(light thoughtful music) - [Narrator] The great artist
Pablo Picasso once said, "Good artists copy; great artists steal." Although, when he said that,
I don't think he was referring to the recent deluge of
blatant rip-off cartoon films and programs. I mean, the very best cartoon artists take inspiration from
one another all the time, but some companies have just
copied successful cartoons concept for concept to
try and make a quick buck. Don't believe me? Well, from (sighs) "Chop Kick Panda" to, oh, my God, "Goober and
the Ghost Chasers..." Unbelievable. It's time to pass judgment on
some crimes against animation with the worst, weirdest, and most hilarious cartoon
rip-offs of all time. (light suspenseful music) - Whoa. (bell dings) - [Narrator] Bee warned. Some of you watching may
have been born after 2007, which makes me feel so old I think my bones just crumbled to dust. But for elder millennials like me, you would have been around when something unbelievably bizarre was unleashed on Western culture. I'm talking about when legendary
comedian Jerry Seinfeld, creator of "Seinfeld," one of the most successful
American sitcoms of all time, decided to write a kid's
movie, the "Bee Movie." To summarize the plot, a bee decides to sue
humanity for stealing honey. Crazy idea, right? But that's not even the weirdest part, as a woman literally
falls in love with a bee. The movie ends with a woman
and a bee as a couple, co-running a flower shop. They showed that to children. Yeah, the late 2000s was a
weird time to experience. As utterly insane as it was, the movie made $293
million at the box office, and so it inspired smaller
animation companies to try and cash in on
the "Bee Movie" hype, which led to "Plan Bee," a mockbuster created by Spark
Plug Entertainment in 2007, the same year as "Bee Movie's" release. At least "Plan Bee" kept
its plot bee-centric, with no creepy bee/human romance, instead focusing on a bee being tyrannized by a cruel honey-demanding queen bee. But while the "Bee Movie"
was bright and colorful, "Plan Bee" has some
nightmare-fuel animation. The cheap budget can be
seen in every single frame, but could they at least have
avoided giving the characters demonic red eyes? "Plan Bee" has an impressive reputation of being one of the worst films ever made and is indexed by the
Awful Movies Wiki for this. And the reviews do not hold back. This person summed up all
the problems with "Plan Bee" with, "The acting is so bad,
and the animation is so bad, "and everything is so
bad, and Oh, my God." This person compared the animation to the sleep paralysis demons they see at the end of their bed at night. Whilst this person felt the need to literally wash their eyes
with acid after watching. This review was a lot nicer, as their only complaint about the movie was all the bees in it. While this person recommended
you get psychiatric help if you found yourself enjoying "Plan Bee." Though, by far, my favorite
review from the movie is this: "Plan Bee literally ruined my life. "10/10." Why do I get the feeling Jerry wrote that? Bamboozler. Jack Black is a comedy legend, and voice-acting sensation behind Po, the kick-ass "Kung Fu Panda." Alongside Hollywood
legends like Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, and Seth Rogan, this film was destined for greatness. The now-popular franchise released its first film back in 2008, and since then, it's
grossed over $1.8 billion across three movies, with a fourth "Kung Fu
Panda" in the works. With such a hot panda property, it's hardly a surprise that cheap rip-offs appeared faster than a karate chop. First was "The Little Panda
Fighter" in November 2008, less than six months
after "Kung Fu Panda," released as a direct-to-DVD movie. Though at least the creators
came up with an original plot, which follows a giant
panda, named Pancada, who dreams of becoming
a professional dancer. Though whatever budget was
afforded to the scriptwriters came at the cost of decent animation, with the creepy 3D imagery looking like the animators
of "Kung Fu Panda" were forced to make this
movie in a hostage situation. But as bad as it was, even this remake isn't as offensive as
the even dumber rip-off, "Chop Kick Panda," a 2D animated film which plagiarizes the plot
of "Kung Fu Panda" entirely, as it follows a lazy panda who dreams of becoming a
master of martial arts. What's weirder, is this movie was actually released by a yoga company. Yeah! In 2011, Gaia, Inc., took a break from releasing videos on yoga and meditation tutorials
