The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Review)
In the pizzeria scene, Mario and Luigi meet a character that looks similar to Mario playing the Donkey Kong arcade game called Jump Man. The actor who voiced Jump Man is none other than Charles Martinet who also voiced Mario in the Super Mario games.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is riddled with nods to past and present video games. One of the more notable call backs is the ad for the Mario Bros. Plumbing service which the song comes from the intro of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Jeannie Elias, the original voice of Princess Peach in the cartoon, also makes an appearance as the woman in the ad that greets Mario and Luigi.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the second time a Mario movie has been made. The first time was in 1993 when Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo starred as Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros.
This is the third time Bowser has appeared in a movie. The first time was when Dennis Hopper played as King Koopa in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie. The second time was in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph when Bowser made a short cameo appearance at a villains anonymous meeting where villains of their respective games gather for emotional support after being scrutinized just for playing their roles.
Review:
At a time when two brothers struggle to start up their own business, Mario finds himself in a fantastical world in turmoil. With the help from Toad, Princess Peach, and Donkey Kong, Mario must save his brother Luigi from Bowser and his army of koopas and goombas.
It has been 30 years since the titular brothers have appeared on the big screen. Ever since the live action adaptation in 1993, many people believed Nintendo would never allow any movie studios adapt any of their video games again. Then, the movie was first announced in 2021 in a Nintendo Direct presentation revealing the actors for The Super Mario Bros. Movie leaving many people questioning if this movie was a joke. The movie has finally arrived and many people are wondering if this movie is actually good. I can say that this was actually a really fun ride and most of the cast did really well voicing their characters.
Pros:
To get this out of the way, I was one of the people that did not like Chris Pratt's voice for Mario, at first. I thought the voice was just Chris Pratt playing Chris Pratt just based on what I heard from the previews. After seeing the movie, his voice for Mario is actually better than I expected. Sure, it's not the "boing-boing-wahoo" voice from Charles Martinet nor the heavy New Yorker accent from Bob Hoskins or Lou Albano, but Pratt finds a way to make his voice for Mario his own that balances the best of both worlds of creativity and what fans expect Mario to sound. Mario in this movie is like Mario in the games where he always runs forward towards the goal, but we see a side of Mario we don't see in the games. He is desperate and get put down by his family and his former boss. When it comes to his brother, Luigi, being picked on that counts as crossing the line to Mario. He is not afraid to protect his little brother and will do whatever it takes to save him. So I am pleased with Chris Pratt's performance as Mario overall.
Charlie Day does a little similar to Chris Pratt as the voice of Luigi, but the New Yorker accent is thicker giving Luigi a lot of personality. Luigi in the movie is akin to the video game counterpart. He is a scaredy cat and always looks up to his brother Mario to save him. When push comes to shove and Mario is the one in danger, Luigi manages to muster up the courage to save his brother and the people he cares for most.