Illumination and Nintendo’s highly anticipated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie released on April 5 in theaters worldwide. Many questions surrounded this film like the potential quality of the movie based on Illumination’s track record with previous films, Chris Pratt’s seemingly odd choice to voice the titular character, and more. While it shows that Nintendo had a decent amount of influence in the production of the film, the movie stands out on its own as a good film.

Is it a Star?

Often, movies adapted from video games have a sense of loose structure or feel too forced and unnatural. The pacing of the Mario movie though makes sure to go through its paces one step at a time. It understands that most fans watching it have played a game before and understands it’s not supposed to be a storytelling masterpiece. The Mario movie focuses more on incorporating various elements from previous Mario and Nintendo games to have something for everyone to look out for. From Punch-Out references to Mario Kart displays, the movie understands its role and creates an engaging story. It does a lot with a little bit of time having a runtime of an hour and thirty-two minutes.

The Mario movie has amazing visuals. From the reflections in the eyes of the characters to the construction and destruction of the environment in the film, Illumination’s animators made this movie come alive with both the characters and environment looking as crisp as ever. Along with these visuals, the audio follows in the footsteps of the animation by creating an enjoyable experience.

Many were unsure of the casting of many characters in the film like Pratt as Mario or Jack Black as Bowser. If you focus hard on Mario’s voice, you can hear Pratt’s subtle tones, but that does not affect the viewing experience. Characters were presented in a way that had a viewing experience reminiscent of the original voice actors. This is done without having the characters’ voices annoy the viewer. Black may have stolen the show. You will forget he is even voicing the antagonist of the film. Black’s portrayal of the villain’s voice is fitting for the character. Bowser has a few musical moments throughout the movie which make the movie all that more hilarious.

The Final Verdict

The Mario Bros. Movie stands out from most if not all Illumination movies. Throughout the entire film, the movie has a quality not seen since the original Despicable Me. Nintendo oversaw the production of the film but was not too overbearing in doing so. Characters were mostly similar to their video game counterparts but were able to shine in entertaining ways.