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With the news that a movie forThe Simsis in the works, fans are bound to be wondering what it’s going to take for a project like that to be a success. A lot of people were probably scratching their heads at the announcement, as taking something as freeform asThe Simsand turning it into a full story isn’t the easiest task. Luckily, recent success inThe Super Mario Bros. Moviemay be able to point to avenues of success forThe Sims.
The Super Mario Bros.Moviemay not have been loved by critics(was it ever going to be?), but it was beloved by fans, leading to a movie that cost roughly $100 million to make earning well over a billion dollars at the box office. With such a massive discrepancy between the two audience types, it’s safe to say that movies are going to be looking for monetary success over critical acclaim. It may seem odd to some, butThe Simshas a unique opportunity to continue the groundwork ofThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, regardless of whether the movie is animated or live-action.
What Did The Super Mario Bros. Movie Prove?
While the success ofThe Super Mario Bros. Moviemay have seemed like a sure thing to most people,the history of video game adaptationswould have indicated otherwise. Sure, there was the odd hit here and there, but adaptations were often poor, either because they failed to capture the magic of the games they were adapting or because they tried too hard to bring the absurd into a realistic world. One only needs to look at the first attempt at the live-actionSuper Mario Brosmovie to understand how even a character as powerful as Mario can fail completely. This is all to say, thatThe Super Mario Bros. Movieproved a lot when it comes to what video game adaptations can be, like accurately capturing the essence of a franchise, something summed up well in anarticle from Variety:
“With that in mind, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” sets out to re-create the most visceral aspects of the player experience: the addictive frustration of respawning after a platforming blunder; the Mario Kart customization process before a grand prix; the sweaty-palmed exhilaration of perfectly honing a Bullet Bill. And there’s also an unabashed spirit of fun that the makers of the film were eager to bring to the story.”
Outside of showing that the essence of a sprawling game series can be captured and changed to work on the big screen, the movie also proved that there is an appetite for creative storytelling within familiar video game worlds.The Simsmay not have quite as many iconic characters as Mario, but if the right people manage to tell a creative and fun story from start to finish, that won’t matter at all. It is also important to note thatThe Super Mario Bros. Movieproved that oddball casting can work to perfection, opening a window forfuture video game adaptations to take bold risksinstead of adhering to weak blueprints.
How Can The Sims Movie Learn From The super Mario Bros. Movie?
There area number of ways thatThe Simsmovie can learnfromThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, from creative aspects to technical aspects. With attention to a few key aspects,The Simsmight actually end up being a surprise hit in the same vein as Barbie. There may be plenty of aspects to highlight, but the two biggest will be thatThe Simsmovie needs to strive for fun over being a cinematic masterpiece and that the movie will need to find a way to balance genres.
Just Have Fun
It may sound like the advice given to a kid going out to play on a sports team for the first time, but it’s true. There are a lot of ways to describeThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, but simply, the movie is a lot of fun for people of any age, especially if they’re a Mario fan. This doesn’t mean there can’t be darker moments in the story, it just means that the movie needs to put in the creative work to bring in aspects of the game. The movie just might not be as much fun as it could bewithoutThe Sims’ Plumbob, fast-forwarding, moments of bizarre character choices and so much more.The Simsmovie can be silly, and it absolutely should be silly to make things as fun as possible.
Balance Those Genres
Just becauseThe Simsmovie should be fun doesn’t mean it needs to be a pure comedy. It would actually be fantastic to balance comedy with another genre that allows for some drama to exist, thus bringing in some much-needed heart. People don’t just loveThe Simsbecause it’s a fun game, they also love it because the game has served as a fun escape to new silly lives for decades. The main character should struggle just as much as they let loose, after all,The Super Mario Bros. Moviewouldn’t have been quite as magical withoutthat touching brotherly story underneath it all.
Can The Sims Be As Successful As The Super Mario Bros. Movie?
It’s hard to make a prediction on the success of any movie. The safe bet on a movie likeThe Simsis that it will probably manage to break even. With big names already attached to the movie, with many of them being key creatives and companies that worked onother hits likeBarbie, some might not want to bet onThe Simsbeing a flop. The problem is that, while popular,The Simshas nowhere near the same name recognition or hype as Super Mario. A lot of people were calling forThe Super Mario Bros. Movieto be a success, but early on, some might have felt it would have been a bit silly to predict it would be a movie to cross the billion-dollar mark.
This means thatThe Simsprobably isn’t going to be creeping into the billions club when it releases, but with the right actors and an intriguing enough story, it has the potential to do quite well. It may not be able to be as successful asThe Super Mario Bros Movie, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be a smashing success. Of course, it is important to note that the first trailer is going to be the thing that makes or breaksThe Sims.
The Simsmovie currently has no slated theatrical release date.
The Sims
EA’s life simulation franchise The Sims began in the year 2000 with a game of the same name that was, at one point, the highest-selling PC game of all time.The main series games let players build a home, create a handful of characters, and then guide them through their relationships, careers, and goals.
