The classic video game, Mario Brothers, blew up in 1989, making thousands of sales, and later reaped the benefit when over 200 spin offs were released. In today’s day and age, Spencers, like Nintendo, found a new benefactor to the growing wealth obtained by the video game. The animated movie Super Mario Brothers released on April 5th, 2023 and was directed by Aaron Horvath and Micheal Jelenic. 

The movie starts with the introduction of Bowser (voiced by Jack Black) and his conquest to take over the land. His fascination with marrying Princess Peach is also mentioned.

Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day) live in a modern day city as two plumbers trying to make it in a big city. After the first scene where the audience is introduced to the main characters, the lack of talent both brothers have in the plumbing business is shown, as Mario takes it upon himself to save the city from the consistent flooding problem reported on his television. Mario and Luigi venture down to the sewer system in an attempt to solve the problem, only to find a strange green tube the audience will recognize as the classic warp pipe Mario uses in the video game to travel between maps and the game. The warp pipe turns on as both Mario and Luigi step into it and teleport both brothers through a colorful tunnel of sorts, until Luigi is separated and hurtled towards a dark looking land. Mario continues through the portal until he is dumped into a strange colorful land and found by a mushroom man, also known as Toad (voiced by Keegan -Micheal Key) and leads to a kingdom of mushroom people. There Mario meets Princess Peach (Anya Taylor Joy) and gets used to how this new world works. 

Throughout the rest of this movie, Mario must find a way to stop Bowser and save Luigi. He faces challenges that lead him to friendships, and enemies, as well as personal growth along the way. The audience is introduced to a rollercoaster of nostalgia and references from the original video game including Rainbow Road, Donkey Kong (voiced by Seth Rogan) and much more. One of the more popular and original additions of the movie is a concert sung by Donkey Kong called “Peaches.” One wouldn’t want to miss it, as it has topped the charts on Youtube and even Spotify at one point after its release.  

Overall, this movie is the perfect family film to see and enjoy. The humor was spot on, but not overdone. Those who haven’t played the original video game can still appreciate the fantastic animation and plot line, while those who did can marvel at the small references and attention to detail. The characters were relatable and developed on their own in such a way that was entertaining and, overall, satisfied the audience. The movie made its directors and roots proud, as it didn’t stray from the storyline panned out in the video game yet still brought something new to the table.