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GameCube (Games) Media Movies

Nintendo Eyeing the Big Screen 308

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i'm-wario-and-i'm-a-gonna-win dept.
techstar25 writes "Coming soon reports that video game giant Nintendo is going to Hollywood by creating an in-house unit to develop animated features based on the numerous properties owned by the company. The plan calls for Nintendo to create a movie based on one of its own franchises for theatrical release in 2006. The original story is from Variety (reg. required)." It doesn't really say what properties to expect, but obviously it's Excite Bike.
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Nintendo Eyeing the Big Screen More

Nintendo Eyeing the Big Screen

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  • Wow! What a fantastic idea! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Skyshadow ( 508 ) * on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:08PM (#10976860) Homepage
    Sweet, movies based on video games. How could [imdb.com] that [imdb.com] possibly [imdb.com] go [imdb.com] wrong [imdb.com] ? [imdb.com]

    Seriously, is anyone actally still awake in Hollywood or are these scripts actually being greenlighted by some giant evil Twilight-Zone-ish computer that lives in a cave someplace on the back lot of Warner Brothers? This news item seems like something they would have used as the basis of an episode of The Critic, fer cryin' out loud.

    • Hey, for a horror movie Resident Evil wasn't bad!
      • Yes, it was.

        You must have watched Resident Evil 2; I can see how, by comparison, it'd make Resident Evil one look good.

        • No, it wasn't. It was a great movie, for what it was. It was NOT supposed to be a "Ma, we saved the farm" movie. It WAS supposed to be an action flick, and both movies in the series accomplished that just fine.

          Then again, I also liked Final Fantasy (it was nonsensical plotwise, just like the game) and I thought the first Tomb Raider movie was good, though I didn't go see the second one.

          • RE 1 was good. It is not just an action flick - it is a sci-fi horror action flick... So they got the science down (easy, technology and mad science), they got the action down (ass kicking with lots of cool weapons), and they scared the living crap out of people in the theatre.
            RE 2 was poor. They got the action down (ass kicking with lots of cool weapons), they got the science down (same as before), but the movie was about as scary as Peekacho on crack.
            • True, RE2 was less "survival horror" than RE1, but it did keep the action going and it also extended and elaborated a lot on the characters from RE1 (even if not everyone caught it). I don't think it was a bad movie by any means.
          • Okay, I was high as a kite when I saw FF:SW.... and it still sucked.

            And the first TR movie was friggin' weak. Didn't even bother with the second. An unremarkable, uninteresting action flick.

            My fave video-game based movie: Street Fighter Animated Movie.
          • See, I liked the Final Fantasy games, and consequently hated the movie. I mean, seriously... if they had just played the typical battle-won music at some random point in the movie (even during the credits!) or something of that sort, it would have been worth it. As it was, it had almost nothing to do with Final Fantasy.

            I am, of course, looking forward to Advent Children [adventchildren.net] eagerly ;) I hope I'm not let down again.

    • Hey- lets look at TRON. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by mekkab ( 133181 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:11PM (#10976900) Homepage Journal
      Despite TRON holding a place in my heart- the movie was widely panned. However the video game raked in the quarters. (falshbacks to the beauty of the Discs of Tron environmental cabinet!)

      Look at it this way: These movies are simply advertising vehicles for Nintendo's games. Good, bad, doesn't matter. Get the word out there and get the games bought. Thats the TRUE strategy.
    • Hey, The Wizard rocked! To all us Nintendo geeks, The Wizard is as classic as Breakfast Club. We all drooled at the opportunity to a) get a sneak preview of Mario 3 and b) dream of a reality where we could make money playing video games (those of us that were kids at the time, anyway).
      • I guess. I was about 12 years old when it came out, and while I was pretty excited to get the SMB3 (best mario ever) sneak-peak, I wasn't very impressed by the movie. It was so random and so obviously a marketing creation even to a twelve year old -- the power glove? Besides, I was a kid -- I already spent all my time playing video games, what care did I have about making money while doing it? That didn't become a fantasy until the spectre of The Real World loomed its head later in life. :)
    • But this [imdb.com] time [imdb.com] it's [imdb.com] animated [imdb.com] so I have some hope for it.

