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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.

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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!”

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“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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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 (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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‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Review: Kid-Friendly Video Game Adaptation Pulls Out All the Power-Ups

Christian zilko.

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Nintendo has always stood out as an oasis of untapped potential for an entertainment industry that’s determined to wring every drop of content out of every other preexisting brand. The Super Mario games have produced some of the most beloved characters in pop culture history, and the iconography of warp pipes, mushrooms, go-karts, and carnivorous plants is instantly recognizable. It’s the kind of pre-packaged movie franchise that Bob Iger probably salivated over during his mid-2000s IP shopping spree.

When you really think about it, the only remarkable thing about “ The Super Mario Bros. Movie ” is that it took somebody this long to make it.

For years, the elephant in the room was the horrendous “Super Mario Bros.” from 1993 . That monstrosity, which infamously reimagined Mario and Luigi as live-action New York plumbers played by Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo, reportedly scared Nintendo executives out of the movie business for a quarter century. But in fairness to everyone involved, the source material wasn’t particularly fleshed out at the time. The filmmakers had to make everything up because Mario and his friends were just pixelated little silhouettes who ran in one direction through a two-dimensional world. At that point, you might as well just make a movie about Tetris!

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But the subsequent decades have seen the “Mario” universe grow into a sprawling three-dimensional world. Not only do we know all the heroes and villains and side characters, but most of us can name a few racetracks from the fictional auto racing league that exists within the games. Simply put, there was already an incredible blueprint for a movie franchise. When Illumination announced plans to make an animated Mario movie, all it had to do was translate what already existed to the big screen without screwing it up.

Fortunately, nobody screwed it up. 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. 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. 

When we meet our heroes, Mario (Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are just Brooklyn plumbers trying to make ends meet. They recently started their own business, but things are going so poorly that they still live with their disapproving parents. The film cleverly explains the whole “Chris Pratt’s Mario voice sounds a lot like his regular voice” thing by revealing that the two brothers play up their Italian heritage by speaking in stereotypically Italian accents in their plumbing commercials. But outside of the marketing gimmick, they just sound like everyone else in Brooklyn.

After a plumbing accident sucks them into the New York sewer system, the brothers are pulled into in two separate vortexes that lead them into two alternative dimensions. Mario ends up in the idyllic Mushroom Kingdom, while Luigi is pulled into a hellish kingdom of darkness ruled by the evil Bowser (Jack Black).

As Mario sets out to look for his brother, he seeks the help of Princess Peach ( Anya Taylor-Joy ), the human woman who rules over a kingdom that otherwise consists exclusively of anthropomorphic mushrooms. (It’s fair to wonder why her title is “Princess” rather than “Queen,” considering that she’s the kingdom’s top reigning monarch and has no royal parents, but it appears that the “Super Mario Bros.” universe is one where titles of nobility are determined strictly by alliteration.)

The two humans soon realize that they can help each other. Peach is sick of living under the constant threat of war from Bowser, so she recruits Mario to help her mobilize an army to take him down and retrieve Luigi in the process. Once she teaches Mario how to navigate this strange video game-like world, they can set out for the Kong Jungle and attempt to recruit an infantry of gorillas to back them.

Mario quickly learns that power-ups are the key to his survival. Peach explains to him that all those floating cubes with question marks on them are actually filled with various mushrooms, flowers, costumes, and other nifty items that allow the stout plumber to punch above his weight against gorillas and dinosaurs. (A scene where Mario dons a cat costume and scratches Donkey Kong with his claws is probably awesome for innocent minds who don’t immediately think about furries.) Once he learns how to make himself huge and occasionally breathe fire, it’s over for the nefarious actors in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Parents shouldn’t expect a Pixar-level experience, but Matthew Fogel’s script has as at least much narrative heft as the best Mario games. Kids’ movies can be — and often are —  so much worse. Nobody is reinventing the blue shell, but Horvath and Jelenic do an excellent job of recreating the Mushroom Kingdom from the recent video games while adding a decidedly cinematic flair. For certain demographics (i.e. families lamenting the fact that it’s been months since a major kids movie hit theaters), this is going to be an absolute godsend.

But even if it’s not your thing, everyone should find a way to coexist with this franchise very quickly. Because it’s hard to see a future where we don’t get a lot more of these. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is a true masterclass in exploiting juicy IP, building out an intricate-yet-familiar world that’s littered with video game Easter eggs that could set up other movies. A spin-off film about Rogen’s Donkey Kong has been rumored for a while, and it seems inevitable that another half dozen have been sketched out on a whiteboard somewhere.

