The Super Mario Bros. Movie
★★★★
Mild Spoilers
Directed by Aaron Horvath
Written by Matthew Fogel
Another surprise of the year, especially with all the dire warnings from critics that this was going to be godawful. It’s not even close. I didn’t just like the film - I loved it! But there’s a catch. If you’re not familiar with the games at all - knowing what they are isn’t enough; at the very least you have to had played them before - you’d be confounded by all the love this vanilla Hollywood animated flick is getting. But to Super Mario Bros. fans, this is not vanilla at all. There is genuine love for the games on display here; from the use of iconic musical cues to the integration of actual gameplay into the action sequences. Weaved into all that is a relatable story about two down-on-their-luck Italian-American plumbers who find their calling when they become heroes in a magical world found under the sewers of New York. It was a good call not to do this as live action, as the animation design is almost indistinguishable from the latest iteration of the Mario or Mario-adjacent video games, making the game-to-movie transition basically seamless.
Next, let’s address the elephant in the room. Chris Pratt, who was controversially cast as Mario (for some reason), is actually not bad here. I also didn’t once think that Mario sounded like Starlord, Owen Grady or Andy from Parks and Recreation. The rest of the cast did a good job too, among them are Charlie Day (as Luigi), Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), and Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), but it was Jack Black’s Bowser that stole the show. Actually, that isn’t entirely true. There is another scene stealing character that I suspect is going to be a big meme star after this, but I’ll let you discover that one yourself.
The movie is also loaded with many references and Easter eggs not just to Mario games but also to other Nintendo games. You can find some of this already listed on the IMDb trivia page. As of this writing, it has not mentioned about Charles Martinet who was the first to voice Mario in the games, who I think made an appearance in the movie because 1) I heard his voice, and 2) his name is listed on the movie’s IMDb cast list.
EDIT (13 April 2023): I forgot to mention about the very well-depicted brotherly bond between Mario and Luigi, which led to an unexpected emotional catharsis in the end. So, there IS a story here, one with heart. Not a 1UP heart, but better. I suspect people who said there was no story here was just not relating to that relationship, but I have two brothers myself so this did connect with me. I wonder if it’s the same for anyone else who are close with their siblings.
Overall, this is a solidly enjoyable adaptation of a beloved video game that will please fans and befuddle everyone else. It’s funny, fun and faithful to its source material. Stay on for the end credits scene, but it’s minor enough to skip over and ask someone else about it later if you needed to leave right away.