for a quick cash grab by releasing three embarrassingly bad animated movie rip-offs. The other offenders include ripping off Dreamworks' "Puss in Boots" with its release of "Puss
in Boots: A Furry Tail." As well as copying "Happy Feet," the animated musical
about a dancing penguin, with the even more annoying
named "Tappy Toes." This 2D animation follows a penguin who discovers the power of tap dancing and uses it to fight
off an evil hermit crab. As you might have expected, this movie was a direct-to-DVD flop. Ultimately, Gaia, Inc. struggled to stretch interest for its movies. Should have just stuck
with the yoga poses. Losing my religion. When "Finding Nemo" was
released back in 2003, more than 20 years ago, it was lauded as a
masterpiece of animation. The story of an overprotective clownfish searching for his lost son wrenched hearts all over the world and filled the pockets of its producers with a staggering $940
million at the box office. Suddenly, there was a deluge of underwater fish-focus family movie mockbusters attempting to muscle in on
"Finding Nemo's" success, but one stood out above all others. Not just because it copied "Finding Nemo's" unique naming convention, not because its characters
were carbon copies of those in "Finding Nemo," but because it combined the
theme of fish with faith. Say hello to (clears
throat) "Finding Jesus." "Finding Jesus." It may sound like I'm making this up, but I promise, this is 100% real. "Finding Jesus," released in
the year of our Lord 2020, follows the story of two
never-not-smiling fishy friends, Muggles and Joy, and their
3D animated adventures of telling Bible stories to a series of eternally
smiling underwater creatures. The scenes are all eerily similar, cutting from one fish to another fish, all sporting the exact same expression, talking dully about Biblical stories in a way that just feels wretched. With an impressively bad score
of 1.1 out of 10 on IMDB.com, you'd think this couldn't get any worse. But it does. Because director Jason Wright clearly didn't think he'd hit rock bottom with one horrifically bad
mockbuster, he made another. Can you guess what it's
called? (clearing throat) It's, uh... It's (chuckles) "Finding Jesus 2!" It's the same freakish fish
with more Biblical stories, which was given a marginally
better 1.2 out of 10 on IMDB. What I find really funny is that Jesus famously walked on water, so surely the last place you'd find him is at the bottom of the ocean? Chip off the old block. Animation is typically associated
with children's movies, but if there's one show
that puts the hard R-rating in animated programming it's "South Park." Looking at a world map you'd
struggle to find a country where at least one episode
of "South Park" isn't banned, but one of the countries with a full ban on the
entire series is Kuwait, due to "South Park's"
offensive jokes about Muslims. And thanks to this total
ban on the original, Kuwait got away with releasing a complete rip-off version of the show. "Block 13" was released in 2000 and reimagined the main
cast of "South Park" with boys of Arabic descent instead. Cartman replaced by Abboud, the classic beanie switched
out for a white taqiya, a religious headdress. Kenny is replaced by Saloom, whose voice is muffled by
a wraparound red keffiyeh, instead of the orange hoodie. Though Kyle's trapper hat is still worn by his "Block 13" substitute, Azzouz. An odd winter hat to
wear in the hot desert where the sitcom is set, but of course, the plagiarizing animators didn't have any of their own ideas. Similar to the original "South Park," the series dealt with social issues concerning Kuwait's population but toned down a lot
of the offensive humor to be more family-friendly. A notable difference being
Saloom doesn't die every episode, unlike poor Kenny. The series aired on Kuwait
TV from 2000 to 2002 and produced three seasons. Though what's truly
strange about this show is that it was the first
animated show produced in the ultra-socially
conservative Persian Gulf region, and of all the cartoon properties,
they decided to rip off one of the most offensive
cartoons of all time. A twist so ironic, I think "South Park's" creators
are actually kinda proud. Rat race. If I ever see a rat in
a restaurant's kitchen, then I'm never eating there again. But when it comes to animated movies, we put our disgust of rats aside and all enjoy "Ratatouille." The movie, released in 2007,
is the story of a rat, Remy, who helps a French chef
