I got a Nintendo for my tenth birthday, and from then on, I was a die-hard video game nerd. Much of the reason for my gaming addiction was because of Super Mario Bros. (and then later, Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3). After the disastrous 1993 adaptation starring Bob Hoskins, I didn’t think anyone would attempt to make another movie based on the property again. Thanks to Illumination Entertainment and directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, The Super Mario Bros. Movie should be a blast for fans of all ages.
Now, anyone who wasn’t practically born with a Nintendo controller in their hand or isn’t under the age of ten will probably remain befuddled by all this. The Super Mario Bros. Movie isn’t out to court new fans or win over critics. It’s a nostalgic, fast, and fun tribute to one of the greatest video game icons of all time.
Mario (the voice of Chris Pratt) and Luigi (the voice of Charlie Day) are a pair of plumbers who start their own business. On their first day on the job, they are sucked down a pipe and wind up in the Mushroom Kingdom. The evil Bowser (the voice of Jack Black) wants to marry Princess Peach (the voice of Anya Taylor-Joy) and take over the kingdom. When he kidnaps Luigi, it’s up to Mario and the Princess to rescue him.
The only real change from the video games is that Luigi is the one who is captured by Bowser instead of the Princess. I guess they had to make at least one 21st century concession. Fortunately, turning the Princess from a damsel in distress to a capable badass who teaches Mario the ropes of the Mushroom Kingdom wasn’t such a bad idea. The only problem is that it keeps the brothers apart for the bulk of the picture. This is really my only qualm about the movie. Thankfully, once they are reunited, they kick ass like only the Mario Bros. can.
One of the best sequences is when Mario is forced to fight Donkey Kong (the voice of Seth Rogen). It’s scenes like this that breathlessly capture the fun of the games and remind us why we fell in love with them in the first place. My favorite part though was the extended Mario Kart sequence that plays like a kid-friendly version of Mad Max. The action in this sequence is fast-paced and fun. If you’ve ever played Mario Kart, you’ll enjoy seeing it fleshed out and projected bigger than life on the big screen. The score is great too as the orchestrated versions of the familiar and beloved Mario themes sound like a million bucks.
The film is also rife with Easter eggs and in-jokes for Mario fans. Horvath and Jelenic were also the ones responsible for the terrific Teen Titans GO! series, and this flick shares a lot of that show’s anarchic DNA. Hopefully, they’ll return soon with a sequel. I can’t wait to see what they’ll have up their sleeves next time.
the words "Teen Titans Go" and "terrific" do not belong in the same sentence, the show is godawful obnoxious trash that treats kids like idiots and craps all over the far superior original series(the film was OK though).
ReplyDeleteas for this film it was fine but not as good as the Sonic movies(I always more of a SEGA fan as a kid and didn't get into Nintendo until fairly late in my life).
I personally enjoyed the 1993 film and wouldn't call it "Disastrous" at all, honestly I found it more interesting then this film, which didn't really surprise me in any way, it was pretty much exactly what I expected from an animated adaptation. I always thought the games were fine but not as memorable as Sonic and I lost interest in the games about a decade ago so that would explain my lukewarm reaction to the film.