I've Seen The Super Mario Bros. Movie Six Times.

Hey y'all. How's it going? Are we having a good month? 

 So yeah...

The biggest Nintendo related thing since the Switch launch happened. And it's about to break a billion dollars.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is finally here, and I have some thoughts. 

TL;DR: I absolutely loved it. I've got six tickets in my docket and I'll be seeing it a seventh time this weekend. It is pure joy. I can't find another way to describe it. 

There's so much to chew through that I'm sure everyone else but I have to get my general thoughts out there, of course.

Firstly, the movie is fucking gorgeous. This is easily one of the best looking animated movies of the modern era, love and care were put into just about every shot of the movie and it's very evident by just how it looks. It's like Nintendo developed a movie themselves.

Next, the character designs. The animators and designers did a wonderful job updating the cast's designs. Mario and Luigi have been updated with modern design sensibilities, and they're far more expressive, some of these expressions I could never see happening with Kotabe's designs. This is easily the best Pesch and Bowser have actually ever looked, considering how many redesigns they've been through over the years. Toad is definitely the character that has stayed the most faithful to the games, and that's not a bad thing because Toad is actually my favorite Mario character. 

Donkey Kong is a fusion of his look from the DK 94 and his Rare design, and I think they nailed it. He's got this "macho" look to him now that I'm much more into than him just being a dumbass. 

Next, the music, oh my Lord. 

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The music. Kondo san and Brian Tyler are top of the line, easy Hall of Fame Ballot composers, and what they did here was nothing short of astounding. Every little note, every little tune, it was all done to perfection, I have little to no issues regarding the soundtrack. It's been on my playlist in rotation for the last two weeks. I can't get enough of it.

That said, I do have some criticisms. The story is paper thin. Like, it's about what you would expect, with very little else there. The movie's pacing is also far too quick. You get 15 minutes of setup but then it's off to the races. It absolutely needed another 20 minutes because as it stands, it's far too short and quick for its own good. Some of the licensed music choices are kind of whatever. Aha's "Take on Me" was fine, "Holding Out For A Hero" was also fitting, but the rest was I wasn't particularly feeling. 

Cranky Kong was fine, but I was kinda expecting more. There's very little of the personality there that made the character very charming during the Country days. "Slightly Annoyed Kong" is a more fitting name. 

Back to the positives. Chris Pratt was great as Mario. All of this controversy was a complete waste of time, he brought the goods, and I was sold on him from the minute he started speaking. Charlie Day was a total delight. He and  Pratt have a tons of chemistry and anytime they were on screen together, I was smiling ear to ear. I absolutely loved those moments, I just wish we had more moments of the two together.

A really nice, sweet touch that I noticed was Mario affectionately calling his little brother "Lou". More of that, please.

Anya Taylor Joy was pretty good, she wasn't mind-blowing or anything, but she did her part and I really appreciate this more Super Mario Bros. 

2/3D World interpretation of Peach. Her back story is something I wish they had actually gone into more detail on. It was brought up for a minute, then completely dropped. Disappointing.

Bowser was absolutely back to his Peach obsessed, fun loving, badass Thousand Year Door and Bowser's Inside Story self and I am fucking here for it. Jack Black stole the scene in every scene he was in and I loved every second of it. 

Donkey Kong and Mario together was also something I was really happy with. They started out as adversaries but before the end of the film, they're bonding over their mutual issues with their dads. I loved it and I wanted to see more of them just being bros. 

Speaking of which: The CAMEOS!

Foreman Spike has returned and he was great. He's not necessarily a villain, but he's an asshole and I really dug his Brooklyn accent. His redesign has him much more in line with the Mario cast, and as I previously previously mentioned, now that I've gotten word of him of being a regular character for future Mario games, this was a good "reset" for him. 

I was really happy to see Diddy Kong again, it's actually been a hot minute since we've seen him a new game, and I quite liked the few speaking lines, I just wish he and the other Kongs had more screen time. Well, we do have a DK movie on the way, so that was just a little tease, I guess. 

Tiny Zippo Scoop: Diddy is one of the five unrevealed upcoming characters coming to the Booster Course Pass.

Then, of course. The big one. Mario and Luigi's  family. 

I almost screamed in the theater when I saw them all. After forty long years of being shrouded in mystery, we've finally see Mario and Luigi's family, and they all looked great. Seeing Mario and Luigi's uncles and grandpa were definitely the biggest jaw droppers to me, every one looked the part and I think they fit in well with the rest of the Mario cast. Mario's uncles giving him shit for the crappy (awesome) commercial was just something I really related to, coming from a large immigrant family myself. While it's not much, seeing Mario's parents finally out there genuinely made me happy. Charles Martinet did a wonderful job, as did all of the Vas for the family.  I want to see more of them, immediately. 

So yeah, I absolutely loved the movie. It's not winning any awards or anything but I've had a blast enjoying it all six times, and viewing seven will be just as good.

Okay, so in the spirit of Mario Mania, I've got three Mario articles coming up. 

One will be talking about the success of the movie, and what Nintendo might take from it for upcoming Mario games. 

Two more articles will be discussing how Mario and company's designs have changed over the past four decades, which will then conclude with a discussion and some recent discoveries regarding the future of Mario's art direction that most people aren't aware of, including some that have been hiding right under people's noses.

One will go up tonight. See you then! 

Update: I needs a little bit more time, these articles are taking a bit longer. Will go up as soon as it's done. Thank you!