The Super Mario Bros. Movie

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a 2023 animated comedy film based on Nintendo’s Mario Brother’s franchise. It stars Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong, and Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong. This movie is a far cry from the resounding failure that was the live action “Super Mario Bros.” that was released in 1993 starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo. I remember that movie. I thought it was terrible, and I was just a little kid.  

But this is a completely different story. It’s surprisingly well done for an animated movie. And I don’t just mean the animation. Which, of course, is top notch. There’s a good amount of money being spent on something like this. Not only Illumination, but also Nintendo backing your movie? You’ve got money to burn on your production costs. So, I would only expect it to turn out as well as it did. They had the budget for it.  

Speaking of budgets, people were surprised at the choice of cast members for the voices. They were surprised that more experienced voice actors weren’t being used. People who were used to doing animated movies, and who might cost more, but had the experience to make a character become something more than what you expect it to. But that wasn’t really a problem when you watch this movie. I think these characters turned out okay with the voice actors that they got.  

A lot of people said they had a problem with Chris Pratt voicing Mario for some reason. I didn’t really see any problem with his voice. He seemed to fit pretty well for a character like Mario. Just like Charlie Day did with Luigi’s temperament. If anything, I think it was Keegan Michael-Key that could have been replaced by practically anyone. I didn’t even know it was him until I saw the credits.  

Seth Rogan comes off as kind of annoying at times. But Seth Rogan has always kind of annoyed me. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the plot or not, which is still pretty good. I mean, I think it’s a funny movie. As far as animated children’s movies go. It has a lot of Nintendo references and easter eggs if you’re familiar with the games, so that’s pretty cool, too. And at the very end, if you watch all the way until after the credits, there’s a hidden scene where Yoshi pops out of his egg, leaving a cliffhanger for the next movie. Good on you, Nintendo. 

So, yeah. Go and see The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It’s a fun little romp through the Mushroom Kingdom. And it’s got a good soundtrack too, which I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…