The Super Mario Brothers Movie Comes to Life on The Big Screen

If you didn’t have a Nintendo Game Boy with Super Mario Brothers or Tetris automatically installed you were not one of the cool kids.  And…before that you had to hit the video arcade and play hoping you didn’t run out of change before beating your own record or someone else’s.  In the world of video games you were your own personal hero.  So, when Illumination Studios announced they were bringing Super Mario Brothers to the big screen, this girl over here was beside herself.

While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers Mario (Chris Pratt) and brother Luigi (Charlie Day) are transported down a mysterious pipe wandering into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario is on a mission to find Luigi. With the assistance of a Mushroom Kingdom resident Toad (Keegan Michael-Key) and some training from the strong-willed ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), Mario taps into his own power.

Baby, you are not ready when first five minutes, put you right back into the game and being 12 years-old, while illustrating a love letter to Brooklyn. However, I will say that most of these video game movies have a tendency to run a little on the long side while providing beautiful animation.  Not to mention, that with this one, there are s few inconsistent screenplay slip ups.  Like Princess Peach proclaiming to not know Mario then moments later treating him like an old friend.  For adults, this was confusing.  For the kids watching, I doubt they will notice or even care.

Bruiser (Jack Black) and his ballad for Princess Peach not only made me giggle out loud, but stuck in my head on a loop! Loved the talking toad and the whole Moby Dick vibe with a bit of Smash Gorilla mixed in for measure.

Many critics will lament about how this film didn’t resonate with them.  They might have to duke it out with the gang of kids sitting behind me at recent media screening, who repeatedly howled with laughter throughout. Just saying. With its message to siblings everywhere of nothing can hurt us as long as we’re together,  The Super Mario Brothers movie is endearing, great fun for families to ingest and enjoy.