“Much ado about nothing”in other languages

Same idea, different pictures

English quotes Shakespeare's comedy of the same name. French and Arabic tell a fable instead: the mountain goes into labor and gives birth to a mouse, la montagne accouche d'une souris, تمخض الجبل فولد فأرا.

The mountain is very old: the Roman poet Horace used it to mock writers who promise great things and deliver little. It's aimed at the buildup as much as the result.