Germans Love David Hasselhoff/Western Animation

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Real Life Examples

  • Caillou is, for reasons unknown, extremely popular in Turkey. The primary broadcaster of the show, Yumurcak TV, airs a one-hour two-episode back-to-back slot of the show at 7AM, and up to 3 additional half-hour slots through the day, seven days a week. Commercials for Caillou merchandise can last up to 5 minutes, and the toys are abundant in the country.
  • Thomas the Tank Engine is so popular in Japan that not only did they get merchandise that isn't available in other countries, they got a theme park in Mt Fuji.
  • Kim Possible is huge in Germany. Fans (and Networks) on that side of the globe staged a hissy fit that persuaded Disney to renew the series. Germany is also the only country where the full series is available on DVD.
  • While considered a classic by many, the Academy Award winning short Ferdinand the Bull is starting to fade into obscurity in America as it hasn't been aired for a very long time. In Sweden, it seems to be a long standing tradition to air Ferdinand every Christmas Eve alongside From All of Us to All of You.
  • The Simpsons Lisa Simpson is apparently the most popular main cast member in Japan. Considering that she's a studious and intelligent Buddhist, this isn't too surprising.
    • Also the show is extremely popular in Spain, to near-religious levels
    • This doesn't end here; in Argentina the WHOLE Sunday programation of a TV broadcast network from noon to 5 is Simpsons re-runs, and with fairly good ratings too.
  • The low-budget Canadian cartoon Kevin Spencer is surprisingly popular in Spanish-speaking countries, to the point where you can find more Spanish dubs on YouTube than the original English versions.
  • Transformers is half an example—it's far more popular in America than in Japan, despite the robot designs being Japanese, while the names and story were made in America. This may be because the Japanese see sentient robots without pilots as "kiddy" (and the franchise is marketed to small children in Japan). Indeed, Japanese-only series tend to feature people piloting the Transformers (Transformers Headmasters and Kiss Players). It's also very popular in China, due to the first generation (heh, generation one) of children born under the "one child per family" law watching television on a massive scale. The people who watched the 2007 movie weren't children, but adults who watched as children back in the 1990s.
    • Michael Bay mentions in the DVD Commentary that when he screened the movie for Japanese producers, they went "Oooh". He doesn't mention this (and may not know), but considering that Transformers is mostly marketed to children in Japan, seeing the edgier movie may have been somewhat of a shock.
  • Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: An Americanization of Japanese pop stars has a Spanish dub that is incredibly popular. In fact it is easier to find online videos of the Spanish dub than of the English or Japanese versions.
    • And the Japanese consider those two singers foreigners for all intents and purposes, strengthening this example of the trope.
    • Also, Andy Sturmer achieved greater commercial success as a songwriter for Puffy than as a member of Jellyfish.
  • Extreme Ghostbusters has enough popularity in Europe that it has a few video game adaptations...
    • It became incredily popular in Puerto Rico when it premiered during the block of cartoons shown between 3:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon, and you could practically listen to children in cars after being picked up from school frantically begging their parents to get home quick so they wouldn't miss that day's episode. It was so popular that it was one of few cartoons to enjoy an entire run of all its episodes, as local Puertorican tv channels were somewhat notorious for taking animated series off the air before all episodes were shown.
  • The Hanna-Barbera cartoon Wacky Races is apparently popular in Japan, with some anime series making reference to or parodying the show. Wacky Races is apparently also popular in the United Kingdom, judging from Google searching turning up various British sites making use of the term "wacky races" or referencing the cartoon itself... then there's this.
    • One of the classic SD Gundam cartoons is an out-and-out parody of Wacky Races, with Gundam ZZ villains Yazan and Gemon playing the roles of Snidley Whiplash and Muttley; unfortunately this meant that for copyright reasons this one had to be left out of re-releases.
  • Strawberry Shortcake. Big in the US, humongous in Latin America, Europe, South Africa and South-East Asia. It's so huge in these areas that in Europe, there are actually additional games for the franchise released that are unreleased in the US. In Latin America, words introduced by the series entered mainstream usage, and they even created a live action extension to the cartoon series. And in these countries, the 2003/2007 cartoons are aired several times a day, and special episodes are aired as two parters. In the US, the 2003 specials episodes are edited into a single 30 minute episode, throwing out many subplots of the show, and the 2007 cartoons have yet to air in the US, releasing only direct-to-DVD releases. And oh, in The Philippines and South Africa, episodes that have yet to be released on DVDs in the US are already released over there.
  • Ovide is considered somewhat of a cult classic in the Netherlands. May have something to do with the thoroughly Woolseyed theme song.
