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I can vividly remember playing the first Nintendo version of “Super Mario Bros.” when I was just a boy in the ‘80s. It was at a friend’s house, my first buddy to get an NES, and I went home and had a dream about the game. The goofy, jumping plumber has been a part of my entertainment life ever since. I’ve passed my love for the franchise down to my boys, who have all played the stunning “Super Mario Odyssey” to completion more than once. Mario has come a long way since the notoriously awful 1993 version of his adventure starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo , but the new “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” doesn’t reflect the franchise's creativity in the slightest. The latest animated blockbuster from Illumination is their most soulless to date, a film that feels like ChatGPT produced it after data and imagery from the games were fed into a computer. It is “The Chris Farley Show” of family entertainment, mistaking making references to something that was “awesome” for actually making a movie. And it is one of the most drenched-in-desperation animated films I’ve ever seen. “Remember this?!? Remember how much you liked it?!? Please like it again!” I so desperately wanted to see something that sparked the imagination of the kid in me, like that first game, or spoke to the fun I’ve had playing installments across multiple Nintendo platforms. Instead, I got a movie that's as hollow as a trailer, something that willfully avoids anything creative or ambitious. Mario and Luigi deserve so much better.

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” opens in Brooklyn with the plumbers Mario ( Chris Pratt ) and his brother Luigi ( Charlie Day ) trying to get their new business off the ground. Some Nintendo easter eggs in the background of these initial scenes should produce a small smile from people of my generation, and there's a bit of inspiration structurally, like a clever early shot in which Mario and Luigi race through the city in a side-scrolling manner that mimics the earlier games. There’s also a nod to The Odyssey on a bookshelf in Mario’s room, implying that we’re about to watch a hero’s journey and a reference to the incredible Switch game. What follows doesn’t live up to either inspiration.

In a way that makes little sense, Mario and Luigi find a massive chamber of pipes under Brooklyn, get sucked into one, and end up in the Mushroom Kingdom, which is being threatened by the villainous Bowser ( Jack Black ). The notorious bad guy has found the Super Star he needs to make his final assault on Princess Peach ( Anya Taylor-Joy ) and the residents of her kingdom, including Toad (Keegan-Michael Key). Bowser doesn’t just want power; he wants to make the Princess his bride, singing some truly uninspired songs about his love for her. How on Earth a film like this gets a rock talent like half of Tenacious D and doesn’t let him unleash a few clever Bowser tunes is one of this film’s many mysteries.

Although Luigi lands in the pipeline that drops him immediately in the dark lands and makes him Bowser's prisoner—a dumb decision that sidelines him for an hour—Mario meets Princess Peach, who introduces him to power-ups. And so all the question-mark cubes get a chance to shine as Mario grows, shrinks, and even turns into a raccoon. They eventually recruit Donkey Kong ( Seth Rogen ), race down Rainbow Road, and save the day. That’s not a spoiler if you’ve ever seen a movie.

Fans of this movie will shout from the rooftops that the scripting for something called “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” doesn’t need to be a strength. And, to be fair, there are a few strong settings in terms of design. I enjoyed the choices made by the team in the structure of Donkey Kong Country, and the Rainbow Road “Super Mario Kart” sequence is well-directed. But I would ask why fans of a franchise that has inspired so much love for generations must be satisfied with the absolute minimum regarding storytelling.

There are so few actual decisions made in the construction of this film. It’s just a collection of visual and character references cobbled together to form a 92-minute movie. Take a risk. Just do something . Anything. It got me thinking about the fun spin-offs that could exist, like a “ Mad Max: Fury Road ” version of the “Mario Kart” sequence that gets energy out of non-stop motion. Or a version that unpacks like “The LEGO Movie” that's more sharply aware of its references and world-building—something that even incorporates the player like that movie does in the end. I swear that almost everyone who has played a game like “Odyssey” could come up with something more inventive. Heck, almost any ten minutes of that game is more creative.

It doesn’t help that the voice work is uniformly mediocre too. Chris Pratt can be charismatic with the right material, but it sounds like he pounded this out in three hours in a voice studio. Charlie Day has such an expressive voice, but the movie barely uses him. Seth Rogen is always a welcome presence, and he at least seems to be having some fun. I wish I was too.

With the nostalgia craze merging with the power of Nintendo and Illumination, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” feels too big to fail. That means we’ll get a sequel, and I expect another cycle of the debate of “critics vs. fans.” I am both. And I want a world where the people who made films for a fan base as devoted as this one don’t take that fandom for granted. This is far from over. I suspect we will get a ton of films from the NES universe, including “Donkey Kong Country” and “The Legend of Zelda” (and let’s not forget “Kid Icarus”). But we need creators who don’t just see these games as products to be referenced but as foundations on which new ideas can be built. That ‘80s kid who dreamed of Mario deserves it.

In theaters today .

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie movie poster

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Rated PG for action and mild violence.

Chris Pratt as Mario (voice)

Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach (voice)

Charlie Day as Luigi (voice)

Jack Black as Bowser (voice)

Keegan Michael Key as Toad (voice)

Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong (voice)

Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong (voice)

Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek (voice)

Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike (voice)

Charles Martinet as Giuseppe (voice)

Khary Payton as Penguin King (voice)

Eric Bauza as General Toad (voice)

Michael Jelenic
Aaron Horvath
Matthew Fogel
Eric Osmond

Composer (original Nintendo themes by)

Brian Tyler

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Movie Review
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the new gold standard for video game films

From its cheesy nostalgia plays to its breathtaking and imaginative visuals, Universal’s new Mario movie is everything a video game adaptation should be.

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

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A man wearing a full body suit that makes him look like a fuzzy yellow cat and crouching on a steel beam in the middle of a colosseum.

The most delightful part of Nintendo’s entire Mario franchise is how — despite all their decades of conflicts in various video games — Mario, Bowser, Peach, and the rest of their crew have really always been a troupe of actors putting on whimsical stage plays for a captive audience. That idea alone isn’t exactly what defines Universal and Illumination’s new The Super Mario Bros. Movie from co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. But much in the same way Super Mario Bros. 3 ’s ending invited players to think about and appreciate it as being more than just a video game, The Super Mario Bros. Movie plays like a magical celebration of how this franchise has evolved.

For years after Nintendo’s first live-action Super Mario Bros. movie debuted in theaters and immediately bombed at the box office, it seemed as if the studio wanted nothing more than to leave the entire endeavor in the past and steer clear of trying to make movies. But one of the more intriguing things about Universal’s new feature — a co-production between Nintendo and Illumination — is how effectively it manages to weave together so many iconic elements from the franchise’s bigger outings, like the ’90s movie, Mario Kart , and the Donkey Kong games, into a story that’s equal parts nostalgic and reflective of the franchise’s future.

In addition to being generally good guys who know a thing or two about pipes, The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are also introduced as Brooklynites and small business owners trying to make a name for themselves in the film’s opening scenes. As adults and the two youngest members of their surprisingly large family, both of the Mario bros. know how crushing it can be to come home every day to nothing but incessant criticism. But at the heart of Mario and Luigi’s bond is also the mutual understanding that, so long as the two of them stick together, there’s little they can’t accomplish.

An image from The Super Mario Bros. Movie

That attitude’s what gets the brothers up every morning and inspires them to go out into the world in search of bill-paying gigs. But it’s also why they’re both so game when they unexpectedly get sucked into the adventure of a lifetime by way of a mysterious green pipe hidden somewhere deep in New York City’s sewer system.

Because it’s so dense with painstakingly crafted details meant to spark joy from the jump, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s intangible magic — the general feeling, rather than the movie’s actual magic — first kicks in. But as the Mario bros. jump, flip, and twirl their way across town on foot in an early action sequence styled after the classic Mario side scrollers, you can immediately get a sense of just how serious the movie is about translating the essence of its source material into something that feels familiar but also like its own distinct quantity.

This ends up being the case with most of The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s complex set pieces, which doesn’t come as a surprise given Illumination’s track record and Nintendo’s reputation for being extremely protective of its brands. What does come as something of a shock, though, is how genuinely inoffensive (which is to say “not off-putting”) Pratt and Day’s takes on Mario and Luigi are — a concern the movie addresses head-on with some solid gags and a textual explanation as to why Mario occasionally sounds like he might have spent some time in Pawnee, Indiana.

As much information about the Mario bros. as the film lays out before they’re isekai-ed across the galaxy, it’s far, far more reserved about others like Bowser (Jack Black) and his sorcerer Kamek (Kevin Michael Richardson), who serve as hammy villain foils to the Mushroom Kingdom’s Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her loyal subject Toad (Keegan-Michael Key.)

If you’ve played through games like Super Mario World or Super Mario Odyssey , then the general shape of The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s plot will be obvious from the moment you first hear why Bowser’s so hell-bent on getting his hands on a certain star-shaped MacGuffin. The movie works, though, because as it’s building toward its logical and very traditional Mario kind of ending, it uses every possible opportunity it has to make its various fantastical worlds feel like living, breathing, organic places that you’d want to spend hours exploring if they were parts of an open-world video game. It’s cool as hell every single time someone’s outfit transforms after they ingest mushroom power-ups, but it’s things like being able to see each of the individual seeds on a fire flower’s face flicking like a candle that really make you appreciate how hard the movie’s working to get things “right.”

At times, it almost feels like Illumination might have gone overboard in terms of dotting its i’s and crossing its t’s for a movie that moves incredibly fast and consistently has the air of something that’s been crafted with children prone to rewatching the same thing in mind. But it’s just as easy to interpret those things about the film as signs of how much more immersive and engaging Nintendo plans for its Mario theme park and future games to be.

Watching The Super Mario Bros. Movie , it’s impossible not to imagine what it might be like to one day play a game as visually rich running on hardware that puts current-gen Nintendo Switch to shame. That’s probably (part of) the reason the movie exists. But as big-budget commercials for video games and consoles go, The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s going to be undefeated for quite some time.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie also stars Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Charles Martinet. The movie’s slated to hit theaters on April 5th.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie review: This faithful adaptation often feels like a cutscene

The new animated film — featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, and more — faithfully recreates the look and feel of Nintendo's games.

Christian Holub is a writer covering comics and other geeky pop culture. He's still mad about 'Firefly' getting canceled.

Movies and video games have changed a lot since the last time Mario and Luigi were on the big screen. When Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo played the titular roles in 1993's Super Mario Bros ., the concept of adaptation was very loose: The idea wasn't to replicate the experience of playing a Mario video game but rather to build an original story for a different medium with some of the same names and characters. Decades later, viewers have come to expect much more faithful translations. And so we have a new Super Mario Bros. Movie , which looks and feels much closer to Nintendo's iconic games — but, as a result, often feels like an extended cutscene.

The new animated movie from directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic ( Teen Titans Go! To The Movies ) opens with twin brothers Mario ( Chris Pratt ) and Luigi ( Charlie Day ) working together as plumbers in a Brooklyn somewhat like our own. They suddenly get transported to another realm, where the warlord Bowser ( Jack Black ) is on the warpath against the Mushroom Kingdom ruled by Princess Peach ( Anya Taylor-Joy ). While Luigi ends up captured by Bowser's soldiers, Mario finds himself embedded with Peach and her Toads as they try to build a resistance movement.

Despite the storied iconography of these characters, The Super Mario Bros. Movie infuses them all with distinctly modern characterizations. Instead of being a helpless damsel, Peach is an incredibly skilled and capable warrior-ruler who runs circles around the male characters. A female protagonist for the Rey generation, this princess hardly needs rescuing; her goal is to protect her mushroom-headed subjects from Bowser's wrath, while Mario just wants to save his brother. Donkey Kong ( Seth Rogen ) has the muscles to impress a colosseum crowd but remains desperate for the approval of his kingly father — he comes off like Succession 's Kendall Roy in a red tie.

Bowser, meanwhile, is portrayed as a lovesick playground bully who only knows how to express his unrequited affection for the princess by invading her kingdom. Black's performance is the standout of this voice cast (which makes sense given his years of experience in the Kung Fu Panda franchise), and Bowser's many parody songs expressing his love for Peach make great use of the Tenacious D vocalist's unique skills.

When Peach and Mario are preparing to face off against Bowser, they basically play a classic Super Mario game: running across pipes and girders, grabbing power-up mushrooms, the works. But this movie takes just as much from other Mario-involved games like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart . Peach's characterization is clearly influenced by modern archetypes of strong female protagonists, but it also fits perfectly for people who grow up playing her in Smash , where she is more than capable of beating up Bowser or Donkey Kong. The Mario Kart homage is more explicit, and the heroes' race against Bowser's Koopas down Rainbow Road joins the coconut pirates sequence from Moana in the amusing lineage of "kids' movie homages to Mad Max: Fury Road ."

It's all quite fun, with a good sense of humor and a consistent computer-animated aesthetic — plus, at 90 minutes including credits, it's short, sweet, and over before anything can get annoying. But it's hard to escape the feeling, especially during the aforementioned Rainbow Road sequence, that you would probably be having more fun just playing a game together instead. Grade: B-

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‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Review: Sheer Animated Fun, and the Rare Video-Game Movie That Gives You a Prankish Video-Game Buzz

The second time's the charm for Mario on film, as Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy and a delectably villainous Jack Black voice a digital fairy tale that connects.

By Owen Gleiberman

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Mario just wants to rescue his brother, but then he meets Princess Peach ( Anya Taylor-Joy ), who rules over the Mushroom Kingdom’s denizens, who have spherical mushroom heads and the faces of airbrushed babies; they’re led by Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), a cuddlebug with attitude. Mario then teams up with Princess Peach to save her kingdom from Bowser, a fire-breathing beastie who commands a vast army of Koopas, who are turtles. Bowser is a turtle too, if a rather monstrous one — he’s like a fusion of Lionel Barrymore, the Wayland Flowers puppet Madame, and, a T. Rex plushie made for toddlers.

Jack Black , who voices this horny demon, gives a stupendous performance. Bowser is in love with Princess Peach, even as he’s planning to attack her empire, and Black, conjuring something very different from his usual hipster-stoner vibe, makes Bowser a domineering but deeply insecure romantic, like the Phantom of Opera as a neurotic troglodyte. Having a villain who’s a vulnerable ogre you’re at once appalled, amused, and fascinated by makes this a very different sort of kinetic kiddie fantasia. When Bowser is onscreen with his flaming red eyebrows and S&M arm bands, his gap-toothed reptile leer, his Meat Loaf-meets-Axl Rose soft-rock odes to Peach, and his nerd’s megalomania, the audience is in heaven.

There’s a way that mainstream animation, not to mention my own taste in it, has been evolving. So much of it has become rote, with an empty fractious dazzle that doesn’t ultimately sustain interest. And the Pixar brand, much as it saddens me to say it, has in recent years lost some of its humanistic luster. The animated movies I’ve been most drawn to have been off the Pixar grid — movies like “Trolls” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” which merge a kind of kinetic virtuosity with an emotional flair that sneaks up on you. I’d put “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” in that camp. It’s going to be a huge, huge hit, but not just because of its beloved gamer pedigree. (That didn’t help “Super Mario Bros.” in 1993.) It’s because the movie, as directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (from a script by Matthew Fogel), is a serious blast, with a spark of enchantment — that je ne sais quoi fusion of speed and trickery, magic and sophistication, and sheer play that…well, you feel it when you see it.

There have been approximately 50 movies based on video games, and most of them are terrible. I’ve had limited patience even for the ones that “work,” like the coolly depersonalized “Resident Evil” series or that first “Lara Croft” film. It’s not that I’m hostile to video games; it’s that the game and film mediums are so different. Then again, not all video games are the same — the funky nihilist hellscapes of Grand Theft Auto couldn’t be further removed from the interactive innocence of the Mario franchise. Mario presides over a digital playground that lifts the spirit to a place of split-second wonder, and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” stays true to that. Its ingenuity is infectious. You don’t have to be a Mario fan to respond to it, but the film is going to remind the millions who are why they call it a joystick.

Reviewed at AMC Lincoln Square, April 3, 2023. MPA Rating: PG. Running time: 92 MIN.

Production: A Universal Pictures release of an Illumination, Nintendo, Universal production. Producers: Chris Meledandri, Shigeru Miyamoto.
Crew: Directors: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic. Screenplay: Matthew Fogel. Editor: Eric E. Osmond. Music: Koji Kondo, Brian Tyler.
With: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Charles Martinet, Kevin Michael Richardson.

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Critics’ consensus on ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’? It’s a-mixed

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Opening weekend, here we come.

Reviews are officially in for Nintendo and Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which hits theaters Wednesday and has generated quite a bit of buzz leading up to its Easter-weekend release.

The animated film based on the cherished video-game series of the same name boasts a star-studded voice cast, including Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong and Chris Pratt as Mario.

When the family flick was announced back in 2021, fans and social media users immediately questioned the decision to cast Pratt — who has been racking up credits in blockbuster movie franchises like item boxes in Mario Kart — as everyone’s favorite Italian plumber.

Review: ‘Wahoo!’ isn’t quite right for mildly amusing, hectic ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’

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April 4, 2023

In her review for Tribune News Service, film critic Katie Walsh deemed Pratt and Day’s vocal performances as sibling duo Mario and Luigi “so unremarkable that it could have been anyone at all.”

“Fortunately, this loud, hectic movie doesn’t overstay its welcome, but it wouldn’t have the material to last a second longer,” Walsh writes .

“It’s bright, busy, inoffensive and exactly the opposite of the weird, dark, edgy 1993 movie adaptation. That may be better for the business of Mario, but it’s not exactly terribly interesting either.”

Here’s a sampling of reviews of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” ranging from “Oh, no!” to “Wahoo!”

Mario (Chris Pratt) in cat form in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie."

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Arizona Republic

“There are also plenty of Easter eggs to be enjoyed by gameplayers as well as humor that can be appreciated by adults ... and kids alike,” KiMi Robinson writes .

“Much credit goes to the cast for having so much fun with their characters; Charlie Day, for one, manages to infuse as much Charlie Day into Luigi as he does in any live action role. ... ‘The Super Mario Bros.’ is family-friendly movie theater catnip over the Easter weekend, and it’s sure to be an enjoyable watch for the average viewer.”

Associated Press

“It makes you ... want to play Mario,” Jake Coyle writes .

“As nice as it is to look at ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie,’ it’s not anywhere near as fun as it would be to play it. It’s a-him, Mario, but it’s no a-masterpiece. The storyline is only a touch above the interstitial bits of plot you usually get between gameplay. With the exception of Jack Black’s grandly lovesick Bowser ... there’s nothing here that deepens these characters beyond their usual 2-D adventures. Mario may be a modern-day Mickey Mouse but his kingdom is on the console.”

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“It’s all quite fun, with a good sense of humor and a consistent computer-animated aesthetic — plus, at 90 minutes including credits, it’s short, sweet, and over before anything can get annoying,” Christian Holub writes .

“But it’s hard to escape the feeling, especially during the ... Rainbow Road sequence, that you would probably be having more fun just playing a game together instead.”

Hollywood Reporter

“After the debacle that was the 1993 live-action Super Mario Brothers movie adaptation, the creators of the new animated version clearly felt the need to restore the faith of the wildly popular video game’s legions of fans,” Frank Scheck writes .

“While devoted players will weigh in on whether the film fulfills that goal sufficiently, The Super Mario Bros. Movie feels like a labor of love that should easily weather any nitpicking from purists. It should also prove a major cash cow for co-producers Nintendo, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures, with sequels and spin-offs virtually guaranteed. While Matthew Fogel’s screenplay won’t win any awards, it builds a reasonable framework for the 90 minutes of nearly nonstop mayhem that ensues.”

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“The movie’s mostly excellent use of its source material does contrast with some ill-advised blockbuster animation tropes which can occasionally be grating,” Tom Jorgensen writes .

“Moments like this — as well as the frequent use of slo-mo to highlight jokes — are a bit too cute, and hint at how easily The Super Mario Bros. Movie could’ve slipped into ‘generic animated movie’ territory had it given way to more of these low-hanging stabs at making sure Uncle Jack has his ‘I understood that reference!’ moment, too.”

Independent

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie ... is nothing more and nothing less than what you’d expect from a Mario film,” Clarisse Loughrey writes .

“Its comfortable mediocrity is no better captured than in its choice to cast Chris Pratt — the current face of generic, easy-to-market heroism — in the starring role. Pratt, it should be said, is perfectly capable of the sort of outsized performance Mario needed, having previously turned in himbos of equal, puppyish élan in The Lego Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy. But the Pratt called upon here is of the blandly sincere, hire-a-hero variety, delivering lines like ‘let’s-a-go!’ and ‘mamma mia!’ with all the vigour of a contractual obligation and not a trace of Italian.”

“From the decision to cast the onetime Least Offensive Actor on the Planet Chris Pratt in the titular role to the production design that seems to be an exact replica the Wii-era Mario games, ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ largely plays things by the book, which is exactly what the assignment called for,” Christian Zilko writes .

“Co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic have delivered a perfectly serviceable movie that is going to make a lot of kids very happy and a lot of adults very rich.”

New York Times

“While the details are meticulous, the attitude is all wrong, trading the simple, unaffected charm that has served the character so well since his introduction in 1981 for a snarky and fatuous air that leans hard on winking humor and bland, hackneyed irony,” Calum Marsh writes .

“This is Mario in the Marvel mold: every line a punchline, every gag an arcane meta reference for the nerds who can’t get enough of that sort of thing. Served some spaghetti with mushrooms, Mario winces and says he hates mushrooms. Because in the game he’s always eating mushrooms, you see. Sound like fun yet?”

“There’s a perfect Mario game for nearly every kind of person — which gives the little plumber and his endless incarnations the sort of magical appeal that every modern movie franchise is desperate for,” Joshua Rivera writes . “Illumination’s animated adventure The Super Mario Bros. Movie attempts to bottle that appeal, but mostly just ends up referencing it. ... The Super Mario Bros. Movie feels like it’s made to be screenshotted more than watched. Nearly every frame is packed with a dizzying number of Easter eggs and references to Mario games and other Nintendo franchises.

“Cataloging them all might be the most enjoyable way to watch the movie, because when it comes to regular movie things like plot and character, well, all that gets blue-shelled to hell. (If you got that reference, you’ll probably like this movie more than the average viewer.)”

Screen Rant

“Black’s performance is truly what makes Bowser sing, ensuring every scene featuring the villain is one of the movie’s highlights. Beyond Black, Day is also pitch perfect as Luigi and Rogen is extremely fun as Donkey Kong. Taylor-Joy and Key are good, if unmemorable as Peach and Toad,” Molly Freeman writes .

“Pratt, whose casting as Mario was met with skepticism, doesn’t make a strong case for why he was a good choice to voice such an iconic character. He’s simply fine — not so bad as to be distracting, but not strong enough to be at all interesting either, which is about the same as The Super Mario Bros. Movie as a whole.”

“It’s going to be a huge, huge hit, but not just because of its beloved gamer pedigree. (That didn’t help “Super Mario Bros.” in 1993)” Owen Gleiberman writes .

“It’s because the movie, as directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (from a script by Matthew Fogel), is a serious blast, with a spark of enchantment — that je ne sais quoi fusion of speed and trickery, magic and sophistication, and sheer play that … well, you feel it when you see it.”

Washington Post

“The artistry is enough to keep children and adults watching. It may help that Mario gains power by eating mushrooms — a good message about healthy eating, on the one hand, yet one with an obvious psychedelic resonance at the same time,” Pat Padua writes .

“At its 8-bit heart, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is ultimately about family. (You know, the people you spend time with when you’re not playing video games.)”

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‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Review: This Ain’t No Game

A famed video game character side-scrolls once again to the big screen in this bland, witless and flagrantly pandering animated comedy.

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Mario, with bright blue eyes and a brown mustache, is peering at some machinery.

By Calum Marsh

One thing every great Mario game has in common, from 2D classics like Super Mario World to seminal 3D installments like Super Mario 64 or the recent Nintendo Switch masterpiece Super Mario Odyssey, is a certain effortless charisma. No convoluted backstory, no sardonic attitude, no pretension whatsoever: just easy, straightforward video game fun, elevated by splashy visuals, tight controls and an attention to detail that borders on perfectionism.

Illumination and Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the second attempt at a big-screen adaptation of the game franchise after the woefully unsuccessful “ Super Mario Bros. ” (1993), gets many things about Mario right, often painstakingly so. The Mushroom Kingdom, the magical land in which the film is largely set, looks pretty much exactly like the Mushroom Kingdom of the games. Fireflowers, super stars and question mark boxes all look, sound and function like they’re supposed to, and when the notoriously vexing blue shell makes a fan-baiting appearance, it spins, crashes and explodes in a way precisely faithful to the source material. Even Mario (a grating, unctuous Chris Pratt), who doesn’t sound like the Mario of the games, still manages to invoke trademark catchphrases like “it’s a-me” and “let’s a-go.”

But while the details are meticulous, the attitude is all wrong, trading the simple, unaffected charm that has served the character so well since his introduction in 1981 for a snarky and fatuous air that leans hard on winking humor and bland, hackneyed irony. This is Mario in the Marvel mold: every line a punchline, every gag an arcane meta reference for the nerds who can’t get enough of that sort of thing. Served some spaghetti with mushrooms, Mario winces and says he hates mushrooms. Because in the game he’s always eating mushrooms, you see. Sound like fun yet?

In this rendition, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, Mario and his cowardly younger brother, Luigi (Charlie Day), are upstart plumbers from Brooklyn who, for reasons that feel both unnecessarily complicated and curiously underexplained, are zapped into the fantastical world of Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) and the nefarious Bowser (Jack Black). Much of what transpires has some basis in the original games, in a way that often feels oppressively pandering, and the movie’s commitment to fan service frequently results in baffling decisions in the context of the film. When Mario recruits Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) to take on Bowser’s army, they elect to travel via go-kart. Are go-karts inherently interesting or compelling? No. Is there any logical reason why they would use go-karts? No. But there are go-karts in the video game Mario Kart, so in karts they go.

Every level of the original Super Mario Bros. ends with an apology that has become one of the game’s most enduring catchphrases: “Our princess is in another castle.” In “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” it’s deployed as a flat, mirthless inside joke — another pat reference, unfunny and predictable, charged with a yawning desperation to please. It doesn’t seem right that the spirit of such a pure and exuberant character should be reduced to something so flippant and basically cynical. And though every conceivable effort has been taken to make this “Mario” as Mario-like as possible, the attitude is antithetical to exactly what the franchise so wholesomely represents.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 32 minutes. In theaters.

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Everything We Know

Everything we know about the super mario bros. movie, we break down all the details, including who made it, who's in it, what the story might be, and what this could mean for the future of video game adaptations..

TAGGED AS: movies

Video game adaptations sure are leveling up this year, if you’ll forgive the pun. HBO’s take on The Last of Us got the year off to a good start, but this spring, the most iconic video game character of all will be making the jump (pun also intended) to the cinema. The Super Mario Bros. Movie , from Illumination and Universal Pictures in collaboration with Nintendo, will stomp into theaters on April 5, 2023.

If you have questions about The Super Mario Bros. Movie , allow us to answer them as if we were punching a big floating “?” block. Let’s-a go!

The Cast is Mostly A-List Actors

Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black

(Photo by Jon Kopaloff, Phillip Faraone, Samir Hussein, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Nintendo announced the cast of The Super Mario Bros. Movie in September 2021, with Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto revealing the news during a Nintendo Direct event — one of the gaming company’s regularly streamed preview presentations. Mario is a man of few words in the games; Charles Martinet has voiced the character since 1992, but “It’s-a me, Mario!” isn’t quite enough dialogue to fill a feature-length script. A new, more talkative voice actor was required.

But when Miyamoto revealed that Mario would be voiced by Chris Pratt , there was some outcry. The Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World star has done voice work before — he’s quite good in The LEGO Movie and Onward — but there were criticisms that he was overexposed as an actor and that his Mario voice would probably just end up sounding like… Chris Pratt. Your mileage may vary on the first point, but when trailers for the movie came out, it was confirmed that Mario does indeed sound like Chris Pratt in this film. Meanwhile, Martinet will still feature in the film in what’s been described as surprise cameos.

Toad and Princess Peach in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

(Photo by Universal Pictures)

The rest of the cast is less controversial. Anya Taylor-Joy , star of The Witch , The Northman , and Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit , voices Princess Peach. The movie, as with more recent games in the Mario series, gives Peach more agency as a capable leader of Mushroom Kingdom rather than just relegating her status to a damsel in distress. Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philidelphia , Pacific Rim , and The LEGO Movie (in which he co-starred with Pratt) plays Luigi, Mario’s younger, green-clad brother. Day’s on-screen persona tends to lean towards the manic, which should be a good fit for Luigi. Jack Black voices Bowser, Mario’s archenemy and frequent kidnapper of Princess Peach. Based on early reactions to the trailers, Black’s take on King Koopa looks poised to be a highlight of the film, as he’s imbuing the character with a good mixture of menace, bluster, and comedy.

Keegan-Michael Key ( Key & Peele , Wendell and Wild ) voices Toad, Peach’s dutiful but oft-hapless assistant. Seth Rogen voices Donkey Kong, who was technically Mario’s first villain when they both made their debut in the 1981 arcade game, but they’ve since become allies — or at least acquaintances who go-kart and party together. Fred Armisen voices Cranky Kong, an elderly and, well, cranky member of Donkey Kong’s family. Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco voices Foreman Spike, a relatively obscure Mario character who made his debut as Mario and Luigi’s boss in the 1985 game Wrecking Crew . Kevin Michael Richardson , a veteran voice actor, lends his pipes to the role of Kamek, Bowser’s magic-using right-hand man — err, koopa — and Khary Payton voices the Penguin King, the monarch of a chilly land that Bowser conquers.

The Plot Does Not Seem to Be Based on Any One Mario Game

Mario, Princess Peach, and Toad in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Typically speaking, the Super Mario games are not known for having deep, complex plots. There are exceptions — the Paper Mario series of RPGs are fairly lore-dense — but for the most part, the mainline platformer games are pretty bare-bones: Mario must find peach and defeat Bowser. The spin-off games are devoid of a plot. (Mario and Bowser and Co. race go-karts because of… reasons?) The Super Mario Bros. Movie , based on the trailers, seems to be adding a little more context to the basic premise while also drawing in lots of video game Easter eggs.

Bowser is attempting to conquer the world, as one does, and once he obtains a Super Star (the sort that makes Mario temporarily invincible in the games), he has the power he’ll need to do so. Only Mario — who it appears is a newcomer to Mushroom Kingdom — stands in his way. As a character, Mario is said to be an Italian plumber from New York City, but most games don’t really engage with his supposed real-world background or hometown. He just jumps around and plays golf and tennis in Mushroom Kingdom. It seems like the movie’s Mario hails from a place that’s more like our real world and less fantastical than Mushroom Kingdom, but it’s unclear exactly where he’s from.

Upon arriving in Mushroom Kingdom, Mario meets Toad and is taken to Princess Peach, who attempts to train Mario in order to face off with Bowser. There are Yoshis, a Super Smash Bros. -like duel with Donkey Kong, and a Mad Max -esque chase down Rainbow Road, a classic course from the Mario Kart games.

This Is Not the First Mario Movie

John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins as Luigi and Mario in Super Mario Bros. (1993)

(Photo by ©Buena Vista Pictures)

There have actually been two movies based on Mario before this one. In 1986, the anime film Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! opened in Japan. It’s notable for being the first film ever that was based on a video game, though it technically shares the honor because Running Boy: Star Soldier’s Secret , another video game adaptation, came out on the very same day. The plot follows Mario as he’s sucked into the video game he’s playing, an early example of what’s now known as the isekai genre.

Western audiences are probably more familiar with 1993’s live-action Super Mario Bros. , which is either a cult classic or one of the worst films ever made, depending on who you ask. Starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the titular Bros. and Dennis Hopper as Bowser, the film drastically altered the basic Mario story, reimagining King Koopa as a highly evolved dinosaur from a parallel world that first formed when a special meteor hit the earth. It’s a mess, albeit one that’s not without its charms, but its commercial and critical failure is reportedly part of the reason it’s taken so long for Nintendo to allow more film adaptations. Nintendo worked with Universal Parks & Resorts to build Mario-themed lands at Universal’s theme parks, and that relationship helped lead to the upcoming feature film.

Talk of a new movie began in the mid-2010s and production began in earnest in 2018 when Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination founder Chris Meledandri were confirmed as co-producers. The film is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic ; Horvath oversaw Teen Titans Go! to the Movies , while The Super Mario Bros. Movie marks Jelenic’s feature film debut.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Could Be Just the Beginning

Donkey Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Nintendo saw some big-screen success in 2019 with the release of Pokémon Detective Pikachu , a live-action adaptation of a Pokémon spin-off game. Should The Super Mario Bros. movie be a success, there will probably be even more adaptations, and Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has said as much. There are already (unconfirmed) reports that Illumination is prepping a Donkey Kong spin-off, but there are so many Nintendo IPs that could easily become movies. The Legend of Zelda ? Metroid ? Star Fox ? Fire Emblem ? And imagine them all coming together in an Avengers -style crossover (too much?). It could be the start of a new wave of video game adaptations, one that could finally disprove the conventional wisdom that all video game adaptations are bad.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie opens in US theaters on April 5, 2023, and it will open in Japan shortly afterward on April 28.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie Reviews

Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie a great film? No. Is it worth going to see? Yes. Younger gamers will embrace it but older gamers maybe looking for a little more of a plot.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Dec 22, 2023

Scientifically designed in a lab for the broadest possible appeal and the least offense that could possibly be made.

Full Review | Dec 19, 2023

I would have liked a story, but loosely connected action set-pieces within Nintendo's sprawling Mario-adjacent universe is still fun. This is an advertisement for new generations to board the bandwagon.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Dec 8, 2023

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a homage to the most relevant Nintendo saga... [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 29, 2023

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a DREAM COME TRUE for lifelong Nintendo fans and PERFECT DOWN TO THE LAST PIXEL. With gorgeous animation and unforgettable music, Nintendo and Illumination have made a delightful family film filled with heart.

Full Review | Sep 20, 2023

Its action, color, and silliness will appeal to kids while adult fans of the franchise will enjoy all the nostalgic connotations. It manages to tell a coherent, albeit forgettable, story with ample charm, thrills, and humor.

Full Review | Aug 23, 2023

Simple but effective for anyone who grew up with Mario in their lives.

Full Review | Aug 16, 2023

It is obvious that in an effort to appeal to a wide demographic, the movie fails on all counts because of a weak script, an over dependence on elements lifted directly from the video game and several voice casting mistakes.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Aug 8, 2023

Packed with fantastic references that will warm the hearts of those who lived and still live with Nintendo and Mario up close. Along with energetic action, dazzling animation and world-building, and iconic music.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jul 25, 2023

If folks grew up playing the games (or still do), and already treasure everything Mario, this is a must-see movie. For everyone else, the mileage in their kart will vary.

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

PHENOMENAL ANIMATION! Short & Simple (too short if I’m honest) Chris Pratt is honestly PERFECT as MARIO (yes I’m as shocked as you) Jack Black might steal the show as BOWSER. But Brian Tyler’s SCORE is so GOOD

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 22, 2023

A rather forgettable affair.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jul 11, 2023

This fun, visually gorgeous adaptation does the world's most famous plumber justice.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 8, 2023

The voice cast did a good job and the movie has some colorful, eye-popping visuals but overall it's pretty forgettable.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 3, 2023

This second big-screen adaptation of the popular video game series (after the ill-fated 1993 film) is vibrantly colored, speedily-paced (and not too long), and pleasantly diverting, if rather unremarkable in the long run.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 1, 2023

Harmless and charmless.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 27, 2023

Overall, The Super Mario Bros. Movie feels aimed squarely at kids and fans driven by nostalgia and fan service. Too desperate to pack in game references, too frenetic and too amped up; the film operates at a 10 the whole time. Not bad, just not for me

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jun 13, 2023

If you are a parent or guardian dragged to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie, be like Lumalee and abandon yourself to a nightmarish experience.

Full Review | Jun 3, 2023

Sometimes I get the feeling that the adventure of Mario and Luigi never goes beyond the routine level. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | May 24, 2023

A harmless, generic blur of kid’s 'content'.

Full Review | May 23, 2023

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The Super Mario Bros Movie review: Chris Pratt displays all the vigour of a contractual obligation

‘guardians of the galaxy’ star asserts his status as the current face of generic, easy-to-market mediocrity, article bookmarked.

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In 1993, the live-action adaptation of Nintendo ’s Super Mario Bros was so hideously chaotic that it led the games giant to largely shun the film industry until 2019’s Detective Pikachu . Instead of a moustachioed, hyperactive Italian plumber hopping across platforms and down pipes, we were presented with a depressive Bob Hoskins trapped in what looked like the rotting set of a Broadway musical production of Blade Runner . At least you couldn’t call it predictable, though. The Super Mario Bros Movie , an animated rendition of the game courtesy of Illumination (aka the Minion people), is nothing more and nothing less than what you’d expect from a Mario film.

Its comfortable mediocrity is no better captured than in its choice to cast Chris Pratt – the current face of generic, easy-to-market heroism – in the starring role. Pratt, it should be said, is perfectly capable of the sort of outsized performance Mario needed, having previously turned in himbos of equal, puppyish élan in The Lego Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy . But the Pratt called upon here is of the blandly sincere, hire-a-hero variety, delivering lines like “let’s-a-go!” and “mamma mia!” with all the vigour of a contractual obligation and not a trace of Italian.

This Mario is a sadsack entrepreneur whose dad doesn’t believe in his “crazy dream” of running an independent plumbing business in Brooklyn. He also feels guilty about dragging down alongside him his brother Luigi (Charlie Day, also very funny in The Lego Movie and wasted here). When they’re both sucked into a magical sewer pipe, which dumps them out in the middle of the magical Mushroom Kingdom, Mario teams up with a self-possessed Princess Peach ( Anya Taylor-Joy ) and a squeaky-voiced Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) in order to save Luigi from the clutches of the villainous Bowser (Jack Black).

The rest may as well have been written by an algorithm. Peach’s old damsel-in-distress routine has undergone the obvious gender flip. Mario is given a moment of supposed defeat, in which he remembers his brother’s love and storms back into battle, in a scene that would feel more suitable to a film about superheroes rather than plumbers. And the whole thing is soundtracked by composer Brian Tyler’s commendable interpolations of Koji Kondo’s original game score, but also the most obvious popular music cues imaginable. There should have been a moratorium on using Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” after Shrek 2 , but here we are.

To the film’s credit, it’s certainly not as dull and self-serious as screenwriter Matthew Fogel’s bare-bones plot suggests. The many, many nods to Mario lore are charmingly staged – koopas and goombas and yoshis, oh my! – and there are some nicely executed sequences, including a Mad Max: Fury Road -inspired take on the popular Mario Kart game. It’s hard to demand all that much from a Mario Bros film when its source material has been historically devoid of plot, but shouldn’t we be allowed to demand a little more than mere competency?

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Dir: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic. Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen. 12, 134 minutes.

‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ is in cinemas from 5 April

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Review

Mario’s cinematic pipe dream comes true..

It took nearly four decades, one spectacular live-action misfire, and dozens of other failed video game adaptations to learn from, but none of it went to waste: Illumination and Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Movie finally gives the most iconic character in gaming the onscreen adventure he’s always deserved. Benefitting immensely from the endless creativity of the innumerable game developers, artists, and musicians who’ve made the Mario franchise a pop culture juggernaut, The Super Mario Bros. Movie rockets along with the momentum of a Bullet Bill exploding out of a cannon. The Mushroom Kingdom is realized with incredible detail and reverence, and not even a Paper Mario-thin plot can keep the magic of the games from being lost along the way.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s setup is dead simple: while on a plumbing job underneath Brooklyn, brothers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom through a warp pipe and become embroiled in King Bowser’s (Jack Black) plans to steal the Super Star, which would give him the power to take over the Toad-filled domain of Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). Mario’s Cheep-Cheep-out-of-water journey hits all the predictable beats of the “warrior from another world” narrative, but decades of Mario games ensure co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!) have an infinite well of wild scenarios and iconography to pull from to stage inventive action moments, especially once Mario’s gotten a handle of how to properly fly with a Tanooki suit.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie almost always has an inventive in-world solution to whatever problem pops up that relies on something easily recognizable from the games, but never withholds explanation of how that thing works (even if the why goes rightfully ignored.) Whether it’s recreating the path of World 1-1 as Mario and Luigi parkour their way through Brooklyn or the pre-emptive giggle fans will get seeing Mario ingest a blue mushroom instead of a red one during a fight, The Super Mario Bros. Movie manages a great balance of accessibility for general audiences and inside jokes for those of us who’ve dipped in and out of the series over the years.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s heavy use of references isn’t a good thing in and of itself, but their inclusion feels justified because they are used in ways that feel relevant and organic to the world. At worst, sequences like the Rainbow Road race can feel a bit tacked on when they don’t fully make the case for being there with any kind of logical reason (being able to sell movie-branded Mario Kart toys doesn’t count), but then logic is not a currency anyone’s expecting The Super Mario Bros. Movie to trade in anyway. The movie trusts its audience isn’t going to care much about why platforms float, or why there are blocks with question marks all over the place full of power-ups that turn people into cats and flamethrowers. Once you’ve already bought in to things like that, giving 10 minutes of the movie up to staging a big-budget Mario Kart race so that a trek from A to B feels a little more lively is an easier pill to swallow.

The bombastic score perfectly expresses the grandeur and whimsy of the games' tracks.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s visual vibrance sets a very high bar for the other animated video game adaptations which will surely follow, be that from Nintendo or another studio. Bowser’s fire-versus-ice siege of the Penguin Kingdom, the expansive fungi vistas of the Mushroom Kingdom, and the lush greenery of the Kongs’ Jungle Kingdom are all super-saturated dreamscapes that coalesce into a bustling world begging to be explored further. Brian Tyler’s bombastic score takes care of the musical side of this equation, perfectly expressing the grandeur and whimsy of the games’ tracks at every turn and mining Koji Kondo’s original orchestrations to great effect. The Mario series has some of the most recognizable music cues in gaming history, and Tyler deploys many of them throughout the action just where you hope they’d drop.

The movie’s mostly excellent use of its source material does contrast with some ill-advised blockbuster animation tropes which can occasionally be grating. Kind of like someone stealing a star from you in Mario Party, the fantastic score makes the pop tracks that are shoehorned in feel lazy by comparison. A little “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn” as Mario and Luigi parkour their way through the borough never hurt anyone, but by the time Mario and Peach are being karted around the Jungle Kingdom to A-Ha’s “Take On Me,” you may find the needle drops being a little too much of a snap back to reality. That goes double for the writers being unable to resist the urge to have Donkey Kong himself saying “it’s on like Donkey Kong.” Moments like this - as well as the frequent use of slo-mo to highlight jokes - are a bit too cute, and hint at how easily The Super Mario Bros. Movie could’ve slipped into “generic animated movie” territory had it given way to more of these low-hanging stabs at making sure Uncle Jack has his “I understood that reference!” moment, too.

The interminable Discourse surrounding the voice acting in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as expected, feels totally out of touch with what the cast actually ended up delivering: enthusiastic performances that bring life to the characters, with no real weak link among them. Chris Pratt and Charlie Day’s Mario Bros. are certainly not going to be taking home any commendations from the good people of Brooklyn on their New York accents, but each handily embody their character’s heroism and bravery (hard won though that may be for Luigi). There’s definitely been a flattening of the more cartoonish qualities to the lead characters’ in-game voices - something the movie addresses immediately - but the choice to ground conversations in more a more natural delivery balances well with the fantastical trappings of the Mushroom Kingdom. More than that, it still leaves room for supporting characters like Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), Kamek (Kevin Michael Richardson), and Cranky Kong (Fred Armisen) to be a little kookier and give the ensemble more range. And even though it’s a one-joke character with no impact on the plot, Lumalee’s (Juliet Jelenic, co-director Michael’s daughter) gleeful nihilism lands big laughs every time thanks mostly to the young voice actor’s unerring excitement, which bubbles behind every pitch black observation she makes while locked up with Luigi.

Jack Black’s Bowser feels like the standout vocal performance as the actor’s trademark bombast fits well with the Koopa King’s outsized sense of self. Bowser’s thirst for power isn’t explored in any serious way: he wants to take over the Mushroom Kingdom because he’s a bad guy and that’s what bad guys do - apparently he missed the point of that group session in Wreck-it Ralph. But Black’s Bowser is frightening, impetuous, and desperate for attention at times, and those frequent mood shifts lend his scenes unpredictability. Jables’ Bowser even performs a ballad in Peach’s honor which feels like a safe-for-work Tenacious D b-side, a descriptor I can’t imagine will upset any fans of Black’s musical chops.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is constantly and joyfully entertaining, and that’s crucial because it lacks any meaningful thematic throughline outside of “we can do anything when we work together!” That lesson feels like an obligated afterthought considering Mario and Luigi spend the majority of this movie separated - not because of any emotional fracture between them early on, but by pure happenstance (warp pipes are crazy!) The brothers mostly agree on everything, and both are quick to enlist the help of allies when the time comes, so the little effort that went into that aspect of the story goes very much amiss. This feels especially frustrating considering the pair of brief flashbacks which give us insights into the characters’ childhoods. Both of these short scenes manage a comparatively touching tone, and hint at better avenues the story could’ve explored to make Mario, Luigi, and Peach feel more fully formed.

The Verdict

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a fireball of animated fantasy. Mario, Luigi, and Peach’s adventure delights with its infectious energy and smart implementations of video game callbacks, and the top-shelf animation renders the Mushroom Kingdom as an Oz-like wonderland that begs to be explored in the inevitable sequels that will follow. The assembled voice cast puts a unique spin on each of their characters, but undercooked emotional arcs don’t get the same attention as the aesthetics, something not helped by a paint-by-numbers plot that bafflingly keeps Mario and Luigi away from each other for half the movie. Illumination and Nintendo set out to deliver a Mario movie that anyone could enjoy, and that anyone with even a passing knowledge of the games could get lost in - they’ve undeniably succeeded on both fronts.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Review

A pixel-perfect plumber pastiche.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Video game adaptations have been having a bit of a renaissance with bangers like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and HBO’s The Last of Us , so it’s only natural for Nintendo to finally re-enter the ring wit h The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Surprisingly, The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s opening feels rather reminiscent of Nintendo’s first foray into the silver screen with Super Mario Bros. (1993), in that the latest iteration of the plumber’s Mario features the iconic siblings living in Brooklyn, scraping by with prospect plumbing jobs that inevitably lead our heroes into the Mushroom Kingdom proper.

Super Mario Bros Movie 2023 Review 23040404 1

Graciously, that’s where the similarities end between the two films, as The Super Mario Bros. Movie takes a green pipe down straight to the source material and crams as many nuggets and Easter eggs as possible from Nintendo’s storied history. With its brisk pace, The Super Mario Bros. Movie features a plot that feels like an amalgam of Super Mario Odyssey and Mario 64 , both of which are excellent choices, as they exemplify the 3D era of the Mario franchise .

“ The Super Mario Bros. Movie features a plot that feels like an amalgam of Super Mario Odyssey and Mario 64 …”

After falling into the bowels of Brooklyn, the brothers unknowingly are transported to the Mushroom Kingdom after Luigi accidentally activates a green pipe, setting up the first half of the film, in which Mario vows to reunite with his brother after they get separated on their way down. Without delving too much into the rest of the plot, let’s just say The Super Mario Bros. Movie does an excellent job of cribbing the best bits of some of the more iconic elements present in modern Mario games in its narrative.

Super Mario Bros Movie 2023 Review 23040404

Visually, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is stunning and is probably the best thing about it. It transforms the already stellar and iconic source material and marries it with a more western cartoon aesthetic that feels wholly appropriate for an Illumination film that doesn’t stray too far from Miyamoto’s established aesthetic. Of course, The Super Mario Bros. Movie also happens to feature an all-star cast . Despite my reservations about many of the characters not having that over-the-top inflection that cartoon characters tend to have, The Super Mario Bros. cast makes up this deficit with solid acting and bravado.

“Visually, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is stunning and is probably the best thing about it.”

Chris Pratt’s Mario fits into that ‘untested hero rising up to the occasion’ archetype that echoes many of his past characters while also giving Mario a good jumping-off point (no pun intended) into the Goomba stomping, overall-clad hero we know and love. Charlie Day also masterfully morphs into the meek but willing Luigi, channelling his chaotic inner persona ala It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia , which ultimately helps create a solid foil for his older brother.

Super Mario Bros Movie 2023 Review 23040304 5

The two standout performances, however, would easily be Jack Black as Bowser and Anya Taylor-Joy ‘s take on Princess Peach. The latter transforms an otherwise mostly blank slate of a character into a fierce Princess worthy of her royalty and a welcome departure from the literal damsel in distress archetype typical of the character. Jack Black , instead, not only portrays Bowser as the imposing threat that he is but adds that distinct musically charged oomph the famed actor is known for, transforming Bowser into a genuinely funny and entertaining antagonizing force.

Where The Super Mario Bros. Movie briefly stumbles is in its pacing. With a runtime of 1H 32M, the movie feels like it often rushes through set pieces as fast as possible. It makes sure to establish its cinematic universe in a way that only serves as teasers for future projects rather than scenes that give the audience more time to digest and appreciate what’s on-screen.

Super Mario Bros Movie 2023 Review 23040404 4

Even still, The Super Mario Bros. Movie mostly nails what it sets out to do while being appropriate for both fans of Mario’s first outing on the original Nintendo Entertainment System and their children who may only be familiar with Illumination’s other iconic series that starts with the letter M .

