THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (2023)

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (2023)

Tagline: Let's-a go!

(Animation, Adventure, Everything Is Alive) [PG]

You think I know every human being with a mustache wearing an identical outfit with a hat with the letter of his first name on it? Because I don't!

In this one, Mario and his brother Luigi have spent all their savings on a commercial to start a plumbing business. After failing on their first job they see an opportunity to save Brooklyn, NY when I giant underground pipe bursts. It doesn’t take long before they find a portal to the Mushroom Kingdom. Once there they discover everything is starting to be taken over by a fire-breathing Koopa named Bowser. They must team up with Princess Peach and a mushroom dude named Toad to save the world, and of course, Brooklyn, don’t forget about Brooklyn. 

Okay, it sounds like nearly every review I have read says you have to be familiar with the source material (the video game) to really like this movie. I am just going to come right out and say that is total nonsense. My only exposure to this entire video game franchise was the terrible 1993 fiasco SUPER MARIO BROS. and about 14 seconds of playing SUPER MARIO GALAXY on my son’s Nintendo Wii. If you can’t pick up the concepts in this movie and get some enjoyment out of it, there might be an issue you want to look into. Yes, I am sure there are a million Easter eggs and all that stuff that I have no clue about, but I enjoyed the heck out of this thing. Just the soundtrack alone was worth watching this movie. The movie does feature ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” which I thought was kind of cool because that song is also in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2, another Chris Pratt movie.  

When it comes to the voice acting let me just dispel all the doubts right freakin now. Christ Pratt (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) KILLS this voice role as Mario. In fact, the entire cast is good aside from Seth Rogan (MONSTERS VS. ALIENS) who plays Donkey Kong and comes across in the role like he’s not even trying. I am not a huge fan of Charlie Day (PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING), he actually creeps me out a little, but he crushes his role as Luigi, we also get some great voice work from Keegan-Michael Key (THE LION KING) as Toad, Anya Taylor-Joy (who I also normally don’t like) as Princess Peach, and Jack Black (ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY) who I really like as Bowser. 

This movie does play out a lot like a video game and I thought the way those elements were handled was brilliant. If you are running out to see this in theaters, there is a mid-credit scene and a post-credit scene. Both are worth waiting around for. When it comes to the pacing there is no slowing down in this movie, once it gets going it just moves and the ride is a total blast. I also think critics pointing out Bowser's motives as being problematic are probably trying to find things wrong with this movie because they don't like Chris Pratt for (insert reason here). If the criticism was real, then that would be fine, but trying to dream up a problem because you don't like a specific actor or actress is weird. I already mentioned I don't like at least 3 of the people involved in this film in this review or in other reviews, but that has nothing to do with the movie's merit or entertainment value.  

I won’t give away any spoilers as to how the movie ends or any of the surprises we get along the way or some of the plot details, but I think pretty much every kid in the theater was clapping at the end of the flick (so that makes it the 2nd movie this year where people clapped at the end in the theater I went to). I don’t see how you can’t walk into this movie and have a lot of fun. I certainly did. Someone said that this movie was along the same humor lines as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES, but I actually thought that movie was funnier. This one really does well with mind-blowing creativity, making it feel like we are in a really well-thought-out animated universe and polishing things off with a bit of heart. It also keeps the story simple and avoids a lot of convoluted exposition. Literally, a bunch of reasons movie lovers love movies.   

I give this thing a 6 out of 7. I can easily see how it would get an even higher rating than that, but if there is any knock on this at all, it’s casting Seth Rogan. Sorry. He just didn’t even seem to want to try and sound like anyone but himself in this one. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.