The Super Mario Bros. Movie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Super Mario Bros. Movie |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by |
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| Produced by |
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| Written by | Matthew Fogel |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
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| Editing by | Eric Osmond |
| Studio | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 5, 2023 (United States) |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100 million |
| Money made | $377.6 million |
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a 2023 American computer-animated adventure film based on Nintendo's Mario video game franchise. Produced by Illumination, Universal Pictures, and Nintendo, and distributed by Universal, it was directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel. The ensemble voice cast includes Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, and Fred Armisen. The film features an origin story for the brothers Mario and Luigi, Italian-American plumbers who are transported to an alternate world and become entangled in a battle between the Mushroom Kingdom, led by Princess Peach, and the Koopas, led by Bowser.
After the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 live-action Mario film, Nintendo became reluctant to license one of its intellectual properties for film adaptations. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto became interested in developing another film when Nintendo was bringing its older games to the Virtual Console service, and through Nintendo's work with Universal Parks & Resorts to create Super Nintendo World, he met Illumination founder Chris Meledandri. By 2016, the two were discussing a Mario film and, in January 2018, Nintendo announced that it would collaborate with Illumination and Universal to produce it. Production was underway by 2020, and the cast was announced in September 2021.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was theatrically released in the United States on April 5, 2023. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $377 million worldwide, setting several box office records, including the biggest opening weekend for both an animated film and a film based on a video game.
Contents
Plot
Italian-American brothers Mario and Luigi have recently started a plumbing business in Brooklyn. Their father disapproves of Mario's decision to leave his steady job under his antagonistic ex-employer Spike. After seeing a significant manhole leak on the news, Mario and Luigi go underground to fix it but are sucked into a Warp Pipe and separated.
Mario lands in the Mushroom Kingdom, ruled by Princess Peach, while Luigi lands in the Dark Lands, ruled by the evil Koopa king Bowser. Bowser seeks to marry Peach and will destroy the Mushroom Kingdom using a Super Star if she refuses. He imprisons Luigi to blackmail Mario, whom he sees as competition for Peach's love. Mario meets Toad, who takes him to Peach. Peach plans to ally with the primate Kongs to help repel Bowser and agrees to take Mario and Toad along. In the Jungle Kingdom, King Cranky Kong agrees to help on the condition that Mario defeats his son, Donkey Kong, in a fight. Despite Donkey Kong's strength, Mario defeats him using a Cat Suit.
Mario, Peach, Toad, and the Kongs use karts to drive back to the Mushroom Kingdom, but Bowser's army ambushes them on Rainbow Road. When a Koopa General destroys part of the road, Mario and Donkey Kong plummet to the ocean and are eaten by an eel-like Maw-Ray while the other Kongs are captured. Peach and Toad return to the Mushroom Kingdom and urge the citizens to evacuate. Bowser arrives aboard his flying castle and proposes to Peach, who reluctantly accepts. Mario and Donkey Kong escape the Maw-Ray by riding a rocket from Donkey Kong's kart and hurry to Bowser and Peach's wedding.
At the wedding reception, Bowser intends to execute all of his prisoners in lava in Peach's honor. Toad smuggles an Ice Flower in Peach's bouquet, which Peach uses to freeze Bowser. Mario and Donkey Kong arrive and free the prisoners, with Mario using a Tanooki Suit to save Luigi. An enraged Bowser frees himself and summons a Banzai Bill to destroy Peach's castle, but Mario knocks it off course and directs it into the Warp Pipe, causing Bowser's castle to be transported to Brooklyn. As they fight Bowser, Mario and Luigi grab the Super Star, become invincible, and defeat the Koopas. Bowser is shrunk with a Mini Mushroom and imprisoned in a bottle. Mario and Luigi are celebrated by Brooklyn's populace, including their parents and Spike. Mario and Luigi move into a new house in the Mushroom Kingdom, with a Warp Pipe to take them where needed.
