Summary
Nintendo just dropped a tsunami of new gaming titles, features, and indie projects coming to Nintendo Switch 2 after its release. The first-ever Nintendo Switch 2 Direct opened with a bang. A show-stopping, heart-racing first announcement thatMario Kart 9is actually going to beMario Kart World.It’s a complete reinvention of the series, but Nintendo may also have just incidentally created the ideal concept for aMario Kartmovie.
Nintendo set a record in 2023 by releasingThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, topping the charts as the highest-grossing film ever to be based on a video game. It was a commercial hit, garnering widespread support from new audience members and long-timeMariofans. One of the most impressive and dazzling sections of the movie was the spectacularMario Kartracing scene on Rainbow Road. It was a faithful and fun on-screen portrayal ofthemost iconicMariospin-off game. There has beenfrequent speculation online as to what aMariomovie sequelshould focus on. Rumors have circulated that a second outing could put side-characters like Luigi or Donkey Kong in the driving seat. But givenMario Kart World’sexciting and fresh take on one of their most popular system sellers, Nintendo should look more closely at a screen adaptation of this beloved franchise.
Mario Kart Worldis the new flagship system seller, and it’s taking the series in a wild direction. Anyone that’s grown up playing this series knows that there are a few sacred absolutes aboutMario Kartgames. One of those cardinal rules is that players are not allowed to veer off the track too much. Most courses feature rail guard barriers. Lakitu will pick players up if they fall off ledges or drop into open chasms. Any non-asphalt terrain will slow your kart down. The game is very restrictive in terms of movement and punishes racers for being too liberal with their creative choices.
Nintendo has just taken this primordial rule and completely thrown it out. It’s completeMarioKartblasphemy in the best way possible. Players inMario Kart Worldwill be allowed to race off the track wherever they want when competing in Grands Prix. Gamers can also explore a vast continent of different areas in a brand-newfreeroaming mode, karting between racetracks with zero restrictions. Its open world design meetsMario Kartin a liberating and explosively imaginative upgrade.
A Mario Kart Movie Needs To Be Explosive & Action-Packed
The subgenre of racing-action films is a well-trodden path at this point. Avid car enthusiasts are extremely passionate, and even general audiences that don’t particularly have a huge fondness for racing find the selection of car-related films to be very watchable.
Now thatMario Kartisn’t confined to the traditions of its gaming predecessors, a movie should strive to take inspiration from multiple different sources. While the story doesn’t need to be a heavily detailed-oriented film, focusing on the logistics of racing, it would go a long way to flesh out a spin-off game that offers very little lore for screenwriters to work with.Films likeFord v Ferrari(2019)are spectacular pieces of cinema that demonstrate the emotional stakes that lie under the surface of the racing industry. The life-long rivalries that exist between racers and industry captains are extremely entertaining because they are such personal dramas. It would be an interesting place for aMario Kartfilm to derive its stakes and sense of tension.
The animated film which would probably serve as a good showcase for how aMario Kartonscreen world would even function isPixar’sCars.Its grounded but slightly absurd universe has a good combination of wacky car-themed elements, but still holds true to that Pixar tradition of exploring the human condition withinits main character, Lightning McQueen. If aMario Kart Worldscreen adaptation has players interacting with a universe in which everything is car-oriented in its infrastructure, thenCarsis a great example of how aMario Kartsociety would even operate.
However, the one film franchise Nintendo should look at more than any other istheFast & Furiousfranchise. It spans multiple years and has dominated the racing-film landscape. The series in its latter years has increasingly featured insane and breathtaking stunts, usually enhanced with CGI. InFurious 7, Vin Diesel’s character, Dominic Toretto, drives a Lykan Hypersport through the window of one of the Etihad Towers and jumps over to the next skyscraper. Scenes like these feel right at home with some of the more fantasticalMario Karttracks. At the end of the day, that’s all aMario Kartfilm needs to do to succeed; create stunning and exhilarating moments, with a fairly decent drama underlying its thrills.
AMario Kartmovie can distinguish itself markedly in a slightly oversaturated racing film market by possessing something that none of the other productions have; that quality of family-fun that feels so innately Nintendo.Mario Kart Worldopens up limitless possibilities of what a film adaptation can be by throwing out the rulebook and allowing an onscreen portrayal to accelerate to any destination in aMario Kart-themed universe.
