Between Nintendo and SEGA there has always been a deep rivalry dating back to the early 90s. This rivalry has not disappeared, – and although both companies have collaborated with each other to make some crossovers -, the competition between Mario y Sonic It has ended up moving to the big screen.
Super Mario Bros. The movie was released last 5th of April. Since then, he has raised more than a billion dollars; becoming the highest-grossing video game movie in history. For his part, to Sonic It didn’t do badly at the box office either. However, the numbers of his second film – the highest grossing of the saga so far-, are far from the record set by the Nintendo plumber.
Having all the data on the table and at the expense of Sonic 3: The Movie being released, we ask ourselves: Can Sonic 3 outnumber the Super Mario movie? What are the main keys to your success?
Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, two icons of popular culture
The main reason why both characters have obtained such good results in their respective film adaptationsis that both are true icons of pop culture. Sonic y Mario They are two of the most famous and well-known video game characters in the industry. Not for nothing, both characters are the main mascots of their companies.
It is for this reason that both characters are recognizable with the naked eye; even for those, who are not familiar with the world of video games. Furthermore, if we start to analyze Mario and Sonic movies we can realize, without much effort, that these are not only aimed at players. And it is that these films are the perfect opportunity for Nintendo and SEGA to bring its most famous franchises to a new, more general audience.
Why was Super Mario Bros. The Movie a success?
There are several factors that played a role in making the Super Mario movie such a smash hit. The first, and most important, was the deep love and respect that Universal Studios showed by the original work.
Usually when an adaptation for the cinema is made, it is usually said that it is impossible to be 100% faithful to the original work and that it is necessary to make certain changes in the story or in the visual section so that the public can assimilate it. although this it is not totally falsemany times the production companies end up appointing as directors and scriptwriters people unaware of the original work. And not only that, but they also have no intention of becoming fond of the saga or, at least, interested in it. This ends up leading to the fact that they end up creating their own version, which has little or nothing to do with the original work that they had to adapt. A clear example, we have it with the resident evil film series Directed by Paul WS Anderson.
However, the movie Super Mario Bros did not suffer from this problem. Mainly because both the directors and the screenwriters of the film were advised throughout the development by Nintendo and, above all, by Shigeru Miyamoto.
The second key to its success was having an excellent cast of actors and quite attractive visuals. Unlike latest sonic moviesSuper Mario Bros. The film focuses on 3D animation, which comes from the hand of Illumination. This is very favorable for them, as it helps them move away from realism and better capture all the settings and characters of the Nintendo franchise. Let’s not forget that, after all, Mario games are far from realistic.
Thanks to these factors, Nintendo and Universal Studiosthey managed to use the notoriety of Mario and the nostalgia of the fanss to make his film quickly become a smash hit.
What can Sonic 3 do?
Sonic 3: The Movie will be released December 20 of the next year. So there is little more than a year left for its premiere. Many things can change, but for all we know, Sonic 3 will be the most ambitious movie of the blue hedgehog till the date. However, he has it difficult if he wants to dethrone Super Mario Bros as the highest-grossing video game movie of all time.
For starters, it should focus more on its leading trio and the original characters of the franchise and leave out the subplots with the actual characters. Let’s not forget, that this film is a live action. This is a clear disadvantage compared to the super mario moviesince most of the characters in Sonic they were not intended in his original work to be treated realistically.
We have an example of this in the controversy created around the first film; when Sonic’s hyper-realistic design was first shown. Nobody liked it – and with good reason. It was for this reason, that some time later, the producer reconsidered and ended up redesigning the charactermaking it much more similar to how it looks in video games.
For his part, Sonic 3 it will be inspired by Sonic Adventure 2. This means that we will surely get to see Shadow in action and it is an incredible opportunity for the writers to delve into sonic lore. Shadow’s pastthe organization G.U.Nas well as the appearance of other characters in the franchise as Rogue o Amy… The possibilities to expand the Sonic universe on the big screen they are infinite.
Sonic 3: The Movie could become one of the best video game film adaptations; as long as the writers play their cards right. To do this, they should put aside the subplots of the human characters and focus on developing the relationship between the leading trio and Shadow, as well as their rivalry. After all, people go to the movies to see Sonicnot the character of James Marsden.
Definitely, Sonic 3 is, to this day, one of the few projects capable of taking the box office record from Super Mario Bros. The movie. Obviously, this will not be easy. We can only wait for Paramount Pictures y SEGA drop the first trailer for the movie to see if they have really seized their chance or if, on the contrary, they will continue to be around nintendo’s shadow.
