* This article is compiled from IGN US related content, the original author Matt Kim, compiled by Tony, unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
When Miyamoto began creating iconic characters and games at Nintendo 40 years ago, he was often compared to Walt Disney, and Miyamoto Shigeru was not very happy about this. But decades later, with Nintendo's theme parks and Mario's big movies coming out, is the Nintendo creative representative willing to accept that comparison?
In an interview with IGN before the premiere of Super Mario Bros. Movie, Miyamoto said his views remained unchanged. "Twenty years ago, someone started comparing me to Walt Disney, and I was like, 'Please don't do this, I don't deserve it.' 」
At the time, there were indeed similarities between the two. Both Disney and Shigeru Miyamoto are known for creating classic characters with great weight, and as a result, they have become the face of their respective companies. But Miyamoto is often unhappy with this comparison, in part because Disney's characters have a long history compared to the relatively young Mario. In addition, Miyamoto also disagrees with the idea that the success of the entire company comes from a single source of ideas.
"One thing that I find interesting: Walt Disney didn't create all of these things alone, but Walt Disney and the Disney brand together," Miyamoto rightly noted, "I think the concept is interesting, like we also have to think, how do we build the Nintendo brand?"
Now Nintendo is seen as a creative brand, and Miyamoto is proud of that. "I think we've gotten to a point where Nintendo has a lot of creative people, a lot of characters and star characters, and people know that Nintendo has created a lot of creative products," Miyamoto said, "but that doesn't mean there's a guy named 'Nintendo' doing that." It's that everyone at Nintendo is creating this product as part of Nintendo, which I think is very interesting and what I'm trying to achieve."
It can be said that now Nintendo's brand influence is unprecedentedly strong. After the Wii was launched in 2006, its ingenious somatosensory operation continued to break hardware sales records, but the weakness of its successor, the Wii U, made many people worry about whether Nintendo would collapse. But in 2023, after the success of the Nintendo Switch that changed the landscape of the industry, the gap between Nintendo and Disney narrowed again. The company has opened Super Nintendo Worlds-themed play zones at two Universal Studios and has just launched an animated film based on Shigeru Miyamoto's most iconic character, the Mario Brothers.
Nintendo and Illuminated Entertainment first met in 2014, and according to Shigeru Miyamoto, being able to make this movie has always required the talent of the animation giant. "Anyway, the idea of adapting the game into a movie was raised, and there were other proposals at the time. Some people may think that we create the story and graphics in the game ourselves, so we can also make our own movies, and directing movies is very simple, but in reality this is not the case, making games is very different from making movies."
The film flesh out Mario's image like never before. Although his appearance is very classic, Mario does not have a real backstory, and it can even be said that he did not have a real character before. But in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mario appears in a whole new way. He was an ambitious, action-driven, go-and-do man who dreamed of becoming the heroes of the Brooklyn borough where they lived, even if that dream was achieved by building pipes.
This Mario is not favored, and can even feel a sense of sadness because he failed to fulfill his life wish, he knows that he can be a hero, but only after he is magically teleported to the mushroom kingdom, he really has a chance to fulfill this wish.
But these are subtexts felt from great graphics, hilarious jokes, and delightful, fast-paced stories. At first, Mario was just a carrier of a top-of-the-line platforming game, not the embodiment of the crisis of modern self-identity. But if Mario's popularity comes entirely from gaming experience, how did he become one of the most recognizable characters on the planet? How did he become a canvas for narrative stories?
"It's a question I've been asked before. In the past, I think it's gameplay that makes Mario, and when people play and enjoy the game, the experience of playing the game, and Mario as an extension of it, becomes part of the players," Miyamoto mused.
"But now, seeing Mario in the form of a movie makes me understand that this character can really only be born from the need to 'create games'. So after making the movie, I felt that we had created a very unique protagonist on this level, because where else would you come up with such a protagonist other than to meet the needs of the game? So, that's something I'm happy about."
Mario is unique not only in that he was originally a protagonist purely for game interaction, but in fact, in bringing Mario to the big screen, he also unearthed some of the qualities that Mario lost in the process of bouncing and destroying bricks.
