Alternative Foreign Theme Song

When a dubbing company wants to market a television show, film, or video game from another country, they'll do the usual stuff like translation and localization. But they've got one problem with it: they don't think its theme song will be suitable to the tastes of foreign viewers. So what do they do about this? Instead of dubbing the original song, they'll replace it with a newly written, completely different theme song, of course! Maybe they believe the new song will make the show more popular with their foreign audience, or maybe the original theme song is licensed by a singer and they can't use the music. The tune of the new theme song will most likely bring out a very different mood. This can qualify for both the opening and ending theme.

This is common for English dubs of anime series geared towards children, especially if the show is airing on a television network, but it happens outside of North America as well; the practice of having completely different music is arguably even more common in Japan, where there is an entire industry based around creating Anime Theme Songs.

This is also an aversion of The Song Remains the Same, where the original song is kept and left in its initial language. If the song keeps the same melody of the original, but has radically different lyrics, then it goes under What Song Was This Again

Do not confuse this trope with Foreign Language Theme, where the original theme is written in another language, or Replaced the Theme Tune, where the show replaces its own theme song with another one.

Anime

 * When 4Kids dubbed One Piece they replaced the "We Are" opening with a rap about the plot, characters, and basically being a pirate.
 * The German version of One Piece also has a theme song different from the Japanese version. It can be found here.
 * For the US version of Tokyo Mew Mew, Four Kids Entertainment used a pop song called "Team Up" which was about working together and falling in love.
 * The American version of Sonic X used "Gotta Go Fast'' as opposed to "Sonic Drive".
 * There is also an Italian opening and one for the UK version.
 * The Brazilian version used a generic opening tune which keeps on saying "Sonic X". A translated "Gotta Go Fast" was used for the credits instead.
 * Disney has done this with some of their Studio Ghibli releases, such as Ponyo and Arietty. For most of the others, they simply dub the existing theme.
 * For the case of Ponyo and Arietty, a dubbed version of the original song used in the credits is played for a few minutes, (For Arietty, there was an English version of Arietty's Song along with a French and Japanese version when the movie came out in Japan) then the new theme song plays for the rest of the credits.
 * Every season of Pokémon receives a different theme song in their English dubs, all of them different from the Japanese versions.
 * The Italian dub (which is based on the English version) had its own theme songs for the first 10 seasons, which makes it an Alternative Alternative Foreign Theme Song?
 * Season 1
 * Season 3
 * Season 4
 * Season 5
 * Pokemon Chronicles
 * Pokemon Advanced
 * The Japanese version of Kirby of the Stars is a cute little marching theme. The American version is an over-the-top jazz song.
 * All of the anime that 4Kids dubs usually have a different theme song than the Japanese version. They also usually play an instrumental version of the intro song instead of the ending theme
 * Every Digimon English dub has used entirely new theme songs. The dubs of Digimon Adventure through Digimon Tamers used an action-packed rap song with minor alterations, while Digimon Frontier received an epic chant and Digimon Savers received a rock song. With the exception of the Savers one, all the dub themes feel very thematically different from the Japanese counterparts, which generally all fell into the category of upbeat rock songs. This generally extended to the licensed video games as well, which tended to use versions of the Japanese anime themes which were accordingly changed in translation.
 * Inverted with Eden of the East -- the Japanese broadcast used "Falling Down" by Britpop band Oasis as the theme, but FUNimation replaced it with a Japanese song in North America due to rights issues (namely, that there was no way they'd be able to afford having the song appear more than once; frankly they were lucky to get to use it once).
 * The Japanese theme song of Mon Colle Knights is much different than the English. Compare the majestic Japanese theme to the orchestral, action-sounding English theme song.
 * The Samurai Pizza Cats Japanese theme song also differs greatly from the English version.
 * The English version of Hamtaro uses two opening songs different from the Japanese version. However, it does use the tune of the first Japanese ending theme.
 * While not necessarily anime, it was animated in Japan: Transformers Animated used a different opening/ending theme than the American version.
 * During the Dark Age Of Anime In France, most shows got a French opening, many of which (but not all) are now considered So Bad It's Good. French singer Bernard Minet is now more remembered for this than for any independent song.
 * The German version of Sailor Moon had a different OP.
 * So did the French version. Unfortunately, it sounds like a jingle from a radio ad.
 * The Dutch version was based on the German version, airing a week or so later.
 * The original English dub of Dragonball Z done by The Ocean Group had "Rock the Dragon".
 * The Spanish version of Saint Seiya changed Pegasus Fantasy for a little So Bad It's Good new song.
 * The English dub received a new theme song called "I Ran" by Bowling for Soup.
 * The first opening theme for the English dub of Naruto was this, but afterwards, all the theme songs were the original Japanese ones.
 * While most dub song switches are met with hatred, this one seems to be a bit of genius as the original probably wasn't catchy enough to market the show to a new audience. This bit of genius is seen again when instead of airing the third opening, they just reused the second one while switching out some animation frames.
 * Pretty Cure's YTV dub has this. "Together we are Pretty Cuuureeee...."
 * One of the most well-known Magical Girl anime in the world, Cardcaptor Sakura, has not just one foreign language alternate opening theme, but THREE of them:
 * The English version has one.
 * The Canadian French version, which not only uses No Nagging Anymore by Froggy Mix, but it also tells the story of how the series began.
 * The Italian version had this, too!
 * And finally, the Korean version. Not only did they make that song in Korean, they did it in English, too!
 * Speaking of Korea, Shugo Chara has many of these.
 * Here's the season one opening, and the season one ending.
 * For Doki!, they used a song by JQT. Heck, it even has a full version.
 * The Italian dub did this too.
 * Basically any anime that is dubbed in Italy will have this.
 * When Tonde Buurin was dubbed by Saban under the name Super Pig, they replaced the original theme song with this.
 * The Fox Kids version of Vision of Escaflowne has a different opening.
 * Dragonball/Dragon Ball Z has this Arabic theme.
 * While all three series have their own openings in Italy.
 * The Dragon Quest anime has this Arabic theme.
 * An instrumental theme of 'Naruto'' has been made into an Arabic opening, with added lyrics.
 * One Piece has an Arabic opening.
 * Detective Conan has an Arabic opening.
 * Igano Kabamaru has an Arabic opening.

