As kids growing up during the early years of Nintendo, we are both very familiar with Mario and friends. We spent many hours conquering level after level, and saw the evolution from 8 bit to more advanced graphics. (We even remember a terrible live action movie at one point that was such a let down…) So, when we heard a new movie was in the works we were really intrigued to see if this one would do justice to a nostalgic childhood franchise. We were also excited to see how the story would develop and to see this video game on the big screen. Read on to hear both of our thoughts of the The Super Mario Bros. Movie…

The movie begins showing brothers Mario and Luigi trying to be super plumbers in Brooklyn.

Official Film Synopsis:

For the first time, the iconic global entertainment brands Illumination and Nintendo join forces to create The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a new, big-screen adventure starring one of pop culture’s most prominent plumbers of the past four decades. (The film is co-financed by Universal Pictures and Nintendo and will be released worldwide by Universal Pictures.)
Based on the world of Nintendo’s Mario games, the film invites audiences into a vibrant, thrilling new universe unlike any created before in an action-packed, exuberant cinematic comedy event.
While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers Mario (Chris Pratt; Jurassic World and The LEGO Movie franchises) and brother Luigi (Charlie Day; It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.
With the assistance of a Mushroom Kingdom resident Toad (Keegan-Michael Key; The Lion King) and some training from the strong-willed ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy;The Queen’s Gambit), Mario taps into his own power.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie features an extraordinary comedic cast, including Jack Black (Jumanji films) as Bowser, Seth Rogen (Neighbors franchise) as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen (Portlandia, Saturday Night Live) as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson (American Dad!, Family Guy) as Kamek and Sebastian Maniscalco (Green Book) as Spike, plus a special voice appearance by Charles Martinet, who has voiced the characters of Mario and Luigi in the Super Mario games for more than 30 years.

Mario meets Princess Peach while exploring the Mushroom Kingdom.

Julie's Thoughts on “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”

The trailer didn’t give too much away about a storyline, so I didn’t go in with many expectations other than hoping for a bit of beautiful escapism in the form of colorful characters and scenes. From the beginning of The Super Mario Bros. Movie I was immediately appreciating many nods to my childhood. From certain melodies, movements, and characters, I kept finding myself looking at Andrew to smile in agreement that we both witnessed a nostalgic moment. As with many animated film these days, the storyline wasn’t earth shattering by any means. But it can be said that the journey, while predictable, was super enjoyable. Familiar characters were introduced throughout the story and given some personality: favorites like Mario and Luigi (of course), Donkey Kong, even a simple character like Toad, and a very unique and entertaining villain Bowser. I really appreciated the character development such as seeing Peach as a strong leader and not just a helpless princess. It was even cool seeing all the side characters developed from elements of the game. My only complaint is that there was only a glimpse of Yoshi, one of my favorite characters.

The scenery was amazing from Mushroom Kingdom, Kong Kingdom, and Bowser’s lair. Seeing Mario Kart come to life on a highway rainbow was another graphic treat. I think seeing this movie on the big screen is worth it for many of these scenes. Another things I really enjoyed was the music. In addition to familiar video game tunes there are some great classic songs thrown in to complete a great soundtrack. I honestly think this movie was done pretty as perfectly as it could be, as I think the source material was expanded upon to have personality and the journey was exciting and enjoyable and truly took me back to my youth even if for a couple hours. With visual beauty, enjoyable characters, great music, and a lot of laughs it seems that The Super Mario Bros. Movie may be a super start to the beginning of an amazing film franchise collection.

HER RATING: 4.5 out of 5 “Super Mushrooms”

The scenes were quite impressive such as this one of Bowser climbing floating stairs.

Andrew's Thoughts on “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”

As soon as I heard the familiar NES dings on the screen when the movie began I settled in for a trip down memory lane. The Super Mario Bros. Movie starts with brothers Mario and Luigi trying to make it in real world NYC as plumbers and right from the get-go the character development felt pretty real and not just flat video game characters. This continued as other familiar faces appeared, I even enjoyed Bowser with a comedic twist on his evilness. There were certainly some exciting scenes visually. Remember the amazing lands to explore in Mario World? Flying through the sky to earn power ups, and the vivid scenery? All of that comes to life with amazing graphics truly making this world as real as it could be. There were a lot of jokes too, I was surprised how much I was laughing. You can tell this movie is kid friendly but really speaking to the adults who grew up playing these games. While the story was a bit predictable, I was never bored moving from scene to scene. The writers/directors did an amazing job of asking backstory to a video game with many tie backs and thoughtful easter egg placements throughout. As someone who hasn’t played a single Mario Brothers game since the original NES, I still found this movie really entertaining. If I had to compare this movie to another franchise I enjoy it would have to be the Lego movies. With incredible graphics, amazing visual scenes, and a fair amount of humor, this movie isn’t just for video game fans. And while The Super Mario Bros. Movie may not join the ranks of something I would watch again and again over the years it is definitely worth a trip to enjoy it at least once on the big screen.

HIS RATING: 4 out of 5 “Super Mushrooms”