REVIEW: The Super Mario Bros. Movie Is a New Visual Treat and Powers Up With Endless Easter Eggs

Universal Pictures’ The Super Mario Bros. Movie powers up into theaters with voice stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Sebastian Maniscalco.

Illumination and Nintendo have brought The Super Mario Bros. Movie to the big screen and were successful at bringing to life the beloved ’80s game starring Mario (Chris Pratt, Jurassic World, and The LEGO Movie franchises) and Luigi (Charlie Day, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Horrible Bosses) in some of the best animation that will tantalize fans with a slurry of Easter eggs and hidden gems.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie definitely captures a jam-packed universe, starting out with a back story on the brothers and how they got into the plumbing business and their very dysfunctional family dynamic. Mario can’t quite get right with his family constantly mocking his “white glove” plumbing business, but he and Luigi did put together a snazzy commercial to get them started. Mario has been super protective of Luigi his entire childhood and wants him to follow in his footsteps, but the family feels like he’s just dragging him down going nowhere in life.

One new gig later, and they are plugging leaks in penthouses, staring down the eyes of furry intruders, and causing more damage than good. Mario then has a plan to save the day as Brooklyn has sprung a massive leak, and their scurry to try and help fix it lands them in a beautiful strange new world called Mushroom Land with a Mushroom Kingdom governed by Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit, The Menu) with tiny mushroom-like inhabitants. One in particular, Toad (Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele, The Lion King) helps Mario find his power to help save Luigi, who is now missing and suspected of being in the dark world governed by the vicious Bowser (Jack Black, Jumanji films).

The journey to find Luigi is not an easy route as Bowser has gotten word that Mario is in Mushroom Land and he’s a new threat to his plans to marry Princess Peach or his delusional desire to. Princess Peach is not just a nod to the game; she’s powerful and full of shero energy as she shows Mario what’s needed to beat Bowser’s advancements to take over the Kingdom.

Fans of the original game will be super excited to see gem after gem of Easter eggs, including Mushrooms, Giga Cat Mario, Coin Boxes, and Super Stars, to name a few. Some really cool scenes include Princess Peach training Mario on a game course to see if he’s fit to help her battle Bowser, as well as some really cool barrel action when Mario has to battle Donkey Kong (Seth Rogan, Neighbors franchise) to help bring Cranky Kong’s (Fred Armisen, Portlandia, Saturday Night Live) army of apes to help save Luigi and battle Bowser and his army.

The visuals in The Super Mario Bros. Movie are like pure candy, really mesmerizing and beautiful, but the story, while it got off to a nice start with Mario and Luigi and their brotherly bond, was slow at times. It skews very young. However, the score was great and the abundance of Easter eggs was super nostalgic. Jack Black brought some laughs with Bowser’s treatment of his magical subservient entourage, including Kemek, who was hilarious (Kevin Michael Richardson), and his obsession with the empowering Princess Peach. Bowser had some laugh-out-loud moments for his not being able to read the room.

Anya Taylor Joy voiced Princess Peach perfectly. Her training course session with Mario, the rainbow go-cart scenes, and the battle with Donkey Kong were super cool to watch as a fan of the game but as a whole, it needed a bit more to pull it all together. I would definitely watch this again just on how great it looked but it’s definitely one for the kids.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie was directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, produced by Chris Meledandri p.g.a. and Shigeru Miyamoto, and hits theaters on April 5.