Life

Movie Title Typos Have Never Been Funnier

Have you ever challenged yourself to remove one letter from a movie title in order to turn it into an entirely different film? Reddit did — but Charlotte, NC-based writer and illustrator Austin Light took the idea and ran with it in a way that most of us probably never will. You see, Light took the best movie title typos from an AskReddit thread and brought them to life in some of the funniest pieces of art you’ll ever see. Seriously, you guys. If you needed something to perk up your Monday… this is definitely it.

The whole “alter a movie title — what’s it about now?” idea is a popular topic on AskReddit; variations on the theme pop up roughly once a month, with the alterations in question asking redditors to do everything from removing any single word to adding one incredibly specific word. This time round, the challenge was to remove one letter, then describe the plot of the new film. The thread was entertaining enough as it was — but once Light got his hands on it? Hoo boy. Brace yourselves, because you’re about to end up with a laughter-induced bellyache you’ll remember for years to come.

You want an example? OK. Here’s one. It’s what happens when you remove the “R” from Robocop:

Obocop: The story of how a police officer works through his PTSD and adjust to his new robotic implants with the help of the sexy, soothing sound of his oboe.”

Are you laughing yet? Because I sure as hell am.

According to Mashable website, the drawings were a product of an event called Inktober. Created by artist Jake Parker, Inktober challenged participants to create a new ink drawing every day for the month of October; the goal, says its Facebook page, was “to improve inking skills and develop positive drawing habits.” Wrote Light on his website’s “About” page, “Since coming up with a topic can often take as long as actually drawing something, I decided to pull topics from Reddit. Specifically, the titles in a 2012 thread — shown to me by a coworker — about removing a letter from a movie.” He then spent the entirety of October illustrating the intentionally typo-ridden movie titles, posting them all to Reddit at the end of the month — and the next thing he knew, Esquire was calling. “Make no mistake, I am not cool enough to be in Esquire,” Light wrote.

But clearly he is cool enough to be in Esquire — and on BuzzFeed, Mashable, io9, College Humor, and a whole variety of other publications. His work spread far and wide, and although he himself remains surprised by the drawings’ popularity, it’s not difficult to see why they (and he) have shot to fame. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

Finding Emo:

“An insufferable teenage fish runs away from home. His father contemplates searching for him.”

Jurassic Par:

“Two dinosaurs set out to prove they’re more than just killing machines. Thanks to a loophole in the rules they find a spot on the PGA tour and golf their way to the top of the food chain.”

T:

“A boy finds a jewelry clad alien who speaks exclusively in aggressive yet well-meaning catchphrases.”

Pup Fiction:

Two mob hit dogs go after a poodle who wrote a slanderous op-ed about their boss.”

Pollo 13:

“A former astronaut finally wins the blue ribbon award on his 13th chick.”

Light has also started to turn his initial sketches into high-quality digital illustrations; Pup Fiction and T are among them, but they also include…

Ron Man:

And…

Oh Bother, Where Art Thou?:

Comedy. Gold.

Light has plans to keep the series going; you can also buy prints, t-shirts, and other merchandise featuring some of the images if they tickle your fancy (and your funny bone). Find out more over at Light’s website, and check out the full album of the original 31 movie typo masterpieces below:

Images: Courtesy Austin Light