Remember, Illumination has squeezed six movies (and counting!) out of a bunch of pill-shaped yellow guys who look like they just walked out of a hair plug appointment. There’s no reason to think this franchise can’t be at least that big.

Universal Pictures will release “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” in theaters on Wednesday, April 5.

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‘the super mario bros. movie’ review: zippy animated version breathes new life into beloved video game.

Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key and Seth Rogen are among stars providing the voices for this new screen adaptation of the iconic Nintendo franchise.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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After an amusing slapstick episode involving a routine plumbing job turned into a catastrophe by an aggressive pooch, the brothers take it upon themselves to attempt to fix a broken water main underneath the Brooklyn streets. When Luigi falls down a mysterious pipe and disappears, Mario dives in after him and finds himself in the magical Mushroom Kingdom. With the aid of the upbeat Toad (Keegan Michael-Key), the first resident he encounters, Mario embarks on a mission to rescue his brother from the clutches of the evil Bowser ( Jack Black ), the ferocious turtle leader of the Koopas, who is intent on conquering the Mushroom Kingdom.

The film features one jam-packed sequence after another, one highlight being Mario’s titanic battle with Donkey Kong ( Seth Rogen , sounding exactly like himself but still hilarious), in which his determination and resourcefulness become fully apparent. The fast-paced action effectively approximates the gaming experience; Brian Tyler’s equally frenetic soundtrack cleverly riffs on the game’s musical themes by composer Koji Kando, providing suitable accompaniment.

The plot is as basic as can be, and character development is clearly not a priority. Considering Day’s terrific voice work as Luigi, it seems a shame that the character disappears for such long stretches. But directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, creators of the Teen Titans Go! series, deliver a reasonably faithful big screen adaptation that, while it features plenty of juvenile humor, wisely doesn’t lean toward broad satire.

Fans will be delighted by the many Easter eggs liberally scattered throughout the proceedings — I’m sure I missed the vast majority of them, but there were plenty of appreciative laughs and cheers at the press screening — including the vocal cameos by original Mario voice performer Martinet and other game veterans.

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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: Nintendo Direct Trailer Stills

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 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.

Which Power-Up Do You Want to See Most in The Super Mario Bros. Movie?

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 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 is endless nostalgia bait with no hook of its own

It’s a feast of references to past games, but it’s built to court screenshots, not make memories

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In the world of video games, you can always count on Mario . Nintendo’s mascot is a cheery plumber whose can-do attitude and penchant for jumping has made him an avatar for all kinds of family fun: charming games of skill where you hop over monsters and obstacles to reach a flag and save a princess, chaotic racing games where sabotage is more important than driving, and sports games that somehow appeal both to people who love sports and to those who would rather die than turn on ESPN. It isn’t that much of a stretch to say that there is no such thing as a bad Mario game. 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.

Illumination’s animated adventure The Super Mario Bros. Movie attempts to bottle that appeal, but mostly just ends up referencing it. Directed by Teen Titans Go! creators Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, with a script by Minions: The Rise of Gru and The Lego Movie 2 co-writer Matthew Fogel, 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.)

A portal fantasy (pipe dream?) squarely aimed at younger audiences, The Super Mario Bros. Movie introduces Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), two brothers from Brooklyn who dream of getting their independent plumbing business off the ground. Unfortunately, they haven’t bagged a single client yet, making them a laughingstock to the neighborhood and a disappointment to their family. Desperate to prove themselves, the self-styled “Super Mario Bros.” try to fix a neighborhood water main break, but get sucked through a strange green pipe that warps them both into the colorful world of the Mario video games.

Trouble is, Mario and Luigi warp to very different places: Mario lands in the idyllic Mushroom Kingdom, populated by mushroom-headed folk called Toads (the main one voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) and led by the human Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). But Luigi warps right into the clutches of Bowser (Jack Black), the king of the turtlelike Koopas, who’s on a mission to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. Hoping to rescue his brother, Mario teams up with Peach on a journey to ask Cranky Kong (Fred Armisen) for permission to bring Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) and the Kong Army into the fight against the Koopas.

