| Legend of Zelda Cinematic Universe | |
| First release | The Legend of Zelda (Skyward Sword 1990-Present) 1986 |
| Last release | Legend of Zelda: Adventure of Link |
| Koji Kondo | Composers |
| Director | Shigeru Miyamoto (Skyward Sword - Wind Waker) ,Eiji Aonuma (Majoras mask - Present) |
| Movies | 18 |
| Character Designer | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Highest Grossing | A Link to the past |
| Biggest box office hit | Ocarina of Time |
| Lowest Grossing | Triforce Heroes |
- Discalmer* This page is about the games if they were released at movies and how they be different and how they would be if they were released in Nintendo's timeline.
The Legend of Zelda Cinematic Universe is the Universe in which the movies of the Legend of Zelda take place in and it's timeline. The movies began in 1986 when Shigeru Myamoto decided to film a film in his childhood hometown in the woods he explored as a child. Sooon when the movie was brought over to the west surprisingly, it was a hit. Wind Waker was the first out of 4 movies (Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks and Triforce Heroes) to be fully animated with 3D technology which was an incredible feet at the time though the movie was very unpopular among long time fans. As of now they are working on a new film that will take place some point in the timeline and will keep the Legend of Zelda (****) and Legend of Zelda: Adventure of Link (****) feel. The movie is planned for a 2016 release.
Film releases
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (1986)
The original Zelda, Skyward Sword was filmed from 1984-1985 in Sonobe and Kyoto, Japan which he used as the scenes that took place on land (Which would soon to become Hyrule) though the sky scenes took place on a set. The film was released in Japan in February 1986. The film received positive reviews from critics in Japan due to it's amazing atmosphere and the pacing as well. however, Link the protagonist is silent throughout the movie which as stated by Myamoto that he wanted the watcher to connect to the characters. The film was released in America in 1986 after they finished a dub. The film was a big success in America. One of the localizes stated in an interview in 2012 that they originally wanted to give Link a voice but left it to be hoping that it'd be as big as a hit as it was in Japan.
[1]Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword (Skip to Story)
Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (1989)
Demise was originally intended on being revived as Vaati but this was changed in Ocarina of Time. This movie included a 11 year old Link apposed to the Link that was 18 in the first film. This one was less successful than the first film but is considered an instant classic by reviewers. The film was released in Late 1990 in America and was another hit with the states. It was also released in Europe in Late 1991. Reviewers praised it for it's unique characters and it's funny dialogue but was criticized for the pacing and actor for Link. The film follows Link as he tries to gain the elements needed to fix the Picori Blade which was shattered by Vaati with the help of his companion Ezlo who acts as his hat and guide. This film was fully filmed in Sonobe, Japan as opposed to mostly in studio's in Kyoto. The movie was called Legend of Zelda until the re-release of Skyward Sword that featured this movie in it and both names were changed,
Legend of Zelda: Four Sword (1993)
The Legend of Zelda 3 was stuck in development hell for a few years because of Myamoto's desire to create real interesting version. One day while being around his brother, they started joking about an argument that they used to have as kids. This lead him to think up a sort of family rivalry type story but it was scrapped and replaced with multiple Links. This idea lead him to make a new movie, Four Swords. In the beginning of the movie, it chronicles how the Four Sword was made from the blade in the last movie. The first 10 minutes do that. In later releases starting with the 1999 re-release this was added into the Minish Cap for the sake of consistency. Split screen was used for the 4 links which had a new actor. There was alos some CGI used in it. The reviews in both America and Japan were Mixed to Negative with criticism being the plot and the fact that only 3 out of the 4 Links talk. Though myamoto defended himself saying that the mmovie would have been pretty silent without voices and that he wanted Link to stay silent. The movie is about the return of Vaati and that he has captured Princess Zelda. After pulling out the sword that Vaati was sealed in, Link is turned into 4 versions of himself. In 2011 this was rated the worst Zelda film of all time.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Part 1 (1996)
