5 wishes we have for the animated Super Mario movie

An animated film version of Super Mario Bros. could be coming soon. Here’s what we think it needs to be successful.

For many of us, Super Mario Bros. was a big part of childhood. Games featuring Mario, Luigi, and their friends and sidekicks, have been around for decades. So, no matter your age, if you grew up with video games in the house, you likely played a Mario game at least once.

Now, you might think that Mario and Luigi are best suited for games, but there have already been a couple of film and television adaptations including a live-action version that came out in 1993. (Yes, it is pretty terrifying. Just look up pictures from this movie, and you will see what we’re talking about).

Founder of Illumination Chris Meledandri (the guy behind the Shrek reboot) is interested in making another animated version of Super Mario Bros. There have already been some television animated adaptations of these characters including The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! from the late 80s.

According to Variety, Meledandri is happy to take on the challenge of trying to adapt the video games into a successful film version. He said, “I like that this was not done well the first time. I think that’s more exciting or more worthy than simply making another version of a film that was done incredibly well to begin with.”

He also thinks one thing working in their favor is that they are going to work with the creator of Super Mario Bros., Shigeru Miyamoto, throughout the process.

While we aren’t sure that a Super Mario Bros. movie really needs to be made, here are some of the things that it needs to include if it wants to avoid disaster.

Include Yoshi and other cute characters

No animated Mario movie would be complete without Yoshi and a cute factor. This movie is going to be made for kids, so it’s important that they hit the right note when it comes to Mario’s best sidekick. It would be fun to see lots of Yoshis, including the blue one and the red one. There are also many other animal-like characters such as Koopas that could be included to make the film fun and appealing to young audiences.

Take notes from films such as Wreck-It Ralph

While Wreck-It Ralph was never a real video game, the film does successfully capture many of the joys of video games and translate that to the screen. While a Super Mario Bros. movie obviously wouldn’t copy this film, it could learn a lot from the rich visuals and way that Wreck-It Ralph incorporated nostalgia and fun into the story.

Include references to the source material

When translating something from one medium to another, changes always have to be made. But, it’s always enjoyable to see nods to the original works. There have been a lot of Mario video games over the years, so there is a lot to draw from. Overall, it’s important to include those iconic elements such as the green pipes, Goombas, and more.

Don’t make Peach a damsel in distress

While some of the more recent video games have gotten away from this storyline, the classic games are all about Mario rescuing Peach from Bowser. It’s important that they don’t go this route. Instead, they should make characters like Peach and Luigi interesting and not just second-rate compared to Mario.

Stay far away from live-action or trying to make this film for adults

While they shouldn’t forget that many adults will probably watch for the nostalgia, the audience should definitely be for kids. It’s also really important that they don’t even think about doing any live-action in any way. We doubt they would since Illumination is an animation studio, but, still, we are a bit traumatized from that 1993 version.

The film is still in development but might make it to theaters by 2022. What do you think of this idea? Do you want to see a Super Mario Bros. movie or is it best left as a video game?