The Box Office for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, after a mere two weeks, is $700 million dollars. That just demonstrates the power of nostalgia and ILLUMINATION’s style of animation.
Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel, The Super Mario Bros. Movie blends aspects of the Super Mario video games. The ensemble voice cast includes Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, and Fred Armisen. The film begins with an origin story for the brothers Mario and Luigi, Italian-American plumbers who are transported to an alternate world and become entangled in a battle between the Mushroom Kingdom, led by Princess Peach, and the Koopas, led by evil Bowser.
My favorite part of The Super Mario Bros. Movie was the Battle for Brooklyn. And, of course, the music. Are you a Super Mario fan? Are you planning to see this movie? GRADE: B
SOUNDTRACK LIST:
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Super Mario Bros. Opus” | 6:42 |
| 2. | “Press Start” | 2:38 |
| 3. | “King of the Koopas” | 3:33 |
| 4. | “Plumbin’ Ain’t Easy” | 1:16 |
| 5. | “It’s a Dog Eat Plumber World” | 1:15 |
| 6. | “Saving Brooklyn” | 1:47 |
| 7. | “The Warp Pipe” | 2:05 |
| 8. | “Strange New World” | 2:03 |
| 9. | “The Darklands” | 2:20 |
| 10. | “Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom” | 2:18 |
| 11. | “2 Player Game” | 5:07 |
| 12. | “The Mushroom Council” | 2:07 |
| 13. | “The Plumber and the Peach” | 1:21 |
| 14. | “Platforming Princess” | 1:39 |
| 15. | “World 1-1” | 2:34 |
| 16. | “The Adventure Begins” | 3:04 |
| 17. | “Peaches” (written by Aaron Horvath, Eric Osmond, John Spiker and Michael Jelenic; performed by Jack Black) | 1:35 |
| 18. | “Lost and Crowned” | 1:39 |
| 19. | “Imprisoned” | 2:54 |
| 20. | “Courting the Kongs” | 2:00 |
| 21. | “Drivin’ Me Bananas” | 1:20 |
| 22. | “Rumble in the Jungle” | 3:59 |
| 23. | “Karts!” | 1:51 |
| 24. | “Practice Makes Perfect” | 1:00 |
| 25. | “Buckle Up” | 1:31 |
| 26. | “Rainbow Road Rage” | 3:31 |
| 27. | “Blue Shelled” | 2:26 |
| 28. | “An Indecent Proposal” | 3:24 |
| 29. | “The Belly of the Beast” | 1:23 |
| 30. | “Fighting Tooth and Veil” | 3:45 |
| 31. | “Tactical Tanooki” | 2:22 |
| 32. | “Mario Brothers Rap” (written by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy; performed by Ali Dee) | 0:58 |
| 33. | “Grapple in the Big Apple” | 3:40 |
| 34. | “Superstars” | 1:39 |
| 35. | “The Super Mario Brothers” | 1:27 |
| 36. | “Bonus Level” | 1:01 |
| 37. | “Level Complete” | 2:32 |
| Total length: | 87:46 |
Not a fan. Video games became popular a little late for me.
Steve, we bought Patrick a Nintendo 64 back in the 1980s…and the rest is history.
This is a hard pass for me but I guess it’s nice families are going back to theaters again. This really seems like something that should have been released around 2000 but I can’t make sense of movies these days. I am somewhat amused at the bashing it got by so many critics who thought a Mario Brothers movie should somehow have been better. There’s a whole generation of movie reviewers who honestly think all the dumb IP (video games, “Star Wars,” “Star Trek ” comic books) they grew up on needs to be “elevated” for their middle-aged nostalia trips. Seeing this movie make so much money is really driving them crazy.
Bryon, once again your analysis is spot on! The hundreds of millions of dollars THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE took in guarantees a sequel.
I have never been a fan of animated movies-with the exception of TOY STORY. I never even watched cartoons much. Not sure why. Never watched a single episode of THE SIMPSONS either. I think I was a fuddy duddy even as a kid.
Patti, I grew up watching Disney cartoons–both movies and TV–so these spectacular computer-enhanced animated movies appeal to me.
No, and not on your life.
Jeff, Diane and I are on the fringe of the marketing segment for THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE.
I don’t consider myself a fuddy duddy but I’m with Patti here. I just wish all the so-called adults who flock to this crap had a bit higher standards. After all, the best thing I’ve seen on tv this year, THE LAST OF US on HBO MAX, was based on a game. But not a stupid game.
Michael, nostalgia plays a big role in the success ofT HE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE. Millennials grew up playing SUPER MARIO and the spin-off games so this movie has a lot of built-in appeal for that group.
Some work can be better than other work in any given field. Some Olympia Press books are LOLITA and even less problematic but serious work. Some Disney animations are LILO & STITCH (not speaking of the subsequent tv series, which I haven’t yet seen). This does have a decent voice-actor cast, but I probably won’t make too much effort to see it, at least till there’s no extra charge. Some comic books are LOVE AND ROCKETS, or Rachel Pollack’s fine work on DOOM PATROL.
The way it goes.
Todd, clearly the movie market for THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE is large. We’re approaching the Summer Movie season with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3 opening in early May and then a “blockbuster” movie opening every week until mid-August. We’ll see if people will return to movie theaters…or wait until the movies arrive on the streaming services.