Voice cast
- Chris Pratt as Mario, a struggling Italian-American plumber from Brooklyn, who is accidentally transported to the world of the Mushroom Kingdom and embarks on a quest to save his brother.
- Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario's mentor, who entered the world of the Mushroom Kingdom as an infant and was raised by the Toads.
- Charlie Day as Luigi, Mario's timid younger brother and fellow plumber, who is captured by Bowser and his army.
- Jack Black as Bowser, the King of the Koopas, who rules the Dark Lands, steals a powerful Super Star, and plots to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom by marrying Peach.
- Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, a Mushroom Kingdom resident whose species is also named Toad, who aspires to go on his first real adventure.
- Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, a powerful anthropomorphic gorilla and heir to the throne of the Kongs' kingdom.
- Fred Armisen as King Cranky Kong, the ruler of the Kongs, and Donkey Kong's father.
- Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike, Mario and Luigi's former boss from the Wrecking Crew.
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, a Koopa sorcerer and Bowser's advisor and informant.
- Scott Menville as the Koopa General, the stern officer in charge of Bowser's Koopa Troop, who leads an ambush on Rainbow Road.
Additionally, Charles Martinet, who voices Mario and Luigi in the games, voices Mario and Luigi's father; Martinet also voices Giuseppe, a Brooklyn citizen who resembles Mario's original appearance in Donkey Kong and speaks in his game voice. Jessica DiCicco voices Mario and Luigi's mother, while Rino Romano and John DiMaggio voice the brothers' uncles, Tony, and Arthur, respectively. Khary Payton voices the Penguin King, the ruler of the Ice Kingdom descended upon by Bowser's army.
Production
Development
After the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film adaptation, Japanese video game company Nintendo became wary of licensing its properties for film adaptations. According to Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the idea for a new Mario film came from bringing their older games to the Virtual Console and other services; such transitions took time for the company, and Miyamoto recognized that "our content business would be able to develop even further if we were able to combine our long-beloved software with that of video assets, and utilize them together for extended periods." Miyamoto knew that the process of making a film was far different from that of making a video game, and wanted a film expert to lead the effort.
Following the November 2014 hack of Sony Pictures, emails between producer Avi Arad, studio chief Amy Pascal, TriStar Pictures head Tom Rothman, and Sony Pictures Animation president of production Michelle Raimo Kouyate were released, revealing that Sony had been attempting to secure the film rights to the Mario franchise for several years. Arad visited Nintendo in Tokyo in February and July 2014 in an attempt to secure a deal. In October, Arad emailed Pascal and said he had closed the deal with Nintendo. Pascal suggested recruiting Sony Pictures Animation's Hotel Transylvania director Genndy Tartakovsky to help develop the project, while Kouyate said she could "think of 3–4 movies right out of the gate" and expressed hope in "build[ing] a Mario empire." However, after the emails leaked, Arad denied that a deal had been made, stating that negotiations had only begun. BuzzFeed News noted that the emails did not take into account potential conflicts with Sony Pictures' corporate sibling Sony Interactive Entertainment, one of Nintendo's chief competitors.
Through Nintendo's work with Universal Parks & Resorts to create Mario-based attractions, later resulting in Super Nintendo World, Miyamoto met Chris Meledandri, founder of Universal Pictures' Illumination animation division. Miyamoto found Meledandri's creative process similar to his own and felt he would be the proper lead for a Mario film. They had started more earnest discussions by 2016, knowing that if they felt it would not work that they could easily walk away. In November 2017, reports emerged that Nintendo was collaborating with Universal and Illumination to make an animated Mario film. Then-Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima clarified that a deal had not been finalized, but that an announcement would come soon. Kimishima hoped that if the deal were successful, a 2020 release date would be possible.
In January 2018, Nintendo announced that the film would progress with Miyamoto and Meledandri co-producing. Meledandri said the film was a "priority" for Illumination and that it would most likely come out in 2022. He added that Miyamoto would be "front and center" during production. In January 2020, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated that the film was "moving along smoothly" with an expected 2022 release date. Furukawa also said Nintendo would own the rights to the film, and both Nintendo and Universal would fund the production.
