Undertale movie idea - technically the BEST possible way

[FrikeTheDragon]

MINOR SPOILER ALERT (obviously...)

First of all, hi everyone! I'm new to the subforum (and to Steam discussions in general), and I'm glad to post my first thread here. Please be nice with me and tell me if I'm breaking a rule or something before I get randomly banned (though I'm sure that won't probably happen, LOL).

Now to the main point of my post. This might sound silly, but I really need to get this idea out of my head. So far I've seen no one in this fandom share the same idea, not even getting close, so I think I'll just leave it here. Well, here and also on DeviantArt, where I posted it awhile ago in one of Haylizbeth's wonderful artworks. Please tell me if I'm getting somewhere, or this is just plain crazy.

So, pretty much everyone on the internet seems to think that Undertale is so "holy and perfect" that it simply cannot be made into a movie, since most of its main themes and features (many endings, save/load, moral dilemas, etc...) would only make sense in a video game format. You're all right, it's true. Undertale can only be told through the presence of a video game. But what if that videogame was the central element... of a movie?

What I mean is, we can't make a movie set directly in the Undertale universe, but we can have a movie with Undertale in it AS A VIDEO GAME.

What's more, I imagine something like "The Neverending Story" : in the film, Undertale would be an old SNES videogame that the main character (Frisk, or a random kid, or whomever) finds somehow, and decides to play it in is console. Then they become (progressively or instantly) absorbed into the world of the videogame, and take part in Undetale's universe. However, being the player, they have DETERMINATION, and are still able to save and load, and they go back to the real world whenever they do so. Who knows, perhaps "the surface" outside Mt Ebott is actually the real world the player comes from, and all the human souls (including Chara) are from kids who played the game before and became trapped inside it somehow...

Bonus points if the real world is filmed in a live setting, and the underground is animated in Disney-style, like here: http://haylizbeth.deviantart.com/art/Disney-s-Undertale-Where-Do-I-Go-570238046
Even more bonus points if the Omega Flowey fight happens in the real world, and transforms from the kid's TV, as seen in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG-RWA1kbk0

[Tighty-Whitey]

Bad idea.

[Sneaky]

Originally posted by Lucky Boy:

Bad idea.

Please stop spaming the forums..

[Chara the Explorer]

I think you're kind of missing the point. The entire reason video games are different is because that the viewer has to be active rather than passive. You can't really emulate that by making a character who has those responsibilities.

That and it looks like you're trying to mix extremely serious themes (the morality of save-scumming and reseting time for good, evil or the lulz etc etc) with rather silly ones ("ghost" games that absorb players, whether permanently or otherwise).

That's not to say it can't work (goodness knows Disney has managed with some surprisingly dark stuff), but I'm really skeptical.

[FrikeTheDragon]

Originally posted by PASTAMANCER PAPYRUS:

I think you're kind of missing the point. The entire reason video games are different is because that the viewer has to be active rather than passive. You can't really emulate that by making a character who has those responsibilities.

You're right! I was just thinking about that... I guess that some things are bound to get lost in translation (from the original media to the big screen). Meanwhile, a film would make people curious about the story, and perhaps get people to buy the game, therefore getting the full experience (and witnessing all the "what-if" scenarios, resetting for the lulz, or for the evulz, etc...).
Also, I personally the fact that a game "absorbs" you (metaphorically, but in the film it's shown as being literal) has nothing silly to it. Isn't it what we all experienced with Undertale, when we got so attached to its universe and characters, that we almost could think it was a real world inside a game?

[Crystalitar]

I never wayched the never ending story because that dog thing creeped the heck out of me.

[That Guy]

Originally posted by FrikeTheDragon:

MINOR SPOILER ALERT (obviously...)

First of all, hi everyone! I'm new to the subforum (and to Steam discussions in general), and I'm glad to post my first thread here. Please be nice with me and tell me if I'm breaking a rule or something before I get randomly banned (though I'm sure that won't probably happen, LOL).

