I was confident the Super Mario Bros Movie would be good since I didn’t think Nintendo would have allowed it to happen if it wasn’t going to be good. I wasn’t a fan of Illumination but thought Nintendo’s oversight of the project could make the difference. All in all the movie is good, nothing ground breaking but I think everyone is just happy it tells the story in a good way that is faithful and entertaining. It’s nothing outstanding but it didn’t need to be, but here are our thoughts on everything on the latest CG Mario Movie.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
If you really think about it, we’ve seen this movie before..It’s the exact same movie as the 1993 live action Mario Bros Film. And not only that one but also the same movie as the anime movie. The fact that so many story points are picked up straight from both those movies and the basic origin is the same. Makes sense Cinderella has many versions of the classic story but the basic plot is always the same and so is the Super Mario Bros origin. In fact based on the character choices having Donkey Kong, Cranky Kong and Foreman Spike, I thought the movie would be more of a wreck it Ralph type of movie and taking a look back at the legacy of the hero Mario over his entire career. That would’ve worked as well but I’m happy with the origin.
They did go deep into some characters I never thought, references to wrecking Crew was unexpected and highly welcome. Donkey Kong being in it is a nice choice, I don’t know if it was Miyamoto’s decision or Hollywood’s obsession with Donkey Kong but he is a part of Mario history and deserved his spot. I didn’t think the movie was that deep with references but it had more than enough to make me happy. I feel the length of the movie was perfect, I hate movies that are too long and this was the right length with enough stuff happening. I do think the movie could’ve taken a few more risks storywise but that’s ok, playing it safe definitely worked.
Lumalee was easily my favorite character and took the spotlight from the movie. The voices for the most part ranged from good to serviceable. The only character design that didn’t seem very Nintendo was the dog in the beginning. As far as character designs I wish they were a bit more different, it feels weird seeing a game accurate Toad but a different Mario. Either make everyone the same as the game or change everyone a little, no halfsies. The music was well done except for the American pop songs that are so cliche, that’s the one thing I’d change. But even then I don’t think they were too obnoxious since they didn’t last too long and well it did make it feel like a more American Mario different from a Japanese Mario. I mean like it or not the Brooklyn origin is not the game movie.
Future?
I don’t know what the plans are going to be but I don’t think it’s as easy as saying a Luigi’s Mansion movie. I mean what would that movie even be about just Luigi saving Mario from King Boo? I think they’ll play it safe with a Super Mario world movie that includes Yoshi and won’t reinvent the wheel. I’d love to see the mario verse expanded but I only think Donkey Kong could perhaps get it and even then I think it’s a risky movie, I don’t know if he has enough recognizable supporting cast for it to do it unless they take many liberties in the movie storywise. I think there’s a lot of potential with the cast that Nintendo ignores like Daisy, and the wario Bros but I don’t know if Nintendo would allow it. They don’t like to expand on those characters too much. Either way I don’t think we’ll see other Nintendo properties or a Smash Cinematic Universe, but I can see the Marioverse being a bit bigger than just a sequel. Let’s see.