5 Movies & Shows That Are Popular For Unexpected Reasons

See, according to Disney Japan, it's Japanese women who "have the power to spur consumption and create a fad." But, whether Disney planned to or not, the allure went much deeper than that. The movie's main song, "Let It Go," became an anthem for Japanese women blowing off steam at karaoke bars, especially after putting up with rampant sexism in the workplace. Not one but three versions of the song were released in Japan, two of which reached the top of the charts. Hell, the movie was such a phenomenon that a lingerie company even manufactured a Frozen-inspired bra that changes color when you bump boobs with a friend. Just like ... in ... Frozen?

Something must be very different in translation.

Today, The Simpsons has won over a huge contingent of churchgoing fans, including the Vatican itself. A 2001 cover story in Christianity Today found that, after "Jesus," "Ned Flanders" was the name most often associated with the word "Christian" on high school and college campuses. Flanders was, mathematically speaking, the most visible evangelical figure known to non-evangelicals. And that's just neat-a-rino, as far as churches are concerned. Numerous religious leaders quoted in the article praise the show for the mainstream example it sets, with one Christian philosophy professor calling Ol' Painty Can Ned "television's most effective exponent of a Christian life well-lived."

Other Christian columnists have praised The Simpsons for delving into deceptively complex religious dilemmas in relatable, non-preachy ways. "Religious" TV characters are so often portrayed as the stereotypical moral compass, or as an unreasonable foil to the main character's logical nature. On The Simpsons, the family engages in faith the way the vast majority of American families do -- as a slightly annoying weekly ritual they go through out of obligation, but something which is still there for them when they need it. Also, they once tackled the God-fearing man's most ruinous crisis of faith:

It might all be down to timing. The first Kingsman movie came out right after a series of videos of rich Koreans being abusive to the general public went viral. In one instance, the daughter of the chairman of Korean Air blew her fuse after being served nuts in a plastic bag. She yelled at the crew, made them kneel in front of her, and delayed the flight just to kick out the chief steward. Since Kingsman is about a working-class lad becoming a secret agent, Fox Korea decided to take advantage of the national mood by releasing a series of viral videos of people going vigilante on rich jerk-offs. Like this one, coincidentally set on an airplane.

So the movie's success was partly due to everyone's animosity toward rich people ... and partly due to everyone's desire to be like them. Or dress like them, anyway. The success of the movie brought about a 64 percent spike in double-breasted suit sales for one Korean department store, and there's even a new "Kingsman" suit shop that uses the movie's logo and catchphrase, "Manners Maketh Man." (You'd think "respecting copyright" would count as "manners.")