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‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ couldn’t have arrived in theaters at a better time.

After decades of mockery from critics and fans, video game adaptations have finally found their moment. HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ recently closed out its first season as the hottest show on television, and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ rounded out last year’s top 10 domestic box office hits, with ‘Uncharted’ not far behind at No. 13.

Mario’s first big-screen appearance in 30 years has already joined their ranks, bringing in $146 million during its opening weekend. Illumination Entertainment’s take on the iconic plumber is narratively simple, but its luxurious animation and goofy sense of humor are enough to earn a place firmly in the winners’ column of video game media.

From its opening scene, ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ is a meticulously faithful tribute to the Nintendo games that inspired it. The film rips its character designs straight from the games, and the world around them is filled to the brim with crowd-pleasing references to everything from ‘Jumpman’ to ‘Kid Icarus’ to Miis.

The brisk plot, which remixes tried-and-true kids movie tropes audiences have seen before, is thin on drama but gets the job done. ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ hopes you won’t stop to think about its logic and that, instead, a slew of high-flying action sequences will convince you to check your brain at the door. In that regard, the film is a success.

“Mario” begins in Brooklyn, where our hero — played by Chris Pratt — runs a struggling plumbing business with his brother, Luigi. Down on their luck and unable to attract customers, the duo sees an opportunity to make a name for themselves when a disastrous sewage leak causes a flood in Brooklyn’s streets.

Their mission to stop the leak leads them deep into a maze of pipes below the city. At the bottom, they encounter a conspicuous green pipe familiar to fans. When the pipe whisks Luigi inside, Mario follows him, and the brothers are transported into a magical new world.

A fork in the pipe’s pathway separates Mario and Luigi as soon as their journey begins. Mario is sent to the Mushroom Kingdom, populated by the enigmatic Toads, while Luigi becomes stranded in the domain of the duo’s iconic nemesis, Bowser.

After the brothers emerge from the pipe, the story is relatively sparse. To save Luigi, and the Mushroom Kingdom, from Bowser’s army, Mario joins forces with new friends like Princess Peach and Donkey Kong. He has a series of fun trials along the way, in which he learns to use items that give him special powers, but there are no big narrative surprises.

Jacques Megnizin | Design Editor

Like the platform games that inspired it, ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ is about the journey, not the destination. It may be all surface-level sheen, but it’s a joy to look at and listen to. The action sequences are near-perfect. Since 2018, only ‘Incredibles 2’ and ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,’ which hit theaters within six months of one another, have had such compelling animated action.

At only 92 minutes, the film moves between set pieces at breakneck speed. There are at least six memorable action scenes, often inspired by Mario sub-franchises, including ‘Mario Kart’ and ‘Super Smash Bros.’ The final showdown against Bowser had my opening-night crowd clapping and cheering.

The Mushroom Kingdom is gorgeously animated, a brightly-colored feast for the eyes that sometimes even feels overstuffed with ideas. The film also has outstanding effects animation, with expressive oceans and oozing lava that provide a rich backdrop for this adventure.

Mario, Luigi and Peach are the best-designed human characters in any Illumination movie. Strict adherence to the look of the video games forces the studio to move away from its house style, which produced awkward and unappealing animated people in previous films like ‘The Lorax’ and ‘The Secret Life of Pets.’ Mario himself is particularly impressive, with startingly watery eyes and a mustache so detailed you can see individual hairs.

Pratt’s voice acting of the titular character is less impressive.

Fans online were vocally suspicious of Pratt’s casting when series creator Shigeru Miyamoto announced him as the lead. While he surpasses those low expectations, the performance never takes him far outside his comfort zone. There are short outbursts of that famous Italian accent fans have come to love, but they are few and far between, mostly replaced with a generic Pratt effort.

Jack Black’s Bowser is the clear standout in the cast. Black’s comic persona blends perfectly with this script’s conception of King Koopa as a lovesick crooner. His lines are crisp, and his deliveries are always funny, but he shines most whenever he gets to sing.

Bowser’s piano ballads, alongside several fantastic remixes of Mario composer Koji Kondo classics, make up the best moments on the soundtrack. The music is one of the film’s clear highlights, except for the few times when tired pop songs like ‘Take On Me’ replace composer Brian Tyler’s charming throwback tunes.

The infectious music, fast-paced action and killer performance from Black add up to a rousingly entertaining experience. There isn’t much to the film’s plot, but its visual thrills are not to be missed. ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ is a powered-up, block-smashing update of familiar formulas with a little something for everybody — just don’t go into it expecting ‘King Lear.’

Published on April 11, 2023 at 10:10 pm