Introduction
Hello, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is back for another adventure and today, it is time for the first big mainstream animated movie of 2023! After four months of dabbling into non-mainstream animated movies (plus The Magician’s Elephant, being the first mainstream animated movie of the year, albeit being a Netflix release), it is time to cover one of the most anticipated animated movies of 2023, The Super Mario Bros Movie!
Based on the popular Nintendo video game series from the 1980s that created one of the biggest video game empires of all time, Chris Pratt (aka Star-Lord from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Barley Lightfoot from Pixar’s Onward) voiced the titular red-hat plumber and runs the plumbing business together with his brother Luigi (Charlie Day). However, when the evil Koopa king Bowser (Jack Black) kidnaps Luigi by mistake, it is up to Mario, Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and a few other buddies to embark on an adventure across the Mushroom Kingdom to save Luigi and stop Bowser and his Koopa army from invading the Mushroom Kingdom.
While the video game series already has a live-action movie (and we don’t like to talk about it anyway), The Super Mario Bros Movie look set to be more faithful to the video game franchise, and taking the helm is Illumination Entertainment, who might take on their riskiest animated movie yet. While there been some doubts over whether this movie will deliver, especially since Mario’s video game frenemy, Sonic the Hedgehog, had two successful movies of his own.
With the stakes so high, will The Super Mario Bros Movie deliver its lofty expectations? Let’s jump into that pipe and began our adventure!
Key Information
- Directors: Aaron Horvath and Michel Jelenic
- Animation Studio: Illumination Entertainment (with Nintendo)
- Country of Origin: United States, Japan
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 6 April 2023 (In Singapore)
Trailer
The Review
Story and Characters
To kick things off, we have to talk about probably the element I am the most worried about with The Super Mario Bros Movie, and that is the story and writing.
If you had seen my previous essay about Illumination Entertainment, one of the biggest weakness with Illumination’s movies is the writing, as a majority of their movies’ stories are on a generic, if otherwise polished, side. There are issues when it comes to the writing in this movie, sadly.
For starters, considering this is Super Mario we are talking about, a lot of Mario fans will be disappointed that the story did not go far enough to capture other parts of the Super Mario universe. It is very difficult to squeeze as much story in its 90-minute runtime. Even so, I feel they could have explored a bit more into Luigi’s storyline a bit more and made the story a bit more emotionally impactful. Alas, there is only so much you can do with such a limited running time.
With that said, however, what we got in terms of the story is actually enough to have emotional weight into the movie. Yes, it follows a conventional storyline, but it is a storyline with the Super Mario Bros in it. Not only is the story well thought out, but the story captures enough of the Mario spirit that it will delight families and satisfy Mario fans alike, without being too heavy towards one side. In all, the story is easy to breeze through, but did enough to satisfy the geeks at the same time.
Also, one thing to note is that the movie has some excellent comedy! I know, this is nothing new, but given this was from the same directors that worked on Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, I was expecting some high-brow humour that plays well with the video game. Turns out, the gags and punchlines were not too over-bearing, just the right dosage of hilarious for a family film. I do not need highbrow comedy, just comedy that works like a well-oiled machine, and this movie has it.
As for characters, if you are a Mario fan or even a video game fan in general, you would be able to recognise the characters, but if you are a first-timer, then strap in! Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are two Italian-American plumbers from New York who found themselves in another world in the Mushroom Kingdom, and while Luigi is the typical unlucky brother who found himself imprisoned by the evil Bowser (Jack Black, more on him later), Mario got his own protagonist moment as he got into grips into saving the Mushroom Kingdom from invasion at the hands of Bowser’s kingdom, with the help of its princess, Princess Peach (Anya-Taylor Joy). Mario and Peach, together with Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) embark on an adventure to save their land from Bowser’s impeding invasion.
There is a lot to take in, but the point is, except for Luigi, the characters have their own character development arc while not being bogged down too much for the family audience to space out. These cast of characters are a bunch of fun, especially with Jack Black’s Bowser, who has to be the MVP of this movie. Everything about him, from Jack Black’s ‘perfect’ voice acting, to his interactions with Kamek and his love for Peach, is simply too perfect for me, and he pretty much stole every scene he was on, even if we all known what will happen to him in the end.
