There are few gaming icons so immediately recognisable as Mario. Having been around since 1981 as ‘Jumpman’ in Donkey Kong, only to receive his own platforming game four years later in Super Mario Bros, Mario has well and truly endured the test of time by still being relevant in the year 2023. Nintendo have put Mario in just about every kind of game possible, conquering platformers, brawlers, racers, and sports titles. But following the disastrous 1993 live-action ‘Super Mario Bros’ film, Nintendo swore off any further Hollywood adaptations of their properties. That is, until now, and the release of Illumination’s animated ‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’. Whilst I think it’s safe to assume that it would never stoop as low as the 1993 film, does this animated outing do the long running game franchise justice?
Brothers Mario (Chris Pratt), and Luigi (Charlie Day) have recently started up their own plumbing business in Brooklyn, New York. But when the duo get sucked down a pipe they are separated in a strange land. Luigi finds himself a prisoner in a dark and fiery land ruled over by the nefarious Koopa King, Bowser (Jack Black); and Mario discovers the wonders of the Mushroom Kingdom led by the fair Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). With Bowser’s sights set on conquering the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Peach must seek the aid of Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) and his gorilla army to stand a chance in the coming war.
Brothers Mario (Chris Pratt), and Luigi (Charlie Day) have recently started up their own plumbing business in Brooklyn, New York. But when the duo get sucked down a pipe they are separated in a strange land. Luigi finds himself a prisoner in a dark and fiery land ruled over by the nefarious Koopa King, Bowser (Jack Black); and Mario discovers the wonders of the Mushroom Kingdom led by the fair Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). With Bowser’s sights set on conquering the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Peach must seek the aid of Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) and his gorilla army to stand a chance in the coming war.
Whilst I was watching The Super Mario Bros. Movie I couldn’t help but be reminded of Steven Spielberg’s 2017 Ready Player One, both for the right and the wrong reasons. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a celebration of everything the Mario IP encapsulates, and it really does feel like a celebration with each and every single element given purpose and a moment to shine. But, and it’s a big but, the film doesn’t know when to stop introducing new elements, showcasing literally everything and anything it can from the Mario games regardless of how relevant it actually is, and the result means that it feels spread a bit thin, and as though it often does things simply for the sake of giddily showing you another reference from one of Mario’s many video game outings. The biggest and most obvious of which is the inclusion of Mario Kart and Rainbow Road. Now, to be fair, it’s a great sequence, but honestly this could have been its own film, the same with the Super Smash Bros. style battle between Donkey Kong and Mario. They’re good bits, but I actually think it would have served the brand a bit better to leave these bits out for spin-off or sequel films and explore those properties deeply.
The only portion of the film I feel I didn’t resonate with particularly well was the setup. I don’t feel like Mario and Luigi needed to be New Yorkers who get transported to a magical kingdom. But there’s a decent chunk of time spent setting up their lives in New York only to then never deliver any kind of meaningful resolution to that once the duo get sucked down the pipe into the Mushroom Kingdom. For a film that’s only just over ninety minutes long it begs the question as to why bother spending so much time on that setup when ultimately it means nothing in the grander scheme of the film.
Beyond those points though I feel The Super Mario Bros. Movie does what it sets out to do pretty well. The story is quite fun, ditching the whole ‘The princess is in another castle’ cliche I was scared it was going to turn into in favour of spending basically the entire runtime building an intriguing world with interesting characters.
Mario is dealing with an inferiority complex after years of his father putting him down, and saving the Mushroom Kingdom is his chance to prove himself. Peach is a competent ruler of a completely helpless people and has finally found someone who can help her. Bowser is a tyrannical warlord who just wants to be loved. It’s all good, and it’s all fun.
I do feel as though Luigi gets side-lined somewhat, considering he spends almost the entire film locked up in Bowser’s dungeon. His character isn’t anywhere near as fleshed out as the rest of the cast, and whilst that is an unfortunate side effect of the short runtime it’s something I feel could have been avoided had the overall film been slightly more focused.
