After years of, usually being profitable, but almost always turning out to be garbage that has virtually nothing to do with the source material, video game movies began to have a turnaround in the late 2010's and 2020's, with flicks like
Rampage with Dwayne Johnson,
Detective Pikachu, and especially the
Sonic the Hedgehog movies. Those movies may still not be the absolute truest adaptations of those games, but they were clearly done by filmmakers who, if nothing else, respected them, and came up with inventive ways to mold them into movies with actual narratives. They also got better reviews than most video game adaptations of the past, both from critics and gamers alike, and were really profitable to boot. Thus, it was only a matter of time before movie studios decided to take another crack at Mario, something that had been off the table for decades after the 1993
Super Mario Bros. movie crashed and burned big time. If you've read my review of that, you know that, while I don't hate it, and I can understand why it has a cult following, due to just how freaking bizarre it is, I'm not a big fan of it, as it's too out there and needlessly gross for me (and I also don't find it that funny). So, I was more than up for another big screen Mario adventure, and the fact that, this time, it was going to be animated, like it should've been all along, was a big encouragement. There was some controversy leading up to its release with the announcement of various big name celebrities voicing the characters, instead of professional voice actors (including Mario's longtime video
game voice actor, Charles Martinet), something that modern animated
movies are often criticized for, but I didn't care. When the trailers came out, I liked what I saw, as it not only looked gorgeous, but the character designs and environments looked true to the games, and what I heard of the voice acting sounded just fine. Plus, I could tell it was made by fans of the games, as I was already spotting numerous Easter eggs and references. But, while I figured it might do well, I did
not expect it to the absolute monster hit that it was, making over $1 billion and becoming one of the highest-grossing animated movies of all time. What didn't surprise me was that it got mixed reviews from mainstream critics but I wasn't interested in what they thought, as most of them had probably never picked up a video game controller in their lives.
I saw it not too long after it came out, on a Sunday afternoon, and I left the theater feeling very satisfied. Above all else, it's wonderfully entertaining, and I feel it really captures both the spirit of the games and the characters (for the most part), and I think about 98% of the voice-acting is on point. I was absolutely geeking out over the numerous references and Easter eggs, especially in the music score, but, at the same time, I like how they were weaved into it in a way where they're not a complete distraction. The story may not be the greatest, this was probably the best way to introduce and translate the Mario universe to the big screen, and I love the way it implements various elements and tropes from the games. Also, while they're not greatly focused on, there are some genuinely heartfelt moments, too, and, above all else, the movie is an absolute visual feast, with bright, eye-popping colors, beautiful animation, and many dynamic and well-done action sequences. All that said, some of the attempts at humor are kind of lame, with that typical modern animated movie issue of trying too hard to be witty, and there are some eye-rolling song choices on the soundtrack. As I hinted at, I'm also not entirely sold on some characterizations, namely that of the Kongs, since I particularly love that franchise, and while you shouldn't expect depth from a Mario movie, I do think some of the character insights and relationships could've been fleshed out a bit more. But, I think the movie's biggest issue is, while I appreciate how it's a swift 92 minutes and doesn't overstay its welcome, it's maybe a tad too fast-paced for its own good. There aren't many instances where it pauses to take a breath, and when it does, it's not for very long; on top of that, it hints at so many other lands and worlds you want to see explored, but they just pass through them within seconds. And while I do think most non-fans or casual ones of the games could enjoy it, it throws so much at you so fast than it can be overwhelming. But, overall, it's so much fun and such a love letter to the games that those issues can be easily overlooked.
The Snow Kingdom, ruled by the benevolent Penguin King, is attacked and annihilated by Bowser, the evil King of the Koopas, who claims the powerful Super Star hidden within the castle. Meanwhile, brothers Mario and Luigi have just begun their own plumbing business in Brooklyn, after leaving their jerk of a former boss, Spike. Though they get their first customer shortly after launching their own commercial, the job is a complete disaster that causes far more damage. That night, while having dinner with their family, they find that most of their relatives deride their business, and Mario is especially disappointed when his father is unimpressed. Later, upon seeing a news report of a broken water main that's flooding Brooklyn, the brothers rush to fix it. While down in the sewers, they stumble upon a long abandoned, hidden area, and get sucked into a Warp Pipe. The brothers are then separated, with Mario landing in the peaceful Mushroom Kingdom, while Luigi ends up in the sinister Dark Lands, ruled by Bowser. Upon meeting and telling Toad what happened to his brother, Mario is taken to the royal castle to meet with Princess Peach. The princess is planning to journey to the nearby Jungle Kingdom to enlist the help of the Kong Army to defeat Bowser, who intends to use the Super Star to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. When she meets Mario and learns about Luigi, she puts him through an obstacle course in order to give him a taste of what to expect in this world. Though he doesn't complete it, Peach is impressed by Mario's determination and the two of them, along with Toad, journey to the Jungle Kingdom. In the Dark Lands, Luigi is captured and brought before Bowser, who plans to ask Peach to marry him, or else he'll destroy the Mushroom Kingdom with the star's power. Having learned of Mario and how he's traveling with Peach, Bowser, jealous over her possible attraction to the plumber, has Luigi imprisoned. Meanwhile, in the Jungle Kingdom, the travelers are brought before its ruler, King Cranky Kong, who initially refuses to help. But, when he finds Mario amusing, he challenges him to defeat his son, Donkey Kong, in battle in order to ensure their cooperation. Despite having a lot of trouble at first, Mario manages to out-maneuver and defeat Donkey Kong. However, it may still take more than the Kong Army for Mario and Peach to defeat Bowser and save both the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi.
According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the notion of doing another Mario movie came about back during the time of the Virtual Console, in the early 2010's. In fact, at one point, Sony Pictures was planning on teaming up with them to produce the movie, but while there were negotiations, with Avi Arad going to Japan to try to secure a deal, nothing came of it, likely because of the competition between Nintendo and Sony Interactive. It was only when Nintendo began working with Universal to create the theme park, Super Nintendo World, that the movie began to gather momentum, with Miyamoto feeling that Illumination would be the best animation studio to produce it. The deal was finalized by the beginning of 2018, with Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri, the founder of Illumination, acting as producers, with the former heavily involved in the project's development.
When it seemed like Sony may be the studio behind the movie, it was suggested that Genndy Tartakovsky be placed at the helm, which would've been a good choice. But, in the end, Illumination went with Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, with Mathew Fogel, the screenwriter on Minions: The Rise of Gru, doing the screenplay. I had no idea until I was looking up info and doing research for this review that Horvath and Jelenic the guys behind Teen Titans Go! (I've seen their names in the credits for that show, obviously, but it never clicked), and if I had known that when I first saw the movie, I might've gone into it with a bad attitude. Like most people who loved the original Teen Titans cartoon, I'm not that big on Teen Titans Go! I don't deny that it can be funny and I do think it works well enough... when it stops actively trying to piss off fans of the original, sometimes in really mean-spirited and petty ways. But, that latter tendency, combined with the original's undeniable quality, and the sheer overexposure of Teen Titans Go! on Cartoon Network at one time, really turned me off of it. Fortunately, Horvath and Jelenic decided not to take that approach here (Jelenic himself admitted that they knew people would expect them to), but instead wanted to do something that was faithful to the games, and also had a more cinematic and even emotional element to it. Plus, I'm sure the heavy involvement of both Nintendo and Miyamoto kept them on a leash.
In my opinion, this movie did something with Mario himself that had to be tough to pull off: really get the character's essence from the games down pat, while also adding some depth that doesn't feel alien to it. Let's face it, in the games and other media, like
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, he's never been a complex character. In fact, he's very black and white: a good-hearted, dependable, heroic guy who never gives up on those who need him, and that is maintained here. But, at the beginning of the movie, you also get a sense of some insecurities that have plagued him his whole life. One is his short height, which has caused others to either never take him seriously or think they can walk all over him. By extension, he also hates how so many people, including members of his own family, have never expected him to amount to anything, and have even actively discouraged him. When he and Luigi go into business for themselves and launch their own self-made commercial, they get ridiculed not only by their former boss, Spike, but also a couple of their uncles. Mario is especially crushed when their own father calls him crazy for quitting a steady job to pursue some "crazy dream," and accuses him of dragging Luigi down with him. Between that and their first plumbing job going completely sideways, he laments, "I'm just sick and tired of feelin' so small." So, when he sees on the news that a water main has burst and is flooding the streets, Mario decides this is their chance to really make something of themselves. However, his dream of saving Brooklyn leads to them getting sucked down through a Warp Pipe, into the Warp Zone, and landing in the midst of the war between the Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser. Arriving in the former, Mario, upon meeting Toad, then Princess Peach, and learning the danger that Luigi is in, is insistent on accompanying Peach on her journey to enlist the aid of the Kong Army. Even when she warns him what a monster Bowser is, he doesn't back down, and the same goes for when she puts him through an obstacle course to see what he can do. Though he fails again and again and again, he never stops trying, even though the course is brutal, and he keeps having to eat Super Mushrooms, which he despises, in order to power up. He never completes the course, but he comes close enough to where Peach feels he's worth bringing along.
Even though they don't have a lot of screentime together before they're separated, the bond between Mario and Luigi is very clear. When they're tumbling through the Warp Zone, Mario, after getting over the wonder of this dimension, tries desperately to save Luigi. He manages to grab his hands and tries to calm him down, assuring him, "It's all gonna be okay!... I'm tellin' you, nothing can hurt us as long as we're together!" But then, they're flung apart and end up in different lands. When he finds himself in the
Mushroom Kingdom, Mario, despite, again, being amazed by everything around him, is most concerned with saving his brother, no matter what stands in his way. You get more of a sense of how deep their bond is when, after he's been captured and is being taken to Bowser's castle, Luigi thinks back to a moment when they were little kids, when this bully knocked over a castle of building blocks he'd made and his brother immediately came to the rescue. Also, when he, Peach, and Toad make a stop during their journey to
the Jungle Kingdom, Mario tells her that he and Luigi have never been apart from each other this long. Thus, no matter what he has to do, whether it's fight Donkey Kong to ensure the Kong Army's cooperation, drive on Rainbow Road while getting attacking by the Koopa Army, escape from the belly of a giant Maw-Ray eel that swallows him and Donkey Kong, or crash Bowser's planned wedding with Peach and then fight the Koopa King head on, Mario is going to save his brother.
