Opinion on a Live Action Mario Series (NOT film)

[winstein]

The Mario series has almost always been depicted as a cartoon series, which with not only the exaggerated proportions of the main characters and the various enemies, is a given. An animated series is a logical conclusion for a Mario adaptation, although it's probably not going to be interesting to everyone. In fact, they might be more interested in a live action Mario series. After all, live action films have on average higher interest and better returns compared to an animated series, a fact which can be disappointing to some.

I think we have all known by now about the infamy of the Super Mario Bros. movie, which most notably depicted the enemies as a combination of humans (King Koopa), closely-related animals (Yoshi) of both (Goomba). Since the Super Mario Bros. film is probably going to be the first thing in people's mind about live action Mario, it should be a reminder that that's not the only depiction of Mario in live action. A couple of other examples of Mario in live action include:

• Super Mario Bros. Super Show's live action segments
• Mario commercials, including the Mario GLA commercial

Personally, I am not terribly interested in any live action series mainly because I felt that animated series have the superiority of artistic freedom that is easier to have a natural feel, and because it can look quite beautiful to look at. Even then, the whimsy of Mario would probably keep me interested, because when you put some cartoonish elements in a live action setting, the results can be quite funny (e.g.: Dogmatix being stretched on a rack, a torture device, in the first Asterix live action film). Some people might think differently though, and I can see some people having a preference to live action series in general.

So, what do you think of this idea? I can already see where the majority of opinions lie, though...

Thank you for reading.

 

[Koops]

Tbh cartoon Mario would do a better job of capturing the essence but at the same time live-action sounds like it's interesting either way, since either it's actually successful which is unexpected or it's garbage but super fun to make fun of.

So yeah, I'd love to see some live-action. The meme potential is too high.

 

[Jackie Frost]

Tbh cartoon Mario would do a better job of capturing the essence but at the same time live-action sounds like it's interesting either way, since either it's actually successful which is unexpected or it's garbage but super fun to make fun of.

So yeah, I'd love to see some live-action. The meme potential is too high.

Agreed more or less

 

[Vivian]

The only way I can see it working is if they did like Sonic and CGI'd the Mario characters entering our reality as a crossover between us and them. Like said above, live humans wouldn't be able to capture the essense of the characters due to their proportions and rubber hose physics.

 

[Fawfulthegreat64]

I think making it live action would most likely be a death sentence from the start. Mario's character wasn't as established back when the Super Show and whatnot was a thing, and the movie. They were still figuring out how to portray him, hence why so much early media makes him a gruff city-slicker, before Charles Martinet redefined him. But the character & world is so established and iconic now, that throwing away their designs for costumed actors would not feel right.

 

[Marioro]

There are certain things that work far better in the realm of animation. Mario is one of them.

I'm sure it could make for a goldmine of memes tho.

 

[Ray Trace]

This design is instantly recognizable and timeless. A live action Mario is less considerably so. It's not just the clothing that makes the character, but the overall proportions and design silhouette as well. Mario's nose, eyes, mustache, and child-like proportion simply do not translate into real life in the very slightest. Almost all attempts I had seen to make Mario live action was either extremely creepy and unsettling or doing it just for memes and giggles. The only way you can portray Mario accurately is to make him computer-designed.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

As said earlier, I don't think live action will ever recreate what Mario is for. Mario's entire design is fine-tuned, as with any character, and it's extremely iconic, a really strong silhouette. The hat shows really strong, the big nose accentuates his features, the ears are large, but proportional to the large vertical eyes. His arms are dysfunctional stumps topped with huge hands that don't even reach the top of his enormous head that takes up roughly a third of his entire body but they're not too long or too short in proportion with the rest of his body.

To create a realistic Mario to make him more in tandem with real humans is to throw away all what works in favor of something that likely won't work, a silhouette that's nowhere near as strong as the original and toning down his most obvious features. A lot of attempts on realistic Mario too tend to age Mario a bit as well as take away his cartoon features, so he loses a lot of the playfulness and energy he's supposed to show.

 

[Mcmadness]

I don't see the point myself.

 

[Vivian]

but if we HAD TO cast someone as Mario, my vote would be on Jack Black with some CGI and Charles voiceover. It would be terrifying still, but I feel like Jack's the closest type cast to Mario for Live Action..

Idk who would be Luigi or Peach..

But, um, I'd cast Danny Devito as Wario.

 

[Fawfulthegreat64]

Though I think animation is the best option for any Mario show or movie, allow me to mention an idea that will never happen anyway as the chances of this character's story being adapted at all is nearly zero. But if we were to ever get a live action Count Bleck, I think Jim Carrey would nail him. That is, until the character's tragic side begins showing, at that point i'm not sure, but Jim Carrey did nail the Grinch who also has a change of heart, so maybe.

 

[winstein]

Although it is very unlikely to change anybody's opinions on the matter, one way I would see them get around the "strong silhouette" matter is to use a prosthetic nose, which is something that Mario GLA commercials did:

Given how these days, it's only the commercials that portrayed Mario as live action, I suppose something like this would be best in small doses. Plus, said commercials tend to be from Japan (the West prefers the costumed Mario approach if it did live action commercials), I suppose it goes to show that Japan is a bit more receptive to style changes like this in the name of quirkiness.

Thank you for reading.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

Another component of character design: imagine if they touched you on the shoulder. How would that feel? If the characters above feel significantly different than if the OG Mario touched you (I'd feel reassurance and good natured bro'ing), then something about the design is making it that way, something isn't faithful to the original. I'm not really feeling the same thing, I think creeped out.

 

[JBX9001]

Personally, never been a fan of the whole "making an animated series live action" trend in general, especially when it's main purpose is to get the casuals back on board.

It certainly isn't going to be the series norm from that point forward, and people who couldn't or won't grow to love the Mario series for what it truly is aren't worth catering to.

I'd rather Nintendo not hop on the same bandwagon Disney has lately, because that only reinforces the claim that "live action > animation" that so many people in the general audience cling to, and it's very crippling to the animation industry (it's probably the reason a lot of Western cartoons lately just aren't as good as they used to be, at least in my opinion).

The new Sonic movie did great, but it's rare to see a video game-based movie do well at all; it's quite a miracle.

 

[Ray Trace]

I'd rather Nintendo not hop on the same bandwagon Disney has lately, because that only reinforces the claim that "live action > animation" that so many people in the general audience cling to, and it's very crippling to the animation industry (it's probably the reason a lot of Western cartoons lately just aren't as good as they used to be, at least in my opinion).

What's funny about this statement is a lot of the so-called "live action" films employ very heavy use of computer-generated graphics.

 

[Mcmadness]

Yeah, Even the live action sonic movie just used live action for the human characters.

 

[JBX9001]

What's funny about this statement is a lot of the so-called "live action" films employ very heavy use of computer-generated graphics.

...Whooooooops! How right you are. Now I feel silly...! They do go to great lengths to make them look realistic though. And that tends to have...... Results...