Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2014 March 11

= March 11 =

Porque te vas
It seems that the 70ies song Porque te vas (Youtube) has gained popularity in several countries, but none in the English-speaking world. However, the article isn't necessarily complete... is there probably a somewhat significant number of English speakers knowing the song? --KnightMove (talk) 05:00, 11 March 2014 (UTC)


 * I've no idea what "probably a somewhat significant number" means, but I think it's safe to say no. French songs have never been popular in the UK. Frère Jacques is about as far as it goes for most Brits, and even then very few of us know the actual words.--Shantavira|feed me 10:57, 11 March 2014 (UTC)
 * "Porque te vas" is certainly not widely known in the English-speaking world. Shantavira's comment, however, is perhaps an outdated view and/or overstating the case  - Daft Punk are obviously popular, and going back further Air, Serge Gainsbourg, Sacha Distel, Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, etc., all had followers.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 11:14, 11 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Doesn't look like French to me. --ColinFine (talk) 12:17, 11 March 2014 (UTC)
 * It's a Spanish song, but this not being recognized gives a clearer answer than I had expected - thanks. :-) --KnightMove (talk) 12:50, 11 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Because it isn't. It's Spanish for "Because you go..."  If it were French it would be "Parce que tu vas".  -- Jayron  32  12:49, 11 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Shantavira confused me. My excuse anyway.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:50, 11 March 2014 (UTC)


 * @ Shantavira re French songs have never been popular in the UK. Frère Jacques is about as far as it goes for most Brits ...: "Dominique" hit No. 7 in the UK charts. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:04, 11 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Not to mention "Je t'aime... moi non plus" which got to number one. And "Je suis un rock star" got to no. 14. --Nicknack009 (talk) 17:18, 12 March 2014 (UTC)
 * And half a point for "Michelle". --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  02:41, 13 March 2014 (UTC)

Can a monster be transformed into another type of monster?
In entertainment of any kind has there ever been an instance where a monster of one type was transformed into a different type of monster? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.65.135.44 (talk) 10:32, 11 March 2014 (UTC)


 * In "Pangs", i think, a human-spirit turns into a bear-spirit. —Tamfang (talk) 11:15, 11 March 2014 (UTC)
 * There was a bit in Willow where our hero casts a random transforming spell on a monster he's fighting, and turns it into a much bigger monster. Staecker (talk) 13:29, 11 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Digimon and Pokémon pretty much revolve around this sort of thing, though the newer forms are usually related to the older ones. Castlevania and a lot of other Japanese games are pretty bad about "And now my true form!" kind of stuff.
 * In Cornish folklore, the Spriggan could be a tiny and smart fairy, or a big and dumb giant. As a tiny fairy, it knew magic that would allow it to grow bigger, but at the cost of losing its intelligence.  After a certain point, it'd get stuck as a giant.
 * And the GZdoom mod "Reelism" has a few instances where monsters may become other monsters. The main one that comes to my mind is one unreliable gun that usually does nothing, but may liquify an enemy, cause them to explode, or turn them into an acid puking demon.  This is a game where you might fight aliens, cowboys, bronies, and a wizard in a monster truck in Candyland. Ian.thomson (talk) 14:41, 11 March 2014 (UTC)

From my childhood, I vaguely remember an animated film about three young bees (may they be other insects). They set forth to slay a dragon, which turned into some kind of multi-headed hydra before being defeated. This might have been a Taotao story. --KnightMove (talk) 14:42, 11 March 2014 (UTC)

A cute, harmless-seeming monster who turns into something nasty is a common trope of Hollywood: Gremlins is one example, and I'm sure there are many others OldTimeNESter (talk) 15:47, 11 March 2014 (UTC).


 * I saw a remastering of Fritz Lang's Siegfried (1924) in the 80's. Die Nibelungen. I still laugh remembering one line.  I can't remember the monster's name, but at one point the subtitles say something like "and the giant, Bob, appears before Siegfried in the form of a dragon!" μηδείς (talk) 17:34, 11 March 2014 (UTC)
 * So Siegfried says, "Hi, Bob!" and then they both chug some bier. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:26, 12 March 2014 (UTC)


 * SyFy channel does a line of monster movies featuring some combined monsters. eg: Sharktopus, Mansquito, etc.


 * See shapeshifter (although you could argue that it doesn't change type, rather it is a type that change form -- I'll leave the philosophical challenges to the reader). On the anime track, see Ranma and fruits basket, though these are human/human or human/animal changes. SemanticMantis (talk) 13:39, 12 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Does the video game Altered Beast meet the criteria for the OP? -- Jayron  32  18:47, 12 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Ha, good one, and brings back some fond memories! Changing from humans to wolves to dragons seems to fit the bill to me. SemanticMantis (talk) 19:02, 12 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Mogwais turn into Gremlins if they eat after midnight. Maybe a Mogwai is too cute to be called a monster, but it's a freak. Many video games have the final boss take a few forms. Zemus/Zeromus is a fine example. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:39, 13 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I see I've been beaten to the Mogwai punch. By an ironic username, too. My bad. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:41, 13 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Vampires turning into vampire bats might qualify. (I wouldn't normally consider a vampire bat to be a monster, but if these are magical ones that can turn anyone into a vampire by biting them on the neck, just like with a vampire, then I'd say that qualifies it as a monster.) StuRat (talk) 02:56, 13 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I don't know about this. Aren't the shapeshifting, infection/feeding and other vampiric effects the monstrous qualities here, that set any of its forms apart from their boring animal counterparts? If a vampire in wolf form suddenly sprouts wings, and becomes immune to light and allergic to blood, then he's truly reformed. I still wouldn't trust him. I suppose if a vampire bit a unicorn/leprechaun/whatever, that'd lead to a change. Not sure if it happens in entertainment, but it must, somewhere. InedibleHulk (talk) 03:46, 13 March 2014 (UTC)


 * How about in Aliens (film) (Alien 2), where the queen alien breaks off her giant egg sack to become a mobile monster ? StuRat (talk) 03:00, 13 March 2014 (UTC)