As for the voice acting, I was never hung up on the idea that Charles Martinet wouldn't be voicing Mario. I also didn't mind when I heard that Chris Pratt was cast, mainly because, unlike so many other people, I actually still like the guy. And, above all else, I think he does quite well in the role and fits this particular iteration of Mario. Let's face it, as much as we all love Martinet in the games, I can't imagine that voice performing the more emotional and, dare I say, nuanced aspects of the character here. I think Pratt
successfully portrays Mario as just a typical, blue-collar guy who's trying to make something of himself and ends up getting the biggest possible opportunity to do so. I also think he does well in acting as the straight-man in his reaction to all the weird sights he comes across in these worlds, like when he's taking in the Mushroom Kingdom while following Toad, or when they're met by a particular ape guard at the Jungle Kingdom gate and he deadpans, "That's gorilla's wearing a sports-coat." And I think it was a
clever idea to have Mario hate mushrooms, yet here he is not, only surrounded by them, but having to eat them in order to power up. Finally, Pratt was also criticized for not attempting to do the classic Mario voice but, think about it: could you have taken 92 minutes of, "It'sa me, a-Mario!"? There's a reason why Mario doesn't talk that much in the games, because if he did, that would probably start to grate on your nerves. In fact, you get a taste of what it would've been like if Pratt did that for the whole movie in the commercial for Mario and Luigi's
plumbing business, and once you do, I think you'll agree they made the right choice (they even poke fun at the voice, though not egregiously). Plus, he does say some of the famous lines, like, "Mama mia!", and, "Let'sa go," so it's not like they totally ignored what Mario is known for sounding like.
Truth be told, they probably should've removed "Bros." from the title, as Luigi's (voiced by Charlie Day) role here is very minimal. You could argue that the title is fitting because of what a central theme his and Mario's relationship is, and how it comes full-circle during the climax, and you may have a point. But in the actual story, Luigi takes the role that Princess Peach typically has in the games: he's captured by Bowser and needs to be rescued. That said, like with Mario, I think they got the character right. Luigi has often been portrayed as more skittish and demure than his brother, and that's definitely the case here, even before they end up in the other world. After Mario stands up to Spike in the beginning and nearly gets pounded for it, Luigi tells him that he was nuts for trying to take on someone so much bigger than him; Mario tells him, "Luigi, come on! You can't be scared all the time," and he answers, "Mm, you'd be surprised." When they go to their first client's home, he's scared of their dog, Francis, before he makes an enemy out of him by accidentally stepping on and cracking his chew-bone. And unlike Mario, Luigi isn't so sure about the idea of saving Brooklyn by fixing the broken water main. But, through it all, he sticks with his brother, assuring him that he doesn't feel like he's dragging him down in this venture, like their father says. His loyalty to Mario remains even when he's brought before Bowser, who demands to know if he's kin to the guy who's currently traveling with Peach. Though he does crack when Bowser threatens to rip his mustache off, Luigi still, initially, pleads ignorance about Mario. He's imprisoned with everyone else whom Bowser has conquered, and is nearly sacrificed along with them during his intended wedding to Peach. But, during the final battle in Brooklyn, Luigi not only steps in to defend his brother, but the two of them use the power of the Super Star to fight and take down Bowser and his armies.
One thing I really like about this movie is how, after so many years of being portrayed in the games as a ditzy damsel in distress, Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy) is made into a brave, pure-hearted, take charge ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. In her introductory scene, she's in a council meeting where the Toad General informs everyone of how Bowser has acquired the Super Star and plans to use it to conquer them. Her first line, directed towards a worried yellow Toad, is, "I will
not let him hurt you. We are going to stop Bowser," and she lays out her plan to enlist the aid of the Kong Army. Even when she's told that Cranky Kong won't do anything to help them, she confidently says, "
I can convince him." When she first meets Mario, as he comes barging into the castle and runs right at her, she grabs his hand and throws him over her shoulder. But, she quickly realizes he's not a threat and, in fact, is excited to see that he's a human like her (possibly). When he tells her what's happened to Luigi, she breaks it to him that he's likely been captured by Bowser, but that she's going to get the Kongs to help. Though skeptical of bringing him along when he asks due to how short he is, when he shows determination, she decides to put him to the test. Taking him to the big, floating obstacle course, she says that if he can finish it, she'll let him accompany her. She proceeds to demonstrate how to run it and does it absolutely flawlessly; Mario, however, fails countless times, even with the power-ups, much to Peach's chagrin. But, she's clearly impressed by his determination and moxy, as he keeps trying all through the night, and does come very close to completing it during his last attempt. She tries to reassure him when he's despondent over it, saying that she was worse than him on her first attempt... which turns out to be a lie, though Mario isn't complaining.
Speaking of which, there's only the slightest hint of a possible romance between them, as the focus is on saving Luigi and the Mushroom Kingdom. Still, you can see Peach growing increasingly impressed with and respecting Mario, like when he manages to defeat Donkey Kong, despite her having warned him beforehand that fighting him was not a good idea, given the size and strength difference. And there is a little bit of flirtation during the first part of the
Mario Kart sequence, as they and the Kongs attempt to
reach the Mushroom Kingdom before Bowser does. Peach and Mario have this respective back and forth: "
Is there anything like this in your world?" "No. We don't drive on rainbows." "What are you gonna tell me next? That the turtles aren't evil?" "No, no. They're usually pets." "No way!" "Eh, come to Brooklyn. I'll buy ya a turtle." "Maybe I will." However, the Koopa Army then attacks them, seemingly sending Mario and Donkey Kong plummeting to their deaths, and capturing the Kongs.The only ones left, Peach and Toad rush back to the Mushroom Kingdom and warn everyone to evacuate, as Bowser is on his way. When he arrives, Peach is aghast when he says he intends to marry her and have them rule the world together with the Super Star. But, when he has Toad tortured, and she's unable to help, she agrees to marry him as long as he doesn't hurt any of her people. During the ceremony, Peach reveals that she has a backup plan: Toad smuggles an Ice Flower in her bouquet, and when Bowser attempts to sacrifice the prisoners, including Luigi, in her honor, she makes her move. She not only freezes Bowser himself but also the chain that's lowering the prisoners into the lava. This gives Mario and Donkey Kong the time they need to fight through Bowser's troops and arrive in time to save everyone. And though Mario and Luigi are the ones who ultimately defeat Bowser, Peach not only aids in fighting him beforehand, but delivers the finishing touch by forcing him to eat a Mini Mushroom, which shrinks him.
While they don't go into it (likely to leave it open for future movies, including this one's very sequel), they do address the curious notion that the Mushroom Kingdom is ruled by a human through one simple explanation: Peach is from another world, though she doesn't know where. She tells Mario about her earliest memory, which is arriving through the Warp Pipe and being found by the Toads, who raised her and taught her how to live in the kingdom. Mario suggests that she could be from his world, but Peach hints that's just one possibility, saying, "There's a
huge universe out there, with a lot of galaxies."
Normally, Toad gets on my nerves in the games, mainly because they always give him the most obnoxious voices. Plus, remember the way he sounded in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!? God, talk about nails on a chalkboard. But I really like this version. First, while Keegan-Michael Key's vocal performance is often loud and full of energy (his first line is him screaming at Mario, "Do not touch that mushroom! You'll die!"), I don't find it grating. Second, he has a likable personality, definitely based on his Captain Toad persona, immediately greeting Mario in a warm manner, and then escorting him to the royal castle to meet with Princess Peach when he realizes Luigi landed in the Dark Lands. He guides Mario through the masses in Toad Town, and then shows him how to use the platforms and pipes to get up to the castle. When they reach it, and the two guards at the door won't let Mario in, Toad says he knows how to handle it. He whips out a frying pan, seemingly about to whack them with it, but actually cooks food for them in order to provide a distraction so Mario can slip in. Later, when Mario and Peach are on their way to the Jungle Kingdom, Toad excitedly tags along with them, declaring that he and Mario are best friends (and he seems sincere when he says it), as well as, in a faux Clint Eastwood voice, says, "I fear nothing." He sticks with them through it all, no matter how crazy it gets (he actually enjoys himself when Mario and Peach are freaking out when they're taken on the crazy trip to meet Cranky Kong), and during the Mario Kart sequence, manages to customize himself a kart that's more like a monster truck, while wearing some cool sunglasses. Even when Mario and Donkey Kong are seemingly killed, the Kongs are kidnapped, and Bowser is on his way to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, Toad refuses to evacuate with the others, intent on protecting Peach. He ends up being used to ensure her cooperation, as Bowser has Kamek torture him when she initially refuses to marry him. But, he also manages to sneak the Ice Flower into her bouquet so she can use it to stop the wedding and save the prisoners, and in Brooklyn, he even tries to help Peach and Donkey Kong fight Bowser, before Mario and Luigi manage to defeat him.
One character whose portrayal here I've never been 100% sold on was Donkey Kong. Since I'm such a diehard fan of those games, probably even more so than Mario, I was always going to be picky about how he came off, and what I heard about him going in wasn't encouraging. I knew that a lot of people trashed Seth Rogen for his performance, and since I'm not a fan of the guy myself (not only are his movies not my thing, but he often rubs me the wrong way with the stuff he says), I wasn't big on the idea of him voicing Donkey Kong. But, to be fair, he told the filmmakers upfront that he doesn't do voices and that, if they wanted him, then his normal voice was what they were going to get. And honestly, I didn't think Rogen's voice acting was that bad, and he fits the character well enough (especially that trademark laugh of his). Rather, it's the
characterization that I have issues with. For me, DK's character is the way he's portrayed in the
Donkey Kong Country games and even the CGI TV show: a laid back guy who'd rather sit around his tree-house, eating bananas, hang out with Diddy, or date Candy, than go on an adventure, but will if his home and family are threatened, or his banana hoard is stolen. So, I didn't like him being portrayed as an arrogant showoff who loves playing up to the crowd, making his pecs dance, and tooting his own horn. I also didn't care for how he acts like a sore loser after Mario beats him, and how much of a dick he is to him after they've been swallowed by the Maw-Ray, especially since Mario saved him from drowning beforehand. That said, this DK has kind of grown on me over time, and I think he gets better as the movie goes on. I like how he roasts Mario's flirting with Princess Peach while they're driving on Rainbow Road, and how he continues busting his chops throughout, like when Mario gets the raccoon suit from
Super Mario Bros. 3 while they're crashing Bowser's wedding. Speaking of which, I really like how he and Mario make a really good team during that sequence, as well as how he fights Bowser himself during the climax in Brooklyn without any prompting. And, even though it's only briefly mentioned, I think the idea that DK wishes his dad would respect him does fit with my preferred portrayal. (They're apparently doing some kind of Donkey Kong movie as part of this Nintendo movie universe and, if they iron out some of the issues with him here, I wouldn't mind seeing a movie featuring this DK as the star.)