    • They even made a feature length movie in Mexico. Extra effort was put into making the voice acting as similar to the original dubbing as possible (which is part of what made it so successful in the first place).
  • There was a time when Russian dubs of Disney series were very good. DuckTales (1987), Tale Spin and Aladdin were done nicely, but Darkwing Duck was incredibly awesome, extremely popular and a subject for Memetic Mutation lasting ever now. Everybody who grew up in the 90s knows the intro song by heart. In addition, it introduced a whole generation to superhero tropes due to Weird Al Effect.
    • Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers also enjoys a large fandom. However, even more amazing is the obsession directed at a single character from it. The Russian fandom of Gadget Hackwrench is really something not from this world. There are still quite a few pages with obsessive love letters directed to her, grafitti on walls and decals on cars (examples), and even a church dedicated to her.
  • Galaxy Rangers may have been written and voiced in America, and animated by a Tokyo Movie Shinsa, but it appeared to be more popular in Latin America, the UK, and especially Germany. Germany got the entire series on DVD in the late 90's, while American fans had to wait until 2008! Notably, many of the Fanfic writers are bilingual as a result.
  • Doujinshi of Jenny from My Life as a Teenage Robot is common in Japan, which isn't really suprising considering it's like their beloved Astro Boy and she's a cute Robot Girl. Even better, her voice actress is Japanese.
  • ChalkZone was also one of the most popular Nicktoons in Japan.
  • In Brazil, Dungeons & Dragons was really big. During the 2000s, movie magazine got so fed up with questions about a film adaptation that once replied "It was only popular here!"
  • KaBlam! was rather popular in Nick's Japan branch, premiering in 1998 (dubbed in Japanese) when Nick Japan was launched, and finally getting canceled around 2007-2008. (Please note that the show was put in reruns by then).
    • It's also very popular in Latin American markets as well.
    • And it's pretty popular over in the Netherlands. Similar to most anime, the dubbed version of the show which was syndicated (Nickelodeon wasn't available over there yet) was disliked by some fans who have heard the original English voices (almost all the characters (June mostly) sound completely different in the Dutch dub), so when the show was brought over to Nicktoons (in their branch), it was subtitled in Dutch with the English audio.
    • Action League NOW is the most popular short in the US. Life With Loopy is the most popular short in Russia.
  • Pretty much sure Top Cat counts, it's been a classic in Latin America for generations so much that they managed to make a fil adaptation even if the quality is not top notch.
  • Ultimate Book of Spells was huge in the UK. It was on every weekday afternoon was repeated every weekday morning on CBBC, and now is being repeated on Pop. The videos were on major store shelves too.
  • Chowder for the UK. To compare, both it and Flapjack made their UK debut around the same time, and while Chowder has gone from one or two episodes a day to being aired several times morning, noon and night, Flapjack has all but vanished, with yet to air anything outside of season 1.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants is also popular in Germany, which may explain David Hasselhoff's appearance in The Movie.
  • The Canadian cartoon Whats With Andy was huge in Poland. The success was so immense, Disney XD (which acquired the rights to the cartoon after merging with the European network Jetix [previously Fox Kids]) decided to start rerunning the series along with Totally Spies! recently.
  • From 1999-2002, Cartoon Network banned Speedy Gonzales cartoons from airing on the network, because the executives deemed him to be an Ethnic Scrappy. Despite the heavy stereotypes, Speedy Gonzales was incredibly popular with Latin American Audiences, with Mexico even having a Speedy Gonzales show. Eventually the ban was lifted.
  • Recess was one of the most popular Disney shows in Germany.
    • The show is also very popular in Canada, to the point where it still airs on Family. The Expy of The Disney Channel.
    • The show is also pretty popular in the U.K.
    • And Japan. Butch, Hustler Kid, and Lawson are extremely popular over there, and T.J. is considered as the show's Moe symbol.
  • While Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon wasn't too popular in the U.S., the Short Runner is still quite popular in Polish and Hungarian fan circles.
  • Tom and Jerry is quite popular in Japan. It's beaten other animated series, even classic anime, in various popularity lists and some of the rarer shorts not even accessible in America are common place there.
  • Gwen from Ben 10, a rather divisive character in the West, is incredibly popular in Southeast Asia; so much that the Cartoon Network branch there has given her a product line and even her own official website!
    • The series itself is quite popular in Japan. This isn't too surprising, as it draws a lot of influence from Anime and Tokusatsu.
    • According to That Dude in the Suede, it gained quite the following in New Zealand.
  • South Park has a rather well-sized fanbase in Japan, it's one of the stand-out western animations there.
