Below is our original review of The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie! It’s been thirty years since the dynamic duo last hit the big screen, and I’m sure just about all of us were excited to see them return in stellar fashion.

I saw the film opening night on…Wednesday…that’s uh…day—and I gotta say, it was fun! I had to grab seats that were a little too close to the screen, so some visuals were hard to follow, but otherwise I enjoyed the experience.

I think the Super Mario movie is a great example of meeting a film where it’s at. It’s made clear pretty quickly that this film is for the fans, and it’s not bothering with explaining its video-gamey mechanics (which I appreciated) or any complex characters (which I didn’t).

Let’s back up, though. This is a 2023 animated fantasy quest adventure produced by the French division of Illumination. And, being an Illumination product, this film looks and sounds amazing! I’m so glad rendering technology is at a point where a Mario movie can look this good, and composer Brian Tyler did an amazing job adapting the original leitmotifs of the game soundtracks into proper orchestral firebombs. Everyone on the roster phones in top tier performances, most of them—ahem (Seth Rogan) –most of them disappearing within their characters. Going in, I was worried hearing Chris Pratt in another animated film would only conjure memories of Emmett from the Lego Movie, but that wasn’t at all the case, and Chris played a fantastic Mario.

As pleasing as the production quality is, however, I found the script lacking. It’s plot driven, and unfortunately the characters suffer from it as the film shuffles them around, focused only on getting them where they need to be quickly. The breakneck pace is great for action scenes, but the movie never stops to take a breath, and the only character I felt any emotional connection with was Mario. Which, you know, if you gotta care about anybody, at least it’s the main character. I know you can’t artificially manufacture three-dimensional characterizations for the sake of drama or interest, especially in video game characters who’ve earned their fame for the past forty years in being stereotypes, but I could’ve stood with just an extra minute or two to develop more genuine relationships.

That said, I applaud the film for knowing what it is and where it’s going, and that’s what I mean by meeting this film where it’s at. It’s for the fans, and assumes if you’re coming to see this movie that you know something about the games. And there is a lot of fanservice. Typically relying on your audience to know everything your fan base does backfires and you inadvertently gatekeep your own film, but when you’re as huge and popular as Mario, you can get away with it, because everyone is a Mario fan in some capacity, and we all know the classic rules of his world.

Speaking of which, while Mario is the obvious focus of the film, it’s much more accurate to call this the Super Nintendo Movie. The film pulls in elements from all your favorite Mario and Luigi themed games, and even a few outside their typical canon, but it all works and allows the filmmakers more freedom (and the ability to hide more easter eggs).

I wouldn’t go into this film expecting any sort of nuance, narrative depth, or character analysis. In that regard it falls short compared to classic animated children’s films, or even recent hits like the aforementioned Lego Movie. But as a Mario Bros. Movie, made to respect and breathe new life into the original material, the film is worthwhile. I mean let’s be real, you’re probably only considering this film because you want to see Mario throwing Koopa shells in high-definition. That’s all I was hoping for, and it’s exactly what I got, so I won’t complain.

If I had to rate it, I’d give the Super Mario Bros. Movie seven mystery power-ups and an adorable nihilist.

Thank you so much for watching! I hope you found this informative and useful in some way. This is the third new movie in a row I’ve seen on opening night, which is pretty cool, although I don’t know that I can keep this streak up.

Also! If you’d like, I now have every film review and video essay script and transcription available on my website, timber-dash-wolf-dash-studios-dot-com, which I’ll keep linked in the description.

Thank you again, especially to my amazing subscribers, you guys and gals rule. Until next time, I’ve been Jiro, you’ve been amazing, and I wish you only the best.

God bless you.