Also, besides Black, the overall voice acting is pretty solid, and personally, despite having some doubts, I think Chris Pratt’s voice acting as Mario was not too shabby at all! It’s definitely different from voice acting as Barley Lightfoot from Onward, but while his Brooklyn accent was showing at times, he did a good job, all things considered. Also, Anya-Taylor Joy as Peach was also great, probably because she was the only good part of Playmobil: The Movie. But let us be honest, it’s Anya-Taylor Joy, she pretty much can do anything.
Animation
Speaking of things Illumination might not be strong at, it is the animation. Again, in my previous essay, one problem I have with Illumination was how generic-looking a majority of their movies are. Thankfully, with help (and strict inspection) from Nintendo, the company that owns Super Mario, not only does Illumination showcase the next level of their animation quality, but it shows how much they truly had come from their Despicable Me days.
I will say this: the Super Mario characters blend very well with Illumination’s style of animation, having the design of the more recent Super Mario games, such as Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Odyssey. This is the most detailed animation Illumination has pushed since 2021’s Sing 2, and it was clear the animators had fun with the animation, because the quality definitely shows.
The character designs, while being pretty much the same or similar to the Super Mario games, are very distinct and faithful to the original character designs, which cannot be said for the live-action Super Mario Bros Movie from the 1990s (and the less said about it, the better). In addition, while the character designs, whether from the video game or the original designs, are similar to the video game series, they all receive the cinematic treatment, making the character details standing out even more.
Speaking of elements that stand out, the background animation might outshine the character designs. Whether it is the design of the Mushroom Kingdom, to Kong Country and Bowser’s Kingdom, there were so much detailing when you compare to the video game backgrounds, you might think Illumination was not the main animation studio behind The Super Mario Bros Movie, which is a refreshing change, I must say.
Overall, I have nothing negative about the animation; it is really amazing. Probably the best animation work from Illumination, which bodes well if they want to close the gap between them and other mainstream animation studios.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
Now for the other elements, starting with the soundtrack, composed by the legendary Brian Tyler (based on the original themes by Koji Kondo), and let me be fair, since this is Brian Tyler, there were some high expectations over the score. Boy, did he exceed!
I will be honest, the fact that Tyler gave the classic Mario themes a cinematic remake, not to mention remixing it for the 21st Century, the score accentuates the already entertaining movie to a whole new level, not to mention going as far as composing the “Peaches” song for Bowser (which has already gained cult status in social media). Honestly, it was everything I wanted from a Brian Tyler score, but even better!
Speaking of entertainment, Super Mario fans will be delighted at the many Mario-related Easter eggs, and even some Easter eggs from the non-Mario Nintendo games. Was it necessary? Probably not, but the guys at Illumination and Nintendo did it anyway to appease the already satisfied video game nerds.
And what about the level of enjoyment? If you had read through this review until that point, you might probably guess how much I was enjoying it. Sure, I did not play any of the Mario games, but I had appreciated the legacy the Super Mario franchise left behind, and even if the plot might be a bit watered down, I was enjoying this movie so much, I did not mind the weaknesses this movie has.
Conclusion
What can I say? The Super Mario Bros Movie actually live up to its hype, and in a very special way as well!
Despite a slightly incomplete story that could have taken advantage of the vast lore of the Super Mario universe, the movie is still a triumph as an introduction to those that had never played or even recognise the video game empire, and also as a great time for families and the young at heart. It has some of the most fun voice acting performances, particularly from Jack Black as Bowser, some of the best animation Illumination Entertainment had ever executed, a Brian Tyler score that went very hard with a tinge of nostalgia, and some very fun Easter eggs from Mario and non-Mario Nintendo games. Say what you will about being a sell-out of an animated movie, but this is a sell-out that has substance, fun and above all, not phone-in.
Thank you so much for reading this review. Since there is going to be slightly more than a month until the next animated movie (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) comes out, and Rally Road Racers not showing in Singapore just yet, I thought it is time to head back in time to ancient Japan for a not-so-traditional rock concert, eh? I will see you on the next adventure, and until then, k thanks bye!
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
