Despite breaking all kinds of records and continuing to earn tons of money at the box office, legendary Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto has reportedly been baffled by the critical response to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. If you’ll remember from a few years back, critical response to The Super Mario Bros. Movie was somewhat mixed, though siding more towards positive. Galaxy, conversely, has been met with less enthusiasm, even if the box office tells a different tale.
In an interview with Nintendo Dream Web, Miyamoto explained, “Actually, I thought the critics’ reviews of the first film were understandable. But I thought this time it would be different… and it was even harsher than last time, which I found strange (laughs). We stepped in from another medium and did our best to help energize the film industry. And yet the very people who are supposed to champion the film industry are the ones being so negative; it’s truly baffling.”
Historically speaking, Miyamoto doesn’t comment on critical reception to projects he works on. While he likely reads reviews to see if certain ideas he was aiming for hit with players, he’s never been one to acknowledge negativity or otherwise dour responses. Seeing him conflate being critical with trying to champion the film industry, though, is sad. It’s not a critic’s job to lie to audiences about their experience with a film, nor is it their job to promote a film just because the industry is struggling a little.
I don’t like seeing Miyamoto be defensive about this, especially since The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is overall weaker than its predecessor.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
