The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Mini-Review)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an adaptation of the Mario games as well as related properties. Mario and Luigi start their own plumbing business but soon encounter problems. Mario decides to help with a flooding situation in Brooklyn which leads to them finding themselves separated in a strange world. Now Mario must find his brother and return home. But to do that he must first help Princess Peach defeat Bowser. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released in 2023. It was directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. It stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, and Jack Black.

This movie has a mid and post credits scene. The mid-credits scene shows how Bowser is doing after the movie's conclusion. The post-credits scene is a teaser of a possible sequel.

I was expecting a fun time and this movie turned out to be a nostalgic shot to my veins. I didn't ever play a full Mario game except the racing games. I even mastered Rainbow Road which I loved showing off whenever hanging out with friends. You don't spend that many hours becoming good at something without showing off to at least a few people. But with first hand experiences and knowledge of the Nintendo Company, I caught a good number of Easter Eggs. One of the easiest ones to recognize was a 'your princess is in another castle' joke being used.

There is a big action sequence on Rainbow Road. It was my favorite part of the movie due to loving that track. I hadn't expected that to happen in the movie but am glad it was worked in. So many things happen and references to how the track works in the games are shown. Which makes sense in the scope of the movie while giving longtime fans something to get excited about.

I remember when Chris Pratt was announced as Mario in the movie the internet got very angry. But it seems the rest of the internet has changed their tune. Or at least not as many people bring up Chris Pratt's casting drama nowadays.

Yoshi is shown in a brief scene. Princess Peach, Mario, and Toad are traveling somewhere when they pass by a group of Yoshi. A herd of Yoshi? One turns to look at Mario but none of the three characters take real note of that. If they do decide to branch out, which is really likely given some of the Easter Eggs, this seems to be a good direction to take. Why did that one Yoshi turn to look at Mario? Was it done out of pure chance? Am I overthinking this?

One of my favorite characters in the movie is Lumalee. He is adorable and has a child-like voice. He accepts being one of Bowser's many prisoners with glee. The reason he's my favorite is those child-like qualities are there in spite of his nihilistic worldview. So you get a cute and happy voice talking about the only escape being the sweet release of death. The dissonance between the two parts of Lumalee is why he's so amusing.

I would highly recommend The Super Mario Bros. Movie to those that are looking for a strong dose of nostalgia. I would also recommend The Super Mario Bros. Movie to those wanting a fun time.