THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When you’re adapting something deeply beloved, you are swinging for the fences because you can’t guarantee success. But if you work hard enough, you might just satisfy enough people. Universal and Illumination did just that when making a much more faithful edition of Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie .
PLOT
The 2023 animated film follows the Italian American brothers Mario & Luigi who go into business for themselves as plumbers. When a water main leak occurs in Brooklyn, they hope to head to the sewers to fix it. That all changes when they sucked into a giant ‘Warp Pipe’ that takes them another dimension. The travel would separate the brothers, taking Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom ran by the peaceful Princess Peach, whereas Luigi would land in the Dark Lands ran by the evil Koopa King Bowser. Bowser wants to marry the princess and vows the destroy her kingdom with the powerful Super Star if she refuses his proposal. When he hears of humans entering the dimension, he mistakes Mario as competition and takes Luigi as prisoner. As Mario reaches the Kingdom, he meets Toad who shares the same name of his species. He tells him of being separated from his brother, this being taken to the Princess. Peach is aware that Bowser wants to attack, inspiring her to seek an alliance with Cranky Kong, ruler of the Jungle Kingdom that is populated with anthropomorphic gorillas. Mario would join Peach and Toad after overnight training to defend himself with mysterious boxes containing random power-ups. When reaching the Jungle Kingdom, Cranky Kong accepts to align under the condition if Mario can beat his son Donkey Kong in combat. The plumber pulls it off thanks to the use of power-ups surrounding the arena. The band of protagonists prepare to ambush Bowser’s army from the Rainbow Road, but it backfired when a blue shelled Koopa general destroys road. This would cause Mario & Donkey Kong to plummet into the ocean, whereas the Kong army would get captured and Peach & Toad would return to the Mushroom Kingdom, ordering for an evacuation. When Bowser arrives, the Princess accepts his proposal under the condition that the Toads are left alone. Luckily, Mario & Donkey Kong escape the ocean with a rocket and head back to the kingdom in time to stop the wedding. Just when they return, Peach rebels against Bowser by freezing him with an ice flower. Just as the protagonists free the prisoners that include Luigi and the Kongs, the Koopa King would eventually free himself and summon a ‘Bomber Bill’ to destroy Mushroom Kingdom. Thankfully, Mario is able to direct it into the Warp Pipe he came from. The bomb would go off within transportation, causing a vacuum that brings Bowser’s castle to Brooklyn. The Mario brothers would pull off defeating the king and his army by using the Super Star, which briefly makes them invincible. Once overpowered, Peach would use a blue mushroom to shrink Bowser and imprison him. The plumbing duo would be hailed a heroes by their neighborhood for their actions. Some time after this, both would now reside at the Mushroom Kingdom and continue plumbing together. The film would end in a post credits scene, showing a green spotted egg hatching.
THOUGHTS
I was very nervous about this movie becoming a reality since I was very disappointed with the 1993 live action film for being absolute garbage. So I was put in great relief on how much of a blast I had instead. The directing team of Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc & Fabien Polack pull off doing what I thought was impossible, that was making an incredibly entertaining film of this iconic video game franchise. In the 21st century, you can't deny how the visual effects are gonna clap for the animation process. What was done here was so beautiful I thought I was witnessing brand new gameplay. Whether it was a view of all the pipes or the charge on Rainbow Road, I was in awe on how it all looked. I even dug how the soundtrack was filled with 80s songs since the first Super Mario game released in the said decade. Since this movie is definitely meant for younger viewers to check out, you know this is gonna be quite funny. Whether it was Lumalee being joyfully depressed, Kamek (Kevin Michael Richardson) dressing up as Peach to help Bowser practice his proposal or the Penguins getting easily wiped out by the Koopas, it's hard to not laugh at the chaos. The more I think about it, it seems to me people have been enjoying this film the way they've enjoyed past games is because it teaches everyone to not be afraid of anything and always take on challenges head-on. Whether or not it works, giving your all will always work. We felt this thanks to the iconic sibling pair. Mario remains lovable here because Chris Pratt plays him as an everyday man. He's a humble guy who has no fear to stand up for what he believes. In this case, it's protecting Luigi no matter what. Neither anticipated encountering the Warp Pipe and it became a lot to digest for him to discover there's a whole other world under his home but it didn't stop him from doing what he thought was right. We definitely relate to Charlie Day's portrayal of Luigi whose the most visibly afraid of constant danger, but he gains his confidence thanks to having a good brother by his side. When he returned the favor by blocking Bowser's blast with a man hole and shared the power of the Super Star to kick ass together, it was extremely satisfying to behold because it represented how strong their love was for each other. Living in the Mushroom Kingdom will be a big step in their lives, but at least they get to figure it out together. The best thing about finding that big pipe was that they were able to make new friends out of very colorful characters. Princess Peach was first designed as a damsel in the distress from the original games, but