After meeting Peaches (Anya Taylor-Joy), Bowser (Jack Black), and Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) in the first film, Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) meet Fox McCloud (Glenn Powell), Yoshi (Donald Glover), and Rosalina (Brie Larson), and even R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy). Nintendo fans have been keeping careful track of that roster, because they know exactly where it could lead: to a Super Smash Bros. crossover movie.
However, Smash Bros. isn’t the only spinoff project that Super Mario Galaxy Movie sets up. There is another epic film that the sequel promises us, but we’re probably not going to get it the way we want it.
Nintendo’s Star Fox Anime Is What Fans Really Deserve
Nintendo – Illumination
When they get to the Gateway Galaxy, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Yoshi meet Fox McCloud (Glenn Powell), the captain of the Star Fox team. They hire Fox to transport them across the galaxy to save Princess Rosalina from Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie). Before Fox accepts the job, he has to monologue a bit, letting the group know his epic backstory. When Fox’s story begins, the entire visual format takes a sharp shift into anime, depicting the Fox team (Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad, and Peppy Hare) and their spaceship battles to protect their homeworld, Corneria.
It’s a very brief sequence that gets comeically interrupted – but (to paraphrase the now-famous quote) “it was real to us!” Now, we need that Star Fox anime, though we doubt that it’s something Nintendo will actually do.
Anime is one of the most dominant forms of entertainment in the 2020s – right alongside video game adaptations. Even when it doesn’t come from its origin country (Japan), we’re now seeing anime-influenced animation become award-winning TV shows (Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai), and record-breaking films (Sony/Netflix’s KPop: Demon Hunters). Even big franchises like Game of Thrones are looking at animators like Gennedy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Primal) to make animated spinoffs that appeal to anime fans. At the time of writing this, it seems that Illumination and/or Nintendo produced the Star Fox anime sequence in-house, so why not an entire feature film or series?
Hiring Top Gun: Maverick star Glenn Powell to voice Fox McCloud is a sign that Nintendo has plans for the character and his franchise (including rumors of a new game). The high-octane space dogfights of Star Fox would be sick to see in anime form, so let’s hope Nintendo is moving in that direction
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now out in theaters. Discuss your reaction to the movie on the ComicBook Forum!
