Star Metro - Far cry from 16-pixel start, Mario makes it 'so big' on screen: creator Miyamoto

There were more technical constraints when the red-capped plumber made his 1980s debut, the design mastermind of Japan's Nintendo said in an interview ahead of the release of "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" on Wednesday.

In the earliest Mario arcade games, the character was only 16-pixel tall, a far cry from the rich visuals of the new film, a sequel to 2023 smash hit "The Super Mario Bros. Movie".

The simple original format forced the young Miyamoto to use his imagination -- resulting in some of Mario's most distinctive features, from his moustache to his dungarees, which were easy to render and stood out on screen.

But the near-infinite possibilities granted by modern technology come with their own challenges, Miyamoto told AFP in Kyoto, where the video game giant is based.

"If there are no longer any limits, anyone can do it. And Nintendo has always wanted to make things that only we are able to."

The first feature-length Mario animation was that year's second-highest-grossing title after "Barbie", bringing in $1.3 billion despite a mixed reception from critics.

It was co-produced by Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri of Illumination, the US studio behind the "Despicable Me" franchise, and the pair teamed up again for the sequel.

The aim was to "build something incredible, so we could include elements that are typically Nintendo", the 73-year-old Miyamoto said.

- Zero gravity -

Burned by the first-ever Mario film -- a 1993 live-action flop that was one of the earliest game-to-movie adaptations, now relegated to kitsch curiosity -- Nintendo has sought tighter control of its intellectual property.

The new film takes place in the universe of "Super Mario Galaxy", a 2007 platform game made for the Wii console.

Transposing the game's distinctive floating-in-space dynamics to the big screen was not easy, Miyamoto said.

"There were lots of discussions about the difference between a gravity experience that's fun to play, and one that's fun to watch."

Meledandri told AFP that "we didn't set out to try to create the same sensations, because it just wouldn't be possible".

For example, one scene unfolds in a zero-gravity space casino.

"And as we were making that sequence, (Miyamoto) would also point to opportunities within the sequence to even more fully evoke the feeling of the game," Meledandri said.

Meledandri's animation studio is based in Paris, and he said he likes to encourage a "French sensibility, whether it's through visual expression or character performance" in the films.

While the 2023 feature cashed in on its stream of cheeky insider references, the mission this time around was to develop the sense of story.

"With the first film, we wanted above all to translate the experience of game play into the movie," Miyamoto said.

This time, the team wanted to give more depth to characters whose background had deliberately been left sparse in the video games.

"We had plenty of back-and-forth (with the screenwriters) until we were happy that the scenarios and plot did not contradict what's in the games," Miyamoto said.

- 'Too many' characters -

"The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" introduces green dinosaur Yoshi and the mercenary Fox McCloud, while exploring the mysterious origin story of Princess Peach -- long portrayed as a damsel in distress, kidnapped by the evil turtle-like Bowser.

Nintendo's voluminous line-up of characters forced some difficult choices.

"There were too many, we had to drop some," said Miyamoto.

The game designer is legendary among Nintendo teams for "upending the tea table", a Japanese phrase referring to his tendency to want everything re-done at a very late stage.

But he said he has changed his ways for the movie project.

"In a game, we have the ability to complete the individual pieces and then change the structure. But for a film, that's impossible."

Meledandri said Miyamoto "is never shy about challenging a decision".

"But out of that challenging, we actually may find an unexpected path," he added.

For Miyamoto, as Mario's creator, "I try to provide as much information, context and ideas as possible on my vision of these characters, and this world."

But "it's Chris and his team who make the film", Miyamoto said.

"This balance works well," he added, and Nintendo is trying to use the approach for separate projects like the live-action film based on the "Legend of Zelda" franchise, due for release in May 2027.

P.Lefebvre--SMC