Illumination's Super Mario Bros (2023)

[Nick]

How did this italian guy from New York end up in the Mushroom Kingdom etc?

I feel like that's a question that Pixar or Warner Animation could answer and show on screen in a satisfying way. I feel like Illumination will sort of gloss over it given their movie history of not caring about plot (maybe Despicable Me 1 is an exception).

 

[quinnmac000]

I feel like that's a question that Pixar or Warner Animation could answer and show on screen in a satisfying way. I feel like Illumination will sort of gloss over it given their movie history of not caring about plot (maybe Despicable Me 1 is an exception).

I would disagree...I think the story and a rough sketch of the script has been developed since the project has been in talks for quite a while before the official announcement and I think this will be Illumination's push to have to create better quality products.

 

[zg44]

I can't imagine Miyamoto wanting a bland or soulless plot to launch Nintendo's movie universe.

Maybe later on (i.e. a Yoshi spinoff a la Minions) they could make a "pointless" movie, but to launch this whole thing they need a very strong plot to set up all the backstories of the main characters (Mario/Luigi, Princess, Bowser).

It doesn't have to be brilliant or anything, but the focus of an origin story is on developing relationships of characters through plot struggles.

Miyamoto knows that as well as anyone given the games he's been attached to...

 

[rhino4evr]

I'm curious how this will work. I can barely sit through a 30 second cut scene in a Mario game. An entire movie? I don't know. I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but they need to completely revamp their voice cast. The current voice work in Mario games works for videogames, but an entire movie of Peach's high voice, and Mario's cartoon Italian accent will be grating.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I'm curious how this will work. I can barely sit through a 30 second cut scene in a Mario game. An entire movie? I don't know. I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but they need to completely revamp their voice cast. The current voice work in Mario games works for videogames, but an entire movie of Peach's high voice, and Mario's cartoon Italian accent will be grating.

To be honest, I think they can't replace Charles Martinet, Samantha Kelley, and Kenny James as those characters, more to that they have been iconic in those roles and that they all can be probably paid for a lesser extent.

If anything, I fully expect the supporting cast outside of those three actors, to be comedian alumni from NBC.

 

[zg44]

I'm curious how this will work. I can barely sit through a 30 second cut scene in a Mario game. An entire movie? I don't know. I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but they need to completely revamp their voice cast. The current voice work in Mario games works for videogames, but an entire movie of Peach's high voice, and Mario's cartoon Italian accent will be grating.

The movies will probably get their own VAs. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't a lot of big name actors/actresses throwing their names into the ring on this given Illumination's past successes.

 

[rhino4evr]

To be honest, I think they can't replace Charles Martinet, Samantha Kelley, and Kenny James as those characters, more to that they have been iconic in those roles and that they all can be probably paid for a lesser extent.

If anything, I fully expect the supporting cast outside of those three actors, to be comedian alumni from NBC.

If you can replace the voice of Charlie Brown, The Grinch, and Kermit the Frog, you can replace the voice of Mario.

And they should....in my opinion.

 

[JungleSkip]

There's 0% chance they use Martinet outside maybe using his signature exclamations when Mario is jumping.

I also think this is a slam dunk "great story" or not. Animated movies with good animation and big money marketing behind them almost never fail. Add one of the world's most popular brands to the mix and you're gonna make a billion dollars easy.

Now, I don't think Nintendo is going to let this be anything less than good, but I think people saying "this needs to be Inside Out-level great to be a success" are probably not close to the mark.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I'm pretty sure Universal would adapt Mario based on the movie rather than a video game property. That way, Universal won't have to pay any additional fees, since they will own the movie, unlike the 3rd party properties.

Huh? No that’s not how that works.

 

[jtsalien]

There's 0% chance they use Martinet outside maybe using his signature exclamations when Mario is jumping.

I also think this is a slam dunk "great story" or not. Animated movies with good animation and big money marketing behind them almost never fail. Add one of the world's most popular brands to the mix and you're gonna make a billion dollars easy.

Now, I don't think Nintendo is going to let this be anything less than good, but I think people saying "this needs to be Inside Out-level great to be a success" are probably not close to the mark.

Right. Minions is the highest grossing Illumination film because they built the brand and marketed the crap out of it. Not because it's a good film. Even Batman V Superman with some of the worst word of mouth ever almost hit a billion on the backs of two of the most iconic characters in the world.

