Zelda: A Movie? Or Too Big a Risk?

[LegendofZelda88]

Ok i didnt see this as a blog, so if it is feel free to take it off. I know it sounds kinda ridiculous since Link does not speak, but i just keep thinking, could you see Ocarina of Time as a movie, or Skyward Sword? Or make it PG13 and show Twilight Princess? Or even make a whole new story? Am i reaching into places that Zelda shouldn't go, or is this something you would like to see? I thought of Hyrule: Total War (youtube video) as an awesome movie. So i would like a yes or no, and any ideas you have for a cool Zelda movie, hopefully this wont bring about a heated debate

 

[Sydney]

A movie? No. An animated short film? Possibly.

I just don't see movies going so well for this franchise. Have you seen the animated series? Yeah, not that great. If anything, they should just stick to creating manga. Regardless if it's canon or not, it seems to work better for the series as a whole.

 

[Ventus]

I really say yes and no to this. Yes, because I know with some time and dedication that Nintendo can pull this off using either Ocarina of Time or Skyward Sword as a template; the latter had quantity enough and length enough to make a movie anyway. No, because I know for some reason or another, despite the praise that the game cutscenes get, that fans will hate the movies with all their heart, regardless of if Link speaks or not. Film critics would hate that Link doesn't speak, fans would hate that the characters DO speak, etc etc etc.

Honestly disregarding the fans and the critics, a Zelda CGI movie would be wondrous; look at the Zelda Wii U Tech Demo graphics and tell me that wouldn't work for a movie!

 

[A Link In Time]

I've always been a major proponent of a Zelda movie but only if it's executed properly. I think it's less a problem of remaining firm to the fundamental statutes of the franchise-for there are few-than carving a unique niche in the movie industry, especially among adventure and action films with such heavy hitters as The Lord of The Rings and The Avengers.

While I'm always keen on seeing a new story brought to life, Ocarina of Time's narrative would work equally well on the big screen. We've seen fan adaptations before and the idea appears sound. The premise of a movie should be appealing and tension building but never too complex so as to lose viewers in the chain of its events. While easily among Christopher Nolan's best, for example, Inception was criticized by some for failing to maintain focus on a coherent narrative. OoT should easily avoid said problem, however, with a classic coming of age tale presented through vivid and lovable characters and a cliche albeit engaging story line.

 

[PhantomTriforce]

Sometime in the future, I would definitely like to see a Zelda movie. Of course, the three requirements for this to actually work are:
1) The movie has its own plot. Game plots don't really work for movies because movies have way more depth in the plot
2) The movie is animated
3) Link talks

I've been thinking how a trilogy of a Zelda movie series could work because Link does go on several adventures. And assuming that Nintendo gets some of the profit from this movie, I think it would help them too! So if answer is yes, as long as they do it right!

 

[ZeldaFAYZ6251]

I honestly think it is a risk. Because what if it is bad, then we would be disappointed. But if it was good then I would be happy and smiling. And how would they exactly make? There are 16 ways to make the movie, how exactly can you combine all of them? Unless it is only one movie per year every years for 16 years. That would just be strange and really weird because they would all be prequels instead of sequels.

 

[Mudora]

Could I see it as I movie? Yes. One of the best elements in The Legend of Zelda series, in my opinion is the storyline. It's full of exciting, hilarious, and heart wrenching moments. Do I want to see a LoZ movie? No (not to say that I wouldn't watch it if there was one). I have seen too many amazing novels butchered due to major plot or character changes that take away from the original story. I'm not saying that producers should not be creative, though they should honor the minor details that make a great piece of work truly wonderful. I simply don't trust the movie industry to do a good job in creating a Zelda movie.

 

[hylianordonlink]

But if they made amovie based off of the games it would be boring for hardcore fans who know the whole game...but a original idea might work,but it would be very akward considering you are normally the one controlling link. As what Atticus said,the manga is good.(I would love a ss manga) But there is another problem....The graphics. Many fans do not like graphics for a certain game,but because pretty much all the games have different graphics(not including oot or mm) some fans would be pleased and others angry.bl a great idea buthas flaws to it.

 

[Majora'sRemains]

Personally, I think with the right elements it could be great. It may not be like The Avengers and stay in theaters for over a month, or anything... in fact, it may not even go into theaters at all, but sometimes that's better anyways.

I think if Nintendo enlisted the help of Square Enix, it would be beautiful. I mean, look at Advent Children... it was a hit, enough to where they even released Advent Children Complete. Plus, Square Enix are the masters at CGI graphics, in my opinion. But honestly... game plot or not, I think Majora's Mask has the ability to warrant its own movie. If nothing else, perhaps a movie similar to Majora's Mask. A potential Zelda horror/eerie movie sounds like a good idea to me.

But, at the same time, Nintendo would just have to do what they do best and see what was relevant at the time, and go with that. Like when Wind Waker was in the making, pirates were the in thing. Right now, darker themed movies are what's in, along with super heroes. Zombies are still popular, but not as much as they were a year or two ago. Vampires are starting to lose their shine, too... not that I would ever want Zelda to have anything to do with vampires.

I'm just rambling at this point, but I'm all for the idea of a CGI film.

 

[LumiGem]

Sounds like too big a risk.
If there's gonna be a Zelda movie, it'd better be good--and Link better not talk. Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Movie messed up big time and got a lot of negative reception, so i'm hoping a Zelda movie won't end up like that.