  • The Powerpuff Girls is also popular in Japan. So much so, in fact, that they made their own version of the series.
  • "Lilo and Stitch" Was also very popular in japan, with an anime version that lasted 4 seasons.
  • Happy Tree Friends also has a well-sized fanbase in Japan, if the amount of fanarts in Pixiv is any indication. They run further with that, creating Moe Anthropomorphism of the poor critters, which inevitably resulted in slash. It must be seen to be believed. Or better yet, don't.
  • The Simpsons is regarded more fondly in French Canada than many other American franchises are, partly due to its local dubbing having the characters speak in informal "joual" accents[1] used by most Francophone Quebecers in everyday life and actually pulling it off well.[2]
  • Family Guy is has a MASSIVE Broken Base in North America and considered by some, one of the most offensive things Americans have ever created. But in the United Kingdom, where Gallows Humor is much less shocking, the show is very popular.
  • Fairly Oddparents has been pretty screwed over by the U.S. Nickelodeon department, but the cartoon has a larger fanbase in the U.K. and Latin America. Notable in the latter that another Butch Hartman show is very popular there too.
  • Ruby Gloom is also very popular in Japan.
  • Tiny Toon Adventures is surprisingly popular in Russia and Japan, even being reaired in Russia last year.
    • It's probably not a coincidence, then, that all seven Tiny Toon video games released during the '90s were made by Konami and the more recent Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream/Scary Dreams and the sadly never-released Tiny Toons: Defenders of the Universe were made by Treasure.
  • Captain Planet and the Planeteers is adored almost totally unironically in Australia.
  • Cartoon Network is IMMENSELY popular in Poland. Most of this success is thanks to it being the first 100%-children's network getting launched in this country. Nickelodeon, on the other hand, is still down in the sewers in comparison, making the situation in Poland reversed compared to the one in the USA.
  • Betty Boop was pretty popular in Japan in her heydays; she even got a special specifically made for Japanese audiences, "A Language All My Own" where Betty sings in Japanese.
  • Similar case in Scandinavia. Cartoon Network and Disney Channel are both very successful, whereas Nickelodeon is almost dead-last in kids' television. It helps the the Scandinavian version of the Disney Channel is commercial-free like the original American service. Even with Disney XD's launch, the new channel is performing better than Nick.
  • The animated Curious George, takes this Up to Eleven, while moderately well-known in the United States, the cartoon is so popular in Japan, that it often makes the Top 10 TV Animation Lists each week, in a list which has been mainly domestic animation after Lilo and Stitch aired about half a decade ago.
  • Tintin is famous in Brazil, where it's considered part of the childhood of anyone who lived in the 90's, when its broadcaster, TV Cultura, lived a golden age (in contrast with today's decadence). They were thrilled that the original voice actors of the dub would be reprising their roles in the 2011 film.
  • In the United States, Disney XD was not met too well, especially since they replaced Toon Disney. However, Disney XD's launch was better received in Europe, where the new channel replaced Jetix instead. Though admittedly, Toon Disney in those countries were replaced with Disney Cinemagic, or where there was just Jetix, simply Disney Channel itself. (Jetix ran in many parts of Eastern Europe long before Disney Channel, leading to it not even being launched in places like Hungary or Russia until 2009.)
  • While the otherwise well-received Hercules fell victim to the opposite trope in Greece, the Chinese loved Mulan.


In-Universe Examples

  • In the DCAU, Supergirl has considerable popularity in Japan. So popular that a chubby little fangirl kicked Stargirl in the shin for badmouthing about Supergirl.
  • The Simpsons. Lisa Simpson has a ridiculously detailed plan for being a famous jazz musician one day, which includes being ignored in her own country but very popular in France.
  • In the South Park episode "Jakovasaurs", the eponymous animals are forcibly relocated to France when the people of South Park find them too annoying to live, where the French find them to be hilarious and "just like Jerry Lewis!"
  • Subverted in Total Drama World Tour. Chris tells the contestants that they are huge in Japan, but their voices are dubbed over in English and that the show is subtitled in Japanese, because they think their normal voices are just too annoying.
    • The series has yet to be dubbed in Japanese.
  • In Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, at one point Johnny comments "That's it, I'm moving to Japan. They love me in Japan."
  • Histeria! invokes this trope in its theme song with the line "They love it in Bulgaria."
  1. ↑ unlike most other series/movies (even ones dubbed in Quebec), which either use "bland" region-neutral International French accents or incomprehensible European French accents
  2. ↑ usually such a practice is frowned upon, such as for the Super Mario Galaxy series (in written dialogue) or for one character in Transformers: Dark of the Moon
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