The animator behind that incredible 2D Fox intro in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has talked about working on the film – and it turns out he previously worked on Jujutsu Kaisen.
"I had an incredible time working as a 3D supervising animator on the movie and was truly honored to be in charge of the 2D Fox intro sequence," the animator, Benjamin Faure, wrote on Twitter. "Getting the chance to bring both 2D and 3D animation to life on this project made the whole experience even more special. So grateful to have been part of it!
"Congratulations to the whole team who worked hard on this project, and thank you for supporting it!"
In a follow-up tweet, he added: "Thanks everyone for your messages and support (I’ll keep replying to all of you), but I also wanted to highlight the great Takaya Imamura, who designed Fox McCloud for the original Star Fox – without him, this character wouldn’t exist! Please consider supporting him. Thanks again to all of you – you're definitely amazing"
The Fox McCloud animated sequence is a neat retro throwback, in which Fox explains how he's stuck in Mario's universe and separated from Slippy, Peppy, and Falco.
Benjamin Faure is also credited as a key animator on nine episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen, spread across season 1 and 2. So, considering he worked on one of the best anime around, it's perhaps no surprise that the Fox sequence had so much style.
While the Mario and Star Fox crossover was unexpected, it certainly fit well – and it was something Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto thought might spark pushback. "I wanted to see what it would be like, but I also felt that there may be significant resistance internally about that idea, so after I got this proposal, I contacted the necessary parties involved and started my lobbying activity here at Nintendo," he explained. "However, I was surprised to find that a lot of people saw a lot of potential with it and were really excited to see what would come out of this."
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is in theaters now. For more, check out our Super Mario Galaxy Movie review, or see our guide to all the Super Mario Galaxy Movie Easter eggs.
