Nintendo is teaming up with Illumination Entertainment, the Universal-backed studio behind the Despicable Me and Minions as their Player 2 for a 3D-animated Super Mario Bros. movie. The Wall Street Journal was the first to leake this deal, and neither Nintendo nor Illumination Entertainment are commenting on the leak. At this point, the deal, if there is one, is very likely in the early stages, and the movie likely won't hit theaters until 2020. The Despicable Me series is the highest-grossing animated movie series of all time, surpassing Shrek at $3.5 billion in global revenue.
Depending on your age, this could be amazing news. If you're young or in your teen years, it's the studio that made the Minions so loveable. If you're older, it's another Super Mario. Bros. movie starring Mario Mario and Luigi Mario. Opinions on that movie are sharply divided among the Mario and Nintendo fans.
Yes, this was tried before in 1993 when Mario was first starting out and enchanting audiences the world over on the NES. From start to finish, no one enjoyed making that film. Today, the people who love that film are in the minority. John Leguizamo has a sense of humor about it years later, taking a picture with two people dressed as the Mario and Luigi characters from the film. This, and other video game adaptations and their positive to lukewarm reception give people pause. The Assassin's Creed movie seems to be one the best of the bunch right now, joining the likes of Mortal Kombat (1995) and Street Fighter (1994). However, this is an animated venture and Nintendo is making certain to retain creative control with Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario's creator, as a producer, if The Wall Street Journal''s information is true.
Nintendo has learned their lesson, has plenty of incentive to get this off the ground and make a dazzling movie, and plenty of clout to stop any signs of their 1993 turn. Illusion Entertainment has an impressive resume of their own. These should give people hope that their animated turn at the Mario franchise will be good. However, as Bob Hoskins found, giving a personality to someone who does little more than make sounds when jumping and falling is a difficult task.
We conducted a poll of our visitors, and 561 of 681 voters (82%) have a negative outlook on the project, while only 120 have a more positive view. Tell us your reasons why in the comments below.