      I was always pretty fond of the video game cartoons.

    • Re:Wow! What a fantastic idea! (Score:5, Funny)

      by oexeo ( 816786 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:34PM (#10977196)
      I [imdb.com] love [imdb.com] slash [imdb.com] dot's [imdb.com] new [imdb.com] game [imdb.com]
    • The problem with the current brand of video game movies is that hollywood is trying to cater to everyone at the same time, because that's what will potentially make the big bucks (Look at pixar, they make movies that appeal to kids, teenagers, and adults, so they rake in tons of cash). The problem is that the video games that we love are tailored to appeal to the gamers of the world. Hollywood then gets their claws into it, and applies their own brand of bastardization to it, things like "all male charact
      • So there's really only one solution: now that Pixar's release from the Iron Claw of Disney is upon us, why don't they start working for Nintendo? I could actually see them taking the characters and transposing them onto the big screen in a way that actually makes us care about them (at least for 123 minutes or whatever the run of the movie is.)

        This would help Pixar not be crushed by the Mouse's Massive Mmarketing Minions(tm)when Pixar tries to release intelligent movie after intelligent movie which some
    • anyone else remeber the power glove.. it was sooo bad.. hah. FF was hardly a bad movie. It had some CG isues but certainly was not a dumb movie. The wizard was an Ad for Mario 3.
      • I personally liked some of their cartoons they had back in the day. Captain N, for example. I'm surprised Nintendo hasn't gotten back into this again. Watching some of the old Zelda cartoons now is kind of painful, but I bet they could come up with something good.
    • How could that possibly go wrong ?

      Put [imdb.com] very [imdb.com] simply: [imdb.com] it [imdb.com]
      just [imdb.com] can't! [imdb.com]
    • Considering that the Wizard was not much more than a low-budget multimedia marketing campaign for the unreleased Super Mario Bros. 3, a game which then went on to be the best selling standalone videogame of all time, you might say that it was a crappy movie but you can't say that it went wrong for Nintendo.

  • I took my Cynical Pill this morning... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:08PM (#10976866) Homepage Journal

    The plan calls for Nintendo to create a movie based on one of its own franchises for theatrical release in 2006

    Sadly, it will be marketed to the kids and useless parents who cannot say "No!" will take the sprogs, ensuring huge profits.
    Also watch for:

    The McSuper McMario Happy Meal!

    Metroid Special Edition Pepsi!

    Mr. Driller Bubble Gum Flavoured Toothpaste!

    and the drones will gobble it all up...

  • Super Mario Brothers (Score:3, Insightful)

    by teiresias ( 101481 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:09PM (#10976880)
    yeah.....because Super Mario Brothers [imdb.com] was great! .......

    Although a Zelda movie would be pretty neat.
    • Although a Zelda movie would be pretty neat.

      They kind of already did make one. [imdb.com]
    • I actually enjoyed the Super Mario Bros movie. Sure, it wasn't exactly like the games, but taken on its own I thought it was decent. The plot wasn't that terribly original, but I thought it was executed decently. Heh, toxic air aside, the plot is very similar to Metroid Prime 2. Asteroid hits planet, causing dimensional split. Not the best movie I've seen, by any means, but certainly not that bad.
    • Although a Zelda movie would be pretty neat.

      No, it wouldn't.

      Don't you remember thinking "Oh, an Alien VS Predator would be neat!" or "Man, I can't wait for the Matrix sequels!" or "Hurrah! SW: Episode One comes out today!"?

      Videogames are neat. Movies are neat.
      Put 'em together and you have crap. Either a crappy videogame based on a movie or a crappy movie based on a game. Stop deluding yourself, it's not healthy.

  • Metroid (Score:3, Interesting)

    by JavaLord ( 680960 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:10PM (#10976885) Journal
    Metroid would be pretty sweet, but it would probably require an R rating since it would be a horror movie.

