The Super Mario Brothers Movie exceeded every fan’s expectations and is so fun to watch. It was an amazing experience seeing it in the movie theater, both times I saw it. Yes, I saw it in the movie’s twice because it’s just that good. Now, if you know anything about my blog (like literally anything) you’d know that I really only talk about video games, but seeing as the Mario Brothers Movie is based on one of the most well-known video games of all time, I thought I’d make an exception for this movie. Seriously, this movie is revolutionary. That being said, I’m not going to give the movie a review score because this is Clairizard Game Reviews, not Clairizard Movie Reviews, and I have no idea how to rate movies. That doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion to share on it though, so let’s get into it.

I’ll start by talking about the setting of this movie. It mostly takes place in the “Mario World” I’m going to call it. There are multiple different areas of this “Mario World” including the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong Kingdom, and the Dark Lands. There are several parts of the movie that take place in Brooklyn, where Mario and Luigi live (more on that later). All of these places look amazing, especially the main town area below Peach’s Castle in the Mushroom Kingdom, which I’m going to refer to as “Toad Town”. Toad Town is so intricate and overall stunning, I honestly wish I could live there (though I think that a lot about different places from video games). There were also a ton of easter eggs hidden in the world throughout the movie. You can tell they put a lot of time and effort into making the environment.

This movie’s score fits perfectly with the movie’s story and environment. The Mario Brothers Movie has a better score than any other movie I’ve seen. It’s fitting considering that the movie is based on a Nintendo game, which are practically known for their soundtracks. The score really did the games justice. Yet the score still felt very cinematic, with music helping to portray emotions throughout the story. My only issue is that some of the various pop songs felt a little out of place at first, but in the end it works. The most memorable part of the movie, and I think you’ll all agree, is when Bowser (played by Jack Black) sings the now iconic song “Peaches.”

Now, onto the story. Some people have complained about how the pacing of the Mario Brothers Movie is kind of fast, but I think this works for Mario Brothers, which is a game series more focused on gameplay over storytelling (though Mario Bros. does have a few titles that do focus on story like Paper Mario). I love how Mario and Luigi were plumbers in Brooklyn, which was never a thing in the games, and is actually from the Super Mario Brothers Super Show, a cartoon from the year 1989. In fact, even the Super Mario Brother’s Rap played in the commercial at the beginning of the movie was from that show. Bowser’s love for Peach was hilarious, and it almost made you want to be on his side. One of my favorite moments is when the toads guarding Peach’s Castle told Mario that their “princess, though, is in another castle,” in reference to the original Super Mario Brothers.

The voice actors in this movie were really well cast. Jack Black as Bowser was awesome. There was this one funny scene where you see him practicing his proposal with Kamek who was dressed up as Peach. Toad, played by Keegan Michael Key, was also hilarious. When Peach agreed to him tagging along with her and Mario as they set out to Kong Kingdom, toad sings with excitement, “We’re going on an adventure! Woooh!” Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as Mario and Luigi, respectively, played off of each other really well. They were really an unstoppable pair. One of my favorite lines in the movie is when Luigi knocks over a dry bones and says, “you just got a-Luigi’d.” One of Mario’s funny lines was, “I am so glad we spent our life savings on this commercial.” Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) was surprisingly really great. She was really cool and had plenty of funny lines. When Mario asked to come with her to stop Bowser, she told him “This guy’s a lunatic, a psycho. He will eat you for breakfast. He won’t even notice it, probably, ‘cause you’re very, very small.”

Overall, the Mario Brothers Movie was amazing. Like I said earlier, it was really an experience to watch. There were so many references to the games, and so many funny moments. It really felt like the people who made the movie actually played the Mario Games, which sadly isn’t always the case in movies. The Super Mario Brothers Movie was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, and I would totally recommend it.