Our favorite Italian brothers made their return to the big screen on April 5, 2023. Many Nintendo fans worldwide were thrilled for the day to come to watch their favorite Nintendo characters in theaters. Much of the hype was created with the release of a promising trailer. After only 17 days of its initial release, the Super Mario Bros. movie amassed $871 million and is swiftly reaching the $1 billion mark. Many fans were hoping for this movie to redeem its past unsuccessful attempt to bring the Mario brothers to the big screens back in 1993. In this movie, we follow the legendary Italian plumber on his adventure to stop the mighty Bowser in his plans to conquer the world.

For the Mario series game-series in Nintendo, one of the most notable aspects were its memorable sounds. Therefore, in order for this movie to be recognized as a success, its sound effects would have to accurately mirror the ones in the series. Overall, much of the sound, such as interacting with the question mark boxes, was executed with perfection. Many were satisfied with the sound’s alignment with the games. Even the voice actors deserve their credit for their impressive roles in the movie. Replicating Mario’s iconic “It’s-a-me” phrase is quite difficult as many of the fans expect the phrase to sound exactly like the ones in the game, but Chris Pratt did an exceptional job of bringing back nostalgia with the iconic phrases. 

The setting for the movie was also another aspect appreciated by the fans. To produce animated films with such vibrant and colorful backgrounds is certainly a challenging task. However, the producers of the film managed to perform an extraordinary job in developing the setting. Many fans believed that the movie did a great job of replicating the setting from the video games and adding more theatrical elements.

While the production of the film remains stellar, the general plot is one that is extremely predictable and, frankly, uninteresting. Even for its intended audience, the plot is too bland. With such unique personalities on screen, such as Toad, Mario, Luigi, and Bowser, the directors had the option to craft the plot in a more creative and unique manner to interest the audience; however, they maintained a generic cliche children’s animated film storyline.

While this movie was certainly a step up from its predecessor, it fails to become a movie that can withstand the competition of other animated films if we exclude the nostalgia factor that the audience experience while watching this film. Overall, this movie is a 5/10 and is only recommended if watching with younger children or with strong nostalgia factors.