I think I'm even more mixed on the portrayal of Cranky Kong (voiced by Fred Armisen), as this is most certainly not the character I'm used to. I don't mind that he's the king of the Jungle Kingdom, seeing as how, in the games, he's meant to be the Donkey Kong from the original arcade game. But, instead of being a grouchy and overly critical old man, he's just a flippant, dismissive jerk who initially refuses to help the Mushroom Kingdom fight Bowser for no other reason than because he simply doesn't care. When Mario stands up to him, saying they're not leaving without the Kong Army, Cranky, finding him amusing, decides to have some fun and challenges him to fight Donkey Kong, saying they'll help if he wins. Of course, he's confident that Mario is going to get utterly stomped, and fills the ring with power-ups so he'll last more than just a few seconds, i.e. get beaten on more. But when Mario ends up winning, Cranky stays true to his word and, not only allows the use of his army, but tells Mario and Peach of a secret passage they can use to intercept Bowser before he gets to the Mushroom Kingdom. Of course, that plan goes awry when the Koopa Army ambushes them on Rainbow Road, and Crank and the other Kongs are captured. Despite my mixed feelings, I do like how, even though he's embarrassed by his son's showboating and sore loser attitude, Cranky is clearly horrified when DK and Mario seem to fall to their deaths. And he shows pride when DK manages to save him and everyone else during the climax, even encouraging him to make his pecs dance (though DK says it'll have to wait for later).
One character whose portrayal got almost universal praise, and deservedly so, is Bowser. He is, without a doubt, the best part of the movie cast-wise, and one of its best elements, period. First, he looks awesome, exactly the way he does in the games. Second, Jack Black's voice acting is incredible, and if I didn't know ahead of time that it was him, I would've never guessed. And third, you want to talk about nailing the character's essence, they managed to pull off an even trickier balancing act than with Mario. When the movie opens up with his huge airship arriving in the Snow Kingdom, and him stomping towards the castle, demanding, "Open the gates, or die!", he comes off as genuinely intimidating. That's then followed up by him having Kamek use his magic to restrain the Penguin King and his troops after their pitiful attack, as he melts the ice castle's immediate exterior with his fire breath, exposing the Super Star. Also, while his crush on Princess Peach is played for comedy, as is his jealousy towards Mario and the possibility of her liking him, it also makes him quite volatile, like in the scene where he interrogates Luigi. Again, Bowser feels like a real threat here, as he holds one of his massive claws near Luigi's chin, and, when he loses his patience, grabs him in his massive hand and, threatens to rip his mustache off his face, yelling, "Do you know him?!" When Luigi foolishly suggests that Peach may find Mario attractive, Bowser rips off a chunk of his mustache's right side, then throws him to the floor and yells, "Get him out of my sight! We'll see how tough this Mario is when he watches me kill his brother!" He even manages to be menacing when he's wearing a top hat and a bow-tie, when he decides to ambush Mario, Peach, Toad, and the Kongs on Rainbow Road, and at the end, when he breaks free of the ice Peach sealed him in and attempts to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom with a Bomber Bill. Also, his idea of "honoring" Peach by sacrificing Luigi and the other prisoners during their wedding is really sick, and whether he would've kept his word and left all the Toads unharmed isn't a sure thing. And he proves to be quite a formidable opponent when Mario and the others have to face him during the final battle in Brooklyn.
Amazingly, despite how threatening Bowser is, they also manage to make him funny and insecure, without ever diminishing his scare factor. When we first see him after the opening, during a loud rave, he initially seems to be declaring his plan to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom, only to then say he's going to ask Princess Peach to marry him, "In a fairy tale wedding." That stops his armies in their tracks, with someone asking, "Doesn't she hate you?" Bowser answers, "Of course, she hates me. But that makes me
love her all the more." He then gets lost in his daydreaming about her, intoning, "Her heart-shaped bangs, the way she floats in the breeze, her immovable tiara... And when she sees this star? Oh, ho, ho, wedding bells!" After frying one Koopa Troopa who asks, "What if she says no?", turning him into a Dry Bones, and answering that he'll use the star to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser tells everyone, "Prepare yourselves for the best wedding ever! It's gonna
rock!" Of course, that leads into the
scene where Bowser is playing a love ballad for Peach on his grand piano, complete with romantic music video visuals around him. I heard about the Peaches song before I saw the movie, and it is definitely memorable, with Black really getting to rock out at some points during it. Also, the sight of Bowser practicing his marriage proposal to Peach, in that top hat and bow-tie, looking all nervous, while Kamek stands in for her, is priceless. Like I said, his insecurity about Mario and Peach possibly liking him makes for some good comedy. When Kamek first tells
him about Mario when he's at the piano, Bowser tells him, "Sit. Jam with me." Kamek joins him in playing the classic "underground theme," as Bowser asks him about Mario and if Peach likes him. Kamek assures him he has nothing to worry about and Bowser, obviously lying through his teeth, says, "
I know that. I'm not threatened." He then slams the piano lid down on Kamek's fingers, and, while walking away, tells him to keep it there for a bit, as, "Pain is the best teacher." When he finally gets around to asking Peach to marry him, he uses a corny line from the rehearsal,"I guess love really makes a guy come out of his shell." This doesn't impress her one iota. And when she whips out the Ice Flower during the ceremony, Bowser is genuinely shocked, as he actually thought she would marry him! By the end of the movie, he's been shrunk and is being kept in a cage, where he's being watched by Toad guards. He can't even jam on a piano and sing Peaches the way he used to before.
While Bowser has numerous minions at his disposal, the one closest to him, as you've gathered, is the Magikoopa named Kamek (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson). Speaking in a Peter Lorre-like voice, he acts as Bowser's informant and advisor, and also occasionally uses his magic to give his king an advantage, like when he subdues the Penguin King and his forces at the beginning, and when he tortures Toad to get Peach to agree to marry Bowser. He also tends to suffer Bowser's wrath whenever he tells him something he doesn't want to hear, like at the piano, but that doesn't stop him from standing in for Peach when Bowser rehearses his marriage proposal (he actually seems to enjoy it). Speaking of which, you find out that the line, "I guess love really makes a guy come out of his shell," was Kamek's idea, and Bowser calls him out when Peach doesn't go for it. And, as expected, Kamek intends to officiate the wedding, only for Peach to punch his lights out when she makes her move and uses the Ice Flower.
A character who is hilariously grim is Lumalee (voiced by Juliet Jelenic), this blue Luma who's among those held captive by Bowser. Apparently, the time he's spent there has broken his mind and led him to become incredibly nihilistic, as he's constantly spewing out dark non-sequiturs and recitations, but always with a smile on his face and in a cute, child-like voice. When the Penguin King tells Luigi not to pay attention to Lumalee because of his nuttiness, he says, "
In an insane world, it is the sane who is called crazy." Luigi then asks how long they've been there, and Lumalee chimes in, "Time, like hope, is an illusion." And when Luigi figures there must be a way out, he gets, "There is no escape. The only hope is the sweet release of death." Needless to say, the other prisoners are constantly telling Lumalee to shut up, but it does no good. When the Kongs are imprisoned too, Lumalee, who was just singing, "Life is sad/Prison is sad/Life in prison is very, very sad," gleefully says, "Ooh, fresh meat for the grinder!" I love Cranky Kong's response, "Who's this ray of sunshine?!", which only prompts Lumalee to tell him, "There's no sunshine. Only darkness." And when Kamek tells them that they will all be sacrificed at Bowser's wedding, Lumalee happily says, "Finally! Mercy," while everyone else is horrified. By contrast, when Donkey Kong manage to save the prisoners during the climax, Lumalee actually boos! At the end of the movie, Lumalee shows up before the ending credits and actively tries to depress the audience, saying, "Now, that's a happy ending... or is it? Because everything's over now, and all that's left is you and an infinite void." Fortunately, he whips out a saxophone and starts playing the Super Mario Bros. theme, leading into the credits. (I don't know if they knew at the time that the sequel would be The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but the inclusion of a Luma character suggested the existence of those characters and lore in this universe.)
While he may not have gotten the chance to voice Mario himself, Charles Martinet does pop up a few times here. He voices Giuseppe, a guy in the diner who compliments Mario and Luigi on their commercial, particularly the accents they used in it. Speaking in his Mario game voice, he tells Mario that the accent was "perfect," then does the unmistakable, "Wha-hoo!" yell while hopping like Mario does in the classic games. Speaking of which, he's also designed to look the way Mario did in the original
Donkey Kong arcade game.
Martinet also appears in the, still small, but more significant role of Mario and Luigi's father, who is completely and utterly critical of their venture, flat-out telling Mario he's nuts for it, and accuses him of dragging his brother down into the dumps with him. Of course, by the end of the movie, he's very proud of his boys. Staying on the brothers' family, there's also their uncles, Tony (voiced by Rino Romano) and Arthur (voiced by John DiMaggio), who both roast them for how corny their commercial was during the family dinner. However, their mother (voiced by Jessica DiCicco), loves it, saying it belongs in a movie theater, and also tries to encourage them by saying da Vinci was initially mocked as well (Luigi isn't so sure that's right). Finally, there's her father: this very old man who can't do anything for himself, never says a word, and looks as if he's going to croak any second.
