These days, most gamers recognize the console wars as ultimately meaningless struggles that only make the hobby worse for everyone. Back in the 80s and 90s, the duel between Sega and Nintendo was the apex of playground arguments. Mario and Sonic were the champions of their respective owners, and both have finally had their proper big-screen debut, allowing for a new frontier of conflict.
From a financial perspective, there's still no contest between Nintendo and Sega. In both mediums, Nintendo has buried their opponent in all the cash that they earned. The Super Mario Bros. Movie has enjoyed the biggest opening for a video game movie and the biggest opening for an animated film. But, did it really deserve that blowout reception, or would any production with the right face on the poster take home a billion dollars?
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a More Direct Adaptation
When comparing the Mario movie and the Sonic movie, the most interesting point is the vast difference in adaptational style. Both films introduce the memorable in-game world and a non-canonical "real world." They use their settings in the exact opposite way. Mario starts in a cartoony version of Brooklyn, falls through a pipe, and ends up in the Mushroom Kingdom. Sonic is born in Mobius, where he runs through a traditional in-game level, but he winds up in Montana. For most of the film, Mario is a stranger to the familiar world of the games, while Sonic is a newcomer to Earth. The Mario movie is an animated adaptation that grounds the audience in the stylistic beauty of the in-game environments. The Sonic movie is a character-focused journey about the hedgehog adjusting to a world that's familiar to us.
Both the Mario and Sonic movies depict their title character as aliens to the world they find themselves in. That fish-out-of-water technique allows the audience to experience the world through fresh eyes. In the case of Mario, the main character of the film might as well be the Mushroom Kingdom. It's about exploring, learning the rules, seeing the sights, meeting the locals, and eventually saving everything the audience just met. Sonic finds himself in a more boring location, so his story is largely driven by his own actions. His presence fundamentally changes the otherwise mundane world and eventually leads to the arrival of more otherworldly visitors and further conflict. Viewed as pure adaptations of their source material, Mario captures every aspect of the game's iconography, while Sonic displaces its lead characters to go on new adventures.
Sonic the Hedgehog Makes More Creative Choices
It's a good thing that Mario finds a main character in its flawless living version of the Mushroom Kingdom because it sure isn't getting one out of the guy the film is named after. The problem with trying to make a movie out of Super Mario is that Mr. Video isn't much of a character. His personality is immaterial, his characterization changes with almost every installment, and people don't like him for any identifiable trait he displays. He's a guy who goes on adventures and saves the Princess. This isn't an issue of laziness, it's one of good old-fashioned corporate fear. Nintendo has been making bank off of this tiny Italian shell of a man for over four decades now, and they're convinced that part of the magic is the fact that Mario has no notable traits. This is fine for a game in which the man says less than 10 different words, but a film needs conflict, personality, and growth. Nintendo will not allow its characters to change, because growth implies that they weren't perfect when they were introduced.
Meanwhile, Sonic is about its lead character learning lessons and growing into the hero people love. Characters are allowed, if not required, to have arcs in the world of Sonic the Hedgehog. This isn't to say that one film is inherently better than the other, one viewer might find more enjoyment in the raw aesthetic beauty of the Mushroom Kingdom. The Sonic movies are all about their colorful woodland creatures learning lessons. They don't beat Eggman because they're stronger than him or because they found the right power-up. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Tom figured out the moral, usually stated it out loud, and used it to defeat the antagonist.
Fans of The Super Mario Bros. Movie gave critics some static for judging an adaptation of a massive multimedia franchise clearly intended for children too harshly. Following that logic to its endpoint completely precludes any conversation about the film, but children do still have brains. They like stories, they want their favorite characters to succeed, and they have an innate understanding of conflict that draws them to the games and movies that they love. Nintendo has a vice grip on its characters. Any choice made outside the established canon will be struck down because an identifiable trait might alienate a single viewer. The Sonic movies know that a character without unique elements and flaws worth conquering is nothing but a drawing. Sonic has always been more popular for his personality than for his games. The cinema is the first battlefield that gives the blue blur the chance to run away with the trophy.