"Mario is a blue-collar worker and an ordinary person," Miyamoto said, "so even when he became 'Doctor Mario,' he still had a feeling of 'not very reliable' — can I really trust this person?" Miyamoto joked, "The feeling remains." I think this is the image of Mario passed down from generation to generation. So seeing him still be that image and then evolving into a hero-like image is something I'd love to see."
Casting Mario as a resonant "ordinary person" protagonist was a clever decision, thanks to the collaboration between Nintendo and Illuminated Entertainment.
Chris Mailer Dandley, CEO and founder of Lighting Entertainment, said: "Lighting Entertainment is constantly evolving with technology, but I think we are talking about adaptations that really follow and respect the core design elements of the game that players love. And the road to this goal is paved by the smallest details. When you see Mario or Princess Brigitte, you see characters on the big screen that you are already familiar with, but when you start to look closely, you will see very detailed textures on the skirts, or notice the shadows formed by the pleats.
"So, when you take this approach, what ends up happening is that the world you're exposed to while playing the game suddenly comes to life, but that's done by the finest detail, not by changing the character's design language."
Recently, many Hollywood companies have been enthusiastic about game adaptations. When asked about this trend, Merler Dandley said that while many studios have tried adapting games, others don't have Miyamoto.
"Looking back now, Hollywood used to have a lot of interest in games, but a lot of people were anxious and wondered if they could turn them into movies... I think a lot of people have struggled with that before," Merlor Dandry said, "and we took a very unique approach, and we decided from the beginning that this film had to be made through a full collaboration between Mr. Miyamoto, myself, Nintendo and Lighting Entertainment."
Like Nintendo's team, Miyamoto praised the creative talent of Lighting Entertainment: "There are many people who are big fans of Mario games. In fact, I feel like some people probably know them better than I do. So, it's a wonderful experience."
Through this collaboration, Lighting Entertainment, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto and Meler Dandley successfully evolved Mario, pushing him into a new era, an era in which "Mario" IP is no longer limited to a single channel.
"I knew Mario was an evolving character," Miyamoto explains, "and seeing Mario on the screen made me feel like Mario has evolved to new heights." And it's not just about Mario ... Nintendo has a lot of roles, and I almost see us as an agency with a lot of artists and we have to find the best job for them. In this sense, in this movie, many characters have evolved from the "puppet level" to the "human level". I want people to notice that when they watch the movie."
While Miyamoto deliberately downplayed the role of individual creators, Merler Dandley sang the opposite. "We've seen a lot of studios lose their creators and can't be as successful as they used to be. We saw — I can think of at least one example — that game companies did movies and didn't work out. This was many years ago, not Nintendo. But if you think about it, then it makes perfect sense that we need this partnership."
And who would pass up the opportunity to work with Shigeru Miyamoto? "Our two directors, Aaron Horvath and Michael Gellanick, they're all very excited, and so is our screenwriter Matt Fogel, I mean, everybody is like that... I told Mr. Miyamoto before that everyone at Lighting Entertainment wants to be involved in Mario," Merler Dandeli laughs, "It has had an impact on the whole company, whether he is involved in Mario projects or not, just the fact that we are working with Nintendo and working with Mr. Miyamoto makes all the creators of Lighting Entertainment very excited, and I think you can feel this excitement in this movie."
So we come back to the idea that Miyamoto is an inspiring creative giant, a man who is willing to work with others, and everyone really wants to work with him – like the power star in Mario. So, it's really hard not to compare yourself to Disney, isn't it? No, of course not.
"I think it's important to pass on Mario as a character, so I don't think I even need to be involved," Miyamoto replied when asked how he sees his career and his journey from famous game designer to theme park and movie producer.
"In the process of building the park and making the film, I realized that people who grew up playing Mario can now bring together other creators and create something new together. I think that's very important. It's a bit like the computer world, where people who work in games in the computer industry may — not to say be looked down upon — but may be seen differently by others. But now, after a lot of people who grew up playing games entered the computer industry, I think everyone can be treated as equals. It makes me very happy."
"So no matter what identity it is, I'm very satisfied."