 

[Seth]

Zelda is primarily a game for exploring, puzzle solving and dungeon diving. These are things that do not translate to a movie format. Also, lets be honest, story isn't the strongest part of Zelda. Not that it is bad, it isn't, but it's not the backbone of the games. Rather it's what I described above. Take away those elements and you are left with what is essentially a generic fantasy film. Yeah it would be interesting to see Ganon, Link and all the crew on the big screen but that alone is not enough to base a feature film on. So, in my opinion, Zelda shouldn't make a movie because it doesn't fit well with the series. Though I am sure it could be pulled off (i.e. similar to how the manga's depict the story).

 

[Ugea]

Mario Brothers the movie...thats all have to say lol. But if done right it could work..i like the " plot" in IGN's LOZ Movie Trailer. borrow that plat from OOT and go from their, then we can have Sequiles for each of the timelines Child, Adult and Downfall ..

 

[Awesome]

I don't see it as a risk. Even bad movies based off of video games do fairly well in the box office. I mean look at the Resident Evil films...I'll be the first to admit that they aren't great movies, but I still love them to death. Yeah a Zelda movie might get a bad rep from fans and critics...but it'll still make a **** ton of money regardless. Let me ask you a question....If you knew that a Zelda movie was in theaters and it was mediocre at best, would you still go see it? The answer for me is a solid hell yes.

As for plot...they could try to create their own story, but then again they might go on and create some crazy stuff like Alice in Resident Evil. But then again, it's Zelda....the games really aren't all tied together very tightly. Anything can happen in a Zelda game and it'll still fit in the timeline somehow. So yeah go crazy with a new idea. If they were going for an idea based off of a game, well then I'd have to say it should probably be between Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, or Skyward Sword.

Why you ask? Well Ocarina of Time is essentially the icon that defines Zelda to most people. It would make the most sense for them to do a movie based off it. As for Majora's Mask, this one would be a bit trickier with the going back in time and all, but it would also make for a great plot with people still obsessed with abstract movie plots since Inception. A Majora's Mask movie would most likely be pretty confusing for people who had never played the game. And then there's Skyward Sword. Skyward Sword's plot really was made much like a movie plot and wouldn't be terribly difficult to convert into film.

As for medium...I'd really like actual people cast as the roles, but I realize that can be awkward at times. Yeah CGI would probably be the safest bet, but if Nintendo is letting a movie be created I don't want them to play it safe.

One of the few issues I see with a movie based off of Zelda is the whole Dungeon thing. Yeah they can still show Link solving some puzzles kind of like Indiana Jones, but there can't be a huge number of them or the movie would get stale. That being said having a **** ton of dungeons would also be a problem. That's another reason why I'd recommend Majora's Mask, because it has very few dungeons and is more about the side quests. That would keep audiences more entertained then just having Link go through dungeon after dungeon. Either that or they would have to just skip some of the dungeons all together and have them be more of a temple that is visited to further the story rather than just getting a medallion and what not.

Much like how Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World skimped on a lot of the character of some of the evil exes (mainly the Kagamine twins), the movie would have to skimp on some of the dungeons if they wanted to show all of them otherwise the movie would be way too long.

But in the end I'm still pro Zelda movie. I love seeing video games presented in movie form no matter what they are. I mean I enjoyed Prince of Persia and Resident Evil no matter the quality and I know I would enjoy a Zelda movie.

But yeah no movie based video game ever does extremely well. Just click this link below to see the Rotten Tomato score of a few:
List of films based on video games - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Djinn]

I believe history has proven time and time again that the two mediums of video games and movies just cannot mix at all. Overwhelming majority of movies made from games are terrible. And while there are a few notable exceptions to every rule it is still evident that nearly every movie adaptation is horribly pieced together and is genuinely a poor film in just about every way. When majority are bad and the only watchable ones are the few exceptions then it becomes clear that many ambitious directors should just as well stop now instead of ruining a franchise with a horrible movie adaptation. Some series like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter are large enough to take the negative blow and keep on going but then there are other random ones like Wing Commander, Tomb Raider, House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, Doom, Bloodrayne, Dead or Alive, Hitman, Tekken, Far Cry, Max Payne, Prince of Persia, did not do so well. Not only did the adaptations not revive the series they were meant to but they actually left a bad taste in the mouths of viewers and caused some of the titles to become synonymous with terrible storytelling and cheap gimmicks.

Interestingly games based on movies are just as horrible if not completely unplayable in most occasions. All too often they are quickly tossed together for a quick dollar for tie in just as any McDonal's happy meal toy and it is incredibly rare to find one that is actually not as bad or even playable. Again there are exceptions to the rule but in this case there have been movies adapted into games ranging back to the Atari 2600 which included what was then known as the worst game ever created. A Superman tie in held this distinctive title during the N64 era as well. In light of this I would just as well not ever bother with any movie based on a game or game based on a movie. There is just something important that is always lost in translation.

The Zelda series is also something that I would just plain not want to see adapted. I would expect epic In the Name of the King:A Dungeon Siege Tale levels of horrible stock Hollywood style fantasy. I have generally come to dislike most fantasy type tales that are churned out of Hollywood and I cannot see why Zelda would be any exception when they attempt it. So instead of having a hundred million dollar black mark on the series that might just make all things Zelda synonymous with utter crap Eragon styled media in the minds of the casual moviegoer and fans alike for several years, why not just skip that entirely.

 

[theoathtoorder]

No. No.

and NO