What If? 001 Nintendo x Studio Ghibli = the Legend of Zelda

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the Legend of Zelda x Studio Ghibli
Chance of Success =  95%

Possibility =  50%

Nintendo have a big monopoly in the gaming industry and keeps making products that are unmistakably theirs, having their now recognizable trademark appearances and gameplays especially when one of them has that perfect formula that gained critical acclaim and mainstream appraisal. One perfect example of a quintessential Nintendo product is the Legend of Zelda.

With now an established universe and a deep mythology, it is ripe to be adapted into a full fledged animated feature. Looking back retroactively, The company's first animated effort went from bad to worse with the terribly campy 80s cartoon of this beloved franchise and then the calamitous 1993 life-action movie adaptation of Super Mario Bros, effectively cutting short their ambitious and well-meaning but terribly executed venture and put a stop any adaptation of their products for the foreseeable future. 

Recently, Nintendo gained an unprecedented surge of positive press regarding the successful partnership with a mobile application company, Niantic, marrying its tracking technology with their most recognizable gaming property worldwide, Pokemon. Although in the end the company couldn't fully support the overwhelming reception and the app didn't live up to its marketed potential, it ultimately proved the popularity of that particular franchise and how the public wanted to take part in the phenomenon on their most accessible platform yet: smartphone.

This particular event brought with it the news of a life-action Pokemon movie but recollecting the aforementioned bitter history with this particular medium, they are smartly taking their time with this second effort, adapting a Pokemon game with a unique premise of its own instead of creating one from scratch or basing it on their ongoing television shows.

Although the comic book movies are on a constant rise for a few years now but the same can't be said on game adaptation with Mortal Kombat as the best one from yesteryears and Warcraft as the most recent movie that could be viewed as an entertaining misfire. With the promising Assassin's Creed still on the way, the inevitable upturn for game movies would bring with it a wave of other properties to be adapted with collaborations between the major game companies and movie studios.

It is a far-fetched but entirely plausible idea for the game companies from the Land of the Rising Sun to have a beautiful partnership with the premier Hollywood studios, but they don't have to look too far to have the perfect marriage for the perfect adaptation: the fantastical adventure of the Legend of Zelda being brought to life by the world renowned animation studio Studio Ghibli.

[Pokemon tangent]

Life-action adaptation of this particular premise with fully CG Pokemons would be a really tricky thing to do but the highly successful the Jungle Book beg to differ with a singular human character being surrounded with lifelike animals. The talking aspect and realistic designs of the animals could be interchanged with their constant shouting of their names (Meowth notwithstanding) and their more cartoonish looks, using the advanced technology to have them convey emotions more realistically while trying to find a perfect balance without losing the essence of the Pokemons from their original forms.
[Tangent end]

With that semi-related tangent out of the way, the best way they could adapt the Legend of Zelda faithfully without sacrificing the original formula is by making a motion feature directed and animated by the masterful animators at Studio Ghibli. Looking through their expansive list of animated films, the gorgeous way they brought to life each world they were in whether it was real life locations or more fantastical in nature, the diverse and rich characters living in them as well as the emotional resonance throughout were mainly created from scratch by the legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Although his retirement excluded his masterful hands from directly contributing to this project, the animation company he left behind certainly have the ability to keep his legacy alive and with the already established world of Hyrule and its rich mythology ripe to be rightfully adapted, it is a perfect marriage that would eventually happen hopefully sooner than later.
  

"Excuse me, princess!"

- wiki (game) - wiki (series) - wikia -

- Synopsis -

A small kingdom in the land of Hyrule, the setting of the game, is engulfed in chaos after an army led by Ganon, the Prince of Darkness, invaded it and stole the Triforce of Power, a part of a magical artifact bestowing great strength. In an attempt to prevent Ganon from acquiring the Triforce of Wisdom, another of the pieces, Princess Zelda splits it and hides the eight fragments in secret dungeons throughout the land. Before the princess is eventually kidnapped by Ganon, she commands her nursemaid Impa to find someone courageous enough to save the kingdom. While wandering the land, the old woman is surrounded by Ganon's henchmen, though a young boy named Link appears and rescues her. After hearing Impa's plea, he resolves to save Zelda and sets out to reassemble the scattered fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom, to become powerful enough to defeat Ganon.

(Rating PG, Genre - Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, the Legend of Zelda Universe)

+ Positive: perfect marriage of an established franchise with an established animation studio, the lush visuals and heavy emotions would be conveyed by the studio while the amazing soundtrack and engaging characters would be taken straight from the game,

- Negative : the retirement of legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, the prejudice of animation being less desirable than life-action

Source: Collider, tumbler