Film

 * While the American version of How to Train Your Dragon has "Sticks and Stones", the Japanese version uses a J-pop song called "Emerald" written by Becky♪♯.
 * For the Japanese release of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Shoko Nakagawa wrote an upbeat, cheerful song called "Rainbow Forecast" as the ending theme, differing slightly from Miranda Cosgrove's "Raining Sunshine". If you picture the ending credits with this, the song actually fits pretty well.
 * For Robots, Japan uses "Mawaru Sora" written by Hitomi Yaida. The European theme is "From Zero to Hero" by Sarah Connor. (No, not that one.)
 * In Japan, Ice Age, a family comedy, has a surprisingly melancholy theme song. It's called "Hitoshizuku" which translates to "A Single Drop of Tears". This could be because the first movie is Darker and Edgier than the other two.
 * Atlantis the Lost Empire has a different theme song for the Japanese version, called "Crystal Vine", written by DREAMS COME TRUE.
 * The Japanese dub of Monster House has "Seishun no Tobira".
 * Meet the Robinsons uses "Hitomi Hiraite" by Mitsuki as the Japanese theme song.
 * Disney's A Christmas Carol uses "Present" in the Japanese version.
 * The Japanese version of Kung Fu Panda uses "Your Seed" as the theme song.
 * Over the Hedge has "Key of Heart" as its Japanese theme and "People Say" as its Korean theme. Both were sung by Bo A, who was the voice of Heather the opossum in both versions, making this a Do It Yourself Theme Tune.
 * For the Tinkerbell films, Japan uses "Fairy Song" as the theme song for the first film and "You Were" for the second film.
 * Hoodwinked has its own Japanese theme song.
 * Shrek the Third has a different theme song for the Japanese version, called "Love is the Greatest Thing" by w inds.
 * The Japanese version of The Smurfs uses Hey! Say! JUMP's "Magic Power" as its theme song. Again, a couple of the singers were voice actors in the Japanese dub.
 * The Japanese version of Happy Feet uses "Hoshi wo Mezashite" by NEWS as the theme song. One of the singers voiced Mumble in the dub.
 * In Japan, The Day After Tomorrow gets a theme song called "More Than a Million Miles" by a band called...Day After Tomorrow.
 * Kimura Kaela's "Jasper" is the theme song for the Japanese version of Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium. You can view the music video here but beware, it's a Mind Screw.
 * The second Arthur and The Invisibles has this as its Japanese theme song.
 * The theme song of the Japanese version of Open Season is called "Tookage" by Chemistry.
 * "Everlasting" by Bo A is the image song for Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist.
 * There is a Japanese theme song for the Thunderbirds movie.
 * The Japanese version of Twilight: New Moon uses Kato Miliyah's "Destiny" as its theme song.
 * Rie Fu's "Until I Say" is the Japanese theme of the 2005 film Heidi.
 * The Japanese theme song of Spider-Man 2 is called "Web of Night" by T.M. Revolution.
 * The Japanese theme for Sin City is "Violet Sauce" by Namie Amuro.
 * "Solve" is the image song for the Japanese release of Little Nicky.
 * "Sailing My Life", sung by Hirahara Ayaka and Fujisawa Norisama, is the theme song for the Japanese version of Disney Nature's Oceans.
