“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (2023) adapts Nintendo’s video game series, “Mario,” is a reboot completely unrelated to the live action 1993 film, “Super Mario Bros,” and is the first of two movies in this franchise. Much to the dismay of those who love them, Italian American twin brothers, Mario (famous Italian American actor Chris Pratt) and Luigi (another famous Italian American actor Charlie Day), decide to bet on themselves and open their own plumbing business even though they had a steady job. They take it upon themselves to fix a water main break in their hometown, Brooklyn. During the repairs, they get separated and transported to other realms: the Mushroom Kingdom, which is populated with mushroom people, and the Dark Lands, which Bowser (Jack Black), King of the Koopas, rule. Determined to rescue his brother, Mario goes to the Mushroom Kingdom’s ruler, Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), the only other human being in the land, for help so she recruits him to fight Bowser, who is planning to invade Mushroom Kingdom and the other realms. Will the brothers be able to save everyone and prove that they did the right thing when they chose to stop playing it safe? It is still the highest grossing video game movie ever with “A Minecraft Movie” (2025) coming in second. Well, it is better, and it explains the impending release of the second film in the franchise, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” (2026).
At a certain point, does a person have to be famous to voice a character if their voice is not distinctive? Luigi fans need to brace themselves because the green outfitted twin is barely in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” It is the Mario show because the red dressed twin is braver and hears the call to adventure. The goal of the story is to vindicate their seemingly foolish life choices and prove to themselves and everyone in their neighborhood that they can make it though based on their first plumbing job, failure will not be for lack of skill, but external factors that complicate their lives unexpectedly. Apparently, they are plumbers out of love for the game or the fame because they never struck a deal with the City of Brooklyn before getting down to business with that water main break. This thread takes a backseat once they leave Brooklyn, and it becomes a standard save your sibling operation with a seed planted that they are better together, which pays off like a Redwood tree in the final act. It is frustrating that Brooklyn was in crisis then when the water disappears, it is never revisited.
The other realms follow the usual rule of goodness correlates with looks. The residents of the Mushroom Kingdom are small, adorable and deeply unserious except for Toad (Keegan-Michael Kay), who decides to help Mario in his quest because they have similar temperaments. It is obvious that in the next movie, Princess Peach’s mysterious origins will be explored. Princess Peach usually appears as a standard pink princess, but she goes through a few costume changes, which includes carrying a spear and wearing more suitable attire for battle. She has a standard trope storyline, fighting for the helpless against a bully who underestimates her and considers her a supporting character with no autonomy. There is no love story though Bowser thinks there is. At most there is light flirting with Princess Peach ignoring Mario’s legal name and dubbing him Moustache. She is just psyched to meet another human being although if she never saw one, how does she know that term?
While it is impressive to watch the animated figures engage in the antics that their pixelated, two-dimensional, angular counterparts did whether on a construction site in Brooklyn or a training area in the Mushroom Kingdom, the story is a fairly standard adventure story with little to hang your hat on until Princess Peach appears. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” really feels like the Princess Peach show, and in modernizing their approach to the damsel in distress, which is welcome, she becomes far more compelling to watch. While Taylor-Joy is a great actor, it is the animation that makes Princess Peach compelling because the image contrasts her fighting spirit though perhaps everyone’s expectations need to change considering that Princess Peach is far from the first feminine character to kick ass. In the final battle, when she decides to let Mario turn the tide instead of using the tool that gives them an advantage herself, narrative-wise, it becomes obvious that though the movie lives and breathes on her shoulders, the game is understandably rigged to bring it back to the titular characters, especially Mario, regardless who actually fuels the fun.
Bowser is a surprisingly standard old-fashioned bully. He wants to marry Princess Peach, but instead of getting to know her and becoming a decent person, his default setting is to conquer lands and make her marry him. If there were railroad tracks, he would probably tie her on them, but she is too fearsome for him to have the opportunity. For him, this is love, and he will kill anyone who stands in his way, including her, so “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is a documentary about red pillers. The Koopas are like turtles, so their shell resembles armor. The Dark Lands is very Tolkien villain-esque in its depiction and is the spooky part. When Koopas die, their bones are still alive, and they become reanimated. Bowser’s indomitable presence is established early when he faces off against the Penguin King (Khary Payton) in a frigid kingdom. The opening scene establishes his modus operandi when he fights. For some reason, Bowser can breathe fire like a dragon and is larger than his followers. Though likable, Black can be very annoying, but not here. His voice is unrecognizable though upon reflection, who else could sing serious silly songs in the vein of Meatloaf. See Bowser can play the piano, but no one will mistake “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” for a musical even with a plethora of needle drops
The rules of this universe are the rules of the game and are fairly easy to follow, but “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” does not leave anything to chance. As Princess Peach trains Mario, their dialogue explains it anyway. Also, during a necessary detour to the Jungle Kingdom before heading to the Dark Lands, a duel between Mario and Donkey Kong (Seth Rogan), a character who has his own Nintendo video game series, shows the rest of the rules for those still in the dark. Most of the humor lands in the Jungle Kingdom, which is not surprising considering Rogan’s presence. It seemed like a setup that Donkey Kong and Mario would become odd couple best friends. It also establishes that being a good fighter is not about brawn, but brains, which puts Mario at an advantage, and Mario is the hero. All roads must lead to his validation, which is the feature and the flaw of the movie.
No adult needs to see “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” unless they want to. It gets better as it approaches the end. It feels like a MCU movie when they were soup to nuts good instead of just patchy. It is basically full of empty calories and simple enough so anyone can follow it. The people feel realistic in terms of the impression that they make whereas the various creatures from the kingdoms are one-dimensional. There are lots of hilarious Easter eggs such as an antique shop in the Mushroom Kingdom with the owner telling a potential customer to blow in the cartridge. If you know, you know. The twins’ commercial was period perfect. Side note: my favorite character is Lumalee (Juliet Jelenic).