Now to the main point of my post. This might sound silly, but I really need to get this idea out of my head. So far I've seen no one in this fandom share the same idea, not even getting close, so I think I'll just leave it here. Well, here and also on DeviantArt, where I posted it awhile ago in one of Haylizbeth's wonderful artworks. Please tell me if I'm getting somewhere, or this is just plain crazy.

So, pretty much everyone on the internet seems to think that Undertale is so "holy and perfect" that it simply cannot be made into a movie, since most of its main themes and features (many endings, save/load, moral dilemas, etc...) would only make sense in a video game format. You're all right, it's true. Undertale can only be told through the presence of a video game. But what if that videogame was the central element... of a movie?

What I mean is, we can't make a movie set directly in the Undertale universe, but we can have a movie with Undertale in it AS A VIDEO GAME.

What's more, I imagine something like "The Neverending Story" : in the film, Undertale would be an old SNES videogame that the main character (Frisk, or a random kid, or whomever) finds somehow, and decides to play it in is console. Then they become (progressively or instantly) absorbed into the world of the videogame, and take part in Undetale's universe. However, being the player, they have DETERMINATION, and are still able to save and load, and they go back to the real world whenever they do so. Who knows, perhaps "the surface" outside Mt Ebott is actually the real world the player comes from, and all the human souls (including Chara) are from kids who played the game before and became trapped inside it somehow...

Bonus points if the real world is filmed in a live setting, and the underground is animated in Disney-style, like here: http://haylizbeth.deviantart.com/art/Disney-s-Undertale-Where-Do-I-Go-570238046
Even more bonus points if the Omega Flowey fight happens in the real world, and transforms from the kid's TV, as seen in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG-RWA1kbk0

I'd rather have a cartoon/anime about Undertale than a movie

[Nyan_Pur_San]

Cartoon/anime/movie whichever is ok with me. Well I know nothing about animation but I'm very good at voice acting so if your good at animating I can help with voices if you would like?

[Alcoholic Dinosaur]

I'm not very convinced by the whole Neverending Story thing, partly because I don't like the book and outright hate the film.

But a movie about undertale wouldn't actually need to be about videogames. In fact, you can just cut out that part completely and pretend everything in undertale was real. Then there would still be a lot of interesting points to focus on, plus you wouldn't need to repeat what the videogame is already about.

[Crystalitar]

What about a mix then with a "wreck it ralph" kinda rhing?

They are aware they are a game.

[DankSlayer]

It's the same thing as with FNAF - the movie.

Gameplay mechanics like saving and getting EXP are a normal thing in games and are a big part of the story.

But how are you going to tell the story of Undertale in a movie without buthering it?
Like, if we base it on True Pacifist and show the movie to a person who never heard of Undertale he would be confused why a random kid can suddenly cheat death and travel in time, plus without EXP and LOVE it would be a cliche "being bad is bad" story about Random Kid Saving The Day And Fighting For His Friends #4361.

Same with FNAF - how are you supposed to make the movie out of it? About a guy who just sits in a office watching robots walk around and coming back for no reason?
They made a book based on FNAF, and it's a much better idea cause FNAF has a really interesting story.

[Alcoholic Dinosaur]

Well, if you build in the SAVE function, it wouldn't need to be about a random kid saving the day. I mean, if you think about it, saving is actually a pretty terrifying concept: You're stuck in the story. You can't kill yourself and if you're not good enough, you can't progress either. There might be people who gut you over and over again, and while they can't remember past timelines, the protagonist is well aware of them.
Sans is frustrated because he can't stop the resetting of the timelines, but tells the protagonist that he thinks having superpowers means you should use them to do good, placing a huge responsibility on the protagonist. But at the same time, it's not like the protagonist can fail. If they do, they can just reset. So technically they could be stuck in this limbo indefinitely, until they manage to get the ending they want.