In August 2021, it emerged that Teen Titans Go! creators Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic were directing the film after the discovery of an Illumination animator's LinkedIn profile that included the film in their list. Following the full casting announcement, Horvath and Jelenic were confirmed to be directing, with Matthew Fogel attached as the screenwriter after previously scribing Illumination's Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022). According to Khary Payton, who has collaborated with Horvath and Jelenic on various projects at Warner Bros. Animation, the duo flew to Illumination Studios Paris a month after the release of their first feature film, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, in September 2018.
In September 2022, it was announced by New York Comic Con that the film's teaser trailer would be released on October 6, 2022; the teaser formally revealed the film's title, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Shortly thereafter, Ed Skudder, who previously worked with Horvath on Unikitty!, confirmed that he worked as head of story on the film.
Writing
Jelenic and Horvath wanted their work on the film to be the opposite of the "irreverent" Teen Titans Go!, aiming to develop a faithful adaptation of the games, which they both felt had not been done before, as well as something "more cinematic" and "more emotional" than Teen Titans Go!. "When people probably first heard our names attached to the movie, they expected we'd do the Teen Titans Go! treatment to Mario," said Jelenic. "But every project we come to, we make new choices depending on who the audience is and what we're going for." Horvath asserted that Nintendo involved themselves with every aspect of the production, "from story to visual development to the animation."
The duo wanted the film to serve as an "origin story" for Mario and Luigi, opting to portray them as "blue-collar guys" by focusing on their previous backgrounds as Italian-American plumbers from Brooklyn, New York in the older games. They also wanted to reflect how gamers win in the games by not giving up in spite of making mistakes, turning that into a character trait for the film's portrayal of Mario. The duo chose to interchange Princess Peach and Luigi's roles from the games, with Peach helping Mario rescue a kidnapped Luigi, because they felt having them in their original roles was "too straightforward". The duo drew inspiration from Super Mario 3D World (2013) and its portrayal of Peach as a playable character, stating they wanted to focus on her role as the Mushroom Kingdom's monarch and "how strong that person would need to be to protect [the Toads.]" For Bowser, they "decided to make that character scary, but the other side of Bowser is somebody who's vulnerable and funny."
Casting
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Middle: Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, and Seth Rogen voice Bowser, Toad, and Donkey Kong, respectively.
Bottom: Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Kevin Michael Richardson voice Cranky Kong, Foreman Spike, and Kamek, respectively, while Charles Martinet cameos as the brothers' father and a citizen of Brooklyn named Giuseppe.In February 2021, Mario voice actor Charles Martinet said the possibility of reprising his role in the film would be a "marvelous thing" and that if he were asked to voice Mario, "I'll go in and play with great joy and happiness." In August 2021, Sebastian Maniscalco revealed he was voicing Spike, Mario and Luigi's boss from the game Wrecking Crew (1985).
During a September 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation, Shigeru Miyamoto announced that Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Kevin Michael Richardson, Fred Armisen, and Maniscalco would headline the voice cast and that Martinet would be featured in "surprise cameos". The announcement was met with a mixed reaction from fans; while some welcomed the idea of celebrity actors voicing the characters, others questioned and criticized the choices, in particular Pratt as Mario instead of Martinet (who has voiced the character since 1991) or an Italian actor.
Meledandri said Pratt would not be voicing Mario with a thick Italian accent as Martinet has traditionally done; voice actor Khary Payton described Pratt's voice as a "cousin to the Sopranos". Voice actress Tara Strong criticized Pratt's casting and expressed a preference for Martinet to voice Mario instead, lamenting on Twitter what she described to be Hollywood's disregard of professional voice actors. In response to the criticism of Pratt's casting, Horvath stated, "For us, it made total sense. He's really good at playing a blue-collar hero with a ton of heart. For the way that Mario is characterized in our film, he's perfect for it." Pratt acknowledged the character's "passionate fanbase" and that Mario's traditional voice was "the soundtrack to [fans'] youth. You don't want someone to come along and cynically kind of destroy it as a cash grab with a movie. I fully understand that. You do not want that to happen." Regarding his own vocal performance, he encouraged audiences to "come watch the movie. Go watch the movie […] and then we can talk."