    Wasn't there a Super Mario Brothers movie already that did poorly?
    • I'm pretty sure there is a Metroid movie in the works. I might even go so far as to say that John Woo has optioned it, but I could be wrong.

    • Poorly? POORLY!?!?!? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by ackthpt ( 218170 )
      Wasn't there a Super Mario Brothers movie already that did poorly?

      Super Mario Brothers [imdb.com] isn't in the Bottom 100 [imdb.com], but IT SHOULD BE!

      I swear they could have done a good film, but the feel of it is that they filmed it in one day and threw it together. There were probably merchandising tie-ins, which probably failed miserably. It's poor execution like this on Hot Property which does the whole genre serious damage.

      It'll probably take years for people to trust Hollywood enough to see another Dr. Suess movie [imdb.com],

      • "It'll probably take years for people to trust Hollywood enough to see another Dr. Suess movie [imdb.com], though it seems a lot of people ignored the early warnings and saw it anyway."

        I hope it is years before Hollywood is trusted with another Dr. Suess story! Frankly Hollywood seems to have lost all touch with the rest of the world.
    • Actually there's already a Metroid movie.. it's called Alien [imdb.com].
    • Wasn't there a Super Mario Brothers movie already that did poorly?

      Yes but only because they couldn't get Cheech and Chong to do it.

  • mmm.. Link.. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by underpar ( 792569 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:11PM (#10976906) Homepage
    I'd watch a movie with the Prince in Prince of Persia. (The last one, not the ugly new one)
    • I'd watch a movie with the Prince in Prince of Persia. (The last one, not the ugly new one)

      Wait.. it wouldn't be that kind of movie, would it? Nevermind.
    • It would probably have to have some kind of quirky animal companion first. Like, the samds of time would have to become the kangaroo rat of time who sings songs and wisecracks while kicking bad guys in the... toes.

  • I'm not sure about this (Score:5, Funny)

    by oexeo ( 816786 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:12PM (#10976917)
    Super Mario Bros. [imdb.com] was such an groundbreaking, and incredible movie. Do they really want to risk lose tainting their reputation in movie making?

  • oh god! the end times are near... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Svet-Am ( 413146 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:13PM (#10976933) Homepage
    haven't we done this several times before. hell, even with a nintendo property. anyone still remember the crappy mario brothers movie? and we've already seen more pokemon movies than anyone should ever have to endure.

    if they want any hope of pulling this off, it *has* to be animated (like final fantasy). and it has to be targeted at a real and intelligent adult audience. this simply won't work if it's targeted at 8-14 year olds.

    even then, it needs to be a powerful franchise. metroid - doable. zelda - doable (potentially in the vein of LoTR). but, excite bike? what are they going to do? make it like The Fast and the Furious with Mario as referee?

    i guess all we can do is wait and see, but i'm not holding my breath for anything groundbreaking.

  • Shitty game-based movies aside... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Locky ( 608008 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:14PM (#10976941) Homepage
    This is not what this announcement is about. Nintendo are moving into Japanese Animation, to produce movies akin to the likes of Studio Ghibli's productions. The latest Ghibli movie looks set to gross over $450 million in Japan alone, You can see why Nintendo would want in on that market.

    Yes, this may end up as a vehicle to cross-promote their games, but the first slated movie that they are said to produce is based on collections of centuries old Japanese literature.

    Doesn't exactly sound like a Mario movie.
  • I liked this series as a kid
    Maybe a more adult version? since all of us have grown up (and our nintendos grew up with us)

    http://www.retrones.com/SeriesAnimacion/CapitanN /c aptain-n.jpg
    • I actually got the "Captain N" comic books. They were about as juvenile as the cartoon... except for one issue.