In 1994, Myamoto stated in an interview that he is working on the next big Zelda movie and it will be a very massive one. The filmed with 50% in some outdoor areas of Japan and 50% in a set in Kyoto. The film was shot from Late 1993-Mid 1996 with some very short breaks. The movie entered post production immediately after shooting and the movie was so long it was forced to be split in 2. Trailers were shown in both American and Japanese theaters in September 1996 and Myamoto announced his plans to split them into 2 parts due to how long they were. The opening shot is considered the most iconic scene in any film ever which was Link riding a horse through Hyrule field with the main title theme playing. This was also the trailer. It then moves to an explanation of the Hyrule civil war years before and how Link is living with the Kokiri in the woods. After that it goes from Link saving the Deku tree to the scene were Link meets Sheik for the first time. Right before Sheik can say anything the screen fades to black and the movie ends. Reviewers gave the film high reviews one even gave it 5 stars saying some amazing story telling especially at the end. This became the highest grossing movie of 1996 and the fastest movie to make 10 million dollars in the 90's. Myamoto had decided to have a younger Link be in the first half of the movie and then have a 18 year old Link be the main character of the 2nd half. The movie ended up being very long.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Part 2 (1997)
The second part was released in July 1997 to take advantage of the kids who don't have school in July in Japan. The movie was released the same week as Titanic in America and the following day in the U.K. and France. The film starts were Link wakes up in the Sage area and then ends with the iconic scene of everyone celebrating ganons death and young Link confronting a young Princess Zelda. The movie also got high reviews and was even more so than the first film to the point that the reviewer who gave part 1 A 5 out of 5 stated: I wish I wouldn't have given the last one a 5 because this makes that one look like crap.
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (1999)
This was the first fully CGI Zelda film (Which was still pretty impressive in the day) and was the last one released in the 2nd millennium. Myamoto wanted to take a different approach with the franchise and give it a comedy like feel. When asked about it, Myamoto said that he felt that the movie would receive some criticism but people would hopefully find ways to still enjoy it. Link is still voicless but Tetra/ Princess Zelda is voiced by the actress who plays Krillin in DBZ and is played by the person who plays Ash in englsih. This is a very odd setup to most fans. The film received mixed to negative reviews from both fans and critics alike. The movie recived a 6/10 from one company stating it's funny at certain times but it's not as neat as the old ones. It soon became a cult classic and prompted Nitnedo to release to movie in 2012 on Blueray after there was only a VHS version of the movie and no DVD.
More comming soon.
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2000)
This was the 2nd fully CGI Zelda film and the 2nd in the adult link timeline. In this story Link uses the Phantom Hourglass. This one got even worse reviews than Wind Waker even with an all star cast and an amazing storyline as well as some awesome voice acting. Most fans and critics wanted to see a different Zelda film. Menwhile during the production of this film, Eiji Aonuma was working on another film for the fans who didn't like the CGI flicks. He worked with a budget of 8 million and a crew of 90 people. This film became more popular than this one.
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000)
After the past 2 Zelda films, Eiji Aonuma wanted to work on a live action film again. Myamoto gave him one year and a crew of 90 people to work on the film. The schedule was pretty rushed and some of the effects were either cheap or goofy. (Ex: Using a blurry vision and a shaky cam all at once for certain scenes) The movie also considered the darkest in the franchise since the moon will destroy the world Link fell into. This is especially shown during the sub plots in the film and there are a lot of them too. "I was watching the movie with my friends at the theater and I could here a girl at the bottom row crying. The movie was pretty depressing" Said an IGN critic when asked about the Blueray re-release. There have been 2 re-releases once in 2006 for HD DVD and later on February 13th 2015 for Blueray which has special features. This movie got countless 9/10's 5 stars and 89/100's from many critics and is considers one of the best in the series.
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2002)
After the success of Majoras Mask.