It’s a breezy plot that’s mostly meant to take viewers on a scenic tour of Mario locales, with some slapstick along the way. Illumination’s rendering of Nintendo’s worlds and characters, as imagined by legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto , is overwhelmingly gorgeous and painstakingly faithful, packing every corner of the screen with something interesting to look at. Everything else about the movie is serviceable, with frustratingly brief moments of idiosyncrasy that would arguably make The Super Mario Bros. Movie a more memorable film.

The comedy is big on pratfalls from cute creatures, but also has the baffling and bizarre inclusion of a Luma, an adorable star-shaped creature that yearns for oblivion, and that gets big laughs out of lines about despair and death that are guaranteed to sound even creepier when kids start repeating them. When The Super Mario Bros . Movie veers into action — which happens often — the scenes vacillate between generic superhero-style fights and dazzlingly inventive set-pieces that blend ambitious CG animation with 2D video game homage.

Reverence is the goal here, haunted perhaps by the ghost of 1993’s Super Mario Bros ., a legendary live-action boondoggle that pleased neither Nintendo, nor its fans, nor filmgoers with its weird, dystopian take on the plucky plumbers’ journey through the Mushroom Kingdom. (Even if it has slowly crept toward cult-favorite status in the intervening 30 years.) This new take on Mario is so faithful in its efforts to recreate iconography from four decades of video games that there’s almost no energy left to expend on reaching the unconverted. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a sermon for the Nintendo faithful and their children, and few others.

There’s been a lot of anxiety about the vocal performances in The Super Mario Bros. Movie , and it’s all ultimately for naught. Most of them — especially Chris Pratt as Mario — are serviceable, and frankly don’t make enough of an impression to linger in the mind or inspire children to imitate them, the way Charles Martinet’s iconic performance from the games has for years now. (Mario’s longtime voice actor has a few brief cameos easily spotted and heard by those looking for him.)

The major exception is Jack Black as Bowser. An ebullient presence on and off screen, Black brings an unmatched energy to The Super Mario Bros. Movie , resulting in a take on Mario’s nemesis that reads as both faithful to the games and original to the film. It’s the only part of the movie that legitimately feels collaborative between Illumination’s animators, Nintendo’s source material, and an actor’s performance, creating something that feels both familiar and new. (It’s also the source of one of the film’s best gags, a moment that’s hard to imagine anyone other than Black pulling off.)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie arrives in a cinematic landscape that frankly needs it. Major Hollywood studios are in search of dependable IP that comes with a baked-in audience — one that may thrill at the sight of a Nintendo production card, for example. And cinemas are, as ScreenCrush’s Matt Singer recently noted in a post that set off a major online kerfuffle, often bereft of theatrical releases for children. Who better to save the day than our trusty pal Mario, with his astounding video game track record and impossible-to-hate overalls?

But the point of Mario is that he can do anything. He’s a license to play in a world that demands we take so many things seriously. For Mario, reverence feels wrong, and antithetical to the boundless feeling that comes when his familiar themes play through the speakers. There’s a bit of poetry to why Mario’s iconic movement is a jump: When you’re at play and your feet leave the ground, for the briefest moment, it feels like anything can happen. All it takes is a little imagination. The Super Mario Bros. Movie has none.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie premieres in theaters on April 5.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review - Actually Awesome

• First Released Apr 5, 2023 released

More than just another cartoon comedy, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a surprisingly great action flick.

By Phil Owen on April 4, 2023 at 12:00PM PDT

Folks have been having all sorts of emotional turmoil about this new Super Mario Bros. Movie since the moment it was announced that Guardians of the Galaxy and Lego Movie star Chris Pratt would provide the voice of Mario. All that gnashing of teeth was for nothing, though. The Super Mario Bros.. Movie is both pretty funny and also just plain pretty--this movie is a feast for the eyes.

This adventure begins in Brooklyn, with a pair of brothers whose family plumbing business is--despite a stellar local TV ad featuring the Super Mario Bros.. Super Show theme--struggling. A brother-and-brother plumbing outfit? In this economy? Forget about it.

Fortunately, these normal-life problems are pretty quickly forgotten when Mario and Luigi venture deep into the sewers to try to figure out why Brooklyn's streets are spontaneously filling with water. They discover a weirdly intricate structure that goes deep underground, but before they can explore it fully, Mario steps into the wrong pipe and is transported to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Luigi, unfortunately, ends up in Bowser's Dark Land and then, in short order, Bowser's dungeon. So Luigi is the damsel in distress, and it's up to Mario and Peach to save him and all the other people/things that Bowser might like to do bad things with. And since Bowser was already in the process of conquering the universe at the start of this movie, there are plenty of people/things that he plans to do bad things with.

Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, needs to unite everyone else around who might be threatened by Bowser's never-ending war of conquest. Who else is there to even unite, you may ask? Well, there's a whole country full of Kongs who would be handy in a fight.

If it sounds like Mario is taking a backseat in his own movie, don't worry. While it may seem like Peach is the real main character of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, that's like calling Thorin Oakenshield the main character of The Hobbit. Yes, I'm saying that Mario in this movie is pretty much Bilbo Baggins--a short guy who everybody underestimates because he never seems to be that important or have many practical skills, but who has a penchant for being in the right place at the right time and pulling off clever surprises. He's the wild card.

As for Chris Pratt's performance as Mario: He's fine. He's just as good at being the likable white guy here as he usually is, and he's usually funny when he's supposed to be.

That's pretty much how it goes across the board for the voice talent. Nobody is bad, and they're all funny when they need to be in basically the ways you would expect. Seth Rogen plays Donkey Kong like he's a Seth Rogen character in a stoner movie. Bowser, likewise, pretty much just is Jack Black, complete with a musical number that sounds like a Tenacious D ballad. Nothing to complain about there, certainly--like most of the jokes in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the song is funny! But it's not too funny. It's normal funny.

But this isn't a movie that needs to rely on the charms of its voice talent for success. Honestly, it works even better as an adventure flick than it does as a comedy, because it's got several incredibly well-crafted action sequences that absolutely blew me away.

The Mario Kart Rainbow Road sequence that you've seen glimpses of in the trailers and other ads is one that folks will talk about a lot , but it's just one of a few stellar sequences that make The Super Mario Bros. Movie rate alongside Into the Spider-Verse as a visual experience. It's not as good as Into the Spider-Verse overall, but there's a similar quality to the craftsmanship.

And a big part of that is the philosophy behind the adaptation. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is chock-full of Easter eggs and other references to the decades of Mario-related content. But since our enjoyment of Mario as an IP isn't really plot-related, the filmmakers were able to incorporate everything into the aesthetic of the world.

Take, for example, a scene in the middle of the movie where Mario and Peach have a heartfelt chat under a tree, at night, in a rolling field full of Fire Flowers. It's a shot that looks incredible in its own right--the Flowers are just a bonus for those who care. Likewise, we've got several platforming sequences that are direct nods to the gameplay of the Mario series, but they're so well done and cool to watch that they don't feel obligatory, even though they definitely were obligatory.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie never feels reverent of the Mario IP, but it's also never disrespectful. It's a spot that might not have worked if the film weren't so well put together--fortunately for us, though, The Super Mario Bros., could end up being one of the best big-budget action flicks of the year.

• Leave Blank
• Beautiful and well-crafted action sequences
• Chris Pratt doesn't ruin the movie, and is, in fact, pretty good as Mario
• Doesn't take the source material too seriously, but stays respectful enough
• The all-star voice cast doesn't elevate the movie that much
• Yoshi isn't in it

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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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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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The Super Mario Bros. Movie

2023, Kids & family/Comedy, 1h 32m

What to know

Critics Consensus

While it's nowhere near as thrilling as turtle tipping your way to 128 lives, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a colorful -- albeit thinly plotted -- animated adventure that has about as many Nintendos as Nintendon'ts. Read critic reviews

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Wahoo! Read audience reviews

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The super mario bros. movie videos, the super mario bros. movie   photos.

Mario and Luigi go on a whirlwind adventure through Mushroom Kingdom, uniting with a cast of familiar characters to defeat Bowser.

Rating: PG (Action and Mild Violence)

Genre: Kids & family, Comedy, Adventure, Animation

Original Language: English

Director: Aaron Horvath , Michael Jelenic

Producer: Christopher Meledandri , Shigeru Miyamoto

Writer: Matthew Fogel

Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 2023  wide

Release Date (Streaming): May 16, 2023

Box Office (Gross USA): $574.9M

Runtime: 1h 32m

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Production Co: Universal Pictures, Nintendo, Illumination Entertainment

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Atmos

Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

Cast & Crew

Chris Pratt

Mario Voice

Anya Taylor-Joy

Princess Peach Voice

Charlie Day

Luigi Voice

Bowser Voice

Keegan-Michael Key

Donkey Kong Voice

Fred Armisen

Cranky Kong Voice

Kevin Michael Richardson

Kamek Voice

Sebastian Maniscalco

Spike Voice

Charles Martinet

Aaron Horvath

Michael Jelenic

Matthew Fogel

Screenwriter

Christopher Meledandri

Shigeru Miyamoto

Brian Tyler

Original Music

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie Feels Like It Was Designed In A Lab

Nintendo’s new movie starring chris pratt trots out tons of familiar references, and that’s about it.

