Movie Review: ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’

Review by James Lindorf

Nintendo is finally returning to theaters nearly 30 years to the day since the release of the live-action “Super Mario Bros.” starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo. Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures is out, and the video game titan has partnered with Illumination, home of the Minions. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” may be light on story but is big on fun and poised to be a significant family hit when it opens everywhere on April 5th.

The 1993 movie had a star-studded cast, but it may have been outdone by the assembled voice cast for directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. Mario Mario (Chris Pratt) is a plumber somewhere between 20 and 45 years old. Mario has an epic mustache and lives at home with his family, including his younger brother and business partner Lugi (Charlie Day). Amid a plumbing disaster in Brooklyn, the brothers are transported to the Mushroom World. There, they get caught up in the fight to stop Bowser (Jack Black), the King of the Koopas, from taking over the world and kidnapping the Mushroom Kingdom’s Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). With the help of new best friend Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), frenemy Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen), and his mentor and love interest Peach, the brothers might stand a chance.

Matthew Fogel’s (Minions: Rise of Gru) screenplay may be light on plot, but it is a love letter to all things Mario and Nintendo. From Mario’s start in the original 1981 “Donkey Kong” arcade game, where the mustachioed pipe-worker was simply known as “Jumpman,” to the latest entries in the Mario Kart series, it’s all here. Sharp-eyed fans and repeat viewers will undoubtedly catch a multitude of easter eggs. Such as a French restaurant named Chasse au Canard (Duck Hunt), a toadstool being told to blow on a cartridge, and “Kid Icarus” being played on a classic NES. There would be more time for a plot, but the goal seems to have been moving the characters from homage to homage, which meanders in the general direction of a story. Surprisingly the references don’t stop at the console. There are multiple similarities between this and the live-action film. There is even one scene with all the energy of Lou Albano and Danny Wells from TV’s “Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.”

One of the best things about Fogel’s script is how it incorporates game mechanics into the movie. It starts early with the brothers racing to a job and forced into a side-scrolling shot that involves jumping and ducking around hazards. To win the aid of the Kong Army, Mario must battle their champion Donkey Kong in an arena that looks straight out of a Smash Bros. game. There is a sequence where the heroes get to design a cart exactly like Mario Cart players do. That moment is followed by an action sequence on the game’s most infamous track Rainbow Road. The characters race and use items from the game to get an advantage. They occasionally jump the shark, like when a blue shell Koopa announces with a battle cry of “BLUE SHELL!” that he will shell himself for the opportunity to stop Mario. Luckily the cringe moments are few and far between and are surrounded by a kaleidoscope of color and jokes.

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” quickly earns its PG rating with a couple of intense sequences of Bowser on the attack. Luckily, the movie settles down to all ages fare after that. Kids get to enjoy the majority of the jokes and the simple story. While adults get to enjoy callbacks to memories 40 years in the making and a great soundtrack featuring songs like ‘Holding Out For A Hero’ – Bonnie Tyler, ‘Take On Me’ – A-ha, ‘Thunderstruck’ – AC/DC, ‘No Sleep Till Brooklyn’ – Beastie Boys. Even better than the collection of needle-drop songs is the use of the in-game music. There are samples of the original songs, but they have mostly been modernized and re-energized while being entirely recognizable.

There are a number of minor problems, such as the continued disrespect of Luigi for one. Peach gets updated into a total badass leaving Luigi as the film’s damsel in distress. The story is very predictable and will not save anyone who isn’t enjoying the jokes. Chris Pratt was a source of controversy when he was first announced and again when the trailer was released. He was fine, there was no problem with his performance, but I still don’t know why they didn’t pick an actor from New York. Make sure you stay for both the mid and end credits scenes. They don’t add or promise much for the future, but they are still fun little moments. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is not a perfect film, and it is more “Minions” than “Despicable Me” but made over one billion dollars, so who is to say Illumination got it wrong. If you allow yourself to get into the adventure and the humor, then there is no way you wouldn’t line up money on the ticket machine to go again when the game is over. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is a 4 out of 5 for me, and I am ready to load up the next one.

Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & family, Comedy, Adventure, Animation
Original Language: English
Director: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Producer: Christopher Meledandri, Shigeru Miyamoto
Writer: Matthew Fogel
Release Date: April 5th, 2023
Runtime: 1h 32m