The only portion of the film I feel I didn’t resonate with particularly well was the setup. I don’t feel like Mario and Luigi needed to be New Yorkers who get transported to a magical kingdom. But there’s a decent chunk of time spent setting up their lives in New York only to then never deliver any kind of meaningful resolution to that once the duo get sucked down the pipe into the Mushroom Kingdom. For a film that’s only just over ninety minutes long it begs the question as to why bother spending so much time on that setup when ultimately it means nothing in the grander scheme of the film.
Beyond those points though I feel The Super Mario Bros. Movie does what it sets out to do pretty well. The story is quite fun, ditching the whole ‘The princess is in another castle’ cliche I was scared it was going to turn into in favour of spending basically the entire runtime building an intriguing world with interesting characters.
Mario is dealing with an inferiority complex after years of his father putting him down, and saving the Mushroom Kingdom is his chance to prove himself. Peach is a competent ruler of a completely helpless people and has finally found someone who can help her. Bowser is a tyrannical warlord who just wants to be loved. It’s all good, and it’s all fun.
I do feel as though Luigi gets side-lined somewhat, considering he spends almost the entire film locked up in Bowser’s dungeon. His character isn’t anywhere near as fleshed out as the rest of the cast, and whilst that is an unfortunate side effect of the short runtime it’s something I feel could have been avoided had the overall film been slightly more focused.
The performances from all of the voice cast are great. I was extremely hesitant about Pratt in the leading role but honestly, he kind of owns it. It’s not the Mario many grew up with, but it works in the context of the film and that’s the most important thing. Taylor-Joy was a delight as Peach, and bitingly funny in places. Day made me belly laugh on multiple occasions, which considering how little he’s actually in the film is quite an achievement. But it’s Black who steals the show with a performance that manages to refectory toe that line of funny yet intimidating. Bowser is a genuine threat in this film, he’s powerful and a capable leader, but Black also makes him extremely relatable and hilariously funny.
You can tell that The Super Mario. Bros Movie is an Illumination film just by looking at it. That being said, it leans so heavily into the art style of the games that it does look the part. So yes, everything is richly coloured, and environments are packed with detail, but character models do look simple and skin is a little rubbery.
I don’t feel that the film ever pushes any boundaries of technical prowess, but thankfully it’s fun enough to not need to rely on technical wizardry to amaze.
It’s incredibly bright and colourful though, and it is a joy to see the Mushroom Kingdom come to such vivid life on the big screen.
Brian Tyler’s score is also brilliant, leaning in heavily to the games’ iconic themes, he builds on them to create something that sounds distinctly Mario yet also worthy of a theatrical film. I wouldn’t go so far as listening to the score outside of watching the film, but it really is the glue that holds everything together because of how great and faithful it sounds.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is good fun, and I hope to see this turned into a franchise with the possibilities of spinoffs into more niche areas of the Mario-verse such as Luigi’s Mansion.
Whilst it lacks focus with its story, the film makes up for it in spades with great voice acting, an excellent score, and just a whole lot of fun. A solidly enjoyable adventure for the whole family.
You can tell that The Super Mario. Bros Movie is an Illumination film just by looking at it. That being said, it leans so heavily into the art style of the games that it does look the part. So yes, everything is richly coloured, and environments are packed with detail, but character models do look simple and skin is a little rubbery.
I don’t feel that the film ever pushes any boundaries of technical prowess, but thankfully it’s fun enough to not need to rely on technical wizardry to amaze.
It’s incredibly bright and colourful though, and it is a joy to see the Mushroom Kingdom come to such vivid life on the big screen.
Brian Tyler’s score is also brilliant, leaning in heavily to the games’ iconic themes, he builds on them to create something that sounds distinctly Mario yet also worthy of a theatrical film. I wouldn’t go so far as listening to the score outside of watching the film, but it really is the glue that holds everything together because of how great and faithful it sounds.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is good fun, and I hope to see this turned into a franchise with the possibilities of spinoffs into more niche areas of the Mario-verse such as Luigi’s Mansion.
Whilst it lacks focus with its story, the film makes up for it in spades with great voice acting, an excellent score, and just a whole lot of fun. A solidly enjoyable adventure for the whole family.