70. The Super Mario Bros: The Movie

 

Well this was a nostalgia trip!

Wednesday night I went with my brother to go and see this. I'm a little poorly at the moment (chest infection), so the light-hearted animation was sure to do me some good, and it certainly brought a smile to my face.

Now, I wasn't sure at first about Chris Pratt as Mario, but I have to admit the Brooklyn accent put on for this movie was pretty good, it didn't sound like Pratt at all. Everyone else's accents and performances were also really good, but of course the main focus was who was playing Mario. Further controversy surrounded the film just for him being... well him, not to mention the actual Mario voice actor expressing interest in the role. It was nice they let him cameo as two characters. 

I was surprised actually with how much stuff from the games they managed to include. If I were able to remember all the side character names I'd name them (you know like the goombas or whatever) but they seemed to include most of them. I was worried when the film started in Brooklyn and we had like a normal family set up how they were going to include everyone and make it still you know, comprehensible, but they managed it.

I've seen on the interwebs a lot of shtick for this film because people are claiming it doesnt have a plot, that isn't true. This entire movie centres around self worth and the impact of families. Bit like Turning Red or Encanto, it has generational trauma themes, but is actually your box standard coming of age story even though Mario and Luigi are grown men. Let me lay it out for you.

We are first introduced to our heroes in a plumbing advert where they have those classic italian accents. This wasn't as cringey as I expected it to be, but there was no way I would have been able to sit there for an hour and a half and taken the movie seriously if they had kept those accents. We find that the brothers have broken away from a plumbing firm in order to start their own plumbing business in Brooklyn and are just trying to stay afloat. After a disastrous job they go home and have a family dinner where their father expresses his disappointment of Mario to Mario and says he is only dragging his brother down.

Now let's stop here a second. This is the OG plot driver for the movie. Everything from here on out is done because Mario wants to prove his dad wrong, he wants to make his family proud. Mario feels he is meant for something more, we see this the way he scales that scaffolding when the van breaks down. Also is a great nod to the games having him on upper levels and Luigi on the lower ones. Who hasn't felt like this at some point in their life, like they are destined for greatness and instead just trying to keep their head above water? This is how we relate to Mario.

So when Mario sees a burst causing a massive flood in town he just knows this is his path to greatness. He doesn't stop to assess the risk, like he could literally drown, he just knows that this is his chance to prove his dad, his old boss, and himself wrong. Because let's face it, at this point it's just kicking a man when he's down, Mario is starting to believe the haters. He has lost his own self worth. So our man doesn't stop for a second, to be honest in this moment his only worry is his brother who follows faithfully.

The brothers get sucked into a warp pipe in the sewers below Brooklyn and through this are then separated after Mario makes it clear to Luigi that he will always be okay as long as they are together. M has always stood up and took the crap for his baby bro, even at risk to himself and I think that is such a classic trait of an older sibling. They take the crap no matter what so that their sibling doesn't feel the same way they do, it's a full time job being a mini parent to a kid that isn't yours, but sometimes rewarding.

So Mario ends up in the Mushroom Kingdom. Things are starting to look up for him. It's all colour and friendliness, also the love of his life in the form of the Princess. Poor Luigi on the other hand has once again fallen victim to his own bad luck and ends up in Bowser's territory where he is met with ghosts and what not. We get a little nod to Luigi's Haunted Mansion here and I loved that.

So anyway, fast forward a little past all the nods to the games such as the tutorial on power ups, the platform game, Donkey Kong and his barrels. Skip past all this to the Rainbow Road. Here of course we are brought to the ultimate game of MarioKart. Now ignore the brilliance of this and look to when DK and Mario are eaten by that fish after karking it off that road. They bond over feeling like failures to their parents. This is step one of overcoming that trauma. They now feel supported, and that little spark is enough to inspire some form of confidence in them. They are going to survive and win this, not just out of spite for their parents but now for themselves too. Even if they don't realise this. It was a small moment, but this was in fact the pivotal point for Mario and this plot, the inclusion of Rainbow Road just distracted people from it.

So Mario and DK head off to crash the wedding of Bowser and Peach, where Bowser is due to sacrifice his prisoners in her honour, one of these being Luigi. Now Peach is no longer the damsel in distress we are familiar with from the original games. The directors of the movie wanted to embody her in the recent versions of her, where she is a playable character and someone who kicks ass. I've read they made a conscious decision to switch her and Luigi around a little where she is the sidekick and Luigi the damsel. Not a drastic change as I think they both work in the games pretty well as interchangeable characters in this trope. But I think this was a great addition to the movie as Peach now gets to be a role model too for those who need her. I for one always chose to be Peach when playing Mario. Not just because she was a Princess or the only female character (Daisy came later) but because she was as close as I could get to a representation of who I wanted to be. Sometimes I want saving, sometimes I just want to get stuff done. Peach does both.

Anyway, Mario saves the day as expected, but he also causes a slightly bigger problem. By luring the Bomber bill to a pipe, the following explosion warps the entire gang to Brooklyn allowing Bowser to cause havoc in the Mario Bros hometown. This becomes a good thing though, as it allows Mario and by extension Luigi to prove to their family that they are worth something. Mario gains his hero identity as well as the well sought after approval from his papa. Luigi gains his confidence by being able to step up and save his brother for once. It really is a movie about character growth. So to those who say there is no plot and that this is just a movie to rehash and show off the game, you are wrong. This was so much more.

Now to get to the good bit. Jack Black as Bowser has to be the best casting choice in the world. This man was perfect for the role and his little Peaches song deserves to be in the charts. He gave the role the right amount of villainy as well as bringing the vulnerability needed to the character. I mean at the end of the day his whole thing is stealing the Princess because he loves her, I liked the way they brought that to the movie.

In terms of cut scenes there are two, one is at the very end of the movie so dont leave the cinema! Especially if you love a certain green character.

In terms of missing characters, well there is obviously now room for a sequel. I am very interested to know how they are going to bring in Bowser Jr, Daisy, Yoshi, etc, if at all for the first two. Will there be room in the future for the grand Mario & Sonic cross over? I mean come on, this world is expansive, you cant pick and choose what to bring to life now!

So I am going to give The Super Mario Bros: The Movie an 8/10. I love the movies Illumination produce and I am so please they were who helped to create this because I really think they did it justice. I think this movie was a blast to my childhood as did my brother, and it was really well done. I'd watch it again and I think everyone should at least once. It's just a very friendly movie, I cant fault it really.

What did you think? Feel free to comment on my socials and let me know!

**PS. Not my picture, credit to the maker. Found on Google under movie posters. Cool edit though!