Nintendo announced it was making an animated Super Mario Bros. movie with Illumination in 2018, the animation studio responsible for Despicable Me, Minions, and The Secret Life of Pets. However, that might not be all, as Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa suggests there could be more animated Nintendo movies, or possibly even TV shows.
News of the animated Super Mario Bros. movie came as a surprise to many, as it seemed Nintendo had sworn off adapting its properties following the disastrous 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. movie starring John Leguizamo and the late Bob Hoskins. Nintendo also previously tried animation with multiple animated shows based on Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda in 1989.
However, the Nintendo of today seems to be open to developing its IP outside of video games again, provided they are hands-on with the project’s development. Super Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto is working directly with Illumination on the Mario movie. This new process with Illumination appears to be going well, as Furukawa was recently quoted in an interview with Fast Company saying, “Animation, in general, is something that we are looking into, and not just this franchise.”
Furukawa didn’t elaborate further, so Nintendo fans can only hope the company is considering adapting their favorite series next, be it The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Animal Crossing, or any other property from Nintendo’s laundry list of classics. In the wake of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, some fans can’t help but dream of a Super Smash Bros. cinematic universe that would bring all of Nintendo’s characters together on the big or small screen.
The “in general” from Furukawa’s quote seems to suggest that Nintendo is also considering making animated shows again too. That Nintendo is considering TV lends credence to the recent rumor that Nintendo was working on a claymation-style animated Star Fox show with Netflix that it pulled out of. Hopefully Nintendo will be more willing to see these kinds of projects to fruition in the future.
The company is branching out beyond the world of TV and movies as well. Nintendo recently opened its first-ever theme park with Super Nintendo World at Universal Japan, again with the oversight of Miyamoto. There are also more toys and clothes featuring Mario and other Nintendo characters than ever before, as the company partners with companies like Levi’s, Puma, Champion, Jakks Pacific, Build-A-Bear, and more.
Nintendo's animated Super Mario Bros. movie is slated for release on September 16, 2022.
Source: Fast Company