For me and so many millions of players around the world, the Nintendo brand means something. In our hearts, it holds a place akin to the one Disney holds for others. And, importantly, it’s earned that place not just by being a massive corporation whose name is emblazoned across so many of the games we grew up with, but because those games so often possess a rare and defining quality, something uniquely “Nintendo.” It’s hard to articulate just what that quality is, but it has to do with inventiveness and charm, joy and wonder, beating within the heart of its excellent, meticulously designed games. I’d hoped that The Super Mario Bros. Movie , on which Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, has co-producing credit, would capture some of that magic.

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Unfortunately, while the film dutifully goes through the motions, sweating to put as many nostalgic references on screen as we can swallow, there’s no real inventiveness or spirit here. It has the makings of a rousing adventure, but not the crackle of inspiration. The end result is a transparently hollow commercial product that feels like it was designed in a lab to make our brains light up with recognition for things we love, without actually reminding us why that love exists in the first place.

Read More: Super Mario Movie Sounds Shockingly Good, Or Pretty Bad Depending On Who You Ask

I won’t be spoiling the film’s plot here, in part because there really isn’t much of a plot to spoil. Trailers have revealed that we do, at least briefly, see the titular bros in Brooklyn before circumstances whisk them away to the Mushroom Kingdom. What then ensues feels less like a story unfolding and more like a series of video-gamey action sequences calculated to provide the filmmakers with maximum opportunity to show us signifiers that make the Nintendo faithful (a group in which I absolutely count myself) go “Ooh, it’s that power-up/enemy/gameplay mechanic I like!”

This is not a film that feels like it came into being because Nintendo or its creative partner, animation studio Illumination, finally hit upon a Super Mario tale worth telling. It feels like it came into being because some suits determined (rightly, no doubt) that now was the time to expand Mario’s media profile well beyond games, to get more people coming to the theme parks, buying the consoles, seeing the movies, snagging the official merch, and generating revenue in any number of other ways.

And of course, many good films are also part of multi-pronged corporate strategies to collect more golden coins than you can count. That’s not the issue. The issue is that that’s just about all The Super Mario Bros. Movie is.

Now, it’s not entirely without its charms. The always-reliable Jack Black brings an energy (and a singing voice) to his role as Bowser that this otherwise pretty lifeless movie can scarcely contain. Likewise, among Princess Peach’s Mushroom Kingdom subjects is a Toad commander who imbues lines like “Good luck, Princess, for all our sakes” with such exaggerated gravitas that they become enjoyably ridiculous. And there’s a Luma—a cute, starry little creature—that plays against expectation, wishing, in its whimsical voice, for the sweet release of death. It makes for some of the film’s only genuinely surprising moments, generating some real laughs.

For me, though, the most surprising thing about the Mario movie might be how much it feels like a video game, in a negative sense. Throughout the action sequences, which see Mario working alongside Peach to assemble a force capable of taking on Bowser’s might, his success in this situation or that one often comes down not to some particular ingenuity on his part, but to him getting an effective power-up. And again, it’s not that I’m against seeing Cat Mario from Super Mario 3D World make an appearance in the movie. I love 3D World ! I love Cat Mario! But the film could have worked these details into action scenes that also felt rooted in character and made victory feel earned, rather than simply the result of video-game happenstance.

Read More: Every Super Mario Game Ranked From Worst To Best

And the way the film segues from one sequence to another is almost comically mechanical, clearly the result of the film fulfilling its obligation to show us more Stuff From The Games rather than originating in any organic way out of the story. Case in point: Cranky Kong (Fred Armisen, doing a kind of New York old guy accent with a dash of Bernie Sanders to it) at one point declaring, “We’re gonna need karts!” ushering us into a sequence that’s just one visual nod to Mario Kart 8 after another, complete with Mario doing a drift boost. Just like we do in the game! Isn’t that cool?

