Credit: NintendoIn a recent meeting with the Japanese press, Nintendo icon Shigeru Miyamoto shared his surprise at The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) ‘s success, giving credit to the initial negative criticism the film received.
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Shigeru Miyamoto is considered the greatest video game designer of all time, having created multiple franchises that are still going strong today, including The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, and, of course, Super Mario Bros.
His most recent triumph comes as a producer on the smash-hit film The Super Mario Bros. Movie starring Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, and Mario’s original voice actor Charles Martinet as Mario and Luigi’s father, Giuseppe.
As the film is set to premiere in Japan, Miyamoto met with the Japanese press to promote the movie. And he gave credit to a surprising group of people: the critics.
Shigeru Miyamoto Thanks Critics, Says ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Got Lucky
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According to the Video Games Chronicle, Shigeru Miyamoto said in a meeting with the Japanese press that he was surprised that The Super Mario Bros. Movie has become a massive success.
“I did have a level of expectations that this movie would also do well [like the Super Nintendo World theme park], but I was very surprised that it went beyond what I could have imagined when it finally came out.”
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Miyamoto continued, “You need some luck to achieve this level of success for a film. While many foreign critics have given the movie relatively low ratings, I think that also contributed to the movie’s notoriety and buzz.”
As someone who is always trying to innovate, Miyamoto was ecstatic that the movie has had an effect on the Hollywood landscape. “I’d be happy if viewers could say that the definition of what a movie is has changed because of this film. That just shows how lucky we were.”
The Super Mario Bros. Movie has already become the most successful animated film of all time, heading toward $1 billion at the international box office and even producing a surprise hit song.
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