Like many kids who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, many hours were spent trying to conquer the latest video game including those featuring Mario and Luigi. Those Italian brothers with the signature overalls and moustaches were a part of many childhoods in the last 40 years. I stopped playing video games when I became a teenager, so I’m not familiar with the latest iterations of the Mario Bros. But, I do remember playing Dr. Mario, Mario Kart, and the Super Mario Bros. edition where there were all these hidden tricks and tips where Mario could turn into a different animal.
When I first heard of there being a Super Mario Bros. Movie, I was kind of skeptical. It was a cartoon and so that can be a hit or miss these days. I was hoping for a movie version like Sonic the Hedgehog, but I guess I’d give this movie a try.
A quick backstory that starts in Brooklyn
Chris Pratt voices Mario, the older brother who is the mastermind behind the plumbing business, while Charlie Day plays the typical younger brother who wants to do everything his older brother does. The movie starts off very promising as we’re introduced to the brothers’ life in Brooklyn. We learn that Mario has just sunk their life savings into an amateurishly shot local television commercial promoting their new plumbing business. And the two brothers aren’t exactly the shining stars of their family as they sit down for a big family dinner and are razzed by their folks and relatives. But despite the lack of familial support, Mario is determined to make it big in the world of plumbing.
Before they know it, they receive their first client call to fix a leaky bathroom sink pipe. The boys are off to an inauspicious start when their work van won’t drive. But this won’t stop Mario. He insists they instead go on foot to their appointment. This sequence of watching Mario and Luigi race towards their plumbing job is my favourite in the entire movie. You see the potential of Mario and Luigi to become their “video game” versions as they bob and weave and battle their way through the broken and congested Brooklyn streets to get to their job. I seriously thought we have something very special here.
Of course, the job isn’t as easy as it seems once Mario triumphantly seals the leak. The client’s angry (but very cute) dog gets in the mix and the simple fix turns into a major plumbing disaster. The movie is still rolling on an up trajectory at this point and I’m wanting to learn and see more about the brothers’ lives before they become the Super Mario Bros.
Before we know it, we’re in the warp zone where Mario and Luigi are separated
As the movie is only a brief 92 minutes, we unfortunately don’t have a lot of story time for Mario and Luigi’s origin story. Instead, Mario comes up with a plan to help fix a massive plumbing disaster in Brooklyn which will put their names on the map. In their quest to locate the plumbing problem, Mario and Luigi happen upon the famous pipes that act as the warp zones that will transport them into another world.
Here is where the movie makes a fatal mistake by separating the brothers. The chemistry, if you can even call it that, between Mario and Luigi was so engaging and fun. The big brother and the little brother dynamic was working really well. But I guess we need a plot device to get us to the “fun” video game world, so Luigi disappears into one world while Mario goes into the other and it’s up to Mario to save Luigi.
I’ll fast forward the movie points to boil it down to this. Mario is transported to the beautifully bright and magical Mushroom Land where he of course crosses paths with Toad (Keegan-Michael Key). Toad brings Mario to meet the ruler of their land, a perky Princess named Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). This sudden demonstration of hospitality is a bit of a stretch, but we gotta keep this movie short, so I guess we’ll have to go with it.
It’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but it’s really about Mario and Princess
Suddenly the movie is now about the Princess and Mario and not the Super Mario Bros. I like the Princess, but she should have been a supporting character. I’m guessing the film makers wanted a more progressive storyline where it’s not going to be the typical Mario game where the boys have to save the Princess. Instead, the Princess has been transformed into a one woman army and it’s on her to punch and kick and throw ice and fire to fight off Bower’s army with Mario’s support. This part I didn’t quite understand. Granted, I’m not a Mario historian, so I don’t really know what’s Princess’ background. But I didn’t understand why if threatened with Bowser and his army wanting to take control of their land, why is it only on Princess to fight this battle?
I think we could have had a drop kicking independent Princess who will NOT be marrying Bowser (Jack Black) if the story was about Mario and Luigi being asked to help the Princess protect their land from being taken over by Bowser and his goons. It would have been more interesting if Mario and Luigi were not accidentally transported into the warp zones, but have Princess and Toad enter Brooklyn looking for help against Bowser.
We have to find a way for Donkey Kong to join the crew
So we now have Princess, Toad, and Mario joining forces to go find Donkey Kong as they need the Kong army. This part I also didn’t quite understand other than I understand his is how we’ll shoe horn Donkey Kong into the crew. The fight between Mario and Donkey Kong was very funny and inventive. I see why we needed to find a way to bring Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) into the mix, but there had to have been a more clever way to do it. Mario defeats Donkey Kong, and so now the Kong army must support the Princess and go battle Bowser.
Donkey Kong’s interactions with Mario are also very funny and entertaining. If Luigi is not going to be there for most of the movie, then Donkey Kong should’ve been there to fill the void Luigi left behind next to Mario. DK and Mario were a solid dynamic backup duo and it was nice to see them fight together once Princess had to give herself up to Bowser in order to save Toad. One of the most funniest scenes is when Donkey Kong and Mario are fighting and they both share a brief moment of commonality when they realize they are both disappointments to their respective fathers (Fred Armisen voices DK’s dad).
Bringing the story back to Brooklyn was a smart move
The battle against Bowser actually carries over back into Brooklyn. This is why I say it may have been a more interesting story if we stayed mostly on Mario and Luigi’s home turf instead of fast tracking to the magical worlds. There’s a glimpse of emotional depth when poor Mario is cornered by Bowser and he’s too scared to come out of the diner he’s hiding in. It just so happens that the commercial for Mario and Luigi’s plumbing business is playing on the TV and you can just see how scared and confused Mario is. We needed more of this in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. They should’ve gone there with the character development. We started off with a glimpse of it for both Mario and Luigi, but then it was just all about the adventure.
Bowser of course is ultimately defeated when Mario and Luigi are finally reunited and join forces with the help of the star to super charge themselves into the Super Smash Bros. and fight off all the bad guys. This was another great scene in the movie but again, only because we finally get to see both Mario and Luigi on the screen together. We also get to see that both Mario and Luigi have seemingly moved out of their parents’ house and moved into their own apartment in the Mushroom world as the movie ends.
The sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie better be about Mario and Luigi, together!
The movie ends with not one but two end credits. The first end credit is a resigned Bowser playing the piano and singing his love song to Princess Peach. The only catch is that Bowser ate the wrong mushroom and he’s now a shrunken Bowser who can fit in the palm of your hand. The final end credit is where we’re cruelly teased with the non-appearance of the green Yoshi. It only sounds as if a potential sequel will include the missing green dinosaur as we never get to see Yoshi.
Although I was disappointed in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, I do recommend seeing it on a big screen and in a theatre. The sound and the look of the movie is like an explosion of sugar and diamonds and of the old school NES days. It’s something you’d want to experience in a theatre and with other people. But is the movie worth a rewatch? Eh, not so much. Please Illumination, for the next Mario movie, please don’t sideline Luigi. Please have both Mario and Luigi on the screen together. And it’s okay to explore their lives and personalities outside of their adventures in the warp zones. Let’s learn more about how they will juggle working as plumbers while being one of the only human people in the Mushroom world.
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