Who hasn’t played Mario Bros or Donkey Kong? In the 1980s and 1990s, both were very popular games released by Nintendo. Even the live-action film was produced in 1993, even though it was a flop. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a 3D animated film produced by Chris Meladandri, which has been successful with the Despicable Me and Minions series. This film was directed by the filmmaker duo Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and was voiced by well-known stars, including Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Seth Rogen, Jack Black, Charlie Day, to Keegan Michael Key. So how did this simple game adaptation develop as a fictional story?
Mario (Pratt) and his younger brother, Luigi (Day), are a couple of failed plumbers, constantly undermined by their family and the citizens of Brooklyn. One moment, while repairing the city’s pipeline network, Mario is sucked into the fantasy world of the mushroom kingdom. Meanwhile, Luigi is sucked into the dark land led by Bowser (Black). Bowser intends to rule the entire region, including the mushroom kingdom and marry the queen, Peach (Joy). Peach then trains Mario to be able to beat Bowser and save Luigi. They also enlisted the support of the forest kingdom led by King Kong. Then the adventure begins.
The story offers only a little that lacks exposition, both characters, conflicts, and resolution. A weak exposition makes our sympathy for the characters weak. The story is too flat, and there is no significant threat from the antagonist because the main target of this film is children. The Mad Max-style action moments in half the duration can also not provide biting entertainment. As a result, adult audiences will easily get carried away apart from children. The strength of this film is only the sheer visuals that spoil the eye and the visualization of the game action.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a perfect spectacle for its target genre, even though it doesn’t feel like it will entertain moviegoers. The message that can be inserted into the story compared to Despicable Me is also far adrift. At least, Minions can provide entertainment through the ridiculous behavior of the characters. If at this time you want more entertainment for the family, Dungeons and Dragons (D & D) can provide everything more than Mario Bros. If you are a true Mario fan, just watch, but I’d rather watch D&D all over again.
