As movies continue to come back into the mainstream and create consistent turnouts and profits at the Box Office in 2023, more and more studios are taking chances with different types of IP. Universal Pictures has produced some of the biggest surprises and Box Office hits of the year with projects that are unique and original in some cases. Recently after its announcement in 2018 after a meeting with the founder of Illumination studios Chris Meledandri, Nintendo (being cautious after the mess that was the 1993 Super Mario Bros movie) agreed to collaborate and produce an animated movie based on the Super Mario Bros.
Even before the movie was put into production there were many different reactions to the voice cast and who they hired to portray arguably the most famous video game character of all time. The world-famous Italian plumber himself, Mario, would be voiced by Chris Pratt. I didn’t necessarily have any issues with this and after seeing the movie it makes more sense as to why he was cast in the role. Rounding out the rest of the famous characters from the Mushroom Kingdom is Charlie Day as Luigi (perfect choice), Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong (could have been better), Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, and the biggest surprise in the movie for me, Jack Black as Bowser. Not to say that the cast didn’t try but Jack Black was just bringing everything to Bowser, especially with an original song that has gone viral that was one of the biggest surprises in the movie.
The story is straightforward as Mario serves as the audience’s view into the Mushroom Kingdom and the rest of the beautiful world of Mario that fans like me have grown to love since we were younger playing these games. There are many references and moments that are straight out of the games from different eras, but they don’t force them over the narrative as the overall story is Mario trying to save his brother Luigi and as a result the entire Mushroom Kingdom. One aspect that must be mentioned is the approach to the score that was masterfully done by Brian Tyler, as many of the iconic themes and tracks from the games are incorporated into the score of the movie which just added to the wonderful feeling you get while watching this. Could there have been some more room for deeper character work or exploring other worlds that were just teased? Sure, but the 93-minute runtime was perfect for what they wanted to say and do. There’s a reason that the movie had the biggest worldwide opening for an animated movie, it was a simple story, the characters are who they are, and the tone is perfect for kids (but it didn’t feel like a kid’s movie).