Illumination (of Minions fame) and Nintendo developed the Super Mario Bros animated film. It was released in North America on April 5, 2023 and in Japan on April 28, 2023
I watched the new Super Mario Bros movie this weekend, and it was a blast!
I went into my viewing of the movie unsure of what to expect because people everywhere are divided on whether it’s good or not. I’ve heard people complain that the film has a thin story or that it’s just fan service to fanboys. But, on the other hand, I’ve also heard people say that’s what’s so good about it.
I’m a fanboy, I look for the positives in everything, and I like most movies, so I figured I’d like it. And I did! That doesn’t mean everything in this movie was great…but a lot of it sure was.
The Story
The movie is an animated adaptation of the classic video game franchise, starring Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. And, of course, you get Rogan’s trademark laugh here, which is hilarious coming out of DKs mouth.
The movie starts with Mario and Luigi starting their own plumbing business in Brooklyn. And this is real Brooklyn, not the Nintendo universe, which was very interesting. Humans don’t even know that these video game universes exist. And that’s interesting, too, because Nintendo exists in this world (Mario plays Kid Icarus on his NES in one scene), but the Super Mario cast of characters isn’t a part of it. And the old Donkey Game arcade game is renamed Jump Man, which I’ve since learned was the original name for Mario before he got his official name.
Mario and Luigi find themselves in the sewers of Brooklyn trying to save the city from a plumbing disaster when they fall and break through a wall where they discover a hidden area of the sewers. In this area is a warp pipe where they’re sucked in, and so begins their adventure. Mario is transported to the Mushroom Kingdom, but Luigi is taken to Bowser’s Dark Lands. And that leads to the movie’s main storyline; Mario, Toad, and Princess Peach team up to help Mario save his brother and stop Bowser from overtaking the Mushroom Kingdom.
The Music of Super Mario Bros
The movie’s score was composed by Brian Tyler, who is most known for the scores of films such as Fast & Furious and various films in the Marvel cinematic universe. For Super Mario Bros., Tyler was guided by Koji Kondo, the legendary composer behind most of the Super Mario games, but only loosely. Kondo has said that he wanted Tyler to have creative freedom. As a result, Tyler used at least 130 songs from Super Mario games, but these songs aren’t retro. Instead, they were remixed and modernized to fit the musical tastes of today. And the result is a fantastic musical journey that matches the mood and tone of each scene. The score is full of familiar themes and motifs from the games but also introduces some new and original melodies that fit well with the movie’s story.
Check out this video if you want to hear a comparison of every musical reference from the movie to the games they were pulled from.
The movie also features a few licensed songs, such as “No Sleep till Brooklyn” by Beastie Boys, “Take On Me” by A-ha, and “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. Licensed music was used sparingly, though. It was used so infrequently that it almost felt out of place. But it added some extra flavor and energy to the movie.
The 2023 Super Mario Bros animated movie score was done amazingly well. Brian Tyler captured the essence and spirit of the Super Mario games while also giving the classic tunes a fresh and modern twist.
The Main Cast
- Chris Pratt as Mario
- Charlie Day as Luigi
- Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach
- Jack Black as Bowser
- Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
- Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
- Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong
- Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike
- Charles Martinet as Mario and Luigi’s Father/ Giuseppe
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek
- Khary Payton as the Penguin King
- Juliet Jelenic as Lumalee
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The Best Scenes in the Super Mario Bros Movie
There are so many great scenes in this movie, especially for anyone with deep familiarity with the games, but you don’t need to be a Nintendo World expert to have fun, although that certainly makes it better.
Level 1-1
Early on in the movie, Mario and Luigi are rushing to a plumbing job. Their van broke down, so they’re running on foot. The scene turns into a side-scrolling replica of level 1-1 from the first Super Mario Bros game as the brothers run and jump through obstacles in a construction site. This scene was so much fun.
The Mario Training Course
In this telling of the story, Princess Peach is a badass. She can take care of herself. And Mario is just an average human. So before they head out to Bowser’s Kingdom, Peach puts Mario through a training course, which takes him many (MANY) tries before he gets it right. You’ll recognize many pieces from earlier Mario games here, like fire bars, falling blocks, and Bullet Bills.