Such game references aren’t just the stuff of the central action here, either. Many scenes feature blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em nods to not just Mario, but a host of older Nintendo games. An early scene, for instance, takes place at Punch-Out Pizzeria, a Brooklyn eatery bedecked with Punch-Out!! protagonist Little Mac’s boxing paraphernalia, as well as photos of other bruisers from Nintendo’s pugilistic franchise. At one point, the film was so dense with these little background details that I wondered just how it is we’re supposed to watch a movie like this: paying attention to what’s actually happening, or constantly scanning the background for Easter eggs.

And again, I think that a density of visual information in a movie can be great. The layers of visual detail in the wonderful animated film Into the Spider-Verse make its world feel fully realized, and help the film reward repeat viewings. It’s just that there’s no substance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie to support all that background detail in the first place, so it just becomes one more way for the film to trigger the positive nostalgic receptors in our brains without actually earning our interest or admiration. One inspired exception: During a particularly low moment, Mario retreats to his room and plays the NES game Kid Icarus . When he dies (like many early Nintendo games, Kid Icarus is ruthless), the game’s death screen text, “I’M FINISHED!”, serves as a humorously apt commentary on Mario’s mental state.

To its credit, the film looks great. From the individual hairs in Mario’s mustache to the eye-popping vistas of the Mushroom Kingdom, it’s a visual treat. I just wish it all felt like it was in the service of something more substantial than a corporate brand-building exercise. Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and the rest of the cast are all serviceable but unremarkable, and I feel like that’s largely because the film makes no real demands of them. Sure, it’s nice that Princess Peach here is cool and competent and not relegated to being the damsel in distress that she has been in so many Mario games, but she’s still a shallow archetype with only the vaguest gestures at actual character development.

This movie will no doubt make tons of money, and kids may really like it. If I’d seen it when I was seven years old, I probably would have been dazzled. But kids and adults deserve better than this, and if Nintendo and Illumination hope to launch a new series (or perhaps even a universe) of Mario movies, they’d better start doing more than just lighting up our brains with nostalgic recognition for details from the video games we’ve played and loved. They’d better figure out how to actually make us feel invested in these characters and what happens to them. It’ll take more than a ride along Rainbow Road or a well-timed tanooki suit to do that.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother Luigi, trying to save a captured princess. A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother Luigi, trying to save a captured princess. A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother Luigi, trying to save a captured princess.

• Aaron Horvath
• Michael Jelenic
• Pierre Leduc
• Matthew Fogel
• Chris Pratt
• Anya Taylor-Joy
• Charlie Day
• 1.2K User reviews
• 287 Critic reviews
• 46 Metascore
• 1 win & 43 nominations

• Princess Peach

• Penguin King

• Mario's Dad

• Uncle Arthur

• Mario's Mom

• Toad General

• Cranky Kong

• Donkey Kong

• Koopa General

• Additional Voices
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

On-Screen Video Game Adaptations

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Did you know

• Trivia When Mario and Toad try to enter Princess Peach's castle, two toad guards joke that "the princess is in another castle". This is a reference to the original Super Mario Bros. (1985) , where at the end of each world (bar world 8) a toad said "Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle".
• Goofs Luigi never asks the calling customer for their address. Even if the customer told him their address, he never told Mario but somehow Mario gets there before Luigi does.

Lumalee : In an Insane World, it is the Sane who are called crazy.

• Crazy credits SPOILER: In a post-credits scene, a white egg with green spots hatches, upon which the roar of Yoshi the dinosaur is heard.
• Connections Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Chris Pratt/Laverne Cox/Big Data & Joywave (2014)
• Soundtracks Battle Without Honor or Humanity Written and Performed by Tomoyasu Hotei Courtesy of EMI Music Japan Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User reviews 1.2K

• movies_are_life_
• Apr 10, 2023
• How long is The Super Mario Bros. Movie? Powered by Alexa
• Are Mario and Peach gonna be married in later Mario Movie instalments?
• When Bowser ripped Luigi's mustache before he was locked in a cage with the other characters, his mustache grew back, is this supposed to be an animation error?
• Why did Princess Peach say that Mario's not important to the Toads? Was it because they think that Mario is a bad person?
• April 5, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Nintendo (Japan)
• Official Facebook
• Super Mario Bros. La película
• Paris, France (Studio)
• Universal Pictures
• Illumination Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $100,000,000 (estimated)
• $574,934,330
• $146,361,865
• Apr 9, 2023
• $1,362,027,222

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 32 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• 12-Track Digital Sound
• Dolby Atmos
• IMAX 6-Track

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