I think, depending on how you would set up something like that (like, with or without the wreck it ralph self-awareness), it could turn undertale into a pretty interesting movie.

[FrikeTheDragon]

Alcoholic Dinosaur is getting somewhere. That's why I wanted it to be about a videogame, for the general public to understand why there suddenly there is a SAVE/LOAD concept, and the kid has control over what happens to that universe.

Also I wanted to point out something:

- In "The Neverending Story", Bastian can influence the book's universe through his IMAGINATION (symbolized by the AURYN), but he starts to wish for random things without thinking of the consequences, and the people of that universe start seeing him as a tyrant. Atreyu tries to stop him, he gets badly wounded, and Bastian ends up regretting everything.

- In "Undertale", Frisk (the player) can influence the game's universe through their DETERMINATION (sybolized by his SOUL), but they can as well start to kill everyone/do random things without thinking of consequences, and the people of that universe start seeing him as a tyrant. Sans tries to stop them, he gets badly wounded, and you end up regretting everything.
... and then Chara f**ks everything up.

[DankSlayer]

Originally posted by FrikeTheDragon:

Alcoholic Dinosaur is getting somewhere. That's why I wanted it to be about a videogame, for the general public to understand why there suddenly there is a SAVE/LOAD concept, and the kid has control over what happens to that universe.

Also I wanted to point out something:

- In "The Neverending Story", Bastian can influence the book's universe through his IMAGINATION (symbolized by the AURYN), but he starts to wish for random things without thinking of the consequences, and the people of that universe start seeing him as a tyrant. Atreyu tries to stop him, he gets badly wounded, and Bastian ends up regretting everything.

- In "Undertale", Frisk (the player) can influence the game's universe through their DETERMINATION (sybolized by his SOUL), but they can as well start to kill everyone/do random things without thinking of consequences, and the people of that universe start seeing him as a tyrant. Sans tries to stop them, he gets badly wounded, and you end up regretting everything.

The best part about Wreck It Ralph is that it's about the whole gaming industry, not just one game.



Trying to make a movie or animated series based on a game ends horribly 90% of the time. Doesn't matter if you base it on the original plot or make a new story with a few refferences (Super Mario Bros, brrrrr), making a good movie out of it is hard. People who never heard of said game might give it 5 stars, but if you played Resident Evil and watch one of the movies, you will feel raped.

The only good video game movie I know is a anime based on Animal Crossing, and that's because they managed to fit all the events from many months of playtime in one movie - coming to town, becoming Nook's slave, making friends, NPC's, differrent festivals, multiplayer features and one of villagers moving away.

[Blessed Evelyn]

Undertale as anything other than a movie, would not work. It's enitrely reliant on PLAYER choice, and a static story movie wouldn't convey that.

[FrikeTheDragon]

Originally posted by ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ:

Trying to make a movie or animated series based on a game ends horribly 90% of the time. Doesn't matter if you base it on the original plot or make a new story with a few refferences (Super Mario Bros, brrrrr), making a good movie out of it is hard. People who never heard of said game might give it 5 stars, but if you played Resident Evil and watch one of the movies, you will feel raped.

That's more because no one ever tried hard enough than because videogames are hard to adapt. There's a Game Theory on that if you want to know more (the first Film Theory, I think). As you said, the Animal Crossing movie was actually great, because they actually tried to fit in the essence of what made AC so good in the first place. And let's not talk about the very definition of success, the Pokémon anime and film adaptations (although Ash is annoying as f***, but you get my point).
Undertale is the same. All we need is a film director and a producer with enough talent, experience, and DETERMINATION to take the best from the game and put it in the big screen. Then, people who both have and have not played the game will enjoy it, and perhaps the people who have not played the game might play it out of curiosity.

Originally posted by Cheese | MASTER MEMER:

Undertale as anything other than a movie, would not work.

You sir totally nailed it LOL.