This is a movie that is 100% made by fans, for fans. It may seem difficult to take something as simple as Mario and make a movie out of it, but Nintendo and Illumination proved to be a worthy partnership. The two have quite a bit in common. Both are leaders in family friendly content, they both have simple stories, and their products are very energetic and colorful. That being said, the animation is very well done. The Illumination style fits the world of the Mushroom Kingdom perfectly.
There's not much in the way of story: Mario and Luigi get sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom, and have to help Peach stop Bowser from taking over the world. That being said, I understand why critics didn't like it. It has a very basic and predictable story. But in this case, that is for the better. The games themselves aren't known for their plots, they are famously simple. But at the end of the day, it's not about the story, it's about the world of Mario. There's no need to make some kind of new world-building for something that already works as simple as it is. Instead it goes all on the references. Characters, items, locations, and especially music from across the franchise are prominently featured. It's an amalgamation of everyone's favorite Mario games, none of them (except Sunshine, sorry 00s kids) are left out. There's also a host of references to other video games, particularly retro ones. Spotting them feels rather good. This is the type of movie you need sometimes. There's no nutritional value here, it's just a fun time, just like the games are.
The voice cast was mocked upon reveal, but it wasn't too bad. Chris Pratt is the voice of Mario, and was better than expected. Rather than try and sound Italian, he goes for a Brooklyn accent, and he doesn't sound like Star-Lord or Jurassic World guy at all. Anya Taylor Joy was a good pick for Peach. She's really been on a roll lately. Did you know she's from Argentina? If there's one standout performance, it's that of Jack Black. Not only is he a huge nerd in real life, it's very clear that there is nothing he'd rather be doing than being the voice of Bowser. There is an issue with the voice acting; Mario is effectively a silent protagonist in the games - he only speaks in occasional catchphrases. The backstory they gave him and Luigi is serviceable. It's nothing remarkable, but also nothing that radically changes anything.
There are interesting implications to the enormous box office success of the Mario Movie. Combined with the laud received by HBO's The Last of Us, and the recent Sonic, Uncharted, and Mortal Kombat movies being moderate box office successes, we could be entering the golden age of video game adaptations. While Mario does have 40 years of cross-generational appeal, the numbers speak for themselves. It will be interesting to see what comes of it.
There's not much in the way of story: Mario and Luigi get sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom, and have to help Peach stop Bowser from taking over the world. That being said, I understand why critics didn't like it. It has a very basic and predictable story. But in this case, that is for the better. The games themselves aren't known for their plots, they are famously simple. But at the end of the day, it's not about the story, it's about the world of Mario. There's no need to make some kind of new world-building for something that already works as simple as it is. Instead it goes all on the references. Characters, items, locations, and especially music from across the franchise are prominently featured. It's an amalgamation of everyone's favorite Mario games, none of them (except Sunshine, sorry 00s kids) are left out. There's also a host of references to other video games, particularly retro ones. Spotting them feels rather good. This is the type of movie you need sometimes. There's no nutritional value here, it's just a fun time, just like the games are.
The voice cast was mocked upon reveal, but it wasn't too bad. Chris Pratt is the voice of Mario, and was better than expected. Rather than try and sound Italian, he goes for a Brooklyn accent, and he doesn't sound like Star-Lord or Jurassic World guy at all. Anya Taylor Joy was a good pick for Peach. She's really been on a roll lately. Did you know she's from Argentina? If there's one standout performance, it's that of Jack Black. Not only is he a huge nerd in real life, it's very clear that there is nothing he'd rather be doing than being the voice of Bowser. There is an issue with the voice acting; Mario is effectively a silent protagonist in the games - he only speaks in occasional catchphrases. The backstory they gave him and Luigi is serviceable. It's nothing remarkable, but also nothing that radically changes anything.
There are interesting implications to the enormous box office success of the Mario Movie. Combined with the laud received by HBO's The Last of Us, and the recent Sonic, Uncharted, and Mortal Kombat movies being moderate box office successes, we could be entering the golden age of video game adaptations. While Mario does have 40 years of cross-generational appeal, the numbers speak for themselves. It will be interesting to see what comes of it.