But this Wednesday, Mario, one of the most famous characters in the history of video games, debuts in theaters in the United States as the protagonist of “Super Mario Bros.: The Movie”a new animated production from the giant Universal Pictures.
“I didn’t even imagine that Mario would grow so much”Miyamoto told AFP.
“It’s like watching a two-dimensional illustration come out of the paper and become a 3D puppet, and then come to life and become a human”said the legendary video game designer.
The production, which hits theaters after recent and successful video game adaptations such as “The Last Of Us”is the second attempt to bring Mario to the big screen, after the ill-fated 1993 live-action film.
At that time, Nintendo ceded creative freedom to the producers of hollywoodwho developed a dystopian fantasy in the kingdom of a dinosaur.
This time the Japanese giant took center stage.
Nintendo sent Miyamoto himself to co-produce the film along with Chris Meledandri, founder of the Illumination studio, which has hits like “My favorite villain” and the popular minions.
“We didn’t just want to give up the rights, we wanted to participate”Miyamoto explained.
“And we met Chris. It gave us confidence that Chris and his team would work with us ”said .
“I was sure that we had to participate”stressed Miyamoto, who maintains that it was the only way to successfully incorporate the true spirit of the Nintendo video game into the film.
FOCUS ON THE CHARACTERS
The result is a colorful action movie that unfolds at a kid-friendly pace, and is packed with details and references that will inspire nostalgia among fans who grew up on Nintendo.
He even offers a background story about his heroes.
Struggling to make ends meet in their fledgling New York plumbing business, the Mario brothers attempt to save the city from a flood crisis, but are swept away by a green pipe.
mario ends in he Mushroom Kingdomwhere he will have to rescue his brother from the clutches of his ruler and antagonist, Bowser.
According to Miyamoto, the idea of creating a movie grew out of a major strategic change Nintendo made a decade ago to make its games “more focused on their characters”.
Until then, beyond the known “Wahoo!” of Mario, Nintendo designers did not add “nothing extra or unnecessary” to their characters because “we didn’t know what types of games they would be used in” after.
But “We wanted those who were not fans of video games to be able to recognize our characters”Miyamoto explained.
The “change in direction” also led to Nintendo’s recently opened theme parks in the cities of Osaka and Los Angeles, with the promise of new attractions.
THE “SPIELBERG” OF VIDEO GAMES
Miyamoto, 70, who is sometimes considered the Steven Spielberg of video gameshad to adjust to his new role as a Hollywood producer.
“I enjoy movies but I’m not an expert”he confessed to AFP. “I see everything, but I never thought I would want to make a movie“, he narrowed.
On the contrary, they were films like “Raiders of the Lost Ark”by Spielberg, which inspired his video games, including the acclaimed “The Legend of Zelda”.
“When I saw the film, I realized that there were a lot of creative people involved (…) and that one person at the helm brought everything together into a cohesive structure”he commented.
In this regard, he noted: “I saw this from the perspective of a game designer, and I thought ‘I want to make video games like this’”.
Working alongside Meledandri for six years to complete the new “Mario” film has allowed Miyamoto “to see this whole process up close.”
Hollywood stars like Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy and Seth Rogen They were signed to give voice to the famous Nintendo characters.
CONTROVERSY
But the film has already raised controversy, especially because of Mario’s accent.
Unlike the Italian accent Mario has in the video games, many fans were surprised last year to hear Pratt portray the character with an American accent in the trailer last year.
The explanation for the alleged oversight is in the film’s plot, and it should calm viewers’ skepticism.
Pratt has suggested that Mario’s (played by Charles Martinet in the video games) accent could be distracting in a full-length film.
“We talked early on about the importance of grounding my version of Mario’s voice in something that could sustain an emotional 90-minute line”said Chris Pratt in the film’s press releases.
Miyamoto hopes that putting Mario in a movie will give fans the feeling that he really exists.
“I feel that we have achieved it, I hope so”he expressed.
After Mario, could new Nintendo adaptations come? Maybe a “Zelda” movie?
“There are always possibilities!”Miyamoto replied.
