The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

2 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Game Plan

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

This second big-screen adaptation of the popular video game series (after the ill-fated 1993 film) is vibrantly colored, speedily-paced (and not too long), and pleasantly diverting, if rather unremarkable in the long run. After filming a commercial for their plumbing business, Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day) switch from the familiar, exaggerated Italian accents of the game ("It's-a me!") to plain California accents. They are sucked into a portal, sent to a strange world, and separated. Luigi is imprisoned by Bowser (voiced by Jack Black), while Mario meets Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy) and begins training to rescue his brother and battle Bowser. Bowser, for his part, is in love with Peach and wants to marry her, but if she refuses, he's prepared to destroy her Mushroom Kingdom. First there's a stop to fight Donkey Kong (voiced by Seth Rogen) and recruit an army. We also get a beautiful Mario Kart chase on the Rainbow Bridge. Bowser seems designed to fit Black's persona; he even sits at a piano and belts out rock operas. I also like how they kept Rogen's signature laugh ("heh-heh-heh") in Donkey Kong's voice. The only really funny character though is "Lumalee," an imprisoned glass-half-empty Luma who looks at the dark side of life. Most of the appeal here is catching the similarities and references to the various games (there are a lot of them), but otherwise, it follows a pretty standard animated-kid-movie formula.