In hindsight, the cultural response toTheSuper Mario Bros. Moviehas been very strange. A viewer who paid no attention to the hype would come to the theater with much more realistic expectations. Unshockingly, the film is a straightforward family-friendly adventure packed to the rafters with callbacks and references. It has its upsides, but the film knows its audience and sees no reason to reach beyond it.
The Super Mario Bros. Moviecomes to the big screen courtesy of the much-maligned Illumination Studios. The directing duo of Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic was previously bestknown forTeen Titans Go!. The thing the directors have in common with the studio is that their primary creative output is both hilariously profitable and widely despised.
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When Illumination inked the deal with Nintendo to bring Mr. Video Game to the big screen for the second time, fans immediately declared the death of the franchise. The studio has made a variety of animated projects, but their biggest contribution to the cultural discourse is and will always be the shrieking yellow Rabbid-rip-offsknown as the Minions. When the ensemble cast was announced, reactions varied from hysterical laughter to solemn depression. However, when the trailers started to show off the film’s admittedly excellent animation and mostly solid voice acting, those hoping to have fun at the film’s expense had to put aside their bingo cards. Against all odds, hype began to build and fans began wondering whether the film might bring something new to the Mario franchise. Both the early doomsaying and the recent excitement were vastly overblown.
How’s the movie? So utterly by the numbers that the most interesting thing about it is still the fan reaction it created. The plot follows Mario and Luigi,enterprising plumbers from Brooklynwho quit their steady gigs to strike out on their own. This is the deepest delve into the Bros.’s home life ever put to screen. Fans meet Mario and Luigi’s parents, and their extended Italian-American family, and see their lives as mundane everyday plumbers. After a disaster, they fall down a hole, discover a big green pipe, and get forcefully fired into the Mushroom Kingdom. In one of the film’s most ill-advised decisions,Luigi is captured by Bowser, leaving Mario to spend most of the runtime saving his brother’s life. Mario will have to learn the rules of the new world, partner with the self-sufficient Princess Peach, and defeat a series of game-inspired physical challenges to get to Bowser.
There are two questions that any viewer will have to answer before determining whether they’ll enjoy this film. Are they a fan oftheSuper Mario Bros.franchiseor Nintendo games in general, and are they under the age of 12? If they check both boxes, this’ll probably be their new obsession. If they’re just a kid, they’ll likely become a Mario fan. If they’re an adult Mario fan, they’ll probably get a few hits of nostalgia and enjoy the ride. But, anyone who isn’t a child or a Mario fan won’t get much out of this film. Illumination is only looking to make new fans if those fans are also new to the concept of movies. Parents will probably have a decent enough time, but there’s better stuff out there when it comes to fun for the entire family.
The Super Mario Bros. Moviehas some obvious strengths. It’s visually immaculate, with an immense amount of detail and a constant stream of beautiful images.The animators at Illuminationdon’t always deliver jaw-dropping material, but this is easily the best-looking film ever to come out of the studio. The music is generally solid, with a lot of charming orchestral rearrangements of classic Mario mainstays. The film also drops in a couple of 80s pop classics, which are out-of-place, but tolerable. The voice acting is mostly great. Jack Black’s Bowser is even better than the trailers made it seem, complete with a musical number. Charlie Day’s Luigi is fun, Keegan-Michael Key’s Toad is charming, andAnya Taylor-Joy’s Peachjust sounds like Joy’s normal voice, but it fits. Veteran voice actors Khary Payton and Kevin Michael Richardson shine like diamonds in their small roles, demonstrating why stunt casting big names has become so unpopular among fans. And, of course, Chris Pratt’s Mario is fine. Like the rest of the movie, it’s not great, but it’s not as bad as people thought it would be.
The Super Mario Bros. Movieisn’t going to break any new ground, but it is almost certainly going to make a lot of money. The"video game movie curse"has always been nonsense, but the original Nintendo hero headlining a decent kid’s movie should finally shut the claim down for good.The Super Mario Bros. Moviewill be a favorite of many children this year, it’ll bring a smile to many longtime fans' faces, and it’ll largely be forgotten by everyone else. Mario made it to the flagpole again, enjoy the victory music.
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Mario jumps to the big screen in The Super Mario Bros Movie, directed by Teen Titans Go! collaborators Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, and more appear in this animated comedy that pits the characters in an all-new adventure set in the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond.
