Before “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” released on Wednesday, I was critical on how it should be made and didn’t think about how much of a masterpiece it could become.
I initially thought the movie would be disappointing.
Having been a big Mario fan for years, I saw it as nothing more than a cash grab and Hollywood’s opportunity to attach several big name celebrities to the project.
From the moment I sat down and the movie started, I was pleasantly surprised with every scene.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” proved me wrong and serves as a fun, entertaining family-friendly film that stays extremely loyal to the source material.
It bombards audiences with a plethora of call-backs and references to the video games around every corner.
From the integration of video game system startup sounds, to the outstanding music scores that play at just the right time and the reference of real-world Nintendo games, this movie has it all.
Generous amounts of Easter eggs and fan service are spread throughout the entire movie. These moments made me smile and even caused me to get emotional during certain scenes.
The movie works really well as an animated film and looks amazing with its environments.
The character designs made each character look as accurate to the video games as possible.
While the cast of the movie did a really good job, I do feel that many of the voices could’ve been tweaked a bit to more accurately portray their video game character counterparts.
I had initially thought the casting in this movie would fall completely flat, specifically with Chris Pratt being the voice of Mario and Seth Rogen voicing Donkey Kong.
But these two couldn't have done a better job.
The movie was so fun and entertaining that I completely forgot I had any problem with the casting of these two characters at all.
Both Pratt and Rogen blended in with the goofy happy-go-lucky nature of the film so well.
I didn't even care that their voices weren't 100% accurate to what I'd think the characters would sound like. They harmonized in well with the overall nature of the film and somehow made their voices work anyway.
In fact, Donkey Kong’s introduction ended up being one of my favorite scenes in the entire movie and seemed to make so much sense with Rogen’s trademark infectious laugh.
Keegan-Michael Key, Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlie Day did a good job as Toad, Princess Peach, and Luigi. However, their voices could’ve been adjusted more to accurately portray their characters.
I didn't really feel their voices matched with the overall nature of the film enough for this not to be as much of an issue as with Pratt and Rogen’s.
On the other hand, Jack Black completely steals the show in this movie.
His voice sounded the most accurate to his character.
Black’s voice sounded just like how I’d think a full-fledged Bowser voice would sound like and his naturally goofy sense of humor meshed perfectly with the character's evil personality.
He could play a convincing villain in one scene, and then make Bowser take on the comedic goofy charm in the next sequence, with no issues whatsoever.
I also credit this movie for giving Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach a proper backstory.
The movie does a good job at explaining not only how Mario and Luigi got to the Mushroom Kingdom, but also where they started to begin with.
The film really succeeded in explaining how Princess Peach first ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom and how she came to be princess of the toads.
At the same time, it doesn't take a lot of liberties with the source material, but when it does, it's done in just the right way and isn't over-explained.
One major gripe I have is with the movie's runtime. The movie is only an hour and a half long. Believe me, it goes by fast.
Throughout the film, I caught myself getting immersed in the environment, but never really having enough time to take anything in.
While it kept me entertained and never made me feel like the story dragged on, I really wished the movie was longer.
I would’ve liked to see more of the environments and see more characters I know and love from the video games.
Many of the Easter eggs and references I saw felt like blink-and-you-miss-it scenes that only a hardcore Super Mario Bros. fan would spot.
On the other hand, the character development in this movie is on another level.
Throughout the entire movie, there’s a great deal of character development seen between Mario, Donkey Kong and Princess Peach.
However, Mario’s growth was the most important one to me.
There’s a theme of perseverance with Mario throughout the entire film, much like how the video games train players to get through levels with multiple attempts in a row, improving each time around.
While the film’s voice acting could be improved for certain characters and the film could use some pacing improvements, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is a fun and family-friendly film that I recommend for Super Marios Bros. fans of all ages.
This movie would give any Super Mario Bros. fan the chance to sit back and relax, complete with a literal Easter egg for anyone who stays through the end credits for several bonus scenes.
