Daily Debate: Would You Rather See an Animated or a Live-Action Zelda Movie?

Branching off of a previous Daily Debate, let’s talk some more about a hypothetical Zelda movie! Admittedly, as I was thinking about who I would like to see direct such a movie, I was considering only live-action filmmakers. Who’s to say that — like the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie — a Zelda flick couldn’t be animated?

The more I think about this, the more conflicted I become on whether I’d prefer to see an animated movie or a live-action one. On the one hand, all we’ve ever known the Zelda series to be is animated. Whether it’s through the games themselves, the 1989 TV series, or the Super Smash Bros. anime trailer, Link has always been presented within the realm of animation. Excluding fan films and A Link to the Past’s legendary Japanese commercial, we’ve never seen Hyrule brought to life in live-action. On that basis alone, I’m tempted to side with the latter option.

However, Hollywood doesn’t necessarily need to be the one pulling the strings. Given the series’ anime aesthetic — and as a massive anime fan myself — the prospect of a fully fledged anime Zelda film sounds too good to pass up. I wouldn’t mind seeing an American animation studio tackle the project, but considering how snarky and self-aware many of today’s big-budget, 3D-animated films are — even the best ones — I’m not sure how well that would fit Zelda’s tone.

As much as I love The Lego Movie, for instance, I would want a Zelda film to be unabashedly earnest. Even at the risk of seeming corny or lame, I say go for it! Not to say that an American studio couldn’t pull that off, but I’ve found that anime tends to lend itself better to that kind of presentation.

Call this a cop-out answer, but I’ll put it like this: if Hollywood is behind the wheel, I’d much rather see a live-action movie. For as visual effects-heavy as a Zelda movie would be, only Hollywood would be able to do that justice — again, purely from a spectacle standpoint. That said, I think the series would translate much more comfortably into the world of anime. Give me either of those and I’m a happy guy.

Forgive me for writing two Zelda movie-related debates so close together, but I just had to get that out of my system. What’s just as important is what you guys think — through which medium would you like to see this hypothetical film presented? Let us know in the comments below!

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