 * The Rugrats Movie has "Winter's Review" by SHAZNA as its Japanese theme song.
 * The film of The Spiderwick Chronicles uses "Checkmate" by Yuugin as its theme song in Japan.
 * The theme song for Bridge to Terabithia is "To Be in Love" by MISIA in Japan.
 * The Japanese theme song for Son of the Mask is "Mask" by Tackey & Tsubasa.
 * "Good Times (Bad Times remix) by Rip Slyme is the Japanese theme song of Despicable Me.
 * G-Force in Japan has a different theme song.
 * The Japanese theme song for Hop is called "Hug Tomo" by Not Yet.
 * The image song for the Japanese version of The Wild is called "Prisoner of Love" by the Gospellers.
 * The theme song for the Japanese version of Nacho Libre is called "Go! Go! Carlito" by Jonny Jakobsen.
 * The Japanese version of Bolt has a different ending theme called "I Look Up at the Same Sky".
 * The Japanese version of Fantastic Four uses "Kirikirimai" by Orange Range as its theme song.
 * The Japanese version of An Arctic Tale uses "Miracle Star" by Aoi Teshima as the theme song.
 * The Japanese version of The Expendables uses the song "Kizuna" by Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi as an Image Song.
 * In the Japanese release of Fearless the theme song was changed from "Fearless" by Jay to "Crime" by High and MIGHTY COLOR. This apparently upset many Japanese fans of the original song.
 * "Sweetest Coma Again" by Luna Sea is the Japanese ending theme for The World Is Not Enough.
 * "Returner" by Gackt was used as the theme song in the Japanese version of The Prestige.
 * The theme song for the Japanese version of the movie Stealth is called "Countdown" by Hyde.
 * The Japanese version of Mulan has "Breathe" by Luna Sea as the theme song. The Korean version uses "Eternal Memory" by Lena Park.
 * In the Japanese release of March of the Penguins uses "Hikari no Niwa" by Chara as the theme song.
 * The Japanese version of Resident Evil: Extinction uses "Last Angel" by Koda Kumi as the theme song.
 * Koda Kumi's "But" is used as the theme song in the Japanese version of American film: Step Up.
 * In the Japanese version of Silent Hill, Anna Tsuchiya's "Lovin' You" is used.
 * "Winner" by Kazuya Yoshii is used as the theme song for Goal II: Living the Dream.
 * The Japanese version of P.S. I Love You has this as its theme song.
 * The Japanese version of Hachiko: A Dog's Tale uses "Wasurenai yo" as its theme song.
 * The Japanese version of Van Helsing uses "Wild Romance" by Kyosuke Himuro.
 * The Japanese version of Wanted uses a song by Breakerz as its ending theme.
 * The Japanese version of War uses "Strong Style" by Kreva.
 * The Pursuit of Happyness uses "Shiawase no Chikara" as its theme song in Japan.
 * "Girlfriend" by Crystal Kay, featuring Boa, is the theme song for the Japanese dub of He's Just Not That Into You.
 * "Before I Decay" is the Japanese theme song of The Fast and The Furious.
 * The theme song for the Japanese version of Dear Wendy is "Gogo no Teikiatsu".
 * "Natsu No Jewelry" was the theme song of the Japanese version of The Neverending Story.
 * The theme song for the Japanese version of Racing Stripes is "I Will" by Hitomi Shimatani.
 * The theme song for the Japanese version of Bewitched is "I'll Fall in Love" by Seiko Matsuda.

