According to Rotten Tomatoes, a near majority of movie critics don’t like the Super Mario Bros. movie, and guess what. I don’t care.
Even our very own Eric Eisenberg, who I greatly admire and respect, didn’t like the movie. And look, I get it. Does the Super Mario Bros. movie have deep character arcs, a compelling narrative, and rich, universal themes? Well, no, not really.
But, is the Super Mario Bros. movie full of recognizable characters, Easter eggs aplenty, and just a fun overall experience? Oh, hell yes. The Super Mario Bros. movie may not be a great movie, but it’s the perfect video game movie, and here’s why.
Oh, and a sprinkle of light spoilers here or there.
This Movie Was Made For Me!
As an apologist of the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, I can honestly say that the original movie wasn’t made for me. Or at least, it wasn’t made for the younger version of me who saw the movie in the theater with his dad.
Truthfully, I don’t know who that movie was made for. But, it’s only through years of watching mediocre to outright terrible adaptations that led me to put that oddball, and quite frankly, bold movie on my list of the 10 greatest video game films of all time, which I think says more about the garbage that we’ve had to endure over the years than anything else.
But, while I will admit that I think the first Sonic movie is a better overall flick, I’m overjoyed to admit that the 2023 Super Mario Bros. movie was an overall better movie-going experience. This might be because this was the Mario movie that I always wanted as a child. And, as a man whose inner child needs as many hugs as possible, the Super Mario Bros. movie touched me in ways that I never could have imagined.
From the very first Mario Kart audio cue, I was in. Because this movie truly uses musical and visual cues that any lifelong Nintendo fan will connect with immediately. In that way, the deep cuts feel deeply personal to me. Seeing Glass Joe’s face on a wall, or Mario playing Kid Icarus in his room speaks to me in a way that I don’t think any other film has ever spoken to me before.
I know the critics have said that the movie is just Easter eggs, but in a lot of ways, those Easter eggs MAKE the movie. This isn’t like Transformers or the Ninja Turtles reboots, which warped or changed the characters for a new generation.
This is something else entirely as it’s perfectly comfortable with leaning into its source material, from the early ’80s all the way to current day, which is why any gamer who’s stuck with Mario for all these years will likely be deeply touched by this movie, just like I was.
But It Was Also Made For My Kids
Halfway through the film, my son, who is six, turned to me and said, “This is great!” And yeah, it truly was.
It didn’t surprise me that my son loved it as much as I did, and yet, it kind of did. You see, I introduced my two children to Nintendo as early as I could. I have a really cute picture of my daughter playing with a Kirby doll, and my son’s second birthday was a Mario-themed party, so my kids are already deeply invested in Nintendo, just like I am.
So, when they showed Bowser’s true intentions in the movie, my son said, “Dad! This is just like Super Mario Odyssey!” And, when they had the whole Mario Kart section of the movie, my son said, “Dad! That’s the same music in the game!”
And, that’s the thing. This movie pulls from all of Mario’s history, so there was really something for every Mario fan in attendance. My only complaint is that there were key characters who were absent that my daughter really wanted to see, but I guess those characters are what the possible sequel will be for.
The Animation Is Gorgeous
I was there for the 8-bit era. I was there for the 16-bit era. I was there for the blocky 64-bit era, the more refined GameCube era, the slightly better looking Wii and Wii U eras, and I’m here for the current Switch era. Hell, I was even there for the black and red Virtual Boy era.
All this is to say that I’ve been there for every iteration of Mario, and he has never looked this good.
This is important from an animation standpoint, as I actually don’t think any animated film has ever looked this good (aside from the upcoming Across the Spider-Verse, which I can’t wait for — have you seen that trailer?!). And, I think this is yet another reason why this movie should be applauded.
It’s a new milestone in computer animation, and I can only dream of what a Mario game would be like if it actually looked this good. The Switch 2 (or whatever the next Nintendo console will be) can’t get here soon enough!
The Voice Acting Was Incredible
So, it turns out that all the backlash concerning Chris Pratt’s voice as Mario turned out to be hogwash. But, what else is new? Chris Pratt did a wonderful job as Mario, as did all of the cast. I loved Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, I loved Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, I loved Charlie Day as Luigi, and I loved, loved, LOVED Jack Black as Bowser. Hell, I was even on board for Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Seth Rogen laugh and all.
And, this is no small feat, as I’ve known these characters for my entire life. So, if anybody was going to be hard to please, it was me. But, guess what! I was pleased! So, even though the plot was nothing special, the fact that these characters were brought to life in a brand new way (and still felt incredibly faithful to their in-game characters) is worth its weight in gold coins for me.
Last but not least, the Super Mario Bros. movie gets me SUPER pumped for other potential Nintendo movies. I didn’t feel this way about the Sonic movies, as I viewed those more in a vacuum, but I definitely feel this way about a future Nintendo universe where we could potentially see The Legend of Zelda, Luigi’s Mansion, and (be still, my heart) my beloved Metroid as future movies.
Honestly, the Super Mario Bros. movie succeeded for me since it proved that some of my favorite games of all time could finally have faithful and loving adaptations made about them.
Because it’s clear that the people behind the Super Mario Bros. movie are massive fans of the series (I mean, Mario’s papa himself, Shigeru Miyamoto, helped with the project). So, the idea of a Star Fox, Pikmin, or an Avengers-level Super Smash Bros. movie with the same love and attention as the Mario movie just fills me with so much joy and hope, you have no idea!
So, yeah. The critics didn’t love the Super Mario Bros. movie, but I sure did, and I don’t care what the critics think this time around. But, what did you think? For more news on all things Mario, be sure to swing by here often!
