Yoshi's Island 2: Mario's Grand Adventure

Yoshi's Island 2: Mario's Grand Adventure (also titled Yoshi's Island 2 or Mario's Grand Adventure in other countries (Japanese: ヨッシーアイランド2 マリオの大冒険, Hepburn: Yosshīairando 2 Mario no dai bōken) is a 2007 computer-animated adventure comedy fantasy film based on the Super Mario and Yoshi franchises by Nintendo. The film is directed by Roger Allers and Kelly Asbury, produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, Kensuke Tanabe and Pam Marsden and written by Toshihiko Nakago and Hisashi Nogami based on a screenplay by Naoto Ohshima.

Being the first Paramount Pictures film to be co-produced by Screen Gems Pictures, the film stars the voices of Charles Martinet as Mario and Andrew Sabiston as Yoshi, with Samantha Kelly, Kenneth Wendell James, Atsushi Masaki, and more. The film follows the adventures of Mario and Yoshi as they try to save the world from the evil King Koopa.

The film is produced by Paramount Feature Animation, Nickelodeon Movies, Screen Gems Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Nintendo Films and Nintendo Animation, with Sony Pictures Imageworks providing 3D animation services, while Rough Draft Studios provided 2D animated services for flashback sequences. The film was released on April 6, 2007 in the United States by Paramount Pictures following its premiere at the Dolby Theater on March 29, 2007.

Yoshi's Island 2: Mario's Grand Adventure drew a positive response, with critics praising its voice cast (particularly Martinet, Sabiston and Kelly), animation, visual effects, emotional weight, plot, humor, musical score by James Newton Howard, and gave praise for being faithful to its source material. It was a box office success, grossing $650.8 million worldwide on its budget of $90 million. The film became the sixth-highest grossing film of 2007 behind Paramount's own Transformers, and the second-highest grossing film of 2007 behind Shrek the Third. The film was originally the start of two sequel films, but the deal with Paramount and Screen Gems was cut short.

Plot
The movie begins with Mario and Luigi on their way to a special event that celebrates their heroism in the Mushroom Kingdom. While traveling through the forest, they stumble upon a lost baby dinosaur who they quickly realize is none other than Yoshi. As they begin to care for him, they notice that the forest is being destroyed by King Koopa and his minions. They realize that they must team up with Yoshi and his friends to stop King Koopa and save the forest.

Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi set out on a quest to collect magical artifacts that will help them defeat King Koopa. Along the way, they meet a cast of new characters, including Poochy, a loyal dog, and Kamek, an evil Magikoopa who wants to help King Koopa take over the world.

As they travel through different regions of the Mushroom Kingdom, they encounter various challenges and obstacles. In the first region, they have to navigate a dangerous lava-filled cave system while being chased by King Koopa's minions. In the second region, they have to solve a series of puzzles to gain access to a hidden temple where a magical artifact is hidden.

In the third region, they come across a giant beanstalk that leads them to a floating island where they meet the ancient guardian of the island, a giant bird named Raphael the Raven. Raphael challenges them to a game of mini-games, and if they win, he will give them the artifact they need to defeat King Koopa.

In the fourth region, they have to sneak into King Koopa's castle to steal the final artifact they need to complete their mission. However, their plans are discovered, and they are captured by King Koopa's minions. It is up to Yoshi and his friends to come to their rescue, and they engage in an epic battle with King Koopa's army.

In the final showdown, Mario and King Koopa face off in an epic battle, with the fate of the Mushroom Kingdom hanging in the balance. Mario manages to defeat King Koopa, and the Mushroom Kingdom is saved. The movie ends with Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi returning to their home, feeling proud of their heroism and excited for their next adventure.

Cast

 * Charles Martinet as Mario, Luigi, and Wario
 * Martinet also voices Baby Mario, Luigi, and Wario in flashback scenes.
 * Andrew Sabiston as Yoshi
 * Samantha Kelly as Princess Peach and the Toads
 * Kelly also voices Baby Peach in flashback scenes.
 * Kenneth Wendell James as King Bowser
 * Dolores Rogers as Bowser Jr.
 * Atsushi Masaki as Kamek
 * Lani Minella as Larry Koopa, Morton Koopa, Jr., Wendy O. Koopa, and Lemmy Koopa
 * Mike Vaughn as Iggy Koopa and Ludwig von Koopa
 * Dan Falcone as Roy Koopa

Development
After the success of Yoshi's Island (1996), Nintendo Films (known as Nintendo Productions at the time) had originally began development with Steven Spielberg on a sequel. Instead of it being theatrical, it was intended to be a direct-to-video release. However, in 1997, after the release of Earthbound, the deal with Nintendo Productions and Amblin Entertainment ceased. The product remained abandoned, until 2002.

In the summer of 2002, Paramount Pictures had approached Nintendo Films about a sequel to Yoshi's Island. Now that the company had began moving to CGI animation, and after they viewed Paramount's latest CGI works, they agreed on a sequel, without the involvement of Amblin Entertainment. Paramount would later enlist the involvement of Screen Gems Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, film studios owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Shigeru Miyamoto and Kensuke Tanabe were hired as the screenwriters for the film.

Casting
TBA

Animation and visual effects
Sony Pictures Imageworks provided the CGI animation services, while Rough Draft Studios' animation division, Rough Draft Korea, provided 2D animation services for flashback sequences.

Music
"Main article: Yoshi's Island 2: Mario's Grand Adventure (soundtrack)"The film's score was composed by American composer James Newton Howard, who had composed the music for Shrek (2001) and Shrek 2 (2004). While in development of the film, in November 2004, directors Roger Allers and Kelly Asbury had approached Howard, after he had finished the composition of Shrek 2.

The scoring took place at the Sony Pictures Studios Scoring Stage and lasted from December 18, 2004 to August 22, 2006. The album was released through Sony Classical on April 2, 2007, where it was ranked #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Release
TBA