I am always taken aback by how the simplest films are often the most divisive. Not just between critics and audiences (which rarely line up due the very nature of criticism vs casual movie going, but that’s a whole different rant), but even among critics themselves. Contrary to popular believe, critics are not the Borg, we are not a collective. We don’t all think and move as one, despite what Rotten Tomatoes boils complex and nuanced reviews down to as an aggregated and often very skewed percentage. I say all this because “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” strangely falls on the more divisive scale of discourse, with some loving it, some middle of the road on it, and others going as far as to say it’s the worst movie they’ve ever seen. I’ve even seen some fellow critics go as far as to defend the 1993 live action”Super Mario Bros” disaster.
This tells me quite a few things about both fellow critics and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” as a whole: 1. anyone taking the hard stances mentioned above have clearly not watched the 1993 live action version in a very, very, VERY long time. And 2, that some of us are incapable of allowing our inner child to dictate our enjoyment when the material asks us to do so. I am in no way saying that the animated film isn’t deeply flawed; it is, and most of the criticisms laid on it by more purposeful and frankly, better critics are valid. But despite this, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is a genuine blast with dazzling animation, gorgeous set pieces and in game recreations, solid voice casting and a taut, no frills adventure story that whisks by at a rapid fire pacing. While Illumination Studios has always struggled with adding depth or meaning to most of their offerings with rather lazy scripts (and this film is no different) “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is smart enough to not overstay its welcome and focus everything on its target audience.
I know this will be hard to believe, but not EVERYTHING needs to service 30+ year old fanboys with meta jokes about themselves and their weird attachment to their childhood that no one can do right but they can’t wait to see and complain about. Sometimes, you can just make a kids movie, specifically for kids and nothing else. Yes, there are levels to children’s stories and we have been spoiled for choice with deep character pieces from the likes ofPixar and Dreamworks. And I will grant that I was extremely unforgiving for something like “Space Jam: Legacy,” because that film was made for no one by desperately trying to be for everyone. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” knows exactly who they made this for and why they made it. It is a movie tailor made for 12 year olds and designed solely to generate as much money as it possibly can off its nostalgia and globally recognizable IP. And that is just fine, and we really shouldn’t expect or demand the “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” be anything more than that.
I can go on and on about this, but that’s not really why you came here. You’re here to find out if “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is any good, worth seeing, and does Chris Pratt ruin everything? So I’ll stay my hand in writing any more about genre film criticism and critiquing films on their own merits and comparison pieces and just get to it. Let’sa GO! Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic with a script from Matthew Fogel, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” stars Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong. It follows Mario and Luigi, two plumbers trying to make it Brooklyn who get sucked into a magic pipe to discover a whole new universe of magic and kingdoms and talking mushrooms. Separated in the warp, Luigi is captured by Bowser who wants to take over the world, and Mario must team up with Princess Peach and Toad to recruit the Kong army, lead by Donkey Kong to team up and defeat Bowser before it’s too late.
You can see just from the synopsis of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” that there really isn’t too much going on here. The plot is extremely thin for better or worse, and doesn’t bother spending any time going even remotely deep into any of the aforementioned plot threads. It is simple and somewhat unimaginative, but also not insulting to the source material or its fans. The film chooses to highlight its gorgeous visuals over any meaningful narrative, and because it is made for a TikTok generation with an attention span of 15 seconds or less, plays itself as rapidly as the internet culture allows. Many (with merit mind you) find this a major fault, giving us scene after scene after scene without any real purpose outside of a kind of winking at how good they can make it all look. But when you really step back and look at the IP as a whole, you realize that there isn’t much story to Mario to begin with.
By design, Mario and his entire universe is predicated on the assumption that he can be anything anyone wants him to be. This is why he has stood the test of time for so long. Not because of any of his defining characteristics, but because he HAS none. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” opts to play this blank canvas safe, and gives it just enough story to justify the action and nostalgia fueled romp through the worlds. For your kids (which is who this movie is really made for), that’s more than enough to be entertaining as all hell. Sure, there’s some bold choices that don’t always work and nothing stays in frame long enough to care about anyone, but did you really come to a Super Mario Bros. movie for the plot? “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is aware of this, and delivers more on just no frills entertainment to wet the pallet of children and generate excitement to go out and consume as much Mario and Luigi and Peach merchandise as their parent’s credit card will allow. For me, I’m perfectly fine with the unapologetic marketing, and 12 year old Derrick is more than willing to set aside cynical, critical Derrick and just enjoy pretty pictures for 90 minutes.
The voice cast is all fine, with Jack Black’s Bowser obviously giving it his all and elevating the material as much as he can. He’s a true MVP, with everyone else doing just enough to collect a paycheck. Pratt is perfectly fine as Mario, and is neither distracting or off putting the longer you get use to the voice. He’s somewhere between Pratt and Emmet from “The Lego Movie,” not quite either of them but not whatever fear you may have had that he would bring. Key is unrecognizable as Toad but isn’t given all that much to do, and even Day (who is also kind of pushed to the sidelines) tones down his persona to add some texture to the green overalled brother. Seth Rogen is Seth Rogen as an animated gorilla, and I guess that’s fine if you always wanted Donkey Kong to sound like Seth Rogen. Because the pacing of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is so rapid fire and near breakneck, you aren’t really give any time to dwell on the performances long enough to have any of them be distracting or memorable sans Black’s Bowser, who makes sure he’s the stand out at every single opportunity.
Look, there’s not enough going on in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” to really dissect it and give some deep critical thesis on its merits. It is, in the most literal sense of the word, a kids movie stripped down to a little more than the sum of its parts and elevated only by its beautiful animation and reverence for its source material. It’s genuinely fun, doesn’t overstay its welcome, smartly avoids overcrowding itself with meta nods and winks and does what it came to do rather well. It is a deeply flawed film that’s a blast to watch, and that is really all we could ask for from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
Your kids are gonna love it, and if you let it, YOUR kid inside of you is gonna love it too. It’s perfectly find to be resistant to its visual charm, but take some solace in the fact that “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is NOT the abysmal disaster or the worst movie ever made or somehow makes the 1993 version better. None of those things are true in the slightest, and I’m on your side against the stuffy old critics with no sense of wonder on this one.
It’sa fun, it’sa fine, it’sa SUPER MARIO movie. Calm down and enjoy the pretty rainbow roads. Oh, and special shoutout to Lumalee, the low-key MVP who’s purpose I won’t spoil but I took particular glee in this small but hilarious addition.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is now playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.
