Synopsis.
With help from Princess Peach, Mario gets ready to square off against the all-powerful Bowser to stop his plans from conquering the world.
Review.
Illuminations latest daft and comical caper takes us to the world of Nintendo’s most famous plumbers. Having had a somewhat unexpected and cash dripping worldwide opening, illuminations animated film magic, mixed with Nintendo’s under used franchises, seems to be a well-thought out money-making marriage.
The continued reviews of the film stating that this is a kid’s film without much story seems to be frantically overused yet also quite true. While the simple narrative plays to a more modern and youthful Mario Kart crowd, it deliberately delves into nostalgia, with a fantastic soundtrack of remixed and forgotten Mario game sounds with some new songs added as well.
With a hectic set of visuals, not too much world building or character set-up we get a story anchored on the pop-culture mainstream which is familiar to all those with a penchant for moustachioed guys in coloured overalls. The films voice work is stellar, with every character well cast and Pratt’s Mario voice easy on the ears after a little bit of Dolmio adjustment.
While not too complex for the newbie, the quick run-time and pacing makes this a delightfully enjoyable 92 minutes at the cinema. While a criticism would be that the film was a little short of jokes, depth or humour for any adult watcher, it more than made up for it with nostalgic Easter eggs and its many doses of fast paced silliness.
A frankly disappointing thing about the film was the spoiler-heavy nature of the trailers, something which Nintendo are really quite good at when it comes to their video games and protecting the pre-release action and narrative.
The film has acted like a teaser for their vision of animated Mario themed films and I for one can’t wait to see more. I, like so many who have seen the film, would love illumination to take a stab at a Luigi’s Mansion animated film. The tone and visuals would really lend itself to a more anchored, spooky detective tale.
While there is room for improvement, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an easy, enjoyable and relaxed watch which is suitable for all the family.
