The Legend of Zelda is a well-known and loved video game series made by the gaming company Nintendo and created by the genius of Shigeru Miyamoto. It entails a young boy, usually named Link, to save the world he is in. This can be from the traditional, Ganon or Ganondorf, or more recently from the evil sorcerer Vaati. Critics hold the Zelda series in high esteem and its fans alike. This is because it has consistently been a series of brilliant game play and fabulous innovation. A movie is a motion picture that is usually sold world wide, or nation wide and involves either real time actors or voice actors.
The problem has already been answered with the above paragraph, Zelda is a prestigious series, and movies generally, from video games, are terrible. This can be seen from the following: Final Fantasy; this film had no correlation with any of the games, and is generally regarded as a second rate film; Mario, what a film, what a film! If there was ever a film that was cheesy, the Mario one must take the crown, I enjoyed it, but it is generally considered an embarrassment and Resident Evil 1 and 2, both of these films were dire. I have seen both, they had little correlation to the game, and they used cheap amateur tricks to try and make you jump. Is this the way that we want our gaming series, Zelda to go?
Moreover, there are many difficulties that must be fanned out as well. Such as: what style of animation to use, Anime, standard animation, or real life characters. As Zelda, traditionally, is not an Anime style game. If we look at the very first games in the series, up to Ocarina of Time. All the art style is standard, human, eyes. It is only when we reach Ocarina of Time and beyond it gets more Anime. And then we must take into consideration the real people that would play the character of Link, Zelda and Ganon/Ganondorf. These people would need to be unknowns, as putting yourself into this role, would generally mean that you are going to fail as a major movie star. So it would be a one-film career. Many of the more famous actors would not choose to do a gaming movie as they would not want to let down a large portion of die hard Zelda fans. And there are a lot of us out there.
Additionally, if it were an animated cartoon, be it in western style, or anime style, the voice actors would be a huge issue. There is still controversy about the voice actors used in the Zelda cartoons from the 80's today. Some people like it, most hate it. This stands to reason. Link has never had a voice before. And this is simply because, we do not want to ruin his character. For each different country we would need a different voice actor. And no one would ever be able to agree on the voice acting – it cannot be perfect as there has never been anyone to compare it to before, in a film sense.
Yet, even if the acting were perfect, what would the plot line be? We would have two options to choose from. Turn one of the many games into a film, or create an entire new plot. Either way, it would be criticised heavily. Let us consider Ocarina of Time. Generally considered the best game of the Zelda series to date, it's a forty hour game, every dungeon, heart piece, collection of item, all the cut scenes, could we fit all of those into a film. Yes. However, it would be very boring. Even for those of us who adore the game. It would make tedious viewing, as we would all know exactly what happens next and when. They could also never put that much into a standard, two-hour film. They would have to miss out certain parts of the plot line. Making Zelda fans angered, as it is not a true representation of the film. This was seen with some of the more passionate Lord of the Rings fans at the films. Although, if we decide to create a completely different plot, it will be heavily criticised as it will not be of any relevance to the current game and time line. They would play around with the entire timeline and generally mess up what Zelda fans have carefully put together.
Perhaps we can see a change in the tides though. For instance, the Tomb Raider films, they have done very well for themselves indeed. The actress, Angelina Jolie, played Lara Croft very well. The films had a degree of relevance to the game, and they were accepted as part of the history of Tomb Raider. This shows what a sensitive plotline can do to a film, if it is initially from a game. The cartoons from games have also been improving as of late. Many would argue that Sonic X is an appalling anime. And it would be hard not to agree; however, it is most certainly a good adaptation of a game. The characters are all alike to what they are in the games, and it has generally been created very well.
Overall, it is a nay from me. Zelda should not be turned into a movie. The successes and failures talk for themselves here. There are far more failures than success when we are discussing gaming films. Not forgetting the many troubles that we would have with the animation style, acting and plotlines. Not that there is not a slight turn in the tide. It is just not enough of a turn for us to make a Zelda movie.
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