cook in the kitchen by hiding under his hat while secretly controlling
him like a puppet. A smash hit at the box office,
it raked in over $600 million and won an Oscar for Best Animated Film. And as I'm sure you know by now, wherever there's an animated hit movie, there's always a rip-off rat. In this case, "Ratatoing." While "Ratatouille" was in
production for several years, this animated rip-off was
created in just four months by Brazilian animation
studio Video Brinquedo. And that is reflected in
the low-quality animation with a movie that only lasts half the length of the
original, at 45 minutes. The plot loosely follows
a rat that becomes a chef and runs a restaurant. Halfway through the movie, a
group of rats begin chanting, "La, la, la, la," and
"Ha, ha, ha" repeatedly as the animators tried to fill time in the middle of a half-length movie as if they didn't have the whole plot of "Ratatouille" to steal ideas from. You're probably scratching your head and wondering why on earth these terrible counterfeit
movies are made? Well, the business model behind
these low-budget rip-offs is that they're quickly put together to be released in the same
month as "Ratatouille" and ride on its coattails. Most of the profits coming
from confused Grandmas accidentally buying the wrong
DVD for their grandkids. And if that wasn't hard
enough on the elderly, the same studio also ripped off "Up," the heartfelt movie
where an old man attaches thousands of balloons to his house to fly away on an adventure. But in the chief knock-off, "What's Up: Balloon to the Rescue!" they don't even bother to
animate multiple balloons, instead replacing it
with one giant balloon. Now, you may think you're smarter than to end up watching one
of these knockoff films, but the way these mockbusters often trick people into buying them is by using similar words in the title. For example, in 2012,
the third installment of Dreamworks' popular
"Madagascar" series was released, called "Madagascar 3:
Europe's Most Wanted." The follow-up to "Madagascar:
Escape 2 Africa." And so too came the rip-off, "Life's a Jungle: Africa's Most Wanted," a movie that follows the adventure of a sweater vest-wearing dog that gets lost on safari in the savanna. The use of similar
words, character design, and movie posters, centered on
a gang of animals in Africa, may just fool you if you're
not paying close attention. If you search for it online, the similar wording could end up with you accidentally
buying the wrong movie. So, always double-check the title and the production company
when renting or buying a movie. If you smell a rat, don't buy it. From Georgia with love. The Kardashians may want to be
America's most famous family, but there's not enough
yellow spray tan in the world for them to be as famous as the family in the longest-running
animated series of all time, "The Simpsons." The light-hearted cartoon
satire of American life first aired back in 1989, and after three decades
is still on the air, now running into its 34th season. One of the most distinctive
elements of "The Simpsons" is how the visual jokes of
the opening title sequence change each episode. Can you spot the differences this time? (choir singing in foreign language) (bird squawks) (jaunty upbeat music) (car engines revving)
(car horns honking) (suspenseful upbeat music) (cameras whirring) - [Narrator] No need to adjust
the quality on this video, the graphics really are that bad. Of course, this isn't an opening to an episode of "The Simpsons" but "The Samsonadzes," a show that the creator,
Shalva Ramishvili, claims is a completely original cartoon about a Georgian family
that reflects Georgian humor and culture, except for the title sequence
beginning in the clouds with the sound of a
choir, the theme music, the characters all having yellow skin, and the opening scene featuring
the iconic brown couch. Despite the creator's denial,
it's obvious "The Samsonadzes" is a cheap knock-off of The Simpsons. The most shocking thing of all being that this terrible animation was allowed on television as late as 2009. Man, if you're watching this from Georgia, then you have my deepest condolences. But at least in some regards, "The Samsonadzes" tried to be original, sort of. There are amusing differences,
such as the green parrot featured prominently in the opening, who's actually the
family's pet, called Koke. While the dad of the
family, Gela Samsonadze, works in a bank rather
than a nuclear power plant, and unlike Homer Simpson, he