Jessica DiCicco voices various other minor characters, such as Brooklyn's Mayor Pauline, who appears on a newscast about the broken water main (her name and design are a callback to Mario's original love interest in Donkey Kong), and this yellow Toad who, when Princess Peach says they're going to stop Bowser, asks, "How? Look at us. We're adorable!" Another notable voice actor here is Scott Menville, the voice of Robin in both of the Teen
Titans cartoons. His most significant role is as the general of the Koopa Army, who, during the kart section, personally chases after Mario in a bulldozer-like vehicle that has a wide, spiked maw. When that gets destroyed, he then retracts into his spiked, blue shell and becomes a homing missile that destroys Donkey's kart and a section of Rainbow Road, sending him and Mario tumbling into the ocean below. Since he's not seen again afterward, it's possible the General killed himself in the process! Menville also voices the Koopa Troopa who gets fried into a Dry Bones. There's a dramatic-speaking Toad General (voiced
by Eric Bauza) who appears in the council meeting, warning Princess
Peach that the Kong Army won't agree to help them, though Peach is
undeterred. Bauza also voices Diddy Kong, who appears in the stands for
the battle between Mario and Donkey Kong, with Dixie and Chunky
Kong sitting on either side of him. Cranky has to tell him to be quiet, as he gets caught up in cheering for DK. Apparently, both Kiddy and Funky Kong are part of the Kong Army, in blink and you'll miss
them appearances, and another Kong who crashes when Mario, Peach, and Toad
are being taken to see Cranky is meant to be Swanky Kong. And
finally, there's the Penguin King (voiced by Khary Payton), the ruler
of the Snow Kingdom, whose forces are, very easily, defeated and his castle demolished by Bowser during the opening. He especially gets sick of listening to Lumalee while he's imprisoned with him. His and the other penguins' designs are based on the penguin characters that have appeared across the Mario games since Super Mario 64.
The movie had a massive $100 million budget, and you can see every single penny on the screen. It is, by far, one of the most gorgeous animated movies I've seen in a long time. Not only does the color palette absolutely pop, but the environmental and lighting effects are wonderful and help give each setting its own feel, such as the less vibrant and somewhat real-world look of Brooklyn, the bright and beautiful cosmic area of the Warp Zone, the very colorful look to the Mushroom Kingdom, the bright, sun-soaked
The characters, for the most part, all look great, staying true to their game designs while also giving these versions their own unique flavor and making them work for a movie. I especially like that Mario and Luigi's family members, specifically their father and uncles, were based on early designs of Mario himself, and all of the other characters you see in Brooklyn fit with this aesthetic and don't look out of place beside them. However, like their portrayals, I'm mixed on the way Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong look. I'm especially not big on the goofy-looking face
The castle's design is based specifically on the way it looks in Super Mario 64, complete with the stained glass window with an image of Peach above the main door, the stone bridge spanning across the big moat, and the pink flags atop the spires that dot the roof's corners (which it has more of in this case), something that made me smile, given the gobs of nostalgia I have for that game. The back area of the castle is even more stunning to look at than the front, as a huge waterfall runs down the mountain's backside and fills a large lake that sits in the middle of a picturesque
Unlike the lovely pink clouds housing most of the pipes in the Warp Zone, the one leading to the Dark Lands is, fittingly, a black, ominous storm cloud, and upon regaining consciousness after arriving there, Luigi finds himself in a dark, creepy, barren forest, with lava streaming through it in some spots, a reddish-orange glow emitting from large cracks in the ground, and on a night with a full moon high in the sky. As he makes his way through the forest, looking for Mario, he comes across hordes of Dry Bones that chase after him, and he takes shelter in an old,
"abandoned castle", which is actually full of Shy Guys, with a Snifit as their leader. He's captured by them and taken to Bowser, whose castle in this movie is located on a giant airship. In fact, it's more of a floating landmass, as it has an active volcano atop it, with lava flowing off its sides; giant spiked balls and chains on the undersides, used to anchor it to the ground so it can descend and land; and a huge figurehead shaped Bowser's head. Within the bowels of the ship is Bowser's massive throne room, with a large, main floor area, lined with statues of himself, where his armies party after he's obtained the Super Star, and his enormous throne, which is also shaped like him, and behind which is a constant lava-fall. There's a similar chamber that can be called his piano room, where his grand piano sits on a floating platform, behind which is some slowly dripping magma, and a smaller room where he practices his wedding proposal with Kamek. Luigi and the other prisoners are kept in another huge chamber, housed in small cages hanging from the ceiling, and dangling above a big pool of lava. During his wedding to Peach, Bowser intends to sacrifice them by lowering them into the giant pool of lava in front of the volcano, from a large, floating structure which their chains are attached to. And the volcano's crater also turns out to be a missile silo, housing a giant Bomber Bill that Bowser tries to use to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom once the wedding is thwarted.
Instead of Donkey Kong Island, as has been the norm in all of the games since Donkey Kong Country, here the Kongs inhabit a land called the Jungle Kingdom. Located behind a large, wooden door in the middle of a steamy jungle, its layout is akin to that of the different areas in Donkey Kong Country Returns, and consists of a series of huts and rondavels situated in and around the edges of a large lake, connected by various wooden bridges that the Kongs use karts to drive across. There are also large cliffs and peaks
with the bridges going around them, and when Mario, Peach, and Toad are taken to see Cranky Kong the one Kong driving a kart, it's like they're put on a crazy amusement park ride. In fact, the kingdom is accessed by a bridge just beyond the main entrance which ends in a big ramp, sending them flying through the air before landing on a separate section of bridge down below. Cranky's palace is found within this huge, golden Kong head jutting out of the side of a mountain in the back of the kingdom, with water pouring out of its mouth. The mouth opens up to reveal his throne room, filled with Inca-like architecture and patterns on the walls, and rows of big, mallet-wielding Kong guards lining either side of the walkway leading up to the throne. Mario has to battle Donkey Kong in the Great Ring of Kong, a big, floating, bowl-shaped coliseum, connected to a floating island on either side, and with no bottom. The two of them fight on a series of floating steel beams, crates, and Brick Blocks, with Question Blocks scattered throughout, mainly to help Mario last longer than he normally would. The most DKC-like spot in the Jungle Kingdom is Donkey Kong's house, where Cranky meets with them after Mario beats DK to lay out the plan to intercept Bowser. While it may not be a tree-house in this case, it is elevated and has to be reached by heading up a curving walkway. And its interior is definitely based on the DKC games, with the hammock DK lays in, the tire swing, the round carpet in the middle of the floor, and the barrels and banana bunches strewn about.
In stark contrast to the more primitive, Inca-like aesthetic of the rest of the kingdom, the karts are built and repaired at this big, high-tech workshop. There's one spot where Mario, Peach, and Toad customize their own karts, which is definitely inspired by the later Mario Kart games, and they're then constructed within these booths in front of them. There's also an exit that the karts take which leads to the "secret passage" that Cranky plans for them to use to intercept Bowser. The passage itself is just a big,
wide road that cuts through the Jungle Kingdom, in an area where it runs alongside a very wide waterfall, itself separated into different sections by big rock formations. It also ends in a ramp, leading onto Rainbow Road, which snakes its way up through the sky, passing both regular mountains and a number of floating ones. While initially just one straight path, there comes a point where it splits off into many different directions, which the heroes attempt to use to evade Bowser's army when they get ambushed.Some paths do complete loops and other inversions that require the karts to use anti-gravity features to get through safely, and in the midst of the battle, a big chunk of a floating island gets blown off and crashes right through the road. This huge hole nearly causes Toad to crash down into the ocean below, but Peach saves him; Mario and Donkey Kong aren't so lucky, however, when the Koopa General blows them off the road. After they land in the ocean, they're swallowed hole by a gigantic Maw-Ray eel but, like with Monstro the whale in Pinocchio, they do manage to escape his stomach.
I really like how the various power-ups, items, tropes, and aesthetics from the Mario games are incorporated into the story here, specifically in how, just as in the games, you don't question how or why they exist, or why they function the way they do. Giant green pipes connect the various worlds with both each other and our own through a cosmic dimension, certain mushrooms make you grow larger and stronger, while others shrink you, certain mountains and islands float in the sky, specific blocks and platforms float in midair, the Toads use big, clear, suction pipes to get
During the sequence that acts as one long reference to the Mario Kart series, you see various types of karts, some of which are akin to several featured in Mario Kart Wii, like Mario's standard kart (one difference is that it has some anti-gravity mechanisms built within its wheels in order to make those big loops on Rainbow Road, a feature from Mario Kart 8), Peach's Mach Bike, complete with her biker suit, and Toad's monster truck-like kart, akin to the Tiny Titan. Meanwhile, Donkey Kong's kart has two Rocket Barrels on the back, which he's able to fire like missiles, and the Kong Army's karts come equipped with defense capabilities as well, particularly a couple which have rear-mounted barrel cannons that fire bananas at their pursuers. The most notable vehicle used by the army during this sequence is the Koopa General's massive, bulldozer-like vehicle, which he uses to force other karts out of his path so he can get to Mario, then tries to crush him in the vehicle's spiked maw. It also has a pair of Bill Blasters mounted on its rear, which the General uses when Mario temporarily manages to evade him. Item-wise, in addition to the Banana Peels and Bob-Ombs, which one Koopa Troopa tries to chuck at Mario, Koopa Shells are fired from the army's carts. Also, in the midst of the chaos, Mario bounces on one Koopa Troopa, causing him to retreat into his shell, and he then uses the shell to take out another Koopa's kart. The General himself becomes the Spiny Shell, retreating into his shell after Donkey Kong blows up his vehicle, homing in on him and Mario, andexploding, destroying both DK's kart and a section of the road. And after the two of them are seemingly sent to their deaths down in the ocean below, Cranky and the Kong Army are abducted by Koopa Troopas flying in Koopa Clown Cars.
