A Striking Balance Between Childish Fun and Passable Filmmaking

Arguably one of the most popular and polarizing debates in cinema arrived this year with the release of the Super Mario Bros movie. What many thought would simply be a fun but disposable children's movie wound up sparking discourse over how much value we put into the opinions of critics and whether general audiences are more reliable in terms of a film’s quality. With the release of exceptional animated films recently such as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, the bar has been set high for what an animated film can bring to cinema. And while many fans of the video game franchise (including myself) were hoping that the Mario movie would be able to match up to this new criteria, this film doesn’t exactly meet that mark. Despite that, though, it was still an entertaining film I enjoyed watching.

From the moment that this film was announced on Nintendo Direct, the cast was already getting criticism. Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach all had quite distracting voiceover work initially. Over the course of the film, though, they were truly able to meld these characters with their voices. By the time the credits rolled, I felt satisfied with the performances they (and the rest of the cast) delivered. However, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad and Jack Black as Bowser were the clear standouts to me. Both of them embodied their respective characters with ease as they respected the video game characters they portrayed while putting a unique spin on them. There was so much flair and personality present that was clearly derived from the voice actors themselves as opposed to the script.

Speaking of the script, this along with the basic story as a whole had to be the film’s weakest aspect. This is due to the screenwriters prioritizing worldbuilding and easter eggs over a compelling, well-written story. A lot of the dialogue and humor didn’t really land as well as it seemed they were hoping for. The 92-minute runtime was also a hindrance, as the pacing of the film is just too quick. A lot of the scenes are condensed and quickly cut to other scenes to either introduce a new idea or reference the game. 

Ultimately, the standout aspect of this film was the score. Over the course of Mario’s video game history, the games have consistently delivered beautiful scores. The works of Koji Kondo, Mojito Yokota, Ryo Nagamatsu, Grant Kirkhope, Asuka Hayazaki have been staples of the series and recognizable all over the world. Composer Brian Tyler used a lot of the existing Mario themes in order to create the score for the film, and even worked with the aforementioned longtime Mario series composer Koji Kondo. The score has such an amazing presence and personality throughout the film, almost to the point that it feels like its own character.

Overall, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has beautiful animation and sound design that is hindered somewhat by a lackluster screenplay. Thankfully, it has a cast and crew who clearly love the source material the film is based on. It is hard to adapt the most beloved and well-known video game character into film, and while it is far from a masterpiece, I appreciate that Illumination and Nintendo delivered a film that was not only faithful, but also fun and exciting.

7/10