Back on Nov. 8, Nintendo unveiled its latest cinematic project: a live-action film for “The Legend of Zelda.” The movie will be produced by Nintendo representative director Shigeru Miyamoto and chairman of Arab Productions, Avi Arab. “The Legend of Zelda” movie will be directed by Wes Ball who directed the “Maze Runner” movie.
Recently, as of Dec 5, Ball said he wanted to make the film akin to a live-action Miyazaki movie. While the prospect is exciting, it feels like a missed opportunity to have directed an animated film and instead, unable to capture the true animated Ghibli experience so many “Zelda” fans were clamoring for.
Capturing the fanatical elements and the strange nature of the land of Hyrule and the world of “Zelda” is a challenge in itself. This is only further highlighted with the constraints of live-action, where it will be more difficult to replicate the magic that video game graphics can depict.
Animation alleviates this, as it plays its own role in video game graphics. Notably, the 2D animated works of Studio Ghibli are most likely able to capture the fairytale-esque imagery of the “Zelda” series with films such as “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away” having aesthetics and visuals that would fit “The Legend of Zelda” like a glove.
Live action also requires a greater suspense of disbelief when it comes to adapting more outlandish and fanatical stories. While iconic objects in the series, such as the Master Sword and Koroks, look charming in the games, they will simply look like goofy props in live-action. Many iconic species such as the Rito and Zora will need to be done in CGI, likely resulting in uncanny visuals and stylistic discrepancies.
“The Legend of Zelda” is one of the biggest gaming franchises of all time, and it deserves to be done right on the big screen. While this film adaptation won’t be a dumpster fire, I do not think it will live up to its real potential in live-action. “The Legend of Zelda” movie should’ve been animated, and it’s a shame that it’s not.
