Published , by Shack Staff
Published , by Shack Staff
With Nintendo having recently acquired CG animation company Dynamo Pictures, with the intent of renaming it to Nintendo Pictures, it looks like we’ll be able to enjoy our favorite Nintendo properties not just as games, but as film and TV shows as well.
With this, the question popped up of what franchise Nintendo Pictures should tackle first. So… what game franchise would you like to see Nintendo Pictures tackle first? The Shack Staff have weighed in, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts and picks in Chatty!
I didn't truly see the potential in a Metroid movie or series until the franchise stepped into the 21st century. Samus gained much more depth as a character across the Metroid Prime series, as well as Metroid Fusion. (Not Other M, never Other M.)
Last year's Metroid Dread cemented that Samus is a multi-dimensional character who, at the forefront, is a badass bounty hunter. Even before I got into this business, I still remember going into an IGN character poll and watching Samus wipe the floor with Master Chief. There just aren't a lot of video game characters like her and it helps that she's an original from the 8-bit era. I'm ready to see her story expanded further, as Nintendo explores more of her bounty hunting exploits.
The 80s were full of cartoons that were nothing more than shills for toys you’d try to get your parents to buy for you and Nintendo was not immune to the trend. Captain N The Game Master told the story of Kevin, a teenage boy who was so good at video games he was sucked into an NES to help save Videoland from Mother Brain and her evil minions.
To help him along the way he was joined by his faithful dog, Kid Icarus, Konami’s Simon Belmont, Capcom’s Mega Man, and the princess of Videoland. Each week they’d enter the world of whatever game Nintendo was trying to sell that week and go on an adventure. And I ate it up as a kid. I still to this day think it was a great concept and would love to see it come back in a more modern format of some sort.
Give me more Zelda. Specifically, give me more Zelda material to absorb outside of the video game format. I want Zelda short films, I want mini series, I would love to see an animated, Studio Ghibli-like Zelda series that shows more of the dark and gritty side of Hyrule. If Nintendo Pictures can capture the magic I felt when playing Ocarina of Time for the first time when I was like 10, I’ll be extremely happy.
As good or bad as it could possibly be, I would most certainly make my way to a theater to watch Nintendo bring Tom Nook and his shenanigans to the big screen. I spent so much time in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and loved every second of my time, and I would pay good money to spend a couple of hours grinning from ear to ear as I watched familiar characters come to life. Of all the properties Nintendo Pictures could tackle, Animal Crossing would be at the top of my life.
I sure do love a good space adventure, and Star Fox is one of the best out there. Nintendo has already captured hours upon hours of my life throughout the years with Star Fox’s galaxy-spanning space pilot adventures. I would love to see that adapted to a full length feature. Not only would it be another cool chance to experience the camaraderie of the Star Fox crew, Peppy’s insistent wisdom, Falco’s cockiness, and Slippy’s tech know-how…
It would also be cool to see some of the destinations of the games reimagined. Corneria is a classic, but I also would love to see an updated take on places like the deadly Titania, the beautiful Fortuna, and even the evil Andross’ planet of operations, Venom. There are already so much built-in lore and concepts to Star Fox to make for an amazing theatrical experience. Somebody just needs to put it together in a cool way.
What game franchise would I like to see Nintendo Pictures take on first? In recent years, Nintendo has been doing more with their properties with different marketing and ideas like the Mario movie coming out soon. That being said it feels too perfect that the Legend of Zelda should get some movie love soon.
The story of a young hero who has to save the princess from evil is a textbook movie scenario. Combine that with sword fights, magic, and all kinds of other cool stuff and you have the makings for a pretty cool movie. It could have a killer soundtrack to go with it because you can’t have anything Zelda without cool music.
I could totally see Animal Crossing become a slice of life style anime or cartoon with members of the town getting into silly shenanigans. Tom Nook is the perfect kind of character to build some dynamics around. Maybe a new character gets introduced that is helping him as the mayoral assistant? With a cute art style and some dynamic voices, the show could really take off.
Also we could get seasonal episodes just like the updates! I would love to see a thanksgiving or winter adventure with some of the residents. Isabella is already such a popular character that she could become a central part of the show as well, similar to Aggretsuko.
Nintendo could even coincide the episodes with actual in game drops or updates as cross promotion. I’m always here for more feel-good television and if there can be 30 seasons of Teen Titans GO, I think a Animal Crossing simple concept with the villagers could be a winning formula with staying power.
You thought I was going to suggest F-Zero should be made into a movie or streaming show, didn’t you? Well, there is already an awesome F-Zero anime series, but what the world really needs is more Lolo. Adventures of Lolo has deep lore that would be the perfect framework for a new Nintendo Pictures cinematic universe. Fun fact, our Shacknews CEO Lola the Pom was named after the iconic Lolo and Lala characters.
I mean, c’mon. No character is more suited to an animated adaptation than Kirby (even though there are already shows featuring Kirby like Kirby: Right Back At Ya!). In addition to Kirby being adorable and deserving of far more screen time than he’s received over the years, there’s also a lot of flexibility in terms of what Kirby can do.
Look at Mouthful Mode and Kirby turning himself into a variety of different objects, for example. This would be so much fun to watch and follow along with in a film or TV show, especially with all the antics Kirby could and likely would get into. More Kirby content, please.
With all of our picks for franchises we'd like to see Nintendo Pictures tackle shared, we're now turning it over to Chatty with the same question!