Numerous creatures from the Mario games, both enemies and otherwise, appear throughout the movie, sometimes in brief cameos. While the Koopa Troopas are the most common of Bowser's minions, during the rave Bowser throws once he has the Super Star, you also see Goombas (there are also Goombas among the prisoners), Spinies (whom are disappointed when Bowser doesn't know their species' name), Shy Guys, a Chain Chomp that's pulling along two Koopas, a lit Bob-Omb that explodes offscreen, and Piranha Plants, one of which grabs a particularly unlucky Koopa in its mouth. Also among his troops are Paratroopas, both Hammer and Sledge Bros., and Buzzy Beetles, who are equipped with Bill Blasters during the assault on the Snow Kingdom. Luigi runs into numerous Dry Bones in the Dark Lands, where they're depicted as especially freaky, coming off like zombies rising from the ground to chase after him. There's also a group of Shy Guys led by a Snifit which capture Luigi and take him to Bowser's airship. And it wouldn't be a spooky forest if it weren't filled with Bats, which freak Luigi out before the Dry Bones show up. Many of these characters also appear during the climax, aiding Bowser in battling Mario and Luigi. Among the guests at Bowser's wedding are both King Boo and King Bob-Omb, whose fuse gets lit during the battle, causing him to panic before he seems to resign himself to his fate and then blows up. And when his wedding is foiled, Bowser attempts to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom with a massive Boomer Bill (originally called Banzai Bill), which ends up exploding inside the Warp Zone and causes an inter-dimensional collapse, resulting in Mario's allies, Bowser, and his airship ending up back in Brooklyn with him.
You also see creatures like a Bramball, which walks over Mario shortly after he arrives, as well as Biddybuds, and Butterflies (thankfully, none of them turn into bombs out of nowhere when Mario touches them), in the mushroom forest; Cheep Cheeps, which are found in the lake below the obstacle course, and are seen leaping through the air when Mario, Peach, and Toad pass through the Waterfall Area, with one hitting and getting stuck on Mario's face (there's also one being transported in a bag of water by a Toad in Toad Town); and Bloopers swimming in the ocean.
Also in the ocean is a huge eel, a Maw-Ray (called Unagi when it first appeared back in Super Mario 64), which swallows Mario and Donkey Kong whole when they get blown off of Rainbow Road, though they later escape its belly using the remaining Rocket Barrel from DK's kart.
All of the different characters, creatures, items, vehicles, and settings I've described so far are only a fraction of the references and Easter eggs pertaining to various Mario and Donkey Kong games, and listing them all would be a ridiculous endeavor, even for me. Here, I'll just list some of the others that stuck out to me, then leave you to find the others for yourself. One of my personal favorites is an exchange that can be heard at the small antiques store in Toad Town, pertaining to something that I think all of us who grew up with cartridge games can relate to: "Does thisthing work?" "Yeah... You just have to blow into it." Another is when the two Toad Guards at the main door to Peach's Castle try to dissuade Mario from entering, with one saying, "Our princess, though, is in another castle... You should try another castle, maybe. She ain't in this one." Plus, I did laugh at the beginning when I realized that Mario and Luigi's commercial spoofs the Mario Rap from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, and geeked out when I heard the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64 when Donkey Kong made his first appearance (just a couple examples of numerous musical themes and sound effects from various games that can be heard throughout the soundtrack). Also, while Bowser has been intent on marrying Peach a number of times, his proposal and the crashed wedding ceremony here reminds me of one of the plot-points in the Super Mario Adventures comics that were published in Nintendo Power magazine, as does her very self-sufficient, take charge personality. And the plot-points of Mario and Luigi having a struggling plumbing business and stumbling upon this alternate world while dealing with a problem in the Brooklyn sewers is akin to the 90's live action film, as is the two realities blending together during the climax.
Some other references include the font for The New Super Mario Bros. games being used on the side of Mario and Luigi's van; the hole they leave in the brick wall down in the sewers being shaped like Mario's head; the scene of a nervous Luigi walking around the Dark Lands with his flashlight, calling for Mario, which is straight out of Luigi's Mansion (I really hope they make a movie out of that); the use of the designs of Baby Mario and Luigi to the flashback to their childhood; Toad's overall characterization, as I said,
being a lot like Captain Toad; Peach, when she completes the obstacle course, using her skirt to float down to the ground, as she does in many games where she's a playable character; Mario Power Sliding while being chased by the Koopa General during the kart sequence and giving himself a boost as a result; Mario and Donkey Kong riding a Rocket Barrel to escape the Maw-Ray, like some levels in Donkey Kong Country Returns; Mario and Luigi grabbing Bowser's tail and spinning him around, like the move necessary to defeat him in Super Mario 64;
Yoshi's egg, which you see a couple of times and which features in a post-credits scene where it hatches in the Brooklyn sewers. Unfortunately, because I don't have a Nintendo Switch or a Switch 2, I've never played Super Mario Odyssey, but I understand there are a handful of references to it, such as the desert that
Mario, Peach, and Toad pass through, and Bowser and Peach's wedding
outfits. That's not even taking into account all the references to other Nintendo games, which include the Nintendo GameCube's start-up jingle being Luigi's cellphone ringtone; artwork from Duck Hunt decorating the wall of the Punch-Out Pizzeria (itself a very obvious reference), while a poster of the dog from that game can be seen in the Brooklyn couple's apartment, along with a Pikmin statue; a model Arwing from Star Fox sitting atop Mario's TV while he plays Kid Icarus; and both artwork from Kung Fu and a poster for Tennis for the NES can be seen in Mario's room.
I'll agree with the consensus that a lot of the movie's weaknesses lie in the writing, with one example being the humor. There are some funny parts and lines to be sure, such as the utter disaster that Mario and Luigi's first plumbing job turns into, lots of moments with Toad (when Mario first meets him, he asks if he's dreaming; Toad proceeds to whack him on the arm with his walking stick, asks if it hurt, and when Mario yells, "Yes!", he says, "Definitely not a dream,"), Mario's deadpan reactions to the weird sights he sees
in the Mushroom Kingdom and elsewhere, everything revolving around Bowser's crush on Peach, how his rave comes to a screeching halt when he announces his plan to marry her, Lumalee's utter nihilism, various gags during Mario's fight with Donkey Kong (Mario getting shrunk by the Mini Mushroom, initially being irked when he realizes he got a cat suit, etc.), the sight of Kamek standing in for Peach when Bowser is practicing his wedding proposal, and so on. Some may think the, "Our princess is in another castle," moment, the one Toad saying they can't defeat Bowser because, "We're adorable!", and the moment where Peach admits to Mario, after he fails the obstacle course, that she's trying to make him feel better, are corny, but those also made me smile. But, make no mistake, there are some real groaners here, and now that I know the guys behind Teen Titans Go! are behind it, it makes a lot of sense. While they did, thankfully, not go the route they tend to do with that show's tone and comedy, there are still many instances of that modern style of humor that sounds like it's trying to be clever when it just comes off as corny, cringe, or obvious. For instance, after we see the commercial, Mario exclaims, "I am so glad we spent our life savings on this commercial!", and Luigi says, "That is not a commercial! That is cinema!" When Mario sees the news report of the broken water main flooding Brooklyn and, realizing it's their big chance, declares, "Destiny is calling," Luigi asks, "Destiny del Vecchio from high school?!" While this one isn't quite as bad, instances of modern slang tend to make me roll my eyes, and that is the case when Luigi, when he thinks he's taken out a Dry Bones, says, "You just got a-Luigi'd!" The same also goes for when Toad, after Peach saves him from falling off of Rainbow Road, exclaims, "That is how you princess!" But the worst is how they had the gall to have Donkey Kong say, "It is on like Donkey Kong!", during his fight with Mario. I don't care who you are, you have to admit that is the definition of lame.
But for me, the movie's biggest problem is its pace. Again, while I'm happy it's 92 minutes in and out, and doesn't overstay its welcome, it's actually a tad too fast. For one, it speeds along so quickly, throwing so many different worlds, characters, and concepts at you that, if you're not that big into the games, you could feel overwhelmed and unable to take it all in. Speaking of which, there's also that aforementioned frustration of numerous potentially cool and interesting settings, characters, ideas, and plot-points
being teased but left unfulfilled. Even if they will be expounded upon in future movies, for the time being, it can leave you feeling cheated and wishing that the movie would slow down a bit in order to give you just a little more to chew on. And that leads into the third and final issue, which is the simple notion of this rapid pace being potentially exhausting. Speaking for myself, this is not even a candidate for the list of movies that were so fast and kinetic that they made my brain go numb (Versus, Monster Hunter, etc.), but it's still constantly in high gear, with very few moments where it slows down to take a breath, and that could potentially burn out those who aren't prepared for it.
The movie opens rather quietly, with a shot of the Snow Kingdom's misty, windswept landscape, slowly revealing the ice castle in the distance. Suddenly, several globs of lava drop from above, followed by a constant stream, as Bowser's airship drifts in overhead, heading for the castle. At the head of the main path leading to it, the ship anchors itself with the spiked balls and chains dropped from its sides, then lowers down until it's resting on the ground across from the castle. The figurehead's mouth opens
and legions of spear-wielding Koopas and Paratroopas emerge from it, landing in formation in front if it. Kamek materializes among them and declares, "
Behold, the King of the Koopas!" Bowser then emerges from the figurehead, jumps down to the ground, and stomps down the center of his army's formation, towards the castle. He demands that they open the gate or die, and the gates promptly swing open. Though one of the Koopa Troopas is nervous about what they're going to face, he's promptly dumbfounded when they see the Penguin King and his soldiers. He orders his troops to attack Bowser, and they rush out of the gate at him. Stopping just a few feet away, they begin making snowballs and pelt him with them... which, of course, do nothing whatsoever. One of them fires a big snowball at the Koopa Army using a catapult, and Kamek quickly disappears out of its way, causing it to hit an unsuspecting Koopa Troopa instead. The Penguin King orders his troops to stop and declares, "That is but a taste of our fury. Do you yield?", to which Bowser smiles and chuckles evilly, before answering, "I do not." Kamek then uses his magic to lift the Penguins up into the air and fling them out of the way, while Bowser hits the ice castle with his fire breath, completely destroying its immediate exterior. He uncovers a large, glowing Question Block at the center and, with Kamek using his magic to create a makeshift staircase out of chunks of ice, climbs up to it. He brings his fist down on it, cracking it open and revealing the Super Star. He then laughs evilly and exclaims, "I finally found it. And now, no one can stop me!"