sports a full head of hair. It's the son, Gia, who's the bald one, unlike spiky-haired Bart. The family completed by the
wife, Dodo, who has brown hair and wears heavier makeup than
the tall blue-haired Marge. And the daughter, Shorena,
who has a ginger bob, and is more interested in
boys than the book-smart Lisa. Though both share the same
orange dress and pearl choker. But just looking at the
character designs side by side makes you appreciate "The
Simpson's" art direction even more, as "The
Samsonadzes" all look like half-filled sacks of potatoes. Similar to the original show, "The Samsonadzes" is supposed
to satirize Georgian culture, which is why there's this bizarre scene with a hard cut back to 1992, where everyone's wearing
camouflage clothes and holding machine guns, which is supposed to be a reference to the Georgian Civil War that
took place from 1991 to 1993. In general, "The Samsonadzes" is a lot more political
than "The Simpsons." For example, while "The
Simpsons" has Mr. Burns as the arch-villain, "The
Samsonadzes's" villains are various Russian politicians. Such as in one episode, where Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin sends a spy into Georgia, commenting on the tense relationship between Georgia and Russia, for which the show received
a lot of criticism. Which is saying something, because that meant people
had to genuinely sit through this god-awful animation to pick up on it. Kudos to them. Unsurprisingly, with its
poorly rendered animation, "The Samsonadzes" never
achieved the same popularity as "The Simpsons." And thankfully, this
freakish yellow family were put out of their misery
after only one season. Well, it's just like Homer once said: - You tried your best
and you failed miserably. The lesson is never try. (laughing) - [Narrator] Imposter-geist. Now we've covered so many
counterfeit cartoons, you're probably starting
to see fakes everywhere. Just take "Shrek" and
"Fungus the Bogeyman," surely another case of rip-offs, right? Well, actually, no. Sometimes cartoons just have
incredibly similar ideas. As the 2001 movie "Shrek" was based off of an American
picture book published in 1990, about a horrible green ogre
who marries an ugly princess. Meanwhile, "Fungus the Bogeyman" was a British children's picture book published even earlier, in 1977, about a green monster that
goes around scaring children. Following the success
of the "Shrek" movies, the original "Fungus" book was adapted into a TV miniseries in 2004. And now the internet is
full of green trolls. A completely original
idea is rare in animation, often the basic formula
of shows that are popular are continuously recycled. For example, one show released in 1973 was called "Goober and the Ghost Chasers." Do you already know what cartoon
this show is ripping off? If not, I'll give you a set of clues: The show features a
group of teen reporters for a paranormal-themed magazine. They have a large green dog called Goober. Each episode features the gang
solving a ghostly mystery. Have any of you meddling
kids figured it out yet? That's right, Goober is a
total Scooby-Doo rip-off. But here's the twist, it was actually produced by
Hanna-Barbera Productions, the same company that created
the original "Scooby Doo." The original series run of
"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" began in 1969 and ran till 1976. After that, it was
developed into the franchise that we know today, with
multiple movies, video games, and spin-off shows. But Hanna-Barbera knew they had a winning cartoon formula on their hands, so they reworked the
"Scooby Doo" format again and again and again. From turning Scooby into Goober, to "The Funky Phantom" in 1971, which featured three teens and their dog who accidentally releases two ghosts. Then there was "Clue Club" in 1976, which tried to double the success by featuring two talking dogs but failed to secure
half as much interest. They even switched out the dog companion for a giant shark in
"Jabberjaw" which aired in 1975, but this show flopped just as hard. Hanna-Barbera even resorted to rhyming to make a character as popular as Scoob, with "The New Shmoo" launched in 1979. A show which featured a
shapeshifting creature called Shmoo, which helps a gang of
teens solve mysteries. But just like an off-brand Scooby snack, none of these shows captured
the flavor of the original and were all canceled after one series. After all, there's only one
Scooby-Dooby-Doo! (chuckles) Cocobutt. If I were to ask, "Who lives