      I have no idea where this writer wandered in from, or whatever happened to them afterwards, but it was this really awesome "what if" story where Mother Brain's goons finally manage to capture and slay Princess Whatshername, and Captain N goes insane, journeys to Mother Brain's world, kills her, and sets himself up as the new Dark Overlord. The universe goes to hell, Kid Icarus and Simon Belmont g

  • Too bad (Score:4, Interesting)

    by cubicledrone ( 681598 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:16PM (#10976978)
    Video game companies have always wanted to be Hollywood. Unfortunately, they don't know how.

    Hollywood has always wanted to be a video game. Unfortunately they don't know how.

    One thing Hollywood does better than video game companies is arrange funding for new ideas. Despite their multi-billion dollar annual sales, no video game company spends any significant amount of time or money on research or development of truly new ideas, nor do they fund innovative new companies.

    They simply market and re-market sequels and clones, sequels and clones. Oh, and they make people work 100 hour weeks until they are exhausted.

    But Nintendo is the Apple of the video game industry, so they probably have a better product and better ideas.
    • Hollywood has always wanted to be a video game. Unfortunately they don't know how. [...] They simply market and re-market sequels and clones, sequels and clones. Oh, and they make people work 100 hour weeks until they are exhausted.

      So basically, the closest they've come is turning into one of those monster generators from Gauntlet?

      John Woo, your lifeforce is running low.

    • Unfortunately? Call it a blessing, I would. =)

  • ow wow excite bike (Score:5, Funny)

    by Naikrovek ( 667 ) <jjohnson&psg,com> on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:17PM (#10976992)
    that's so cool because [overheat! overheat! overheat!] i just love excite bike, with the [overheat! overheat! overheat!] jumping and the racing and [overheat! overheat! overheat!] the superfast opponents. wow it was[overheat! overheat! overheat!] great!!

    ah, those were the days.
    • it's almost like Real got their design method from [buffering...]Excitebike.
    • that's so cool because [overheat! overheat! overheat!] i just love excite bike, with the [overheat! overheat! overheat!] jumping and the racing and [overheat! overheat! overheat!] the superfast opponents. wow it was[overheat! overheat! overheat!] great!!

      Which would make Real Player is the Excitebike of video streaming.

  • Funny... (Score:3, Informative)

    by wobedraggled ( 549225 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:18PM (#10977007) Homepage
    The Washington Post just called the Gamecube obsolete. how are they gonna raise money for movies... I hate the mdia this generation of gaming, I really do. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A256 13-2004Dec1.html [washingtonpost.com]

  • The Wizard (Score:5, Interesting)

    by doowy ( 241688 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:20PM (#10977023) Homepage
    Forget animated films.. who can forget the 90 minute Nintendo commercial, The Wizard [imdb.com] starring Fred Savage?

    It was a story created out of the classic song, Pinball Wizard, but with heavy Nintendo advertising.

    It was the first time anyone saw the Power-glove in action and we were all so jealous. Unfortunatley for everyone who went out and purchased it, it didn't work quite as well as the 'movie' made it look.

    It was also the worlds first glimpse at Super Mario Brothers 3!

    I don't know if the movie caught flack from parents, but I remember quite enjoying it at the time as a kid.

    I also remember a Mario Brothers Saturday morning show - and if memory serves correctly, it was also non-animated.
    • Yeah baby! I remember making my mom drive all over the nearest big city looking for a showing because the advertisements said it was "In A Theater Near You."

      Guess what, it wasn't :(

      I was forced to wait for it on video, and that was a terrible shame for a kid who loved Nintendo.

      As for the Saturday Morning show, it was half and half with live action plumbers (and guests) introducing goofy cartoons.

      I distinctly remember the Nintendo Power Hour or something like it on Saturday mornings with Metroid, Zelda,

  • Great... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Enigma_Man ( 756516 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:20PM (#10977026) Homepage
    Now I've got the theme song to Excite Bike stuck in my head.

    Do do do dodo doo. Do do do dodo doo. doopydoopydoopy do do dodo, dodo do do dodo.

    Thank you, thank you.
    -Jesse
    • >Now I've got the theme song to Excite Bike stuck in my head.

      > Do do do dodo doo. Do do do dodo doo. doopydoopydoopy do do dodo, dodo do do dodo.