Plot details were kept secret from the actors during recording, according to Day, who noted he had to record his dialogue in many different ways, after which the directors selected the version they believed would be best suited for the film. Upon the trailer's release, voice actors Khary Payton and Eric Bauza confirmed their parts in the film; Payton voices the Penguin King and Bauza voices the Toad General. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Payton recorded his lines in a closet at his home, though he was uncertain if he would appear in the final edit.
In response to backlash he received for using his normal speaking voice to portray Donkey Kong, Rogen told Kotaku: "I was very clear that I don't do voices" and "If you want me to be in this movie, then it's going to sound like me and that's it. That was the beginning and end of that conversation." He added further, "I think in the film and in the game, all you seem to know about Donkey Kong is that he throws barrels and does not like Mario very much. And that's what I ran with."
After the film's release, Michael McWhertor of Polygon noted that Charles Martinet makes cameos in the film as the brothers' father as well as an Italian citizen of Brooklyn named Giuseppe, the latter using a voice like those Martinet normally uses to portray Mario and Luigi. Giuseppe talks to the brothers about their use of exaggerated Italian accents in a TV commercial for their plumbing business during an early scene, thus explaining the brothers' absence of Italian accents for the rest of the film.
Animation and design
The film was animated by Illumination Studios Paris in Paris, France. Production was underway by September 2020, with animation work ending in October 2022. Jelenic stated that Illumination updated their lighting and rendering technology for the film, with Meledandri claiming that it "pushed the technical and artistic capabilities of [the] studio to new heights."
Jelenic and Horvath wanted the animation to juggle stylized animation with realism, with Horvath claiming that "there are moments of cartoony fun, but […] we wanted it to feel like a big adventure film and that there are stakes and maybe you believe that these characters can die, so they're not super-squashy and super-stretchy, and we used consistent volume on the characters to make them feel a little more grounded." For the go-karts featured in the film, the directors worked with a vehicle design artist and artists at Nintendo to create go-karts that fit their portrayal in the film while drawing inspiration from their portrayal in the Mario Kart games.
Donkey Kong's design was changed for the first time since the video game Donkey Kong Country (1994). For his new design, artists incorporated elements of both his modern design and his original design from his debut appearance in Donkey Kong (1981). For Mario's family, Horvath and Jelenic were given early designs of Mario by Nintendo to use as reference; they ended up using slightly altered versions of those designs in the final film. Post-production work on the film ended by March 2023.
Music
During an October 2022 Nintendo Direct presentation, Meledandri confirmed that Brian Tyler was set to compose the score for the film. Tyler worked closely with longtime Mario composer Koji Kondo to incorporate themes from the games within the film's score. He described the composition as "big," featuring an orchestra, choir and bands, as well as "Italian instruments, accordions, live drums, mandolins […] whistling human voices," and "eight-bit [sounds]." Recording sessions for the score began on October 17, 2022, at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. Sound mixing took place at Skywalker Sound, where Kondo and Miyamoto responded positively to a fifteen-minute suite of new themes Tyler had written for the film. Music in the film references leitmotifs from Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario 3D Land, among other Mario games.
Songs from Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key were improvised for the film. Black Hydra composed the music for its official trailer, called "Super Mushroom", based on the Super Mario Bros. theme. The instrumental was released on November 30, 2022, on YouTube.
In a March 2023 video, Seth Rogen shared that Donkey Kong is introduced in the film accompanied by the title theme music from Donkey Kong 64, the "DK Rap", composed by Grant Kirkhope. In contrast to the licensed songs that were used in the film, Kirkhope did not receive credit for the "DK Rap" in the film's end credits, an oversight the composer found disappointing.
