It's crazy how it used to just be a foregone conclusion that video game movie adaptations were going to be garbage. There were so many terrible video game-based movies for decades, that we generally believed it to be impossible to ever see an actually decent film adapted from a video game franchise. Slowly though, we started seeing some surprisingly decent attempts. 2019's Detective Pikachu was the first video game movie that I remember hearing was a genuinely good film. Since then, we've received the trilogy of Sonic the Hedgehog films (here's our review for the first film) and some rock solid TV shows based on the League of Legends and Fallout franchises. Most notably though, the literal face of video gaming, Mario, received his first authentic movie adaptation (we're ignoring the 1993 live-action film). The Super Mario Bros. Movie released in 2023 to gargantuan success, and I'm happy to share that it's pretty good.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie takes a more classic approach to the Mario lore, in that the Mario brothers are human plumbers from Brooklyn, who travel to the Mushroom Kingdom. In this story, Mario and Luigi are sucked through a warp pipe under the streets of Brooklyn and pulled into different regions of this new world, with Luigi ultimately falling into Bowser's hands for the vast majority of the story and requiring Mario's help. Mario, on the other hand, lands in the Mushroom Kingdom and quickly allies himself with the curious Princess Peach, who agrees to help him find his lost brother. Mario, Peach and a friendly Toad set off together to try and recruit the Kongs from a neighboring kingdom, so that they can combine forces to defeat Bowser and his minions, before he can conquer them separately. Through much convincing, Mario and Peach are successful in getting the aid of the Kongs, but they're defeated in a surprise attack before they can fully muster their forces on Bowser's castle. Mario manages to save Luigi, and the two brothers team-up to finally defeat Bowser and save the day.
I'm aware that my brief synopsis of the plot feels rushed and like its lacking a great deal of detail, but truthfully, I didn't leave out too much. This movie flies by at a breakneck pace, moving from set piece to set piece, sprinkling dozens of niche Nintendo references and inoffensive jokes throughout. I know it's a movie for children, so they want to keep it bright, lighthearted and engaging, but it does result in an empty-feeling experience that were it not for the gorgeous visuals and recognizable characters, you'd probably forget it all by the time the credits rolled. The Super Mario Bros. Movie takes a few stabs at some slightly deeper themes, like Mario and Donkey Kong both wanting to be respected by their fathers, but the writing just isn't sophisticated enough to pull anything of substance from these moments. It would've been nice to give the kids something a bit more substantial to chew on and ponder. Though there was also a nice element to the story where Mario is shown to be highly determined and unwilling to compromise in the face of seemingly impossible odds; whether that's with his and Luigi's nascent plumbing business or in his life-or-death battle to rescue his brother from Bowser. Also, to the movie's credit, I appreciated them not trying to stuff anything weird or inappropriate in the story either. It seems like that's always a gamble nowadays with kid's entertainment.
The biggest compliment that I can pay The Super Mario Bros. Movie is just how breathtakingly beautiful it looks. Illumination is putting out some Pixar-level visuals here, and it's incredibly impressive, especially for a relatively unpopular, oft-derided animation studio. As a lifelong fan of the Mario universe and all of its otherworldly, bizarre scenery and locales, I loved seeing it all rendered in such high fidelity. Suddenly these places felt almost real, like locations that you could actually travel to. It was equally amazing getting to see all of the myriad characters and creatures showcased in this wonderful art style as well. I remember actually having my jaw drop at the beginning of the film when Bowser's flying castle assaults the penguin kingdom, and drops of molten lava are running down from the castle and onto the ice below. It all looked so unbelievably good and realistic.
A much more important endorsement that I can wholeheartedly extend to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, is that the movie is incredibly fun the whole way through. While you can poke fun at the quality of the writing, the movie does perfectly capture this jovial, upbeat energy that you should expect from the Mario franchise. There's a breezy, sweet spirit to the whole experience that just makes the movie delightful and charming. All of the characters are likable, and funny and the action is genuinely solid and entertaining. As a Donkey Kong fan, I really enjoyed the section of the movie that was set in the Kong kingdom, though I will say Seth Rogen's voice was a horrible fit for D.K. himself. The "Mario Kart" sequence was also really cool, though it felt kind of forced in.
Related: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Review
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is definitely the children's movie equivalent of junk food. But, sometimes junk food is exactly what you're looking for. If you or your kid are fans of the Mario franchise, or you're new to the series and curious about it, I recommend checking this movie out. It's far from perfect, and you'll likely come away from it wishing it were a better film, but I'd also be surprised if you weren't grinning through the film too. While it has real problems that you can't ignore, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is nevertheless a cute movie that you'll likely find charming.
VERDICT: Recommended
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