The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Dir: Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic
- Ridley Coote
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
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If I'm honest, I avoided watching this Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic directed animated adventure for a while. This was mostly due to the casting, which worried me a little. Still, the prospect of seeing some of the iconic Nintendo brand and some of its biggest and best characters on the big screen was an exciting prospect.
I will admit, the animation looked extremely cool. It was vibrant, clean, and very sleek. You could tell that a lot of time and effort was put into making the film look as good as possible. The character designs were unlikely to change, but I thought everything looked great, including the less typically 'Nintendo' features.
The story was basic, but I suppose it didn't need or want to be anything too complex, particularly for its young audience. Suffice it to say the film knew what it wanted to be. I did have some issues with the writing, even with the above point in mind. For one, the film was full of passive characters, who were kind of just dropped in to fill time and space, rather than to do anything of significance. Even so, it was still a fairly entertaining adventure, for what it was.
Chris Pratt, fairly or not, was the aspect of this film that I was worried the most about, especially when it was revealed prior to the film's release that he would not be doing the traditional 'Mario' voice. However, for what it's worth, he did an okay job. He didn't blow me away with what he provided the legendary Italian plumber, but he didn't annoy me, as I suspected he might.
Of the supporting cast, there were two very clear standouts; those being the supreme talent of Anya Taylor-Joy and the ever-entertaining Jack Black. Both put a lot of energy into their characters, and I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining each made their roles feel. The writing for 'Bowser' may have been bizarre at times, but Black excelled regardless.
Other voice acting performances worth mentioning came from an array of talent, including the likes of Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogan, and Fred Armisen. I was hoping that Day's character would have a little more to do in the film, but I supposed 'Luigi' has always played second fiddle to his red-adorned brother.
Overall, this was a simple but certainly watchable blockbuster, which did a decent enough job of entertaining to avoid being a total waste of time. I'm still not totally convinced of its necessity, but I guess it has its place, certainly with a younger audience, at least. There's a sequel due in 2026, so time will tell if these films will launch a franchise, or prove to be another floundering attempt to bring video games to the big screen.
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