Review: The Super Mario Bros Movie would make a great video game

Mario. A simple name, but one that has long since become part of the collective unconscious. With his world-famous video games, the iconic Nintendo character has become more popular than John Lennon. Now Mario is coming to the big screen for the first time since his ill-fated attempt in1993, with the first Super Mario Bros. movie. If you’ve never heard of that, it’s a doozy.

Nintendo has joined forces with Illumination Studios for this new effort. Is it worth the trip down the warp pipe, or should you stick to PlayStation?

The Super Mario Bros. Movie review

The first thing I want to talk about is the voice acting. Like everyone else, I peed myself laughing when Chris Pratt was announced as the voice of Mario, and felt like my worst fears were coming true when I heard him speak in the trailers. But Pratt’s Mario is not as horrible as I feared. It sounds like he’s at least attempting an actual voice, rather than just speaking normally and claiming it’s a character.

The editing helps; the movie is missing some of the more meme-happy dialogue from the promotional materials. Would I had preferred Charles Martinet, the veteran voice actor who has played Mario for the last 30 years in the video games, voice the role? Obviously, and his cameo in the film proves he could have easily done the work, but I’m waging a long-lost battle on this point. They cast Pratt for the ticket sales, and he didn’t do as bad a job as I thought he would. That’s a compliment right?

As for the rest of the cast, they’re all pretty good, with some peaks and valleys. Jack Black as Bowser is the standout for me. He brings a lot of energy and malicious delight to his performance. He even gets to use his fantastic singing voice. Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Seth Rogen, and Keegan-Michael Key all fit their roles well. Day and Rogen are the worst at disguising their normal voices, but even so, they bring vibrancy and life to their lines.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie keeps it simple

The story of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is simple. Mario and Luigi are plumbers in Brooklyn, and an attempt to fix broken sewer pipes transports them to the Mushroom Kingdom. The trailers made it pretty clear that this movie would be an origin story, which I think was a smart move. Mario’s world is very famous, but a movie should assume the audience is going in blind. Having this be Mario’s first time in the Mushroom Kingdom also gives him a clear arc; he has to learn and grow.

Beyond that, it’s the same old story we never get tired of; Bowser is trying to destroy the world and marry Princess Peach, and Mario is there to stop him. On his quest, Mario encounters obstacles that will be familiar to fans of the games. Each scene takes place in a different, familiar setting. The movie keeps up a fast pace and hardly ever drags. It’s simple but entertaining.

I really liked the animation as well. Granted, I’m not an expert on the subject, but I didn’t notice anything too wrong with it. My main gripe is that the animation can be really fast during the action sequences such that it’s difficult to appreciate the details, but what I saw I liked.

I also enjoyed how busy the Mushroom Kingdom city was, the movement of the characters and their expressions. I particularly enjoyed the sequences that played out like a 2-D platformer. You see that early in the film as the Mario Bros travel through the streets of Brooklyn, and it returns many times to fun effect.

Speaking of creative interpretations of the source material, the music is a bit of a mixed bag, but with more chocolates than raisins. This is one aspect of the film that one can only appreciate fully as a long-time Mario player. Of course everyone will recognize the classic World 1-1 melody, and the revamped version of it in the film is very well done. Fans of the series will recognize even more tunes others might not. It’s nostalgic, but that’s not the only reasons these songs are there. They amplify the emotions of the scenes or are incorporated in an interesting way, like Bowser playing the underground theme on the piano. The fan service helps tell the story.

On the down side, Illumination can’t fight the urge to insert pop music into the film. The inclusion of songs like “I Need a Hero” or “Take On Me,” while not out of place given the context of the narrative, are disappointing. It’s a lazy option, particularly when you’re adapting a game series with so many memorable songs to use.

Well at least we got the DK Rap and the Super Mario Super Show theme song in there.

Verdict

That’s all I got on The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Would I recommend it? Well, as a Mario fan to another Mario fan, I say, hell yeah. For anyone else, I say, sure.

In either case, you won’t be seeing anything surprising, but just because it isn’t groundbreaking doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. You’ll enjoy it more if you’re familiar with the games and even moreso if you’re a nerd like me and can notice all the easter eggs, but general audiences will have no trouble getting into it either.

Mark my words, The Super Bros. Mario Movie will be the beginning of the NCU. Soon there will be a Legend of Zelda trilogy. Then a Netflix drama about the Star Fox crew, all of it leading to a Super Smash Bros. movie that puts Infinity War to shame. It is as certain as the prophecies of Nostradamus. And I’m actually kind of looking forward to it.

Grade: C

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