“I Knew Saving Brooklyn Was a Bad Idea.”
Growing up in the 80’s, I played many of the popular original video games, and I had one of the original Nintendos. While I don’t play as many videos games today as I once did, I have followed the Super Mario franchise, which meant that I was interested when I heard that they were working on The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Then, I started to hear good things about it, which made me really want to watch it. I didn’t watch it until now, but I enjoyed it.
When we first meet Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt), he has just started a new plumbing business in New York City with his brother, Luigi (Charlie Day). Their first client doesn’t go as well as they might have hoped, but things really take a turn when they rush down to help with a problem that threatens all of Brooklyn.
That’s when they get sucked down a pipe and separated. While Luigi winds up a prisoner in the dark lands, Mario winds up in the Mushroom Kingdom, where he makes a new friend, Toad (Keegan-Michael Key). Toad is sure that Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) will be able to help, but she has concerns of her own. She’s just gotten work that Bowser (Jack Black) is coming to destroy her kingdom. Will Mario and Princess Peach be able to stop Bowser if they team up?
Those most familiar with the original games will note that they’ve changed up the premise. Originally, Mario and Luigi were trying to help free Princess Peach from Bowser. Here, she’s not a damsel that needs to be rescued but fighting alongside Mario. Of course, we’ve seen that in other games in the franchise (she was always my favorite to play as in Super Mario Bros. 2), so it’s not unprecedented.
And fans of the video games will absolutely love all the Easter eggs that are hidden in this movie. I was smiling the entire way through at things I spotted. I’m sure I missed plenty, but it was obviously made by someone who loves the games themselves and loves the fans. We also get appearances from other Mario related titles like Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, and even Mario’s first appearance as Jumping Man in Donkey Kong. As I mentioned, I played all the popular games from the 80’s, so I was thrilled they acknowledged his origin.
Having said that, I didn’t enjoy the movie quite as much as I was expecting, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. I think part of it may have been that I had seen it praised so much, I went in with expectations that were too high. I do feel like they spent a little too long with the prologue before Mario and Luigi got sucked down the pipes out of Brooklyn. I think it was also because the story was fairly predictable. That’s not always a bad thing, but I was usually a step or two ahead of the movie, and they didn’t quite have the fun twists on things they needed to make up for it.
Again, overall, I liked the film. It is a very solid four stars out of five. If you are a fan of the franchise, you absolutely need to see it.
The voice actors are all excellent. Even if I knew who was voicing the character, I was able to forget that and quickly get caught up in the story.
The animation is good as well. It perfectly captures a Mario Bros. game brought to life, which is exactly what I would want to see.
I do want to issue a warning to parents. When Luigi first lands in the dark lands, what happens to him is scary. It’s played with laughs, and it fits in with the games. If you have a child who is easily frightened, you might want to preview it yourself first. I think most kids will be fine with what happens here.
As I said earlier, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was clearly made by someone who loves the games and the history of the franchise. Fans of the games will definitely enjoy it. If you are looking for a fun animation movie, you’ll enjoy it as well.
My sister and I talked about going to see this when she visited us while we were in Escondido. We didn't but we did go up to visit Nintendo World at Universal. So. Much. Fun! She's visiting us again soon so I'm thinking we'll rent it while she's here and watch it together. She was more of a gamer than I was but we both spent more than our share of time trying to rescue Princess Peach back in the day.
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