Everyone knows and loves Super Mario from the video game company Nintendo. Spanning many classic video game titles, Mario became famous for its innovation in 2D and 3D platforming gaming and for having a colorful world filled with many fun and memorable characters. However, in terms of succeeding in other media, such as TV and movies, Super Mario has seen a negative level of success compared to their video game counterparts. While some film/TV media would grow a following with die-hard Mario fans, films like the live-action Mario movie released in 1993 could have done better as it left the wrong impression for many Mario fans. In 2023, Nintendo collaborated with one of Universal’s most famous animation studios, Illumination, to make a new animated Mario Movie. The result was a box office smash, and while it was far from being great as it has many, many problems, as a Super Mario fan myself, it was great to see a movie that makes me proud to be a fan and is filled to the brim with fun and to many references to count.
The Super Mario Bro’s named Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) have started a plumbing business in brooklin. Unfortunately Mario’s family isn’t to supportive of their business seeing its not doing very well thanks to the multiple times the brothers screw up. One night while fixing a flood, Mario and Luigi get accidently sucked into a pipe and end up in seprate areas of the mysterious world. Mario finds himself in the Mushroom Kingdom where he is greeted by Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) who takes him to Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) to ask for help to find his brother. After some hero training Mario and Peach set out to retrieve Luigi who is captured by Bowser (Jack Black) who has control of a mysterious super star that will allow him to take over the mushroom kingdom and force princess peach to marry her.
The Story is not what I'd call an intelligent deep dive into Mario’s history. It does not create a narrative with complex and thought-provoking characterizations like the Spider-Verse Movies. It is an Illumination movie, after all, and Illumination’s track record when it comes to storytelling is abysmal compared to that of its competitors. Still, I give Illumination credit because when they are at their best, they are fun and enjoyably intoxicating to the point that they can bring out the little kid in me. Thankfully, “The Super Mario Bros Movie” is one of their very best, not in terms of storytelling, but how much fun it is based on its tone and wacky pacing. The opening scenes with Mario and Luigi in Brooklyn start shaky and awkward. However, once the film goes to the mushroom kingdom, the movie becomes a fun and colorful ride. I realize that every plot point and side quest is an excuse to put in as many Super Mario and Nintendo references as possible. Still, I didn’t mind because the pacing kept me engaged all the way through with a smile as the film jumped from one memorable Super Mario location to another. Many reviewers have complained that Mario and Luigi being separated through most of the film was disappointing. It's not a problem that I obsess with, but keeping the brothers together would have made a difference for the film to be about their journey as a duo. It would have made the final moments with them saving the day even more special. You can call this story Mario references the film, but I still enjoyed it as a Super Mario fan myself. I can easily forgive the movie’s lack of deep storytelling as this is a film to just lay back, have lots of fun, and not think too hard about its flaws.
The Characters are fun, likable, and straightforward. It's not too indifferent to how they are perceived in the games. Because they are simplified, they may need more complex emotions. Still, the performances from each celeb playing the characters help bring them to life uniquely. Chris Pratt playing Mario himself was, at first, a weird choice. When they came out, the trailers did not sell most people on Pratt playing the famous plumber as he did not sound close to his video game counterpart. When I saw the film, Pratt’s Brooklyn accent was not as distracting as it could have been. I eventually bought him as Mario, even if it took a little convincing. Charlie Day plays Luigi, and it's almost perfect how he embodies the scared and timid persona very well. I just wish I could see him flex his voice talent skills more if he had more scenes to act in. Anya Taylor-Joy plays her version of Princess Peach who is less Damsel in distress and more kick butt warrior. I enjoyed this version of Peach even if her strong woman character was a little bland at points. The best character in the movie is the Koopa King, Bowser, played by the talented Jack Black. Black’s performance as Bowser is so good; half the time, I could not tell it was him. Black even pulls off Bowser's threatening but lovesick nature and can switch between both sides at a turn of the dime. Other notable character mentions include Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Even the voice of Mario Luigi and many others in Super Mario Video games, Charles Martinet, makes a few cameo appearances. I gotta hand it to Illumination; they sure did pick some good celebrities to voice these iconic characters. They differ from their video game counterparts in some ways, but they are still exciting.
The Animation is one of the best things this film has going for itself. Illumination is notoriously known for cutting corners with its visuals to save money, which can end with characters and some backgrounds looking cheap at points. I understand it is a style choice and I'm okay with that, but man, what they did for the Mario movie, it looked like they threw all their money into making the Mushroom Kingdom and its subsidiaries look as appealing and wondrous as possible. The stuff that happens in Brooklin when the film starts is honestly okay; it seems like every typical illumination film. Everything changes once the fantastical world of the Mushroom Kingdom and many other wondrous Super Mario locations come into play. The way the world is set up, with its many iconic Mario platforming blocks and pipes, is creative and fun. Visual nods to Mario’s past and present will be shown throughout. Some camera shots are made to look like the video game quite literally, and power-ups are used quite commonly in this universe without much explanation. One momment you may find yourself at jungle kingdom battling donkey kong, the next moment you’ll be zooming on the iconic rainbow road with crazy looking go karts. The character designs remain true to the video game counterparts and even the hyper detail of things such as hair dont distract from making the characters look too uncanny. This is Illumination's best looking film to date and all the money they threw into the visuals is clearly present on the screen.
The Music is composed by Brain Tyler known for being the composer for a majority of the fast and furious films and also co composed the score for Avengers Age of Ultron alongside the legendary Danny Elfman. The film has some lovely and fun orchestral compositions that are remixes of Super Mario Bro’s Music from all the video games Mario has been in. There is even a song called Peaches that Bowser sings that is admittedly very hilarious. However, it is very offputting that the film would also include random old 80’s songs into the soundtrack as if the creators feared the orchestrated score would not hold a child’s attention. If the movie stuck to the orchastred soundtrack the film would be better off for it. The inserted 80’s songs are not awful as they don’t overstay their welcome, but if it came down to it, an fully orchastred movie with nothing but mario themed music would have been a much better choice in the long run.
Let me make it clear and say that "The Super Mario Bros Movie" is far from a perfect movie. Its not a movie meant to challenge you or leave you something deeper to think about by the time you stop watching the film. It's a film that is meant for audiences to have as much fun as possible while reminding fans of Super Mario why they fell in love with the video games in the first place. This is not a game changer for Illumination, but it is the most fun I’ve had with an Illumination film since Despicable Me 2. Given their track record before this movie came out surly is saying a lot cause most of their films beforehand haven’t been awful, they just have been disappointing. The story is still pretty basic, but the likable characters matched by their talented cast and beautiful animation with the occasional expertly orchestrated music track make this movie a dream come true for Mario fans just like myself. I frankly didn’t care that this film was just “Mario references the movie,” This is honestly what video game adaptations strive to be and Nintendo made a right enough call to give Illumination a shot to bring Super Mario to life.
(Final Grade: B)