Anya Taylor Joy positively changed things up by making her a very capable woman who doesn't overuse relying on others to help her. When trouble directs itself towards her, she sets herself up determined to stop it harming anyone other than herself. She's way more selfless than Mario since she was almost willing to marry Bowser for the sake of protecting the Toads, which says a whole lot about her. If she didn't have a backup plan, you would respect that decision more than you already have. And she was the only one who thought of aligning with the Jungle Kingdom, which also shows how smart she is. With Boswer imprisoned for now, the dimension she resides in will be much calmer in her hands. I really enjoyed Keegan Michael Key as Toad for having all the energy to be boldly brave. It’s so infectious to the point it’s hard to not love it. He even gave me a big laugh by having a bigger kart than Mario. The optimism he brings to the table excels what the plumber brings if not on par with it. I never put any kind of thought on who would ever play Donkey Kong, a statement I share with every character here, but I don’t lie when I say I was fond of what Seth Rogen brought to the table. He did a good job in portraying him as one whose pretty arrogant of a warrior. I honestly don’t blame him to showboat as much as possible because he really wants to impress his father. Even though he was embarrassed of losing to Mario, he relates to him off of that situation. The respect he presents to him comes from how they have the same will because they both went as far as they could to save their loved ones. While Mario got to save Luigi, DK was lucky enough to save his dad as well. The day Yoshi (the green egged hatchling) joins the gang, it’ll make things more fun than before. I wasn't sure if I was gonna like Cranky Kong, but Fred Armisen made it work. He lives up to the name by portraying him as one who just wants to get the day over with. I honestly don't blame him for acting such since he's the eldest of the kingdom he rules. He may seem dismissive for the majority of his presence, but at least he shows admiration towards his son. While there were friends made for the Mario brothers, they definitely had a lot on their plate when they unintentionally made their worst enemy. Jack Black straight up gives an all time voice performance as King Bowser. At one glance, you can straight up call him evil personified because he’s willing to go as far as he can to get what he wants. But on the other hand, you’ll be surprised to see he’s trying to capture love for himself. You’re laughing nonstop when hearing his ballad ‘Peaches’ because you’re surprised to see how deep his love for the Princess is. You want to root for him to be happy, but you can’t condone the path he chooses to go to try achieving it. The only reason I’d not mind seeing him cause trouble again would be just to see him have a follow-up ballad to further extol the love he has. I don’t kid when I say I like this film a whole lot more than I thought, but fun doesn’t excuse some issues I had upon re-watching. Going from the top, it was bold for Mario to spent his life savings on the catchy commercial. I respect the confidence but since he is really good at parkour, that should’ve been a back up plan to post online videos. It was hilarious shenanigans when he and Luigi had conflict with the clients’ dog, but I feel like they could’ve avoided it if the clients told them in advance. Knowing that makes it more confusing than not knowing the address before Luigi and they still go to the right place to work. And exactly how long has the Warp Pipe been in the underground sewers? Since there is implication that Peach came from Earth, I’m surprised there wasn’t a missing persons sign of her within the area of Brooklyn. I then wonder why didn’t Luigi consider going back to the Warp Pipe to try going back home. Sure he wouldn’t be so sure if it were to work, but it wouldn’t hurt trying. Also, why doesn’t Peach tell Mario the difference between the red and blue mushrooms? It’s funny that he finds out while fighting Donkey Kong, but it could’ve been avoided since she made time training him. And what good reason would Cranky Kong turn down an alliance? You could say it’s part of him being lazy but as a ruler, he should immediately know the benefits of an alliance. Taking a step back, why doesn't Peach take guards with her to meet Crank Kong? I like that she chooses to train Mario overnight, but he's not a one man army like Superman so reinforcements should've been a must. If you’ve played Mario Kart, you know how much I believe Blue Shell Koopas are the worst part of the game. Having said that, if it knew it was strong enough to destroy the road with one strike, why didn’t it do so immediately? The Kongs could’ve been surrounded much sooner and Mario & DK would’ve been prisoners as well. I don’t want to root for the bad guys, especially the Blue Shell Koopas, but this was a big missed opportunity. It was definitely one thing for Bowser to find out there was a shortcut, but how come Peach didn't know that? She may not travel much but she's still a leader, so she should know most shortcuts possible. It was definitely intense to see Bomber Bill chase Mario, but how was the latter faster? I know he had a head start, but I don't believe a raccoon suit would beat a sentient bullet? Lastly, I was definitely smiling when seeing the Yoshi egg at the end, but how come no one spotted it before? I can guess everyone missed it while somehow undoing the vacuum, but an egg as noticeable as that should not have been ignored. Other than that, this is still quite a good time. In short, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is one of 2023’s most entertaining films for getting audiences amused as much as possible. To any kind of gamer out there, this one is for you.
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