in a pineapple under the sea?" Everyone knows the answer,
it's SpongeBob Squarepants! The show about a happy-go-lucky sea sponge and his adventures with
his sea life friends in Bikini Bottom, one of the most successful
cartoon franchises of all time, having run for 13 seasons and sold over $13 billion in merchandise. Due to its incredible popularity, you just know that a rip-off was bound to happen at some point, and in 2006, "Coconut Fred's
Fruit Salad Island" came along. Now, at first glance, you may give this show
the benefit of the doubt and assume that it's an original concept. After all, it's about a
coconut on a sandy island, inhabited entirely by
talking fruit characters. But between the tropical theme and Coconut Fred's constantly
happy, childlike personality it soon becomes clear that
this is a "SpongeBob" rip-off. Coconut Fred is SpongeBob if SpongeBob's personality
was amped up to 10. But there's no moments of self-awareness or even a grumpy Squidward
to put him in his place. This coconut is so annoying, that even other characters
on the show insult him. When asked about Coconut
Fred, Wedgie, a talking lemon, says, "He's awake, and he
sounds dangerously friendly." The other characters are keen to avoid Coconut Fred at all costs, most likely because he
spends the entire show terrorizing them. The show is based around
Coconut Fred's ability to create whatever he
imagines into reality, resulting in chaos for the
other inhabitants of the island. Most of Coconut Fred's
creations are based around puns, such as causing a fruit canal or a tropical storm. That sounds annoying. So annoying that even his
voice actor hated him. Rob Paulsen was openly
critical of the character, referring to the show as a
shameless "SpongeBob" rip-off. Which begs the question,
who even likes Coconut Fred? Well, considering the show was
canceled after 13 episodes, the answer is likely no one. Maybe the show would
have been more successful if the main character was
a little more coconut shy. Oh, God. Those terrible
puns are rubbing off on me. Owl be damned. Between "The Walking Dead"
and "The Last of Us," television is full of
post-apocalyptic shows, but animating a post-apocalyptic society doesn't sound like the
best idea for a kid's show. And yet, the imaginative setting of the "Land of Ooo" became a hit show. Following the adventures
of Finn and his half-dog, a noodled buddy Jake, "Adventure Time" was one of
Cartoon Network's hit shows, attracting three million
viewers an episode. It was also critically acclaimed, winning eight Primetime Emmy Awards during its 283-episode run from 2010 to 2018. With the series spawning tons
of spin-off books, comics, and video games, it's no surprise it also
manifested its own rip-off. Yeah, a Chinese animation known as "The Legend of Lucky Pie." Both cartoons similar animation styles, featuring sword-wielding,
noodle-armed main characters who love fighting monsters
and going on adventures, with Jake the dog and Lucky the horse both possessing body-morphing powers. Though, while Jake can turn
into any shape he wants, Lucky can only transform from an anthropomorphic upright horse to a classic four-legged horse. Another difference being
that Lucky Pie's co-lead is an anthropomorphic
owl, known as Ah-Pie. Though his design clearly resembles Finn, with a white spiky head
copying Finn's trademark hat. Ah-Pie also copies Finn's personality, being fiery when battling
monsters, but shy around girls, though that may just be the universal rule of 12-year-old boys. Both shows also feature a zany cast of supporting characters based
off of folklore and food. An obvious parallel between the two shows being Princess Bubblegum
from "Adventure Time" and Strawberry Warrior from "Lucky Pie." "Lucky Pie" even references "Adventure Time's" setting in it. While "Adventure Time" takes
place in the Land of Ooo, "Lucky Pie" is set in the
world of Mushroom Star; a reference to the nuclear
Mushroom Wars in "Adventure Time" that created the Land of Ooo's
post-apocalyptic society. Both shows feature themes of
brotherly love, friendship, and courage to stand up for your beliefs. But while "Adventure Time" has a whole studio of
animators crafting it, the "Legend of Lucky
Pie" is a labor of love created by a group of
independent Chinese animators. Tired of "tacky" mainstream
Chinese cartoons, they developed the show
without studio backing and secured much of their
funding through fans on Patreon. And this tighter budget is reflected in the looser art style of the series. Whereas "Adventure Time" is
