what are the challenges for “Super Mario Bros the movie”, the adaptation of the video game hero to the cinema?

An iconic character in some 200 Nintendo games of various genres, Mario is today the mustachioed mascot of one of the most popular and best-selling video game franchises of all time. Even if the trailer broadcast during the Super Bowl places Mario at the heart of his work as a plumber, it is above all his status as a video game hero (the most popular of the French people ahead of Pikachu) which will be at the center of the feature film. ‘animation Super Mario Bros the Movie in theaters April 5.

In the film overseen by character designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario travels through the Mushroom Kingdom with Princess Peach and Toad to find his brother, Luigi, and to save the world from a ruthless fire-breathing Koopa named Bowser.

Exporting such a rich gaming universe to the big screen requires a precise balance: the right balance between adaptation of codes, respect for the source material and novelties. The many failures of the genre in recent years (such as the film Assassin’s Creed, released in 2016), show how delicate the exercise is. Mario had tripped himself over the carpet with his first live action film in 1993, a huge critical and public failure at the box office.

Behind the new feature film produced by Illumination Studio thus emerges the desire to erase the stigmata left by the only appearance of the brothers in red and green in the cinema exactly 30 years ago, but also that of uniting in dark rooms small and big. Super Mario Bros the Movie is also an opportunity for Nintendo to expand and densify the “Mario empire”, already very present on the video game scene, but also on that of board games, derivative products of all kinds, and even on the market amusement parks (Super Mario “lands” have recently opened in Universal Studios parks in Osaka and Los Angeles).

Celebrate the old, make room for the new

“Mario is the undisputed superstar of video games for 35 years, the most emblematic figure, confirmed Florent Gorges, director of Omake Books and author of the series of books Nintendo history, in an interview with franceinfo. Naturally, after a large wave of adaptations of video games to the cinema – in particular the diptych featuring Mario’s main competitor, Sonic – the Japanese firm had to strike a blow. After the reveal of the trailers of Super Mario Bros the Movie, fans seem particularly enthusiastic. Numerous are the references to the various games of the franchise, attractive design and graphic touch… The cinematographic event seems to reflect Nintendo’s strategy of conquest: bringing together old and new generations of players, fans of the first hour and the uninitiated, in a new “turnkey” Mario formula, this time indoors rather than in our living rooms.

From the first 2D games to the most recent “open world” games, the red and blue franchise continues to appeal to both young fans and their parents. Culture of nostalgia, sparkling pop photography and multitudes of references will therefore be present for this adaptation to the cinema, in an attempt to abolish the boundaries between old and new generations of spectators.

Make people forget the failure of 1993

Going from the hands of gamers to the eyes of the general public is not easy. Started timidly in the 90s, the machine for developing films based on video games has however greatly accelerated in recent years. Since 2018, an average of two live-action films per year, as in 2022 (Uncharted, sonic 2) stage video game worlds. A notable increase stimulated by significant entries, the curious being at the rendezvous in the room to see for themselves the good transposition (or not) from one imaginary world to another.

In this context, the choice of the animated film would allow the small troop of the Mushroom Kingdom to stick as closely as possible to the original designs. The live action requires very elaborate special effects, the animation represents each block, each kart circuit, each magic item in its most subtle details. Faced with the injunction to please the greatest number, Nintendo preferred to play the card of loyalty to that of interpretation. A coherent choice when we know that the company had been shaken by the failure of the film in live action released in 1993.

Renowned for its extreme caution, the Kyoto firm will therefore have waited 30 years before trying the adventure again in the cinema. It is to the American studio Illumination, on the strength of the success of the license Me, ugly and mean and the saga of minions, that Nintendo entrusted with its new cinematic destiny. By relying heavily on the cards of animation, humor but also merchandising.

A marketing goldmine

Because if the fans of the mustachioed man in overalls are nervous at the idea of ​​discovering the film, Nintendo’s marketing department did not wait for the film’s release to spin on derivative products. In addition to a clip made with the voice cast of the feature film and an impressive communication campaign all over the world (see the tweet below with this photo taken in Paris), partnerships have been concluded with the brand Uniqlo clothing and Lush cosmetics. Special candies bearing the image of emblematic elements of the Mario universe will even be released for the occasion in collaboration with Haribo. A rather unique cover for an animated film, further proof of the importance that the release of Super Mario Bros the Movie.

“Mario is a super annuity for Nintendo. This ability to adapt to infinity gives it enormous commercial power, Florent Gorges analysis. And it will still be as popular in 35 years if Nintendo finds a way to constantly renew the interest of the public”. The plumber created by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1981 finds himself embarked on an epic which could well, in its own way, conquer a territory which was not yet stamped “Big N”. As to whether it will be the first in a long series, everything will depend on the theatrical success of this hour and a half trip to the Mushroom Kingdom, scheduled for Wednesday, April 5.