That night, when he sees the news report about the broken water main flooding Brooklyn, Mario grabs Luigi and they rush downtown. When they get there, they see that the situation is far from under control. Noting that the construction workers trying to solve the problem, "Aren't even looking in the right place," Mario opens a manhole. Much to Luigi's shock, he jumps down it, and he promptly follows his brother, holding his nose. The two of them make their way down a tunnel, when Mario spots the pressure valve
While Toad is leading Mario to Princess Peach's castle, Luigi wakes up in the creepy Dark Lands and stumbles around, searching for his brother. His shirt sleeve gets snagged on a bramble, and jerking it loose causes him to nearly fall into a small stream of lava. He stumbles backwards over it, then bumps into a tree, and when he turns and shines his flashlight up at a hole in its trunk, a big swarm of bats comes flying out at him. He braces himself against them, and they fly off into the night sky. Luigi picks up his flashlight,
Back in the Mushroom Kingdom, Toad leads Mario through Toad Town, which he finds a bit precarious to navigate, with all of its lifts, floating blocks, and especially the series of clear suction pipes they have to use to reach the castle's courtyard. While rushing through the latter, Mario gets repeatedly slammed into the corners and against the walls, and when he sees just how complex the system is, he groans, "Oh, come on!" But, once he reaches the courtyard, and recovers from the ordeal he's been through (he drops to the
ground after the pipe pushes him up), he's astonished at the sight of the royal castle up ahead. He follows Toad towards it, crossing the bridge spanning the moat, when they run into the two guards who try to trick Mario into thinking Peach is in another castle. While Toad distracts them, Mario slips through the door, but is quickly spotted by another pair of guards. They chase him around the corner and down the hall beyond it, and soon, he has more guards after him. Shortly afterward, he meets Peach as she's exiting her
throne room, only for her to fling him over her shoulder when he gets close. Regardless, he quickly recovers, gets back on his feet, and tries to talk to her, only for the guards to run in and tackle him. Peach orders them to let him go and they do, though one of them gives him a soft stomp to the crotch before he does.
His second attempt ends with him jumping and whacking his head on a Brick Block, sending him tumbling down into the lake again; his third try has him get knocked back by one of the dummy Fire Bars; his fourth has him miss a moving platform; on another try, he slides across the platform's top and hits the side of a Donut Block; and the third time he tries this part, he manages to ride the platform and jumps onto the Donut Block, only for it to drop and take
him with it. In rapid succession, he then gets grabbed by a dummy Piranha Plant, hit by a Bullet Bill, knocked back by another Fire Bar, smacked in the face by a Cheep Cheep's tail before he's sucked down the pipe, ends up on the face of a fake Boomer Bill, bangs his head on another block, gets stuck in a Piranha Plant's mouth, gets a Cheep Cheep stuck on his head while he's on the course (no idea how that happened), and plummets down to the lake again. We then see him down one Super Mushroom after another, eventually throwing up one and shrinking back down when he does (which I thought was a clever gag). By morning, Peach is snoozing on the starting platform, while Mario gives the course yet another try. This time, he manages to do really good, evading and dodging all the obstacles that were giving him trouble in his own way, instead of trying to copy what Peach did. He skirts along the side of one Piranha Plant's pipe, hops off another one, gets around the Fire Bars by smashing through one Brick Block path and dropping to another below it, smashes his way through two Brick Block columns, and Peach awakens in time to see him leap and punch through the Bowser cutout, before doing a tumble and then running across the rows of Donut Blocks beyond it. When he reaches the Bullet Bills, he manages to easily hop across them as they fire at him, and bounds towards the flagpole. Peach is very impressed and Mario gives her a cheeky, confident smile... and is then grabbed by a Piranha Plant. Still, this is enough to convince her to take him with her.
The next major sequence comes when Mario, Toad, and Peach make it to the Jungle Kingdom. When Peach knocks on the kingdom's gate, they get a very unexpected and loud greeting from a Kong in a sport-coat, who flings the door open and roars in their faces. Peach says they want to see the king, and while the Kong comes off as intimidating, she stands her ground and he, to their surprise, turns and says, "Follow me." He gets into a green-and-yellow kart, puts on a pair of cool shades, and tells them to hop
DK does a barrel-roll at him, and Mario just barely manages to get out of the way. He falls onto another beam down below, when DK chucks an actual barrel down at him. Mario jumps and grabs a nearby rope, swinging towards another Question Block he finds amid some floating crates. He jumps and runs along the crate and activates the block, which produces a Fire Flower. But, before he can gain its power, DK who jumped down behind him, blows it out. Mario turns around and, in desperation, repeatedly punches
DK's face, but this does absolutely nothing. DK catches one of his punches and knocks him back up onto the main beam. Before Mario can recover, DK climbs back up there as well and whales on him: he grabs his leg and flings onto the beam, gives him an elbow-drop, smashes a barrel over him, and slaps him on either side of his head with his big hands. Mario collapses, and DK picks him up and asks, "Had enough?" Much to his frustration, Mario wearily answers, "Not... even... close." So, DK tosses him into the air and delivers a powerful uppercut, sending him flying high up into the sky. However, Peach calls to him, pointing out that there's a Question Block floating in front of him, and he grabs onto the edge of a row of blocks floating just below it. He activates it and jumps back down to the main beam, revealing that he got the cat suit. Everybody in the audience, including Toad and Peach, "aws" at the sight of this, while Mario is not happy when he realizes what he's wearing, and DK rolls over laughing. Standing up, he composes himself and says, "Now, you die," before swinging. However, Mario manages to dodge his punch, and then realizes the cat suit has given him speed, agility, and quick reflexes. Now, DK is unable to lay a finger on him, as Mario repeatedly dodges his blows, and even grips onto his back at one point. Then, when he dodges one swing, Mario brings the claws out and swipes DK in the face. Mockingly saying, "Meow," he proceeds to dominate DK with his speed and high jumping, and even manages to knock him onto his back. Mario comes down towards him with his claws, but DK climbs across the beam's underside, towards its other end, where a some barrels are stacked. He tosses one barrel after another at Mario, who not only dodges them, climbing along the beam's interior as he runs towards DK, but climbs up onto it, grabs one barrel, and throws it back at him. As DK is dazed from this, Mario whacks him in the face, bounces off his head from behind, jumps down in front of him, then knocks him onto his back and repeatedly claws at his face. Mario delivers the finishing blow by bounding up as high as he can, and coming back down with his claws bared. He smashes DK right through the beam, leaving a huge gap in it, and through two rows of blocks beneath it as well, landing on the last one before the drop. There, threatening to scratch him again, it's now Mario's turn to ask DK if he's had enough and, just as he did, DK claims he's not even close. He gets up and dizzily swings, and even comes close to falling over the edge. Mario grabs his necktie and says, "I'll take that as a 'yes,'" before allowing him to collapse on the blocks. Standing atop his defeated opponent, he's shocked when all the Kongs who were booing him earlier begin cheering and chanting his name. However, Peach nods her approval, while Cranky knows he has to hold his end of the bargain, and smiles mischievously at Peach, clearly impressed.
Once Cranky unveils his shortcut to reach the Mushroom Kingdom before Bowser, he takes Mario, Peach, and Toad to the kart workshop, where they customize their own karts. Once that's done, they, Cranky, DK, and the Kong Army head out to the passage. However, they don't get far before Mario notes that the road ends on a ramp up ahead, to which Cranky tells him, "Well then, ya better step on the gas and buckle up!" The other karts do so and Mario follows suit, but freaks out when they fly off the
ramp and come back down through a bank of mist. But he then becomes amazed when they land on Rainbow Road. Following Mario's conversation with Peach, which DK mocks as a pitiful attempt at flirting, and Toad adding his two cents, Bowser is revealed to be watching from his airship with some binoculars. The sight of Mario talking with Peach enrages him, and the Koopa Army proceeds with their ambush. They drive onto Rainbow Road in their own karts and attack by side-swiping the others and firing Koopa Shells. Those up front realize what's going on and Cranky, after saving Mario from one Koopa who was preparing to toss a Bob-Omb at him, yells for his troops to take defensive positions. Some fire banana peels at the pursuing karts, which does put a few out of commission, but then, the Koopa General comes roaring down the road in his bulldozer vehicle. He goes right for Mario, intending to crush him in his vehicle's maw, while Mario, seeing a number of different paths up ahead, tells everyone to split up. The General keeps after him, as the two of them break off from everyone else, but Mario manages to stay out of his reach using the Power Slides and Mini-Boosts, and manages to boost himself off the path and down onto one below. But no sooner does he land than he sees that this path loops in complete circles up ahead. Fortunately for him, his kart's anti-gravity capabilities activate and keep him from falling. Undeterred, the General fires a pair of Bullet Bills, forcing Mario to jump off his kart, which is destroyed in a big explosion. He falls to a lower path, onto the back of another Koopa's kart, and jumps up onto the back of the seat and covers the Koopa's eyes. He slams into another kart, and Mario then jumps up and lands on that driver, causing him to retract into his shell. Mario uses the shell to take out another kart that's firing Bullet Bills at him, then commandeers the one kart and continues on. However, unbeknownst to him, the General is quickly gaining on him again. Toad and Peach are also getting attacked along their respective paths, with the latter getting a Koopa on either side of her. However, she promptly decks the one on her right and sideswipes the other, then barely misses a Bullet Bill that zooms by her. It hits a chunk of mountain, which falls and takes out a section of the road up ahead. Toad, unable to stop, heads for it and falls through, tumbling out of his kart. However, Peach, who's traveling along the underside of a path up above, deactivates the anti-gravity, falls towards Toad, and when she catches him, activates a glider,
which she uses to get back on the road. Behind them, Mario is taking out other Koopas, only to find the General closing in on him again. This time, he manages to ensnare the kart in bulldozer's maw, forcing Mario to climb out. He then brings both halves of the maw together, destroying the kart. He laughs evilly at this, unaware that Mario is on the front of the vehicle. He carefully skirts towards the edge, when he looks and sees Donkey Kong coming up from behind. Getting an idea, he climbs up onto the vehicle, bounds up towards the General, bounces
off his head, and leaps towards DK's kart. Once he lands on the back, DK fires one of the Rocket Barrels, which instantly blows up the General's vehicle. Thinking they've triumphed, the two of them drive on to catch up with Peach and Toad, when the General emerges from the burning wreckage, yelling that they can't escape. He tosses his helmet off, retracts into his shell, and flies after them. He quickly catches up to Mario and DK, circles around their kart, and then hits them from above. The ensuing explosion destroys
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another big section of Rainbow Road, as well as DK's kart, sending him and Mario plummeting down to the ocean below. Further back, Cranky and the Kong Army stop at the road's fractured edge, when they're promptly captured by the Koopas in Koopa Clown Cars and taken to Bowser's airship. There, Bowser laughs evilly and says, "Goodbye, Mario." Peach and Toad have no choice but to head on to the Mushroom Kingdom and warn everyone; meanwhile, as they're falling, DK blames Mario for this and throws the
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steering wheel at him. They both start throwing pieces of wreckage at each other, when they hit the water. Before they can swim up, DK is whacked by a tire that falls into the water, and he begins to sink to the bottom. However, Mario swims after him, grabs him, and pulls him up, as the wreckage is devoured by a gigantic Maw-Ray. The two of them reach the surface and grab onto some floating wreckage, only for the Maw-Ray to then explode out of the water in front of them. It chases them when they futilely try to swim for it, and the movie cuts to black when it brings its jaws down on them.
