Nice work Universal, I'm quite surprised that Nintendo went along with this considering how protective they are of their characters (no Mario in Wreck-It Ralph for example). If I had to guess, Nintendo probably saw the respect Universal paid to J.K. Rowling when creating WWOHP and feels like this is a safe bet.
And to those who are saying "Well yeah, but down the road is anyone going to know who Mario or Zelda are?" Seriously? You should be asking that about something like Avatar (yes I know sequels are coming, but what happens if those films pull a Matrix where everyone loved the first one, then hated the others?). As others have stated, Nintendo practically lives off of rehashing the same games over and over (and people still eat it up) their job is to make sure NO ONE forgets those characters.
Also with the generation who grew up on classic Nintendo reaching adulthood, you can bet those parents are going to teach their kids who Mario and everyone in Nintendo land is. I'd say Nintendo has more lasting power than Frozen does any day. Give it ten years and let's see if Elsa becomes the next Stitch (chili-dog smell and all
).