Rainbow Road
You can’t have a Mario Bros movie without Rainbow Road! In this scene, Mario, Peach, Toad, Donkey Kong, and the Kong army travel to the Dark Lands to fight Bowser, but they’re ambushed by Bowser’s army first. This battle was great! The sound of the turtles being used as weapons was so funny. And the inescapable blue turtle from Super Mario Kart was a fun touch.
Bowser’s Dungeon
A Luma creature locked up in the dungeon, which you might remember from Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii, constantly talks about how much he wants to die. For the Luma, death is pleasurable. It yearns for death. And if you remember the game, the Luma species gleefully sacrifice themselves to save the galaxy. This scene is hilarious because this little Luma sounds so childlike and innocent yet cheerfully speaks about things so dark.
Bowser’s Song “Peaches”
Jack Black is known for writing and performing the best comedic music in the films he’s in, and he’s done it again with Bowser’s love ballad to Princess Peach. Clearly, the audience loved it as much as I did because his song “Peaches” made it into the Billboard top 100.
A Few of My Favorite Easter Eggs
- Bob-omb sits down and bumps a turtle, which then bounces back and forth between him and the end of the chair.
- The original Super Mario Bros. Super Show theme song used in Mario and Luigi’s TV commercial
- Mario jumps from a mushroom platform and does his signature spin from Mario 64
- When Peach floats down from the training course like she does in Super Mario Bros 2
- The website and phone number (929-55-MARIO) from the Mario Bros commercial actually work. The phone number will give you a fun recording.
There Are Lots of Great Things About This Movie
The movie is full of humor, action, and nostalgia. All the actors do a great job of bringing the iconic characters to life. The film also pays homage many times over to the original games, with plenty of references to power-ups, enemies, levels, and music. This movie is like an ultimate movie easter egg hunt, with easter eggs hidden all over.
The CGI is impressive, especially in the battle scenes and in closeups of Bowser and Donkey Kong. The movie also has a fun ending-credits scene that I won’t spoil here, but it sets up a potential sequel that I’m looking forward to.
And I loved that they gave Peach a significant role here. She talks, fights, and has a real personality. And rather than a damsel in distress, she’s a badass warrior princess who leads the battle with Mario and Toad.
But There Are Some Flaws Too
The movie isn’t perfect, though. Some jokes are a bit cheesy or childish, and some are just not funny at all. Some of the plot points are a bit rushed or contrived as well, such as the forced mention of Diddy Kong. There’s also not much story. Somewhere in the movie’s last half, I started to get bored, but my interest picked up again before the end. There’s not a lot of character development, either. The writers seemed to do the bare minimum to explain the characters, but not enough to make you care about any of them.
The movie also deviates from some of the established lore of the games, which might annoy some hardcore fans. For example, Cranky Kong is portrayed as Donkey Kong’s dad, but old-school gamers might remember that Donkey Kong Jr. is DK’s dad. Donkey Kong is Cranky’s grandson. DK Jr. practically disappeared from Nintendo’s games after the NES game, so perhaps they felt it was easier to pretend he never happened.
A Fun and Entertaining Movie
Overall, the movie is a fun and action-packed ride that will appeal to both fans and newcomers of the Super Mario Bros franchise. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s not a flop like the 1993 live-action movie, although I loved that movie too. If you’re not looking for a memorable story but want to have some fun, you’ll enjoy it.
I give this movie a solid 8 out of 10 stars. You’ll like it if you’re looking for a good time, lots of continuous action, and a ton of inside jokes and nostalgia.
And be ready to leave wanting to play some Mario. Because you definitely will.
Image Attributions:
- Chris Pratt by Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Charlie Day by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Anya Taylor-Joy by Patrick Lovell, CC BY Attribution-Share Alike 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Black by Stefan Brending, CC BY Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons
- Keegan-Michael Key by Gage Skidmore, CC BY Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons
- Seth Rogan by Stephen McCarthy/Collision via Sportsfile, CC BY Attribution 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons
- Fred Armisen by Peabody Awards, CC BY Attribution 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sebastian Maniscalco by PACK EXPO, CC BY Attribution 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Martinet by Super Festivals, CC BY Attribution 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons
- Kevin Michael Richardson by Gage Skidmore, CC BY Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons
- Khary Payton by AndrewTheLogoMaker, CC BY Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons