The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a ton of FUN (Movie Review - Wavey Edition)

What’s going on squad, it’s Wav3yGawd here! For this article I’m going to give y’all a review of the latest animation movie to come to theaters that literally EVERYONE has been waiting on, The Super Mario Bros. Movie! From the moment it first got revealed a couple of years ago in 2018 it has been on everyone’s radar and to say it didn’t disappoint would be an understatement. A good plot, good voice acting, and a LOT of attention to detail and easter eggs for OG gamers. Being done by Nintendo of course and Illumination, which are the makers of Despicable Me and The Minions, we knew the animation would also be on point, so let’s jump into the movie itself.

The movie plot was fairly simple with Mario and Luigi having an actual plumbing service based in New York that they just started after leaving another plumbing service, which is not going the best and when they are trying to save the borough of Brooklyn from a bad sewage problem Mario and Luigi discover a pipe that leads to the Mushroom Kingdom.

The two get separated and Mario is now trying to reunite with his brother. I personally appreciate them going this route and not him having to save Princess Peach because the fact that Mario & Luigi are not from the Mushroom Kingdom world, it would’ve been a lot and it’s just a different story which is always appreciated. From the beginning of the movie we get to see the two brothers' character personalities a lot with Luigi being more cautious and scared to Mario being the go-getter and not giving up and this is seen all through the film. Even in the beginning of the movie when we get to see the family of the two brothers you can tell it was Mario’s idea to start the business and everyone besides his Mom are not really supportive but he knows it will work out someday and Luigi is being a great brother and joining him right by his side.

When both the brothers are zapped another world, we see that Luigi and Mario get separated where Luigi basically gets sent to Bowser's Castle while Mario gets sent to the Mushroom Kingdom. This is where he first meets Toad, who takes them through the Kingdom to go and see Princess Peach, and it is this scene where you get to hear different variations of classic Mario Music in the background either sped up or slowed down to match with what was going on and that is where the attention to detail starts within the movie with the way Mario is running to the design of the Kingdom.

Once they get to see Peach, she is already up to speed that Bowser is coming and they need to seek help from the Kong Kingdom where we first meet Donkey Kong. Him and Mario have nothing less than an epic fun showdown. This showdown gets Donkey Kong and his kingdom on their side where they use none other than karts to ride over the Rainbow Road in order to meet Bowser in the final battle of the movie which goes from the Mushroom Kingdom back to Brooklyn, NY where we see both Mario and Luigi beat the crap out of Bowser (Of course Bowser got his hits in as well LOL).

This movie has a TON of Easter Eggs that will make the biggest Mario fan smile from ear to ear. With the first scene the rap that the two brothers have is a throwback to the original Mario Bros rap from The Super Mario Bros. Show from 1989. Even when Luigi answered his phone I smiled and pointed at the screen because the ringtone is the Nintendo Gamecube startup screen sound, which is my favorite console of all time! The restaurant where the brothers are first seen you can see somebody playing the Donkey Kong game where Mario made his first ever appearance and on the wall there are different characters from the game Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. Mario is also playing Kid Icarus on the NES when he goes back home in his room! The Easter eggs start in Brooklyn and get even more recognizable in the Mushroom Kingdom with the music like I said earlier, signature Mario sayings, also I am pretty sure I also heard a Super Smash Bros. score in there very slightly. And of course the Mario Kart easter egg was right in my face with them even picking the style of kart like in Mario Kart 8 and being able to fly, drive and hover. Seeing Rainbow Road was a treat because that is probably the most notable track in any of the games where if the squad gets on, one of you is going to pick that board.

The easter eggs had me smiling like a kid in a candy store because they weren’t just in there for no reason and they were also done right and with a labor of genuine love! Oh man, even the last fight with Mario and Luigi and you get to hear the Star theme sped up to a more hip beat was fantastic! We even get to hear the DK Rap, but I won't tell you when it comes in the movie, you'll just have to see it for yourself. There were plenty more eggs in the film (literally) but I will be here all day if I point out all of them. There are even some characters from the games that made an appearance in this movie that were well placed. With the colors being so bright and fun there’s no way you can’t pick up and laugh along with these easter eggs scattered throughout the film.

Lastly, I want to talk about the voice acting which I think was exceptionally good! Charlie Day and Jack Black were my favorite voices to listen to because when I look at both those characters I would imagine them talking like that (minus the italian accent for Luigi). Jack Black was really funny as Bowser especially with his songs dedicated to Peach which I love how they threw that story line in there from Super Mario Odyssey. Keegan Michael Key surprised me with Toads' voice because I thought he would go more into how he sounds in the games but I still thought that kind of fit Toad and was done really well. Peach definitely had a combo personality of herself as well as Daisy which is cool because we got to see her serving people up in this movie and taking names!

Seth Rogen was great as Donkey Kong and made sure to add his cocky attitude which is what I mean by attention to detail!

Now to be honest, everybody had the same thought for Chris Pratt as Mario saying why is there no accent and he sounds lazy doing that, but I don’t think he did bad at all. I thought he added a brand new sound to Mario especially with them being from Brooklyn and not the Mushroom Kingdom in this movie, it would’ve been weird hearing that accent for the whole movie. But hearing the accents in the commercial when it started was awesome!

This movie is a must see for me, whether you are into the Mario games or not. If you are into them that just means that you will get to get all the references as well as enjoy the bright colors and characters of a movie that you probably wanted for a long time. For newcomers, there is a lot to enjoy in this film and if you want to be able to get the awesome references just go online, ask your gamer friend or start playing the games yourself and you will see why this series is so loved.

Also, DON’T GET UP WHEN THE MOVIE IS OVER! There is a mid credit and post credit scene, so tell whoever you are seeing the movie with to not follow the crowd exiting the theater when the credits come on. Until next time y’all, this has been Wav3yGawd, PEACE!

REVIEW SCORE

9/10