“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has been the biggest movie to come out during April this year. The film has broken box office records around the globe and grossed over one billion dollars. The release of the movie comes 40 years after the brothers appeared in their first game, “Super Mario Bros.”
The film follows brothers Mario and Luigi, who own a plumbing company in Brooklyn. After getting sucked in through a warp pipe on the job, Mario must go on an adventure with Princess Peach and Toad through the Mushroom Kingdom to save his brother from Bowser and his army. Along the way, Mario, Princess Peach and Toad gain the help of Donkey Kong, Cranky Kong and their army.
Despite all the global success, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was initially a high-stakes high-expectation film. There were various factors working to the detriment of the movie: the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 film, the regurgitated style used by animation studio Illumination and a seemingly questionable cast list.
These concerns were soon washed to the back of people’s minds as “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” grossed $204 million at the domestic box office within the first five days of release.
How has “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” maintained such a consistent stream of success?
At its core, the movie is a celebration of beloved characters. There is not an ultra-specific plot because there doesn’t need to be one. Nor does the movie necessarily seek out a complex plot either. There might be reasons the filmmakers were not able to expand on the characters through an elaborate plot, but it paid off well as it felt true to the original Super Mario game plot.
It has succeeded at being an homage and a blast from the past for audiences of all ages.
Not only was “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” produced by Nintendo, but Shigeru Miyamoto also served as executive producer on the project. Having the creator of these beloved characters and games made sure the magic of the gaming franchise wasn’t lost in the movie because he could oversee every decision being made.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” also draws on the love people have for nostalgia. The film has 35 years of Mario Bros. history laced throughout it. Some could say the entire movie is one big reel of references and easter eggs. Some of these references include the game cube start-up noise as a ringtone to the Super Mario Bros. rap and even Bower’s top hat from Super Mario Odyssey. These historical easter eggs will grab the attention of all Mario fans.
Another reason for the continued success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is how it manages to simultaneously be a family movie and a fan movie.
The movie also uses the lack of plot to be able to expand on the universe in future films. There were barely any appearances from fan favorite, Yoshi. Neither Waluigi nor Wario was seen at all during the film. Audiences also noticed a lack of Rosalina, who originally debuted in Super Mario Galaxy. These characters will most likely appear in the following installments of the film franchise. It’s probably best they never introduced these characters in the first installment. The film is already jam-packed with references and characters galore. It would’ve felt more cluttered trying to add on more character plot points.
Overall, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” does exactly what it needs to do. It provides a new medium for these beloved characters and the universes they live in. It highlights the history and the legacy of one of the most popular characters in video games.
