Nintendo/Universal Pictures
Super Mario Bros finally arrived in theaters in Mexico. Is the new adaptation of Nintendo’s most important franchise worth it?
The adventures of the favorite plumber of Nintendo, surprise us since the 80s, and today comes its new film adaptation with Super Mario Bros: The Movie. It should be noted that this is not the first appearance of Mario and Luigi on the big screen, they made it to a highly criticized live-action film back in 1993.
On this occasion, a computer-animated version was chosen by the Illumination studio (My Favorite Villain), which divided the specialized critics, but resulted in the charm of the fans.
To begin with, you have to understand that the Mario Bros video games never stand out for the story. Nintendo He chooses to highlight the adventure and platforming, making players remember the experience more due to the gameplay and aesthetics of its fantasy worlds.
Knowing this, the film has a really simple approach. Mario and Luigi want to achieve success in their plumbing business in Manhattan, by mistake they fall into a pipe that takes them to the Mushroom Kingdom, beginning an adventure to free said world from Bowserwho tries to conquer the Princess peach.
There certainly isn’t much consistency in how one event connects to another. They omit a lot of information and explanations that can be strange for viewers outside of this world; on the other hand, those with franchise experience will surely overlook these details.
The references are everywhere.
The trip is filled with multiple references to video games, and not only about plumbers, but also about Nintendo franchises such as: Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, Donkey Kong and many more.
Nintendo/Universal Pictures
You can also find them in the music composed by Brian Tyler (Fast and Furious) in collaboration with Koji Kondo, which will be familiar to you if you are a follower of Mario’s adventures. To put the cherry on the cake, we have the trending song of the moment composed and performed by Jack Black, “Peaches” (although Hector Estrada’s Latin Spanish version is also great).
The animation is a strong point, the designs of characters and settings have an impact at all times. The colors in each castle and city will stay with you forever.
SMASH verdict: 
Perhaps the weak point is the story, which does not present anything different, being a really simple story that does not play much with the concept to surprise, it remains in the comfort zone of the franchise. At the end of it all, a video game lover will feel welcome, and he will realize that he didn’t need anything more from this project.
Nintendo/Universal Pictures
We are left with iconic moments, decent performances with a Spanish dubbing that fully complies. Without a doubt, there was no better way to bring Super Mario Bros to the movies.
Fountain: Emilio Valverde /SMASH