Everyone loves Super Mario.
He's more than just a video game character, he's an icon for many generations. Not only is his staying power impressive, he also created a benchmark for how popular video game characters can become.
However, in 1993, at the height of Super Mario's worldwide popularity, a movie with the following title was released: Super mario bros A piece has been produced that shows exactly what not to do when adapting video game characters to the big screen. First of all, the movie was a grungy live-action version and was very different from the game's cutesy aesthetic.
Second, the film tried to achieve a consistent storyline, but failed. If you ask any kid who played the game back in the day what the story of Super Mario Bros. is, they'll tell you straight up. The plumber must save the princess from the evil turtle by using mushrooms to power up.
That wasn't the case with this movie. It took a simple premise and turned it into a complex, incoherent mess that disgusted children and even adults. The setting involved a magical pipe that transported the two Mario brothers from New York to a parallel dystopian dimension inhabited by strange creatures.
Fortunately, things were different last year when a new animated movie starring the beloved Italian plumber hit our screens.
super mario bros movie In terms of adapting the character, we understood and did something very simple. To begin with, the premise is ridiculous and arbitrary, leaning more towards wacky geekery than trying to understand it. Following the basics established in the game, Mario is transported to a magical land and given special abilities that allow him to jump higher and run faster.
There is no immediate difficulty in understanding what is going on. Most of it is familiar, and what's new isn't completely deviant. This made the film even better and the audience response was positive.
The obvious differences between these films beg the question: What's the best way to adapt video game characters and stories to the big screen?
Over the weekend, news broke announcing the voice cast for the upcoming TV version of the famous video game. between us, It has become a sensation during the pandemic with its simple and fun approach. This news seemed a bit far-fetched considering the game's character is a cartoon astronaut with no arms.
And the premise is simple. In the game, the player takes on one of her two roles, crewmate or impostor, who are similar in appearance. While the crewmates are trying to complete their assigned missions, the impostors try to kill the crewmates. The Crewmates' mission is to identify who is the impostor and vote them out of the game.
Soon, discussions began about adapting the video game into a movie. Is this going too far? The game it's based on doesn't have much of a character or story. But we've seen Super Mario movies and Sonic the Hedgehog movies be huge successes. between us?
Video game fans may point out that these days. the last of us It was aired by HBO as an indicator of a great adaptation. And while that show was great, there was little that couldn't have been better and more powerfully represented in the game. Some of today's best video games already feature great cinematic experiences. Translating it to a TV or movie screen often reduces its quality.
for example, uncharted A movie starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. The movie is based on a series of games that were heavily influenced by great movies like . Raiders of the Lost Ark and romance of stones. Despite being a big star, uncharted It didn't work because it took some of the most fleshed out and exciting experiences in the game and compressed them to fit into a 116 minute movie.
of uncharted The game is more than just a cinematic experience, it delivers thrills on multiple levels and provides players with emotional scenes that cannot be explained by just watching. That's why we turned a simple game like this into a movie. between us It may be a better adaptation.
Filmmakers and screenwriters are very creative. They want to play with as much of a blank slate as possible and want to inject their ideas and vision. Established video games with clear narratives and storytelling styles already stifle creativity. There's no need to create a direct adaptation, and there's no way to repurpose it and gain fan support.
in adapting between us, some video games have the potential to create stories and build narratives without being treated as sacred texts. And that's how you should choose and approach video game adaptations, choosing the one with the simplest, most bizarre plot, rather than the story that would be better told in its original form.
Published: March 22, 2024, 9:34am
