SUPER MARIO FILM. The Super Mario Bros film has been in theaters since Wednesday April 5, 2023. Can we watch it if we have never played video games featuring Mario, Luigi, Peach or Bowser?
[Mis à jour le 5 avril 2023 à 14h11] One of the biggest franchise of video games appears in the cinema. Since this Wednesday, April 5, 2023, fans and others can discover the film Super Mario Bros, adapting on the big screen the adventures of the most famous Italian plumber. In this animated feature film, Mario and Luigi find themselves immersed in the fantastic and colorful universe well known to the general public.
But can those who are not familiar with the world of Mario go to see the film at the cinema, especially with their children? Super Mario Bros is aimed at fans of the franchise as well as neophytes. Those who have played the various games will appreciate the numerous references and will certainly take more pleasure in watching the film than those who know nothing about it. Nevertheless, spectators who are not familiar with the Mario universe will appreciate this very fun entertainment with hyper-slick animation, but may be sorry for the simplicity of the plot. There will certainly be something for everyone!
Synopsis – While trying to repair an underground pipeline in Brooklyn, plumbers Mario and Luigi find themselves immersed in a magical and colorful universe. The two brothers are separated, however, and Mario embarks on a quest to find Luigi. He will meet the mushroom Toad and Princess Peach, and finds himself by a contest of circumstances to face the terrifying Bowser.
On Rotten Tomatoes, an international review aggregator, Super Mario Bros the film is divided between specialized critics who give only 54% positive opinions, and the public who are satisfied at 97%. In France too, thes reviews of the Super Mario Bros movie seem divided into two categories: those who have been totally won over by Nintendo’s proposal, often media with an appetite for video games, and more traditional media who have more reservations.
Les Numériques hail “a (finally) successful adaptation”, while Première deplores “a big ad for Nintendo in the form of a retro cuddly toy”. Ecran Large Admits It’s “Ultimate Fan Service Movie”, IGN France considers it to be the “first really good video game film”, and Le Figaro hails a “show as dazzling as it is funny and jubilant”. Le Parisien is clearer: the film “should appeal to the many familiar fans of this universe. Less so the others.” The specialized media indeed deplores that the film is “no interest” “when you are not familiar or passionate about this type of game”.
Is the Super Mario Bros movie accessible to children? Absolutely. The adapted production of the cult video game is classified for all audiences in France, even if the feature film is aimed more at fans than at neophytes. In the United States, the film is considered accessible to the youngest with “parental guidance”, the accompaniment of an adult.
The animated feature film was entrusted by Nintendo to Illumination Entertainment, an animation studio subsidiary of Universal Pictures to which we owe in particular the Despicable Me saga, but also its spin-off The Minions. The Super Mario Bros film is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and features a Super Mario adventure, dubbed for the occasion in English by Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, Guardians of the Galaxy). Alongside him, many well-known actors are planned in the credits, including Anya Taylor-Joy (Mad Max Fury Road, Split) as Princess Peach, Seth Rogen (Supergrave) as Donkey Kong and finally Jack Black (Rock Academy, Jumanji) in the role by Bowser. In the French version, we can recognize the dubbing actors Pierre Tessier (Mario), Emmanuel Garijo (Toad), Donald Reignoux (Kamek), or even Christophe Lemoine (Bowser).
A Mario movie already exists
Super Mario Bros is not the first attempt to adapt Super Mario on the big screen. In 1993, a first live action adaptation had already been attempted by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton. We discovered Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo in the roles of Mario and Luigi. The feature film did not break even and, above all, was burned at the stake of the worst adaptations of video games into films. We understand better why Nintendo will have taken thirty years to bring out its plumber from the small screens of its consoles to the big screen!