      Great, now the RIAA is gonna totally come down on your ass for illegally reproducing the song.
    • List of high profile 8-bit Nintendo games that would have made a funnier joke than "Excite Bike".

      Tennis
      Volleyball
      Baseball
      Golf
      Soccer
      Kung Fu
      Gyromite
      Duck Hunt
      Urban Champion
      Karate Champ
      Tetris

      Feel free to add more.
    • That's remarkably like the theme to Tetris on the Gameboy...

      Doot do da doot do da doot doot doot do da doot do da doot doot doot doot doot.

      Now THAT's one that'll get stuck in your head.

      Wonder if they've got a script for the movie yet.
    • That's not the theme to Excitebike. That's the theme to losing Excitebike. Which somehow makes you writing it out even funnier.

      Is there anyone reading this, who's also played the game, who doesn't know EXACTLY what you're talking about?
      • What the hell was that thing you kicked at the end, was it a can? It looked more like a duck.

        All I know is I saw a lot of it after 4 or 5 rounds >:(

  • of course, but... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Lepruhkawn ( 199083 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:21PM (#10977039) Homepage
    Wouldn't it be funny if the movie unit pulled Nintendo games into the darkside for the purpose of reaching the teen and young-adult males?

    I'm not so interested in jumping Mario across platforms, but if my reward was the opportunity to bitch-slap that annoyingly helpless Princess Toadstool, I might change my mind.
    • Heh. Yeah, that's one think I like about the last couple Zeldas: Zelda isn't helpless. Okay, in Ocarina she was only not helpless when she was disguised, but in Wind Waker she was a badass.
  • Hey, don't knock it, that might actually work in today's X-Games crazy world... try and rope in some of the big names in to do some spots, CGI in the guys that can't pop the big tricks anymore, grab the songs that they've already put into umpteen video games, and run with it. Could be worse, could be Street Fighter [imdb.com] - poor Raul Julia...

  • They have it backwards! (Score:4, Funny)

    by gosand ( 234100 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:23PM (#10977083)
    No No No. You release the crappy movie first, THEN you release the crappy video game. Or have we just come full circle? Who knows. Who cares?! I am getting pretty sick of the word "franchise" anyway.

  • Who would you cast though? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Nine Tenths of The W ( 829559 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @02:25PM (#10977098)
    While Ron Jeremy is an obvious Mario, it's hard to see who else could fill in the various Nintendo roles
  • The story will be better then FF: The Spirits Within....though the graphics were amazing (the kissing looked fake, but mouths seem to always be a problem for these artists).
  • Creativity in Hollywood is dead. Before I thought it just very sick, not well enough to answer the door, just strong enough to make some sickly whooping coughing noises. But now I know that, after years of painful struggle, it has finally died. Sigh.

  • The Long Awaited Sequel! (Score:4, Funny)

    by coaxial ( 28297 ) on Thursday December 02, 2004 @03:02PM (#10977580) Homepage
    I just hope they can get Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo to reprise their roles [imdb.com] for Super Mario Brothers 2.
  • Metroid? Starfox? Kirby? Mario?

    Nope, Zelda is by far the Nintendo franchise best suited to anime-cation. Of course, one could just argue all you'd need to do is film an hour and half of Wind Waker. (And the great thing about that sentence is, whether you liked or hated Wind Waker, it looks like I'm agreeing with you in both cases!)

    But of all of Nintendo's franchises, The Legend of Zelda is the one that really has things to say. Yes, things other than "Have I bombed every mountain space on this scree
  • ...Ice Climber, the movie!

    It's got action, excitement and suspense...

    The story of two hammer-wielding Eskimo brothers in search of fruit, only to be brutally attacked by mutant Penguins and an unfathomable void that lurks just below the edge of the screen. Watch as they become obsessed with catching the evil condor that floats just above the top of the mountain!

    With the recent success of Touching the Void, how could this *possibly* go wrong!?

    And if not Ice Climber ... how about Wrecking Crew! Or my pe

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