known for its thin, polished, smooth lines, "Lucky Pie's"
lines are thicker, wobblier, and have a hand-drawn quality to them. The show's appearance has
more toned-down earthy colors than "Adventure Time's" famous
pastel rainbow aesthetic. And while this made it a kind of appealing homemade homage to "Adventure Time," "Lucky Pie" only ran from 2015 to 2018, with five episodes produced in total. So, these Chinese animators
took "Adventure Time" and made their own version. In this case, it seems
less of a blatant rip-off and more that imitation is
the highest form of flattery. Shellebrity lookalike. Take four random words that
have no relation to one another: Mutant, teenage, turtle, ninja. They may sound like the
random hashtags of a TikTokker trying to go viral but mash them together, and you have a hit show: the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Without any context, it
sounds incredibly dumb, but creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird made their wacky title work. The idea came about when
the two comic artists were hanging out, and Kevin
drew a turtle wearing a mask and holding a nunchaku. They found the contrast between the famously slow-moving reptile and the speed and agility
of a ninja a funny mix. They developed the idea and
created a four-turtle team, each specializing in their own weapon. And so, Leonardo, Raphael,
Donatello, and Michelangelo, named after the pair's
favorite artists, were born. Starting as an indie
comic book line in 1984 by Mirage Studios, three years later the
ingeniously innovative idea was adapted into a hugely popular cartoon. Set in New York City, the
series follows the adventures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as they battle criminals, and reworked the original
grittier comic book, into a light-hearted
joke-filled cartoon show. By 1990, the series was shown daily on more than 125 television stations. Following the success of the cartoon, the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" was licensed to Playmates Toys, which produced a range of
toys including 400 figures and playsets. And these toys were snapped up by kids, with $1.1 billion worth sold between 1988 and 1992. So, with this incredible success, it's no surprise that others tried to replicate the hit formula. All you need is a sci-fi
adjective, a martial art, and an anthropomorphic animal. How hard could it be? Well, in 1990, the first
rip-off show appeared: "Samurai Pizza Cats." Ironically, this cartoon
was produced in Japan; the culture which had
inspired the "Ninja Turtles" was now creating a similar
franchise of their own. This time, switching
out mutant Ninja Turtles for semi-cyborg samurai cats. And that wasn't the only idea they copied. The Ninja Turtles famously
have a love of pizza, but the samurai cats
took it a step further as the show's characters
worked at a pizzeria. To its credit, this
cartoon didn't try to hide where its influence came from: In the very first episode, there's a mention of a retirement home for aging Ninja Turtles. An aged Mr. Turtleman even appears in the show's opening theme, with a line saying, "They've got more fur
than any turtle ever had!" A factually accurate, yet super lame put down of the rival show. And if it wasn't obvious enough already, Mr. Turtleman even repeats
the famous catchphrase of the Ninja Turtles: "Cowabunga." The cartoon leaned into
its parodic nature, with plenty of self-referential jokes making fun of itself and the "TMNT" show. And even mocked other
aspects of pop culture, with a character called
Bat-Cat, a reference to Batman. It was a cult hit among
anime fans in Japan, and an English adaptation
was even licensed for a release in North America. This series took its
inspiration and made it its own, but it did help open to gate
to many other copycat shows, case in point, "Street Sharks." Which sounds more like sharks
flopping down the street, not agile crime-fighters. But this show solved that by leaning into the
"Teenage Mutant" element to create its own show. While our favorite shelled ninjas transformed following
exposure to radioactive ooze, the Street Sharks are the result of a "gene-slammer" device,
in which four teenage boys are transformed into reverse mermaids, shark heads on top of human bodies. Instead of pursuing a life under the sea, the newly created shark
hybrids fight crime, much like the Ninja Turtles. From 1994 to 1997, three
