Star Fox's original design isn't getting "special treatment" for the character's Mario movie debut

Takaya Imamura is a Nintendo legend. The artist created the designs for characters such as Captain Falcon, Fox McCloud, and Tingle, and served as producer, director, or art director on games including The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Donkey Kong '94, and nearly every game in the Star Fox and F-Zero series.

He left the company in 2021, with his legacy intact; however, it seems he's been forgotten by the people who employed him for 30 years, saying he's not getting “any special treatment” for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, despite starring one of his most famous characters.

Fox McCloud's creator has yet to see the Mario Galaxy movie, despite the character's appearance

Star Fox 2 Box art showing Fox and his crew.

Fox McCloud has been a mainstay of Nintendo's roster since 1993. He has appeared in multiple games, become a fan favorite in the Super Smash Bros. series, and is arguably one of the company's most recognizable non-Mario characters. All thanks to Imamura, who based the character's design on Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto.

Despite both Imamura and McCloud's impact on the company, the artist has made it clear that even though his character debuted in The Super Mario Galaxy movie, he hasn't received any special treatment.

The Super Mario Galaxy movie has yet to be released in Japan, and as such, Japanese resident Imamura has yet to see it. He's been commenting on trailers, most recently saying that Fox looks a lot like Star Wars' Han Solo, but it's clear from his comments that he hasn't been invited to a preview.

One fan questioned this, saying, “Kyoto should just invite you for a special screening,” to which Imamura revealed that the Japanese way of doing business will likely stop this from happening.

“Unfortunately, I don't get any special treatment,” he said on social media. “Maybe it's just the Japanese company's way of drawing a line with people who have quit.” It's a sad state of affairs for someone who played such a fundamental role in the company's SNES and N64 eras.

Have you seen The Super Mario Galaxy Movie yet?

Fox McCloud's appearance in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie came as something of a surprise. We haven't had a new Star Fox game since 2016 (or a good one since 2011's DS port of Star Fox 64), and the character gets pushed to the wayside so often.

In a 2024 interview with us at TheGamer, Imamura revealed why he thought there hadn't been a new Star Fox game for so long, citing Nintendo's goal to always “design something that's timeless.”