Live Action TV

 * The various Law and Order series had their theme tunes changed in the UK, possibly because musical tastes changed by the time the original series made it over the Atlantic. Although with the advent of Law and Order UK (which uses a theme tune which sounds reminiscent of the original ones) they seem to have switched to the original themes.
 * They were only changed for their Channel Five airings; all other channels to show them in the UK (BBC1, Sky One, Hallmark/Universal, ITV4) use the Mike Post ones.
 * When Choudenshi Bioman was licensed in France, it first used a dubbed opening, but did a Channel Hop after five or so episodes and got a new opening by Bernard Minet.
 * The Japanese version of The X Files has a few ending themes in Japan, including "Love Phantom" by B'z, "Unbalanced" by Maki Oguro, and "True Navigation" by Two-Mix. This could be because of the show's immense popularity in Japan.
 * Several American live-action shows have had new themes put on for French television:
 * Dallas.
 * Starsky & Hutch.
 * Heroes.
 * Prison Break.
 * The Japanese theme song for Gossip Girl is called "Get Away".
 * "New World" by w-inds is the ending theme to the Japanese dub of the second season of House.
 * The Japanese dub of Prison Break uses "Change" by YU-A as the theme song.
 * The first season of Chicago Hope has "In Silence" as the theme song for the Japanese version.
 * "Ore to Omae no Atarashii Kisetsu" by B'z is used as the Japanese ending theme to The OC.

Video Games

 * The English version of Final Fantasy XIII changes the Japanese theme, "Kimi ga Iru Kara", to "My Hands", by Leona Lewis. This is justified because the dubbers weren't able to translate the whole song into English.
 * Sly Cooper has "Black Jack" as its Japanese theme song.
 * R-Type Final uses the Blue Man Group's "Piano Smasher" as the ending theme for the American version.
 * Localized Tales almost always replace the original Japanese theme songs with original orchestral openings. Tales of the Abyss and Tales Of The World Radiant Mythology were exceptions of sorts, in that the original songs' melodies were kept, but not the vocals. Tales of Vesperia used an alternative version of the original opening, in English (sung by the same artist, Bonnie Pink).
 * Mega Man 8 uses very different instrumental opening and closing themes in the English version. Compare to the original Japanese themes, "Electrical Communication" and "Brand New Way".
 * "ROCK U" by Namie Amuro was used as the Japanese theme song of Call of Duty Black Ops.
 * The Japanese version of Crash Nitro Kart has a different theme song. It can be found here.