I think people just care about Mario and want it to be good. Which is understandable. But like you said, it's unlikely this is bad.

 

[Mad Dog]

Marketing's dream title, "Mario Meets the Minions" .

 

[jtsalien]

Marketing's dream title, "Mario Meets the Minions" .

I'd pay them money NOT to make that movie

 

[JungleSkip]

Marketing's dream title, "Mario Meets the Minions" .

Already happened.

 

[zg44]

Minions was a spinoff of Despicable Me 1 and 2. DM 2 did $970 million. Without the building blocks of DM 1-2, there's no way Minions alone would have been a billion dollar movie.

They aren't going to release a Minions style movie as the first Nintendo movie, it'd be completely foolish. If you're going to release a Minions style movie, it'd be the 3rd or 4th in the mix (like a Yoshi movie in the mode of Minions).

Super Mario Bros 1-2 then a Yoshi movie that's basically a Minions kind of movie with not that deep a plot (a Yoshi story prequel like Minions was a prequel).

That makes complete sense to me, but I don't get the worry about how they're going to release a movie similar to Minions as the first movie of the bunch. That's not on the table.

 

[Mike S]

Maybe it would lead down the road where Universal would buy Nintendo.

Please no.

 

[zg44]

Universal wants only 2 things from Nintendo: 1) Theme Park rights and 2) Movie rights.

They're getting those 2 things; a merger (Comcast buying Nintendo) would be completely pointless given that the only 2 things Nintendo could give to Universal are now already under contract.

There's no other synergies there worth exploiting.

 

[quinnmac000]

Universal wants only 2 things from Nintendo: 1) Theme Park rights and 2) Movie rights.

They're getting those 2 things; a merger (Comcast buying Nintendo) would be completely pointless given that the only 2 things Nintendo could give to Universal are now already under contract.

There's no other synergies there worth exploiting.

ehhh....not exactly.

Comcast is realizing that games naturally are fitting into the media sphere as another medium that they can exploit hints the investment in Esports and publishing their own games instead of licensing them out. Comcast already is looking into the potential to acquire a gaming company (Per the EVP of Gaming For NBCUniversal) who stated:

Heatherly: For entertainment companies–our view at Comcast Universal is that—Comcast started off as a cable company. It’s become a broadband company. The people in the company know what’s going down those pipes is what’s growing broadband views. Some of it is streaming video, but a lot of it gaming. We have a management team that has a very progressive view toward the games business.

We’re heavily invested in traditional media assets already. We have a lot of capital, but we’re in search of something new. One of the things that I think is attractive to our company is that games are adjacent to both the things we do in the cable business and the things we do in the entertainment side of the business. It’s a new media business we’ve found. That’s the opportunity for us.

 

[Mike S]

ehhh....not exactly.

Comcast is realizing that games naturally are fitting into the media sphere as another medium that they can exploit hints the investment in Esports and publishing their own games instead of licensing them out. Comcast already is looking into the potential to acquire a gaming company (Per the EVP of Gaming For NBCUniversal) who stated:

And Nintendo is totally going after the esports crowd. Yup.

 

[quinnmac000]

And Nintendo is totally going after the esports crowd. Yup.

Splatoon, Arms, Smash, Mario Kart and the fact they are trying to create an annual Nintendo World Championship already show they have an interest in it and it was also mentioned in the November investors report Nintendo will start making more titles to attract those in the Esports arena so....

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2017/171101e.pdf

 

[zg44]

ehhh....not exactly.

Comcast is realizing that games naturally are fitting into the media sphere as another medium that they can exploit hints the investment in Esports and publishing their own games instead of licensing them out. Comcast already is looking into the potential to acquire a gaming company (Per the EVP of Gaming For NBCUniversal) who stated:

All of that may be true, but the problem is that Nintendo's businesses are highly uncertain because they're one of the console gaming co's.

If you were talking about Valve or TakeTwo or EA, that might be something different.

But I have a hard time seeing Comcast brass wanting anything to do with a risky or uncertain business like Nintendo.

Nintendo has powerful brands that can be exploited in theme parks and movies, but outside of that they derive the bulk of their revenue from their console markets and various attached aspects of those.

Comcast wants no part of a finnicky business like that.

Nintendo can have a console sell 100m units in a generation followed by another that sells 1/10th of that.

Look at what they've done to Universal's movie business; completely converted it into a stable franchise heavy business. Nintendo won't ever really be like that, they'll have booms and busts.