[Rating: Minor Rock Fist Up]
In theaters April 5.
It’s 1982, and I’m adding my quarter to the top of the gaming console at my local arcade. Everyone is lined up to play the new game, Donkey Kong. It’s taking over Space Invaders and Centipede as the most popular game at the spot. We’re introduced to a short guy with a red hat, climbing structures to defeat the gorilla holding the princess at the top.
Over the years, we’ve come that little guy as Mario and, for over 40 years, Mario (Chris Pratt) and his brother Luigi (Charlie Day) have been a part of video game lore and my life as well. So it’s really nice to see an animated feature adaptation of their story on the big screen in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It serves as both nostalgia and storytelling for young and old alike but is it a story good enough to hold the interest of a new generation of Mario fans, as they have in the past?
If you’re looking for nostalgia, this movie is filled with references to many Mario and Nintendo games, including Punch-Out and the original Jump Man. There is something for every Mario fan in the form of tons of Easter eggs. It demands a second viewing or an informative YouTube video to catch a majority of them. It was nice to see references to Gladiator, Mad Max and a certain Bible story all combined in 92 minutes. The great thing is without knowing anything about the storylines of any of the games it’s still a cute movie and that anyone can enjoy.
Pratt and Day do a good job as the Italian plumbing brothers are sucked into a fantasy world of turtles and other colorful characters to help Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) stop a monster boss villain named Bowser (Jack Black). There are moments when the voice acting is so good you forget that you’re watching an animated feature. I seriously forgot that Chris Pratt was playing the role. I never thought I was listening to Star-Lord. I just saw Mario. And for any criticism, getting lost in a character is the best response that you can have for a voice-acting role. The acting standouts here are Jack Black as well as Seth Rogen who plays my childhood favorite, Donkey Kong. They are so animated in real life that it easily transfers into their voice performances. Overall, the whole cast is great, despite some stereotypical Italian family tropes that are used.
The real standout here is the animation and visual effects. If you’ve seen an Illumination movie before you’re probably used to their style. This is the next level. I found myself getting lost in the appearance on screen, and how great it looked. The colors were vibrant, and the characters had a beautiful gloss on them that made you look at the reflections in their eyes. It is really well done. The soundtrack, the score, and the sound effects (taken directly from the games) are excellent. That said, it is not a perfect movie. Like the games, the storyline is not deep in the form of development. Like reaching a new level in a game, you’re treated to a new scene or a new scenario that harkens back to another game. It remains fun but you’re not going to experience any character growth by the end. It is based on a simplistic video game series.
There are certain scenes early on that may be too scary for younger children. That aside, this is an overall cute movie and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it serves up enough nostalgia for this former arcade dweller, and I’m sure it will please fans, young and old alike. I may no longer be hanging out at the arcade, but I still love Mario and this was a fun ride to remind me of those days. This one is definitely for the fans.
KB is a native New Yorker/Midwest transplant who’s into tech, sports, and the arts, especially film and music. He still aspires to be a DJ in his other life. You can frequently catch him watching Hitchcock classics, film noir, and anything Star Wars.
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