The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Voices of: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Keegan Michael-Key, Kevin Michael Richardson, Khary Payton, Charles Martinet, Sebastian Maciscalco
Directed by: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
2023
Times Seen:
Tim: 2
Summary: Mario (Chris Pratt) and his brother Luigi (Charlie Day) are transported to a different realm, where they help Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) fight off the advances of Bowser (Jack Black).
Review:
Tim: I can't tell you how happy it makes me that The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a resounding success for Nintendo. This film did $574 million at the domestic box office, $1.3 billion worldwide. That's currently the 15th highest grossing film of all time domestically and 16th worldwide. That is a monumental success for Nintendo, especially given how beloved the movie is.
This result was far from a guarantee. Many still remember the maligned 1993 live action Super Mario Bros. movie (which I still recall fondly, to be honest). That failure made Nintendo wary about the movie business, and so decades later, their incredible video game series have rarely every been turned into movies. So, we have no Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, or a dozen other potential movies. This film shows that when done right, Nintendo could easily own the box office, too. The other thing that potentially could have prevented this movie from succeeding is Illumination. I've long been a vocal critic of Illumination. I think their movies are universally garbage. Outside of the Sing movies, I don't think they have made a single good animated film. Think about that for a second. So, when I heard Nintendo was partnering with this disappointing studio, I was worried. Thankfully, those fears were unfounded. I'm not sure how they did it, but Illumination delivered by far their best movie. Any way you look at it, this movie is one of the great success stories of 2023.
I may not love everything about this film (it's not quite a great movie), but it does almost everything well. The animation is beautiful- this world that I've played in video games for decades comes to vivid, memorable life on screen. The bright colors, the inclusion of so many video game Easter eggs- it all just feels like a delight to watch. I had a blast looking for all the tiny video game connections and callbacks throughout this film. Whether that's Punch Out, Wrecking Crew, Balloon Fight, or the many others, it was so cool to see how this film incorporated Nintendo's history into the story. This feels like a movie packed with nostalgia and I was totally there for it.
The story is good. It follows the expected path that a Mario origin story would tread. It doesn't offer a ton new, but it's fun to see it on screen. We see how Mario and Luigi come to the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser is out for destruction, but he also loves Peach. The sham wedding from Super Mario Odyssey is carried over to this film, which I suppose makes sense. The idea to incorporate the Jungle Kingdom and the Kongs was a nice bonus- I wasn't originally expecting that, but it makes good sense within the context of this film. The incorporation of the various power-ups, the sound people make when they are injured, the kart sequence- this movie rips so many things directly from the video games, but weaves it into the story here. It was a delight seeing all the video game connections throughout this movie. The story is a bit predictable, but that was okay, given this is the first animated Mario movie. I'm really excited to see where the sequels go.
The voice cast is mostly great. I suppose I'll start with Chris Pratt. I know fans were up in arms- why not just have Charles Martinet voice Mario? I love that Martinet got to voice Mario's dad (seeing their family was a cool expansion of the characters), so Martinet still got to play a role here. I didn't love Pratt's Mario voice, but I suppose it was fine. I think multiple other actors could have done a better job, but it didn't actively hurt the movie. Still, Pratt is more of a liability, easily the worst casting choice of the film. Anya Taylor-Joy was excellent as Peach. I absolutely love what this movie did with her- she's not a damsel in distress, she's a strong and incredibly cool character. That is so important for young girls everywhere. I love how Peach was depicted throughout this movie. A big reason for that is Anya Taylor-Joy. I loved what she did in her voice role. Peach emerges as one of the best characters of the film (I'd argue nearly the best) and Taylor-Joy is a big reason why. I liked Charlie Day as Luigi. Luigi has always been my favorite character in this series. I didn't love Day in this role, but I really liked him and I have no complaints.
Jack Black is a revelation as Bowser. This is such brilliant casting. Black so often plays the lovable goofball, but he has more range than people admit. He seems to love this role and his voice work is impeccable as Bowser. He brings so much humor into the role. I also have to acknowledge the brilliance of "Peaches". The song is absurd, but it grows on you. Black's performance hits all the right notes and I ended up loving this ridiculous song. Keegan Michael-Key was an inspired choice for Toad and I love how his personality emerged throughout the film. Seth Rogen was an unlikely but brilliant choice for Donkey Kong. I never expected DK to sound like that, but Rogen makes it work. Fred Armisen does nice work as Cranky. As a whole, the voice cast is so good.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie delivers some incredible sequences. One of the highlights is absolutely the kart scene. We get to see Rainbow Road and a more intense battle sequence than I would have imagined. As I watched this exciting scene, I wished the Mario Kart games could be more like this. That's pretty rare- for a movie to do something better than the source material. The wedding battle is really exciting, too. The climactic battle between Mario & Luigi vs. Bowser is really well done, too. The movie delivers multiple memorable moments throughout. I do think the film could have been funnier- I'm not sure I really laughed much (except perhaps at "Peaches"). Still, the film is wildly entertaining from start to finish.
I'm stoked that The Super Mario Bros. Movie did as well as it did, commercially and critically (for the most part). When you think about general excitement among viewers for seeing films in theaters, it definitely seems like 2023 is a resurgence. This movie is a huge reason why. We brought our whole family to the theaters to see it and my 8 year-old son and four year-old daughter loved it. I did, too. The film has some flaws, but it's the best work Illumination has ever done. It's good enough to (hopefully) open a door for Nintendo to expand into the world of cinema. With Marvel floundering in their Phase 4, we need more big time excitement in the movie world. Perhaps Nintendo will create a cinematic universe to hold our attention for the next decade.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5
If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Super Mario Bros., Sing, Sing 2