Peach and Toad rush back to the Mushroom Kingdom, blazing through the mushroom forest and across the lake behind the castle, before going up the side of the mountain and landing in Toad Town. Peach warns everyone that Bowser is coming and that they must evacuate, before they head on to the castle. In the throne room, she tells the council that they lost both the Kong Army and Mario, and that Bowser will be there soon. The Toad General orders everyone to evacuate, but Toad himself intends to stay by Peach's side. The two of them arm themselves (Peach with an
axe from a fallen suit of armor, and Toad with a metal pot from his backpack), while outside, everyone flees Toad Town. It isn't long before an ominous shadow falls over the town, as Bowser's airship approaches, bringing its storm-cloud with it. Peach and Toad walk out into the courtyard to meet it, as the ship floats into position right at the edge of the mountain, at the end of the courtyard. The figurehead's mouth opens and a large group of spear-wielding Koopa Troopas pour out and surround them, followed by Bowser himself,
along with Kamek, who materializes next to him. Showing off the Super Star floating behind him, he then reveals his desire to marry Peach so they can rule together, something she's flabbergasted by. When she turns him down flat, Bowser has Kamek zap Toad with his magic. Peach tries to help but is repelled by the magic, and then hopelessly agrees to marry Bowser. With that, he has Kamek release Toad, and Peach reluctantly walks into the figurehead's mouth
with Bowser; behind them, Toad is carried aboard by two Koopa Troopas. Elsewhere, at the bottom of the ocean, Mario and Donkey Kong are stuck in the Maw-Ray's belly, arguing over being trapped with each other. In the midst of their argument, the eel sucks in a lot of air (along with a Blooper that gets stuck on DK's face), sending them flying back through its stomach, and then lets out a burp. In the back, they find the wreckage of DK's kart, and see that the one Rocket Barrel is still functioning. They
look at each other, both obviously having the same idea, and then, outside, the Maw-Ray's eyes open up wide and it quickly makes for the surface. It jumps up out of the water, opens its mouth, and Mario and DK come out, riding the rocket.
At the airship, Bowser's wedding to Peach is about to get underway, with Peach receiving her bouquet from Toad, and walking down the aisle. When she gets there, she gasps when she sees that the prisoners, including Luigi and Cranky, are being lowered into a huge pit of lava. Then, just as Kamek begins the ceremony, Peach punches him out, then removes and activates an Ice Flower from her bouquet. Enraged, Bowser blasts his fire breath at her, but she dodges it, lands in the middle of the aisle, and hits him with a series of ice blasts, freezing him solid. She also
freezes the mechanism lowering the prisoners, and they all breathe a sigh of relief. All of Bowser's minions who were attending the wedding charge at Peach, but she uses a powerful blast of ice power to blow them back. At the same time, Mario and Donkey Kong fly towards the airship on the Rocket Barrel, only for some Koopa Troopas stationed below the ship to target them with Bullet Bills. The rocket is sent spiraling downward and the two of them tumble down into the midst of Toad Town, which is full of Bowser's troops. Seeing this, the two of them decide
to wreak some havoc, with DK grabbing the rocket and tossing it ahead of Mario. It explodes against a large stack of Question Blocks, while Mario runs, jumps across a pair of Goombas and then a Koopa, activates one of the blocks, receiving a Super Mushroom, and kicks another block to DK, who gets a Fire Flower. The two of them then really go to town, with DK running and blasting enemies with fireballs, while Mario slides and hits a Koopa, jumps up to a higher level, dodges and then bounces on a Piranha
Plant, bounces his way up using some tall and slim mushrooms, and, after getting really high, comes down with a butt stomp, clearing out a bunch of Koopas. He's rejoined by DK and they continue on, thrashing various enemies in their path. However, a Koopa Shell that Mario uses as a weapon bounces back at him, causing him to lose the power-up. DK mocks him for this, only for the shell to come back and hit from behind, knocking the fire power out of him. Mario hits another Question Block, producing a
Super Leaf, and after chasing and grabbing it, gains the racoon suit. As soon as he asks what it does, its twirling tail sends him spinning all over the place and knocking out enemies, including one Koopa in a Koopa Clown Car. He finally gets the hang of it, and joins DK as he climbs his way up to the airship using one of the giant chains anchoring it, the two of them fighting off more Clown Cars along the way.
On the airship, Peach continues fighting off Bowser's minions with the Ice Flower's abilities, while the ice holding the chain lowering the prisoners begins to crack. Fending off some Paratroopas, Peach grabs one's spear and turns it into a torch with the lava behind her. She jumps up high into the air and throws it, causing it to ignite King Bomb's fuse. He'd been snoozing up to that point, and panics when he realizes he's just been lit. Peach then sees that the prisoners are in danger of being lowered into the lava again, as the ice has completely cracked. She tries to freeze the
chain again, when King Bomb explodes behind her, blasting her forward, against the steps to the altar, and causing her to lose the power. The prisoners are lowered towards the lava, which burns through and flows over the bottom of Luigi's cage, forcing him to climb up onto the bars. He then has to climb up against the top of the small cage, and it seems like all hope is lost, until Donkey Kong reaches the chain up above and pulls it back. While everyone else is relieved (save for Lumalee), Luigi has to climb up
onto the top of the cage, only to slip off the edge. He falls right for the lava, but just as he's about to hit it, his brother flies in and grabs him. They fly up to the wedding aisle and land safely, while Donkey Kong pulls Cranky to safety as well. But then, within the ice containing him, Bowser sees Mario reunite with Peach and Toad, which fuels his rage to the point where he blasts himself free with his fire breath. His head now unfrozen, he yells, "Launch the Bomber Bill and destroy the Mushroom Kingdom!"
With that, the gigantic Bomber Bill explodes out of the volcano's crater. It flies up into the air, then turns and prepares to come back down into the heart of the kingdom. Mario promptly takes to the air in his racoon suit and, getting alongside the Bomber Bill, attempts to get its attention. However, nothing he does diverts it from its target, and Mario finds himself up against its nose as it heads for the castle. But, when he glances at the suit's tail, he glides off the Bill and then comes at its eye, brushing the tail against it. This causes the Bill to blink and it stops just a
fraction of an inch above one of the castle's spires. It shifts its focus onto Mario, and proceeds to chase him wherever he goes. He leads it across the lake and then through the mushroom forest, the two of them swerving past and around the mushrooms, when Mario ends up going through the center of three big ones in a row. That's when he spots the Warp Pipe that first brought him to the kingdom, and has the Bill follow him in a big arc until he makes it back around to the pipe. The Bill is almost on top of him, when he flies up at the last minute, while it keeps going and
jams its nose into the pipe. It's then sucked through and enters the Warp Zone, where it explodes. This causes a massive inter-dimensional chain reaction that blows Mario back and de-powers him, then proceeds to suck everybody and everything that's not glued down into an all new portal. Back in Brooklyn, Mario is blown back through the Warp Pipe in the sewers and up through a manhole, landing in the middle of the road. As he realizes he's back home, he's nearly hit by Spike, who gets out of his truck and grabs him,
yelling that he almost dented his vehicle. But then, Bowser's airship explodes out of the ground, sending chunks of large mushrooms falling around them. Spike runs for it, and Mario has to do the same, as the airship crashes down in the heart of Brooklyn, causing a shock-wave when it lands that blows Mario forward. Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong arrive as well, but are buried in some rubble, followed by Luigi, who runs and hides in a dumpster to avoid other chunks of wreckage that come crashing down. As Mario starts to get to his feet, the Super Star lands nearby.
