The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

When Nintendo first partnered with Hollywood back in 1993, the results were, to put it charitably, disastrous. The live-action Super Mario Bros. film became a byword for video game adaptation gone wrong, a neon-lit, Bob Hoskins-starring curiosity that both studios and the game's creators quietly wished to forget. It took thirty years and a very different approach for Mario to get another crack at the big screen. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) is a co-production between Universal Pictures, Illumination (the studio behind the Despicable Me franchise) and Nintendo themselves, which perhaps explains why the finished product feels so carefully managed. The basic premise follows Mario and his brother Luigi, Brooklyn plumbers who find themselves pulled through a mysterious pipe into a fantastical world, only to be separated, sending Mario off on a quest to find him. Simple enough, and deliberately so.

The film is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, a pairing who came up through animation on projects including the Teen Titans Go! series, and this is their first theatrical feature together. With Nintendo actively involved in the production, there was always going to be a certain level of brand guardianship at play, and the finished film reflects that, polished but unremarkable in its ambitions beyond the visual. The voice cast assembled is, on paper, a strong one: Chris Pratt (familiar to audiences from his appearances in several big franchise pictures, including the ones covered in my reviews of Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) takes the lead role of Mario, with Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Jack Black as the villainous Bowser. It is a roster that generated considerable online debate well before the film's release, particularly around Pratt's casting in the title role.

For a family film, it sits in interesting company. Unlike something such as Sugar Cane Alley, which uses its family-friendly framing to say something genuinely resonant, the Mario film is not particularly interested in that kind of weight. It is, by design, a crowd-pleaser built around brand recognition, arriving at a moment when video game adaptations were finally finding their footing in mainstream cinema (the Sonic the Hedgehog films had already tested the waters a few years prior). At 93 minutes, it never outstays its welcome, and the production values, backed by three significant partners, are evident throughout. Whether that translates into a satisfying film is, of course, the real question.

Colourful, chaotic, and clearly made with a lot of love for the source material but let’s not pretend it’s more than what it is: a very safe, very shiny Nintendo nostalgia trip. Visually it’s gorgeous. The animation is top-notch and packed with references that’ll make any Mario fan grin. The music cues, the power-ups, the little nods to side-scrollers and kart racing, it's all great fun. The voice cast… mixed bag. Jack Black as Bowser is a standout (that Peaches song is still stuck in my head), but Chris Pratt as Mario? Let’s just say, it’s passable. The story is pretty thin. Zips along quickly, maybe too quickly, and doesn’t really let anything breathe. It’s aimed squarely at kids and die-hard fans, which is fine, but don’t expect Pixar-level depth or writing. Fun, flashy, and inoffensive. A decent watch, especially if you're after something light and nostalgic, but it's not jumping to the top of the platform.

And that really is the crux of it for me. There is genuine craft on screen here, and I'd never begrudge a film for knowing its audience and playing to them, but there is a difference between confident simplicity and just not bothering to push any further. Jack Black's Bowser is the one element that feels like it has actual personality behind it, something a bit daft and unguarded, and the film is livelier every time he's on screen. The rest of it is enjoyable enough in the moment, the kind of thing that washes over you pleasantly and leaves little residue. If you've got kids who know their way around a controller, you'll have a perfectly fine ninety-odd minutes. Just don't go in expecting it to stick.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 2023  | Watched: 2025-04-09

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
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