Final Thoughts

Zubi’s been gaming since the 16-bit era but really fell in love with it after discovering the RPG genre. Outside of RPGs he also enjoys everything from platformers to VR vomit enducers, just as long as the visuals catch his eye. When not writing about games, Zubi enjoys drawing and buying games he will never get around to playing

This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, CGMagazine may earn a commission. However, please know this does not impact our reviews or opinions in any way. See our ethics statement.

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The super mario bros. movie, common sense media reviewers.

Colorful adventure is a bit more violent than the games.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Poster: Lots of colorful Mario characters stand in front of the movie's title

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Perseverance, teamwork, and courage are important.

Mario stands up for himself and his brother when i

Mario and Luigi are White, of Italian descent. The

Fantasy animated action violence: missiles being s

Mario and Bowser both express romantic interest in

Insulting, bullying language used to humiliate and

Based on the hugely popular Nintendo video game/en

True to the game, Mario eats magical mushrooms tha

Positive Messages

Positive role models.

Mario stands up for himself and his brother when it comes to villains and those who bully others, and he doesn't let teasing or mean comments get the best of him. When it comes to achieving his goals, he puts in hard work and never stops trying. He also shows great courage when it comes to taking on a new world and obstacles. Princess Peach is brave, proactive, and relentless when it comes to defending her land and the creatures in it, putting their needs before her own. Mario and Peach have different goals but work together to achieve them.

Diverse Representations

Mario and Luigi are White, of Italian descent. The movie's take on their over-the-top Italian accents is that they're just for show, but Mario's time with his family reinforces some Italian American stereotypes. Though most of the actors who voice Mario's family are of Italian descent, Mario himself -- Chris Pratt -- is not. The movie's magical worlds feature almost all non-human creatures, but three Black actors voice key characters. Princess Peach is a skilled, brave female leader who leads an army to defend her kingdom. But as fierce and courageous as she is, she's the only female character in any of the lands and is portrayed as a love interest for both Bowser and Mario. In Brooklyn, a wealthy Black couple hire the Mario Bros. for a plumbing job. The creator and some film executives are Japanese.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Fantasy animated action violence: missiles being shot, fingers being crushed in a piano, talk of ritual sacrifices, chases in which characters are in peril. Extreme falls. Character put into intense pain through magic (they're never physically touched). One scary sequence plays like a horror movie, with skeleton zombies that have glowing red eyes chasing a terrified character, crawling out from the ground and eventually capturing him. Dog attack. Spaceship has horns and glowing red eyes. A menacing villain burns down a kingdom and threatens or attempts to kill positive and/or adorable characters. Mean, bullying behavior. Explosions. Adorable character is the voice of doom, making dark comments with the voice of a young child. Bowser's one-sided interest in marrying Peach is at the heart of the plot, and he uses violence against another to coerce her to agree to marry him.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Mario and Bowser both express romantic interest in Princess Peach. Some characters joke with Mario that she would never go out with him.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Insulting, bullying language used to humiliate and put down main characters includes "idiot," "shut up," "stupid," "worthless," and "you're a joke." The ableist term "crazy" is used to describe a character.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Based on the hugely popular Nintendo video game/entertainment franchise. The story weaves together various iterations of the video game and is essentially a commercial for the property. Extensive merchandising in conjunction with the film.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

True to the game, Mario eats magical mushrooms that give him temporary power.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Super Mario Bros. Movie is based on the hugely popular Nintendo video game/entertainment franchise . Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt ) and Princess Peach ( Anya Taylor-Joy ) team up for a quest that involves elements from several of the games, including Donkey Kong , Mario Kart , Super Mario 3D World , and more. The movie is a bit edgier than the games when it comes to cartoon violence, scares, and bullying. Expect missiles, explosions, a well-landed punch, and a plan to make "ritual sacrifices." While Mario and Peach are brave, they and other characters are often visibly panicked and are in constant peril from villain Bowser, who burns down the walls of a kingdom and issues deadly threats to those in his way. Some kids may be frightened by a scene in which Luigi is chased by zombie skeleton turtles with glowing red eyes that creep out of the ground en masse and eventually capture him. The Mario Bros. also hear a lot of insults and are the targets of bullying behavior by a former employer and get teased by family members ("idiot," "stupid," "shut up," etc.). And, of course, there are those magic mushrooms. But ultimately themes of perseverance, courage, and teamwork are clear. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

Parents say (64)
Kids say (99)

Based on 64 parent reviews

Fun Loving Movie Minus any Agenda

Great movie for families super fun, goofy and no politics, what's the story.

In THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, Brooklyn plumbers Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt ) and his younger brother, Luigi ( Charlie Day ), fall down a mysterious portal and wind up separated inside a magical world. Mario lands in the Mushroom Kingdom, which is ruled by Princess Peach ( Anya Taylor-Joy ), who's strategizing how to prevent her land from being conquered by the nefarious Bowser ( Jack Black ). When Mario realizes that Luigi has likely been taken prisoner by Bowser, he and Peach team up to save his brother and her people.

Is It Any Good?

Nintendo fans will feel like they grabbed a Super Star while watching this brightly colored magical adventure, which mashes several Mario games up into a full storyline. But for viewers who are less familiar, sitting through The Super Mario Bros. Movie may feel like watching a second grader play a Mario game: It's cute, but you can't help thinking about all the other things you could be doing with your time. Making movies based on video games that have beloved characters and a built-in fan base seems like a natural choice, but not many do it well (exceptions include Sonic the Hedgehog and Detective Pikachu ), and The Super Mario Bros. Movie doesn't depart from that norm.

While it is fun to see the brothers in their "real life" environment in Brooklyn -- working as plumbers and living at home with their big Italian family -- as well as how the filmmakers incorporate elements of the games, the film isn't funny or creative enough to satisfy most teens or adults. Moreover, the child-friendly animation style is a tad misleading, as directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic up the scare factor, making Bowser and his minions more terrifying than they need to be. There's plenty of excitement, nonstop action, and colorful images, but this project as a whole doesn't exactly level up.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how the cartoon action in The Super Mario Bros. Movie compares to that of others you've seen. Does this kind of violence have more or less impact than what's in live-action movies?

What moments did you recognize from the games? If you're a fan of the games, create your own story about Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach.

Talk about the behavior Mario and Luigi experience in Brooklyn. Is Spike bullying them? Is there a difference between that and how Mario's family speaks to the brothers? What's the difference between bullying and razzing, if there is one? What should you do if someone is trying to put you down?

How do Mario and Peach demonstrate perseverance, courage , and teamwork ? Why are these important character traits and life skills? Do you think video games teach you perseverance? Why, or why not?

Movie Details

In theaters : April 5, 2023
On DVD or streaming : June 13, 2023
Cast : Chris Pratt , Anya Taylor-Joy , Charlie Day
Directors : Aaron Horvath , Michael Jelenic
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Latino actors
Studio : Universal Pictures
Genre : Family and Kids
Topics : Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More , Brothers and Sisters
Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Teamwork
Run time : 92 minutes
MPAA rating : PG
MPAA explanation : action and mild violence
Last updated : December 5, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Review

The bombastic score perfectly expresses the grandeur and whimsy of the games' tracks.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Review