Despite some initial skepticism, the Super Mario Bros animated movie has turned out to be one of the most successful films of the year, well-received by audiences and at the box office.

Speaking to audiences at the Annecy Animation Festival, Academy Award winning filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro praised the film as one that had the potential move things forward in the medium of animation. Del Toro has always had a soft spot for animation, which he believes can be used for more than what the rest of the film industry believes.

“The three hits of Spider-Verse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mario are moving things, allowing a little more latitude, but there are still big fights to be had. Animation to me is the purest form of art, and it’s been kidnapped by a bunch of hoodlums. We have to rescue it. [And] I think that we can Trojan-horse a lot of good sh*t into the animation world.”

“[characters and emotions] are codified into a sort of teenage rom-com, almost emoji-style behavior… I would love to see real life in animation. I actually think it’s urgent. think it’s urgent to see real life in animation.”

Within the confines of videogame adaptation films, perhaps the success of Super Mario Bros. will prompt studios to more seriously consider animation as an option, given that live-action videogame adaptations have been notoriously mixed in terms of reception.

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