While Illumination Animation’s outing is certainly better than the clunker that came out in the 90’s, does it do enough to satisfy both the younger audience and older nostalgic fans?
Quick Synopsis
The Super Mario Bros. Movie features Brooklyn plumbers / brothers Mario and Luigi striking out on their own. After a recent failure on the job, their world is turned upside down by a mysterious portal to the Mushroom Kingdom, separating the two. Learning about Bowser and his plans for domination, Mario pledges to help Princess Peach and crew to save their kingdom and get his brother back.
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Chris Pratt Casting
While the casting of Chris Pratt was controversial, there’s certainly been Hollywood productions with more drama behind-the-scenes or during the press tours (like last Fall’s Don’t Worry Darling‘s whole debacle). I’m not here to talk about whether you should like Pratt as a person, only if he and the rest of the cast did a good job portraying beloved video game characters. And the answer is…
Sort of…yes, I realize that’s not satisfying, I’ll explain.
A Byte of Both
Choosing Pratt makes a lot more sense when you consider that Mario’s Italian accent (typically voiced by long-time French voice actor Charles Martinet) while adorable, might have worn thin throughout a feature length film. Sure, it’s an iconic sound no doubt, but hearing that same sound for 2 hours straight trying to talk and deliver dialogue might have been a bit much. That said…
He didn’t bring a lot to this performance.
Pratt did a much better job in the Lego movies, where his natural comedic tone and energy matched Emmet really well. When you hear that voice and the character’s style / motivations, it syncs really well. With his rendition of Mario, it’s not that it’s bad, it’s just okay. That may leave the haters that were eager for meat to chew on disappointed, but Pratt’s performance is honestly not the reason this movie isn’t a knock out.
I can’t say the same for Jack Black. His experience voice-acting at DreamWorks for the Kung Fu Panda movies pays off here for his part as Bowser. He’s menacing, enjoying and eating up every line, and the song he sings in the middle of the movie is just perfect. I suspect these are the type of moments kids will eat up and eventually become memes and gifs going forward about Bowser’s unhealthy obsession with Princess Peach…speaking of which…
Anya Taylor Joy’s Princess Peach has a lot to do in this film which keeps the damsel-in-distress trope in the rearview mirror. While she’s eventually captured by Bowser, it feels refreshing seeing her as an active matriarch, choosing to go with him to save her kingdom from annihilation, instead of the paper thin reasoning we usually get. Up until and after that point, she’s actively working with Mario to defend the realm instead of resting on her laurels. The movie benefits from this creative change which is something I’m told Joy advocated for, before even taking the role.
Charlie Day as Luigi was a really solid choice. He plays the scared, bumbling brother very well and has a few solid moments to showcase this when Luigi gets separated. I would have liked him to have more to do in the middle section of the film, which I’ll get into later. For the moments he had though, it was a great performance and one of the stronger points of the film.
Rounding out the main cast are Seth Rogen’s Donkey Kong and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and both are fine in these roles for different reasons. Rogen does a serviceable job, but adds no real affectations to Kong, so some of the moments just fall flat. Toad…doesn’t get enough screen time so Key, like Charlie Day, is mostly wasted. Also, I honestly thought a different actor was playing Toad based on how he sounded so either the sound designer really tweaked his voice too much to be recognizable – which is fine I suppose – or Key really has that voice in his repertoire, in which case, he should be applauded.
A Very 2-D Adventure
Despite a well-staffed voice cast, they can’t overcome the flaws this story has and frankly pales in comparison to other movies that were more imaginative in their offerings, like Pratt’s previous outings in the Lego movies, Wreck-It Ralph, or even recent DreamWorks’ sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. I can already hear the common defense for this sort of mediocrity starting to leave your lips with phrases like “it’s just for kids” or “videogame movies are always bad”.
I will avoid a whole rant, but I will say this succinctly: those are not good defenses or a good look. It cheapens the whole affair and lets mediocre or simply repugnant works rake in some money before anyone realizes how bad the story actually is. It’s okay to expect more out of our media and have a healthy dialogue about how elements of the story or presentation didn’t work for us.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Credit: Illumination Animation
The Kong storyline, while fun and enjoyable, is a set of characters too many when the movie is trying to introduce Mario and Luigi, throw them into the Mushroom kingdom, establish motivations for Peach and Bowser, and there’s more I haven’t even gotten to yet. Giving the story more time to breath with Mario and Luigi as they navigate the Mushroom kingdom would give us a better feel for their relationship, especially since it’s a critical plot point later in the film.
The saving grace is despite that draw down on the arcs, the story is simple enough, the motivations familiar enough that it won’t affect children’s viewing experiences. But parents will likely be bored for decent sections of this film as a result since that lack of depth is missing.
Treasure Trove of Easter Eggs
I honestly couldn’t keep track of every single joke or mention that was either spoken or tucked away into the background of shots. It felt like how Wreck-It Ralph had very obvious jokes throughout the entire movie and then tons of extras stored throughout the experience. I’m sure fans will have years to pour over this film and really extract how many references have been left there for them to enjoy.
What’s impressive about many of the more obvious Easter eggs or references is that they don’t disrupt the flow of the film. Like the Dungeons and Dragons movie last weekend, it features nods to the fandom in ways that won’t alienate first-time viewers or people who don’t participate in the games.
There’s way too many to list out here, but I will note that my favorite is how different scenes incorporated dynamics across different Mario games, like in classic NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) Mario games where he side-scrolls in 2D, the perspective of a gamer when you have to try a level over and over again in order to succeed, or little nods to how the carts in Mario Kart games work. Those create signature feeling scenes that fans can pour over for days without, again, being alienating to the casual fan.
Conclusion
The Super Mario Bros. Movie isn’t going to wow you; there are moments and call backs that are going to stand out that we’ll be joking and talking about afterwards, but the lack of depth in key character areas are the main thing holding it back from being a classic, especially when compared to its animation counterparts.
Score: 7 out of 10
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Love Nerd Union? Consider supporting us over on Patreon. You’ll get access to early access articles, commercial-free video essays, online discussions and more. Plus, you will be directly responsible for supporting journalism in a field that’s currently being overwhelmed by clickbait focused sites. Supporting us keeps the lights on but it also sets a standard to sites in our field about fair wage practices, citing sources, debunking unconfirmed sources, and helps us investigate stories better. If you want to hear more about our goals and updated ethical standards as a site, you can check out our Editor’s Letter later this month.
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