series followed the adventures of Ripster, Jab, Streex, and Big Slammu. The show copied the turtles'
love of extreme sports, with the shark heroes using
skateboards, rollerblades, and motorbikes to travel around the city. But for all it copied, the sharks never achieved the
same success as the turtles. Though the show did
launch its own toy line, combining toy sharks with some of the worst
fashion trends of the 90s. Jeez, look at those sweatbands. But by far the laziest
rip-off of the "Ninja Turtles" has to be the... Do I have to say this out loud? It's so dumb! (sighs) "Kung Fu Dino Posse." Released in 2009, almost
20 years late to the party, maybe they thought it
had been so long people wouldn't realize this was
a "Ninja Turtles" hack? Even the backstory was
clumsily put together, as it featured a gang of four dinosaurs who were frozen in the last ice age, and after being thawed from ice resumed their kung fu
skills to fight crime. Except the dinosaurs went
extinct 66 million years ago, way before any of the world's ice ages. Furthermore, kung fu
originated 4,000 years ago in ancient China, so according
to the logic of this show, dinosaurs invented kung fu. But even if this was cartoon
logic, kids didn't buy it. So, just like the real dinosaurs, the show went extinct
after only one season. But these are only a small selection of the "Teenage Ninja
Mutant Turtles" rip-offs, with other crime-fighting mutant animals ranging from cows in "Wild
West C.O.W Boys of Moo Mesa" to dogs in "Road Rovers," and even mice, in the
"Biker Mice from Mars." Have you seen any of these shows? Let me know down in the comments. Or if you're a loyal fan of the original "Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles," then show your support by
hitting that like button. (like button thuds) Scape goat. What's your goat-to drink? Do you prefer a Goat-arade? Or maybe a goat milkshake? Has my subliminal messaging
tempted you to try goat's milk? Probably not, as goat milk
hardly sounds appetizing, making it a hard sell. But if you want to sell things to kids, a great way to do it is through a cartoon. Bright, colorful, and fun, kids will buy anything if it's
been made into animated form. And so, the Chinese food
company Sanyuan Food decided to promote their brand
of goat milk, Miracle Star, through a cartoon, "The Weird, Wonderful,
and Delightful Star." Though creating an
original cartoon is hard, so this company took a shortcut, and completely ripped off "The
Amazing World of Gumball." The Cartoon Network show, which
first aired in 2011 to 2019, revolves around the
anthropomorphic cat Gumball, and his adventures with his
adopted brother, Darwin, a goldfish with legs. Now, that's a sentence
I never thought I'd say. But the rest of Gumball's
family is just as random, as it involves his bunny sister, Anais, and his stay-at-home rabbit dad. Meanwhile, the "Delightful Star" series follows the anthropomorphic
goat named Kiki, who has a talking pet
frog referred to as Quack, who lives with him in
his family's apartment. Both of Kiki's parents are goats, but there's no little sister figure, an eerie reference to
China's one-child policy. But while "Miracle Star" may have species swapped the animals, the art style and direction itself is a near shot-for-shot
exact copy of "Gumball." Just take a look at these
side-by-side scenes, the set design is identical, with the characters
performing the same actions. The creators of "Miracle Star" didn't even bother to
write their own storylines, rather just copied and pasted
scripts from "Gumball." The "Miracle Star" series
aired from 2014 to 2017, with a total of 12 episodes broadcast before being canceled
due to negative reviews. Unsurprisingly, "Miracle
Star" didn't capture the same charm of the original Gumball. And with righteous cattitude, the original "Amazing World of Gumball" actually address the controversial rip-off in the most entertaining way possible: They released an episode
called "The Copycats," where Gumball and Darwin are confused when they meet a goat called Chi Chi, and a frog named Ribbit, a pair of siblings that copy
everything the pair say and do. Then, they discover
that this copycat family is making money online
from imitating them. So, at least "Gumball" got the last laugh. (gentle thoughtful music) Which of these terrible rip-off shows did you think was the worst? And on the flip side, are
there any counterfeit shows you thought might be
better than the original? Let me know in the comments,
and thanks for watching.
