The Mario Movie Maker is a free online flash game that features multiple worlds and animations. Players use all of these features to create their own animated movies. The process can be time consuming, but once you learn the film making process with the Mario Movie Maker, you can create dozens of short films and export them to share with family, friends and the online world.
Mario Movie Marker Overview
The layout of the program is simple. The main block in the center is the live on-screen actions that the final video will show. Characters and objects can be dragged on and off the screen throughout the video. The selection objects are all labeled icons at the top of the screen.
Backgrounds
Click on the “Backgrounds” tab in the top left of the screen. Use the on-screen arrows to select from the 26 different backgrounds. Some are general Mario backgrounds with other depicting specific levels and challenges. Once you select a background, click on the “Check” button.
You can change your background at anytime during the animation, but it could effect the ground placing of several on-screen characters.
Character Selection
Click on the “Character Selection” Icon. A list will appear on the top of the screen featuring characters and their moving animations. Scroll through the characters to view all of the key Mario characters along with other Nintendo and Sega characters like Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails.
Click and drag a character onto the screen to add them to the project. When you do this, the character selection will automatically be replaced with the character animation properties. Set the “Size” of the character up or down.
Click on the “Direction” to make the character face left or right. Rotate the character a full 360 degrees to get the angle that you want. Click on the “Toggle” icon under “Walking” to activate their animations.
All of the character properties can be adjusted for every frame of your project. Set all of the characters up that you want to use for the project. Click and drag them to the locations that they will start at.
Capturing
Click on the “Record” icon to start the capture for the project. Select the character you want to move around the screen and edit their positions. Use the top screen icons to change the positions or locations. For example, if you have Mario run into the scene and then stop, click on the “Toggle” icon under walking right when he finishes his walk.
Press the “Record” button to stop and then scroll through the time line to watch a preview and make adjustments.
Extras and Exporting
Use the “Word Bubbles” feature to add text for the characters. Click on the section in the time line and then set the word bubble to appear. Repeat this with any music tracks or sound effects built into the software.
Click on the “Play” button to watch a preview of your movie. If you are happy, click on the “Save” option and then follow the on-screen prompts to save your file.
The more you use the Mario Movie Maker, the easier it will become to create more complicated and technical animations.