The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Thank you Universal for sending us a review copy!

I grew up playing Mario Bros. on the Atari and then Super Mario Bros. and its sequels on the NES. It’s been quite a successful video game franchise though it has had a rocky live-action history. Growing up, I loved the short-lived TV show and its rap theme song. The 1993 film adaptation, Super Mario Bros. was poorly received along with many other videogame themed movies around that time. Thankfully, videogame inspired films have been doing well recently and The Super Mario Bros. Movie is no exception.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie begins with Bowser invading an ice kingdom inhabited by penguins. After stealing their Super Star that grants invulnerability, he sets his sights on Mushroom Kingdom to demand that their princess marry him or be annihilated.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, New York, the Mario Brothers (Mario & Luigi) are struggling to launch their plumbing business after parting ways with their spiteful boss. They have spent their life savings on a TV commercial and their first job from it didn’t go so well. Their family isn’t very supportive of them following their dreams. To make matters worse, Brooklyn is getting flooded with water as multiple pipes start bursting. Mario and Luigi come to the city’s rescue, but as they go into the sewers they discover a network of pipes and get sucked into a green pipe that takes the brothers to different worlds.

Luigi lands in the Dark Lands and is surrounded by undead skeleton koopas. He takes refuge in an abandoned castle. Meanwhile, Mario lands in the mushroom kingdom and meets Toad who tells him about Luigi’s dire situation. Mario seeks an audience with Princess Peach who in turn wants his help to thwart Bowser from destroying her kingdom. Because the mushroom inhabitants are not battle savvy, Mario and Princess Peach must seek an audience with Cranky Kong to lend their army.

You’ll see many references to classic and modern Mario franchise games throughout this film. You’ll also hear iconic theme songs as well. Naturally, there is some go-karting and lots of cartoon violence and battles.

The character line and voice acting is top notch. This is a star-studded film and it’s very well made. I love the banter between Donkey Kong and Mario, but one of the funniest characters is the cute nihilist, Lumalee. Lumalee is one of many of Bowser’s captives. While Luigi has hopes of escaping, Lumalee is looking forward to the sweet release of death. Bowser is hoping to offer the prisoners as a ritual sacrifice for his wedding to Princess Peach.

Though there are some dark moments, especially when Luigi goes to the Dark Land in the first act, overall this film is pretty upbeat. There’s lots of eye candy and be sure to stay tuned after the credits as there is a hint of a possible sequel? If you’re a fan of Super Mario Bros (who isn’t?) this film worth watching/owning. The Bluray is available for under $25 on Amazon.