In back-to-back developer blogs published today, Nintendo answered a variety of questions about the upcoming 2D platformer Super Mario Bros. Wonder, including repeatedly confirming that it was not influenced by The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Despite receiving a significant graphical overhaul compared to New Super Mario Bros., developers working on Super Mario Bros. Wonder revealed today that they didn't have much insight into the goings-on of the motion picture, since they were being developed concurrently.
When asked if the facial expressions and character animations were influenced by the Universal Pictures blockbuster, developer Masanobu Sato said, "We're often asked about the film's influence on the game, but we didn't hear anything about the film's content during development. I think Tezuka-san and Kondo-san were the only members here who knew the details."
Fellow developer Takashi Tezuka elaborated, adding: "During development, we didn't know when the movie would be released, but we were sure some people would play the game because they watched the movie. This is why we were conscious of creating a game that wouldn't disappoint them. So for this game, we dedicated ample budget and time to create the characters with even more care and attention and in greater detail."
They also cited the Switch's more powerful technology compared to the hardware used for the past two New Super Mario Bros. games, and the evolution of their 3D models and how amusingly lots of details they built won't be seen since their game is entirely in 2D.
The blog posts covered a variety of other aspects of the development process as well, from the graphical redesign of various characters to the origins of Elephant Mario. With the imminent release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, you can check out our final preview, which praised the very models and animations Nintendo's developers worked so hard on.
Travis Northup is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @TieGuyTravis and read his games coverage here.