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However, a very pissed off Bowser also emerges from the airship and yells Mario's name. Mario runs for the Super Star, but Bowser jumps up and lands between him and it. He grabs Mario by his right arm, lifts him
up, and delivers a punch to the face that sends him flying down the
road and against a parked car's windshield. Mario barely has any time to recover when Bowser blasts his fire breath down the street at him, forcing him to scramble off the car, which explodes from the fire. He crawls down the street, as Bowser stomps towards him, flinging a vehicle out of
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his way and throwing a large boulder that smashes into a car in front of Mario. He grabs Mario's leg, flings him onto another car, and then flips it, all the while yelling that he's going to make him pay for ruining his wedding. Mario lands in front of a truck and has to run to avoid Bowser when he comes down with both of his fists. Bowser then runs at Mario and spins, whacking him in the back with his tail and sending him through the Punch-Out Pizzeria's window. He slams into the diner's back wall and TV, and falls to the floor. As Bowser approaches outside,
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Mario rolls into a hiding spot behind a seat. Bowser taunts him, telling him to come out and fight, and laughs when he does nothing. But then, Peach, Donkey Kong, and Toad come running in, with Peach jumping and delivering a kick to Bowser's face, and Donkey Kong delivering a punch that knocks him off his feet. However, Bowser quickly gets back up and charges, sending them all flying back. Though he hears the sounds of the fight outside, Mario is initially too demoralized to do anything. But then, the smashed TV plays bits of his and Luigi's commercial,
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repeating the line, "Save Brooklyn." Motivated by this, Mario, despite his injuries, gets to his feet and, straightening his hat, walks towards the door, saying, "Let'sa go." He kicks the door open to see Bowser whack DK in the face, then grab him and hold him up by his throat. He bares his claws, ready to skewer him, while Peach and Toad are restrained by his minions, unable to help. Mario gets Bowser's attention, telling him to leave DK alone; from the dumpster he's been hiding in, Luigi frets over his
brother's safety. Bowser drops DK, telling Mario he doesn't know when to quit, to which he says, "Yeah, I've been told that before." Peach, watching the two of them facing off, sees that the Super Star is right next to Bowser. Seizing her chance, she breaks free of the two Koopa Troopas restraining her and kicks a shell on the ground, which hits a crack in the concrete, flies up, and hits the star. It's sent flying over Mario, and bounces down the street behind him, as Peach tells
him to go for it. Bowser runs after it as well, with Mario right in front of him, and blasts his fire breath as Mario dives for the star. It's clear he's not going to be able to outrun the flames, but just when it looks as though he's about to be barbecued, he looks and sees that Luigi came to the rescue, using a manhole cover as a shield. He looks at his brother and repeats the line, "Nothing can hurt us, as long as we're together." Mario then has Luigi take his hand and they both dive for the star together.
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Initially, it seems as though Bowser's flames consumed the brothers, but when the smoke clears, it reveals the two of them standing there, glowing with the star's power. Shocked at this, Bowser tries to crush them, but his foot stops short, unable to make them budge an inch. In response, they both deliver uppercuts, sending Bowser flying all the way back down the street. He orders his troops to kill them, but Mario and Luigi prove to be unstoppable. Mario smashes right through a Sledge Brother's hammer, then grabs him, swings him around, and flings him
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down the street, causing him to collide with the other minions and free Donkey Kong and Toad from their grasp; Luigi, meanwhile, saves Spike, who's being menaced by a Dry Bones, Shy Guy, Snifit, and Hammer Brother, smashing the Dry Bones, using his shell to deflect the Brother's hammers, then throws it at him, kicks away the Snifit, and merely flicks the Shy Guy with his finger, which sends him flying. Luigi then says, "Oh, hey, Spike," and zooms off, joining his brother as they run down the street and absolutely demolish a huge horde of enemies,
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sending them flying up into the air and then tumbling back down. They dodge and jump off some Bullet Bills, as well as some Paratroopas, much to the amazement of their parents, who're watching from their apartment. A big Piranha Plant grabs them in its mouth, but they promptly explode out of it and head straight for Bowser. They swat away a car he flings at them, then grab onto some power-lines and swing into him with a double-kick that sends him flying back towards his crashed airship. He jumps at and tries to
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smash Mario with his fists, but Mario slides between his legs, then climbs up the back of his shell, grabs one of his horns, and flips him over, towards Luigi, who then sends him flying back. Again, he tries to crush Mario, but gets an uppercut and a kick to the chin, while Luigi knocks him in the back of the head with a block. When he falls to the ground, the two of them grab his tail, swing him around, fling him up into the sky, then both jump up after him, and deliver a double-punch to the head that sends him crashing
back down to Earth. He crashes onto his ship's figurehead, cracking it, and the Mario Brothers both come screeching down, their feet pointed at him. Bowser tries one more blast of his fire breath, but they easily go right through it and smash him completely through the figurehead, the force of which blows down the Brooklyn streets.
With that, their power fades, and the others join them, with Peach forcing Bowser to eat a Mini Mushroom. Once he's shrunk, Toad puts him in a glass jar, and they're then joined by Mario and Luigi's parents, who are absolutely proud of their sons. Donkey Kong pulls everyone into a bone-crushing group hug, when they find that they're being cheered by all of Brooklyn. Even Spike sings their praises, calling them the Super Mario Bros., and Francis the dog gives Luigi a nod of approval, which he returns. Their dad proudly tells everyone that they're his son, and they all wave back
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at the crowd, the image of which transitions into a group photo that's framed on the wall of the brothers' new home in the Mushroom Kingdom. The movie ends with the two of them waking up and heading off to a new day as the kingdom's plumbers, and there's also a mid-credits scene where Bowser, who's still shrunk and now living in a cage in the castle, sings a variation on Peaches, saying he still loves her. However, one of the guards tells him to be quiet, and shuts the door on him, leaving him in the dark, as he
futilely tries to intimidate the guard by declaring who he is. And finally, there's the post-credits scene, where Yoshi's egg is revealed in the Brooklyn sewers, starting to hatch, and he can be heard yelling his name when it cuts to black.
The music score by Brian Tyler is absolutely wonderful, and even all those who didn't really care for the movie had to admit that the score rips, to say the least. It's big, energetic, and fun, full of appropriate leitmotifs for the characters, and it not only accentuates the tones of the various scenes, but it all fits with the spirit of the Mario games. For instance, Tyler comes up with a leitmotif for Mario that comes off as a nice rearrangement of the classic theme, which you hear in a big, grand, inspiring version when he defeats Donkey Kong and when they're being cheered after defeating Bowser, and also in a fast-paced, energetic manner during some of the action sequences, as well as the ending credits. As you may expect, Princess Peach's leitmotif is beautiful and elegant, especially for the moment when she meets Mario, but also very heroic (Tyler said he intended for hers to be the most heroic-sounding piece of music, since she's anything but a damsel in distress here), while Bowser has this big, bombastic, menacing theme. By extension, the scene where Luigi bumbles around the Dark Lands and is chased by the Dry Bones is scored in a manner similar to a horror movie, and there's also some soft, sweet music for the quieter moments, like Luigi's flashback to his and Mario's childhood, and when Mario and Peach are talking in Fire Flower Field. But Tyler really excels is in the action sequences, with Mario's fight with Donkey Kong, the kart sequence, the wedding battle, Mario's flight with the Boomer Bill, and the climax in Brooklyn all scored in a big, epic, action-packed manner. My personal favorite part of the score is when Mario and Luigi get the Super Star and lay waste to Bowser's army, as it incorporates this absolutely incredible version of the Invincibility Theme into it, and makes that sequence a really big cheer moment.
Speaking of which, Tyler also worked closely with Koji Kondo in order to weave numerous themes from the Mario franchise and other games into the score. Of course, you hear the classic Mario Bros. theme a number of times, as well as the Underground Theme, which you hear in the background when Mario and Luigi first find the Warp Pipe in the sewers, and which Bowser plays on the piano, and you also hear many of the sound effects from the games, but there are numerous others. Like with the references and Easter eggs earlier, I'll only mention those that really stuck out to me: a few snippets of music from Super Mario 64 when Mario first arrives and is escorted through the Mushroom Kingdom, The Super Mario World theme when Toad introduces Mario to the suction pipes, "Course Clear" when Peach completes the obstacle course, a little bit of David Wise's DK Swing when they arrive at the gates to the Jungle Kingdom, the original Donkey Kong theme when DK staggers around after Mario has beaten him, "Rainbow Road" when it's first introduced, and the aforementioned take on "Invincibility." The end credits serves as a virtual orchestral symphony of different Mario themes, starting with a very nice version of the main theme, then going into "Underground," "Athletic" from Super Mario Bros. 3, "Course Clear," the Underwater theme, the Castle theme (which sounds especially amazing, with vocalizing voices and menacing images of the castle), and what I believe is a piece from Super Mario Odyssey, which transitions into Tyler's new motif for Mario.
Where the movie's music stumbles for me is in some of the song choices on the soundtrack. I'm not talking about the DK Rap or Peaches, but rather, the various mainstream songs and pieces of music that they decided to put into the movie, even if they've been done to death or, sometimes, don't even fit contextually. I don't mind No Sleep Till Brooklyn by the Beastie Boys playing while Mario and Luigi are trying to get to Brooklyn couple's house, or Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra during the last scene, and I think the brief use of Battle Without Honor or Humanity by Tomoyasu Hotei at the beginning, when the Penguins try to fight Bowser, makes the reveal of how pathetic they are even funnier. And, even though it seems to be constantly used for scenarios where everything goes wrong, the use of Habanera when Mario and Luigi's plumbing goes sideways is also fine. Rather, it's the use of songs like Holding Out for a Hero during Mario's attempts at the obstacle course or AC/DC's Thunderstruck during the kart customization and rollout that I roll my eyes at, as it just feels so lazy. However, it's the use of Take On Me during the ride through the Jungle Kingdom that especially gets me, as I've not only heard that song way too many times in my life, but it makes no sense for that sequence. Also, reading that there were possibly going to be more Donkey Kong Country themes used during that sequence at first makes me even more frustrated.
I don't think anybody was expecting
The Super Mario Bros. Movie to be high art (if you were, you're very optimistic), and while I do feel it could've been a bit better, overall, I'm satisfied with what we got. I think the voice acting and the portrayals are, for the most part, very well done and fit the characters; the story may not be awesome but it was probably the best way to introduce the Mario universe to the big screen; the movie is gorgeous to look at and beautifully animated, with spectacular action sequences and setpieces; there are dozens and dozens of references to other games, both visually and in the music score, but I don't think they're done in a way to where they're distracting to those who don't get it; the music score is excellent, fitting with the spirit of Mario and also doing some great things with the classic game themes; and overall, it's a giant love letter to the franchise and its fans. However, I'm not entirely sold on the portrayal of Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong, there are some truly lame attempts at humor and choices of songs on the soundtrack, some character dynamics could've been fleshed out a bit more, and the movie is often far too fast for its own good, and could potentially overwhelm newcomers to the franchise, as well as frustrate diehard fans with how it only hints at other lands and concepts. Still, whether you're a lifelong gamer like myself, a newcomer, or you have no interest in video games at all, this is a very entertaining, colorful, and energetic movie that is sure to brighten up your day.
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