Jack Black created the song "Peaches", wherein Bowser professes his love for Princess Peach. Having Bowser perform a love song in the movie was Black's idea. "Peaches" was released on April 7, 2023, with a music video directed by Cole Bennett. According to Black, it was filmed within a few hours. Upon its initial release, "Peaches" appeared on #61 on the iTunes streaming chart, and broke into the top 15 the next day.
Marketing
On October 6, the teaser trailer was released live in a Nintendo Direct presentation. In a short questions and answers period following the trailer reveal at New York Comic Con, Jack Black stated that "Bowser has a musical side" in the film, teasing a theme for the character. The teaser trailer received over three million views in 24 hours. Journalists generally praised the trailer's visuals and tone, as well as Black and Key's respective performances as Bowser and Toad. However, Pratt's performance as Mario was described as lacking in emotion and sounding too similar to his normal speaking voice. Vic Hood from TechRadar noted a slight New York accent in Mario's lines, calling it a possible throwback to Mario's depictions in American media such as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and the 1993 film, before Charles Martinet debuted as the character's official voice actor in Mario's Game Gallery where he spoke full dialogue for extended periods of time. In a newsletter from The Guardian, the response to Pratt's voice was likened to the backlash against the first trailer of Sonic the Hedgehog.
On November 29, the first official trailer was shown in a Nintendo Direct. Public reactions were still largely favorable, though online discourse continued to center on Pratt's performance as Mario.
On December 9, the first clip of the film, showing Toad guiding Mario through the Mushroom Kingdom and to the entrance to Peach's Castle, was revealed at The Game Awards 2022. The Verge's Ash Parrish commented, "Despite the skepticism surrounding Chris Pratt's performance as Mario, the movie's visuals — and I cannot stress enough, only the visuals — look incredible".
On January 29, 2023, a preview clip of the film was released during the NFC Championship Game. Some entertainment news sites pointed out the addition of Rogen's "iconic laugh" heard as Donkey Kong in the clip. Emma Roth from The Verge commented, "I'm pleasantly surprised at how well his voice (and laugh) suits the character" while Luke Plunkett from Kotaku commented, "Seth Rogen has been hired to... just be Seth Rogen".
On February 12, 2023, a commercial for the film was released during Super Bowl LVII, featuring a rendition of the title theme from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. A corresponding website which was featured in the trailer was also released, which advertises the Super Mario Bros. plumbing service from the film as if it were, according to Plunkett, "...a struggling small business servicing the Brooklyn and Queens areas".
Release
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released theatrically in the United States on April 5, 2023, and will be released in Japan on April 28, in both regular formats and in IMAX 2D and 3D. The film was previously scheduled to be released on December 21, 2022 and April 7, 2023 (the former of which was taken over by DreamWorks Animation's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in response to the film's delay to the later date). On February 28, 2023, it was announced that the film would be released two days earlier, on its current date, to more than 60 markets while maintaining the April 28 date for Japan and stating that additional markets are to follow during April and May.
It will be available to stream on Peacock on May 9 and on Netflix in late 2023.
Future
Possible sequel
In May 2021, Furukawa said that Nintendo was interested in producing more animated films based on its intellectual properties if the Mario Bros. film is successful.
In a Variety cover story before the film's release, producer Meledandri was asked about potential sequels, or projects adapted from other Nintendo properties, and answered, "Our focus right now is entirely on bringing the film out to the audience, and at this time, we're not prepared to talk about what's coming in the future".
The film's post-credits scene hints at a potential sequel featuring Yoshi.
Possible spin-offs
In November 2021, sources reported by Giant Freakin Robot said that Illumination was developing a Donkey Kong spin-off film, with Rogen set to reprise his role. In April 2023, Rogen openly expressed interest in Donkey Kong Country forming the basis of future works, stating it created "a lot of opportunity" for a spin-off film.
In February 2022, Day expressed interest in reprising his role as Luigi in a Luigi's Mansion film and reiterated his interest in March 2023.
See also
In Spanish: Super Mario Bros.: la película para niños
