Movie Review: The Super Mario Bros Movie

Movie Review: The Super Mario Bros Movie                                                        4-8-23

Inspired by one of the most popular and successful video game franchises of the same name, this movie tells the story of Italian-American brother Mario and his brother Luigi, two down-on-their-luck plumbers who strive to be the best plumbers in Brooklyn. One day, while searching the sewers, the brothers get sucked into a green pipe, and they end up in a new world with evil turtles, Magic mushrooms, and blocks that float in midair. When Luigi gets kidnapped by Bowser, king of the Koopa Troop, Mario has to team up with tougher-than-she-looks Princess Peach and her mushroom sidekick Toad to rescue Luigi and restore peace to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Being a fan of the Mario games myself, I enjoyed The Super Mario Bros Movie a lot, regardless of its low rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This film excels with a story that stays true to the source material, animation that looks like it was rendered in Hyperion*, characters that are greatly expanded upon, and tons of Easter Eggs for Eagle-eyed fans.

THIS is from the same studio as the Minions?!?

I love how in this film, Peach is no longer the typical DID (damsel in distress), but is instead, a determined woman who is willing to train Mario and overthrow Bowser’s tyranny.

In conclusion, Mario fans will adore The Super Mario Bros Movie, but non-fans probably won’t. In fact, if you hate Mario as much as a giant fire-breathing turtle, then this movie isn’t for you. If the likes of Gunpei Yokoi, Satoru Iwata, or Hiroshi Yamauchi were involved with this film, then this is how a proper Mario movie would end up.

Casual moviegoer rating: 7/10

Mario fan rating: 9/10

Plus five mushrooms! 
*Hyperion is a CG software created by Disney. It is used to render CG characters, objects, and locations more realistically, as well as have bigger locations for the characters to explore. This software was first used in Big Hero 6, and would later be used for Zootopia, Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Encanto. Here's more information in the link below.

Disney's Hyperion Renderer (disneyanimation.com)

PS. If you’re wondering what I thought of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, and if I think The Super Mario Bros Movie is better or not, I’ll upload my reviews of the blue hedgehog’s flicks in July.