Western Animation

 * Powerpuff Girls has a couple opening and ending songs. Most of them were written by Power Puff Soul, a band of singers who joined together for this series, and one of the members includes Megumi Hayashibara!
 * Ben 10 has a different ending theme for the Japanese version called "Ladybird Girl", a love song, which is not very fitting for a show about transforming into multiple aliens.
 * The Japanese version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had two endings.
 * There are several opening and ending themes for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003. They can all be found here.
 * My Little Pony segment of My Little Pony 'n Friends from 80s had at least two cases:
 * Italy had "Vola mio mini pony" (broadcast on Italia 1, part of Berlusconi's empire of Mediaset) sung by Cristina D'Avena, which was used again as the Italian theme for My Little Pony Tales, also titled Vola mio mini pony. Also had extended version and instrumental version.
 * France's Mon petit poney also had one (alongside the translation of the original theme). There was a full version of it.
 * Like its predecessor, the Italian version of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, broadcast on Italia 1, has a different opening song, this time not sung by Cristina D'Avena. The short version can be found here and the full version here.
 * The ending theme song for Ruby Gloom in the Japanese version is called "Siren" by Nana Kitade, who used the alias "Ruby Gloom" for this single.
 * The Japanese version of Peter Rabbit has a different theme song
 * Japanese Dora the Explorer uses "Sound Space Scope" as its Japanese ending theme song.
 * The Japanese dub of X-Men not only has a different theme song, it completely reanimates the opening! It also uses a new ending.
 * Japanese '90s Iron Man also uses a different opening theme song.
 * The Japanese uses a different theme song for Animesque French show Totally Spies
 * Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog has an opening theme that emphasizes the nonsensical comedy of the show. The French version has lyrics and a slightly more heroic vibe.
 * There's different theme songs for the Japanese version of various Hanna-Barbera cartoons, such as Dick Dastardly & Muttley In Their Flying Machines, Wacky Races, Space Ghost, Josie and the Pussy Cats, The Impossibles, The Herculoids, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You, and The Funky Phantom.
 * Japanese Tom and Jerry has a different opening theme.
 * Japanese Boondocks has a different opening theme.
 * Rip Slyme wrote a new ending theme song for the Japanese version of Spongebob SquarePants. You can find it here.
 * The Japanese version of the Donkey Kong Country has a different opening and ending theme.
 * In Japan, the theme song for Class of 3000 is called "Funky Teacher" by Seamo.
 * The Japanese version of Magic School Bus has two ending themes. One of the ending themes is called "Dream On" by Junko Iwao. The other is called "Let's Ride" by Dreaming.
 * Peppa Pig has an alternative Japanese theme song.
 * Every Western Transformers series imported to Japan to date has different themes.
 * Prime is a notable case-- rather than having a new song written for it, as is usually the case for Transformers series in Japan, it used the existing song "Feeling" by K-Pop group Big Bang. It...doesn't fit very well with the show's generally dark and edgy tone. It also has a different ending called "I Believe in All".
 * Batman the Animated Series uses a very upbeat theme in Italy.
 * Same with the Arabic theme.
 * The Japanese version of The Amazing World of Gumball gets a new Japanese theme song by Moumoon called "Yes/No Continue?"
 * The Japanese version of Pingu has "Pingu Rap" for the opening theme and "Seeds of Happiness" as the ending theme.
 * The Japanese version of the 1993 version of The Pink Panther has a different ending theme.
 * The Japanese version of Frannys Feet has two ending themes: "Lovin' You" and "My Favorite Shoes" by Daisuke Mori.
 * For 4Kids's dub of Winx Club, they wrote "We are the Winx," which sounded nothing like the original Italian theme. Then their contract with Rainbow S.p.A. was ended, and the rights to the show were given to Nickelodeon. Nick created "Winx! You're Magic Now!", sung by Cymphonique Miller. It was set to the tune of season four's theme song, "La Magia di Winx Club," but was more upbeat and had different lyrics.
 * W.I.T.C.H. loves this trope;
 * The UK, and most of the non-English dubs used this one, with footage specially animated for the opening.
 * The American version created a special one using edited footage from the show.
 * And then it used a different singer later!
 * The Japanese version of Biker Mice From Mars has "Gone With the Wind" for the opening and "Stay With You Tonight" for the ending.
 * The Smurfs cartoon show uses a different theme song from the American version for foreign markets during the introduction sequence.
 * The Latin American Spanish dub of the first Spider Man TV series uses this opening performed by the Chilean singer Capitan Memo.
 * He also sings the Spanish OP theme of Spider Woman
 * Ditto with the OP theme of Sport Billy
 * The American version of the Lady Lovely Locks opening was not a song, but rather a speech telling the viewer about the story of the show. The Korean version, however made their own theme song, with episode clips, clips from the original opening and a clip from the Kideo TV opening which features Rainbow Brite and Popples, of all things!
 * The Latin-American dub of He Man and The Masters of The Universe has a very similar intro to the original English, except that the tune now has lyrics.
 * The Japanese version of Babar uses "Graduation" by Arisa Mizuki as its theme song.
 * The Japanese version of The New Adventures of Batman has a different opening and ending. The opening is "Crescent Night Story" and the ending is "I Love Batman", both by SUE CREAM SUE.
 * The Mask has an Arabic theme.