I was sceptical when this film was announced, especially when the voice cast was revealed and like everyone I was mostly fine with the cast apart from Chris Pratt voicing Mario, seemingly removing the Italian accent from the beloved Italian plumber. That casting and the fact it was being made by illumination gave me pause for concern, after Sing 2 and Minions: The Rise of Gru being pretty weak, especially compared to the good work they’d done on the Despicable Me films. However, the trailer, despite the voice work for Mario, gave me hope that it could actually be a lot of fun.
Mario and Luigi are plumbing brothers who accidentally stumble upon a pipe that sucks them down and seperates them. Mario must find Luigi who has been captured by Bowser, an evil King of the Koopas who is taking over every kingdom in his quest to get Princess Peach.
The biggest criticism of this film I’ve seen is one I can’t disagree with and is very similar to the problem I had with Minions: The Rise of Gru, which makes a lot of sense when you realise writer Matthew Fogel wrote both of these films, and it feels very much like it’s made from the same mould. Illumination have sometimes struggled with nailing the true family feeling of their films, certainly being more aimed towards the children rather than having appeal for everyone, something Pixar have had great success with, something Dreamworks have been able to achieve, and even Sony animation has had, and it’s not like Illumination haven’t ever done it, they’re able to do it with only Despicable Me films seemingly. I had hoped this wasn’t going to be the same, unfortunately it is. The plot is extremely thin, jumping at lightning speed, rarely slowing down to take a breath and hit the message of the film home. It doesn’t help when jokes don’t land and feel out of place, going for cheap obvious jokes for kids and cramming it full of references to the games, going a lot harder than it needed to. There were a couple of jokes I laughed at and moments I enjoyed, but on the whole I left knowing that the film could’ve delivered more. I certainly didn’t have a bad time, and in the end I’ve given it a positive score because it got by on the charm of using characters I love, brief good moments and nostalgia.
The casting was obviously very controversial at the time it was announced. I actually think Chris Pratt does a pretty decent job in the role, I absolutely think there’s no reason why Charles Martinet couldn’t have done it, even if you recast everyone else and just had him so he still had the Mario voice that we all know and are used to. Everyone else does an okay job, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Seth Rogen all do decent enough jobs but I think the writing then makes it feel weird, and could’ve leaned more into doing a more game accurate version. Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key are clearly the most at home in the roles and perfectly suit the roles of Bowser and Toad respectively.
The animation still is a weird mix of what we are used to from the style of Super Mario Bros world with a nice glossy face lift, but you get moments, particularly the brief time they’re in Brooklyn where it is more typical Illumination style for the surrounding characters. I appreciate that they stick to the look and design of the characters rather than trying to do something different or leaning more into the illumination style. On the whole, the look of the film is good especially once we are through the pipes and into the Kingdoms, they certainly nail the look of the games.
Overall, The Super Mario Bros Movie is a fun film for kids with decent animation and a solid voice cast which takes a little settling into, but if you’re an adult watching these as a fan you might not enjoy it and leave it wishing it was so much more than it is. Make sure you don’t miss the huge amount of easter eggs and references that might be all you can rely on to make the film watchable for you.
The film is expected to do very well at the box office so I have no doubt a sequel will be on the horizon within the next couple of years.
What did you think of The Super Mario Bros Movie? Let me know in the comments down below.
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