The English title of the film is an allusion to the 1982 American comedy film Tootsie. A Thai slang term for transvestite or effeminate man, toot (ตุ๊ด), comes from the first syllable of Tootsie. The Thai name of the film, Tat soo foot is a Thai spoonerism for toot soo fat, which translates roughly as "butt-kicking sissy". Kung Fu Tootsie is set in Hong Kong, the story of Tien and Tao, twins separated at birth. When Tao, living with his wealthy mafioso father, Ma Yong Hai, is mutilated by a rival gang, Ma must find his lost son Tien, living in poverty with his mother, to become the next head of the family. Antics ensue, however, when Tien turns out to be more 'Sonny and Cher' than 'Sonny Corleone'.