Chiroptera Man & Erithacus Rubecula Felidae Woman Chiroptera Man Starts Out Übermensch Comes Back to Earth The Sombre Sir The Source of Light in the 500nm Wavelength The Sombre Sir Climbs The Iron-carbon mixture Man Übermensch fights Chiroptera Man, just because. Villains as Heroes Amazing Amazon All The Heroes So Far (At present) 172.68.211.82 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I'm going to try to continue the Marvel ones up to now: Dark Mountain Lion, Everyone From The First Seventeen Films Tries to Get Some Rocks, Formicidae Man and Vespidae Girl, Commander Wonder, Everyone From the First Twenty Films Meets Up for One Last Time, Arachnid Man Leaves the Country, The Assassin from "Everyone From the First Five Films" Has Her Own Movie Now, Kung Fu Master and a Story about Jewelry, Ten People That Live Very Long, Arachnid Man Meets More Arachnid Men, Mystic Superhero in the Crazy Continuum, Thunder God is at it Again, Dark Mountain Lion: Patriotism, Formicidae Man and Friends Get Really Small, Defenders of the Star System a Third Time, Commander Wonder Meets Miss Wonder Trogdor147 (talk) 20:48, 27 June 2024 (UTC)

Also perhaps Thor: the Dark World could be Thunder God: A Dim Area? Trogdor147 (talk) 20:51, 27 June 2024 (UTC)

Strange Thing / Strange Things / Cubic Strange Thing / Strange Thing Revival / Strange Thing Against Hunter / Strange Thing Against Hunter: Funeral Song / Fire Thief / Strange Thing: Pact 172.70.91.64 23:34, 27 June 2024 (UTC)

Thank you to the person who did the comic rotated! My neck was hurting. 108.162.216.164 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I am reminded of the satirical memo created by a Disney animator who was upset the film he was working on had had its name changed from the source book's "Basil of Baker Street" to, in his mind, the more generic "The Great Mouse Detective", and so he falsely claimed (under the name of the head of the animation department) that the Walt Disney Company would be renaming all its previous animated films thusly:

• "Seven Little Men Help a Girl" (1937) • "The Wooden Boy Who Became Real" (1940) • "Color & Music" (1940) • "The Wonderful Elephant Who Could Really Fly" (1941) • "The Little Deer Who Grew Up" (1942) • "The Girl With See-Through Shoes" (1950) • "The Girl in the Imaginary World" (1951) • "The Amazing Flying Children" (1953) • "Two Dogs Fall in Love" (1955) • "The Girl Who Seemed to Die" (1959) • "Puppies Taken Away" (1961) • "The Boy Who Would Be King" (1963) • "A Boy, A Bear, and a Big Black Cat" (1967) • "The AristoCats" (1970) • "Robin Hood with Animals" (1973) • "Two Mice Save a Girl" (1977) • "A Fox and a Hound are Friends" (1981) • "The Evil Bonehead" (1985) 172.71.218.253 16:44, 30 August 2024 (UTC)

I'm curious, does anyone have a list to movie titles that have been similarly altered? 162.158.2.227 06:33, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

Not what you mean, but I'd used Google to look for "film titles translated names" (yeah, 'film' vs. 'movie', I know... but Google seems to have translated my Rightpondian terminology sufficiently) and it looks like it's definitely something people pay attention to. 141.101.98.159 13:15, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

I had no idea what "The Jewelry God," meant, since that's a terribly mangled: "The Lord of the Rings" is of course a reference to the ring that rules all the other rings, as was made plain in the book. So "The Jewelry God" is backwards, and should have been "The God Jewelry." Mwenechanga (talk) 17:50, 8 September 2015 (UTC)

Commenting very late, but: not necessarily. Sauron is actually referred to as "The Lord of the Ring" in the book (by Gandalf). Nitpicking (talk) 15:35, 9 January 2022 (UTC)

I feel it would've been even better if he'd done word-for-word synonyms transcriptions, instead of phrase "synonyms", which are only synonyms if one takes the "-nym" literally, the full phrase being the movie's name. —Kazvorpal (talk) 17:06, 12 November 2019 (UTC)

Honestly, these sound like the titles of anime. 172.69.162.165 06:29, 27 September 2023 (UTC)