Whilst the movie itself may not make many converts to the Mario franchise, I personally find it perfect for those who have been exposed to Mario to a good degree before. To which, I believe a good amount of people have.
The movie makes a number of call-backs and references to previous titles of the Mario franchise, which are sure to delight long-time fans of the series, young and old. The content is something of a mixed bag - some real-world action which I could care less for - though even here there are some funny moments - including a dog attack scene which I found hilarious. Overall, the scenes that take place within the Mushroom Kingdom I typically find more enjoyable.
The storyline is nothing overly complex - Mario and Luigi start a plumbing business in Brooklyn, and in an effort to bring themselves to prominence (and after a chaotic encounter with their first customers' violent dog), find a warp-pipe in the sewers of Brooklyn. Which leads to the two getting sent to opposite ends of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario going on an adventure to save them. Not a very complex storyline, no - but this movie's main audience is not those in search of complex storylines, per se - it is a Mario-first movie-second made in collaboration with Mario fans for the Mario fandom. Throughout the storyline, various elements of the Mario games over the years are put on display, especially the power-ups - including some of the side-games - one section is itself a nod to the Mario Kart games, which leads from and leads to in a nice manner. The Donkey Kong games also get their highlighting here - mainly in a fight scene where Mario takes on Donkey Kong - with a fair bit of difficulty. The tone is about as upbeat as one would expect if they have seen some of Illumination's other works - though, much to one's thanking, and unlike other Illumination films, potty jokes are kept to something of a minimum. At least, I certainly can't recall any. I recall Miyamoto promised that he was keeping a close eye on Illumination whilst they were working together - and it certainly seems so! Though, we do get some rather fun, maybe a tad risky humour from a cutesy Luma's mouth .. who maintains a consistently positive attitude whilst she is caged as one of King Koopa's hostages.
I will say, though, most of the world-building is limited to a few select locations - some areas are glossed over completely, appearing only in a few scenes. I think there could be some interesting world-building from out of the desert, or out of the Yoshi Jungle maybe .. would be nice to see more on those areas !
As expected from a high-budget Illumination film, the visuals are quite nice to look at. The CGI artists have certainly done a nice job giving a new, but simultaneously familiar look to the Mushroom Kingdom and its inhabitants. The character designs work rather well - certainly different from what has been previously seen, but still not totally uncanny. Though .. I will say that in some of the segments that take place in Brooklyn, the rather visible clash between the stylisations of the Brooklyn people and Mario's family is a bit uneasy. As far as non-human characters go, the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom (goombas, koopas, .. whatever those things are) are rendered exactly as one expects them to look. Bowser and Donkey Kong in particular have been rigged nicely so that they have a very good range of facial expressions. In some cases, these work especially well - I quite like the idea of the Shy-Guys, masked villains of the Mushroom Kingdom, being as King Koopa's sort of 'secret service', as they deliver Luigi to him.
Illumination films are not notorious for their musical numbers as are, say, Disney - and so this movie has rather little in terms of song numbers. Aside from one, 'Peaches', sung by Jack Black - one that is sure to become a pop culture earworm when time allows ... But in lieu of musical numbers, the film does have a soundtrack with purpose - in that it utilises a number of previous music pieces from the Mario franchise to good effect. Most of the times, the chosen tracks feel well-placed. There is also some original soundtrack too, and also an original 'leitmotif' of sorts. As is inevitable with Illumination movies, we also get some pop songs too, in locations where they work as they should. The less said about these unremarkable elements, I feel the better.
The characters are what one may expect - with Peach having something of a strong-willed nature which is admirable. The other characters are about what you'd expect if you have exposed yourself to Mario to a meaningful degree. As for the characters in the roles .. The most notable, Chris Pratt as Mario, shows a small amount of 'inconsistency' in his voice role - sometimes he has his normal voice, others he emulates Martinet, other times a middle-ground between the two. King Koopa by Jack Black is done very well, as is Princess Toadstool. Luigi and Donkey Kong (by Charlie Day and Seth Rogen respectively) leave something to be admired .. but are okay for the most part.
Overall, if one is looking for a complex, life-changing epic of a movie with a multi-faceted storyline, this movie probably is not the one for you. If you're looking for an entertaining diversion, it may well be. If you're a long-time fan of the Mario franchise who happens to be looking for an entertaining diversion - it certainly is. As Mario's first big-screen appearance since a rather bizarre movie from 1993, it certainly hails Mario's prime appeal to a higher degree than did that movie. Though I suppose, with the releases of various Mario games in the 21st century, and given the fact that Mario has only risen to greater prominence in the 21st century, arguably the late 2010s was the perfect time to start work on a cinematic Mario piece. And as one, it does so perfectly.
The movie makes a number of call-backs and references to previous titles of the Mario franchise, which are sure to delight long-time fans of the series, young and old. The content is something of a mixed bag - some real-world action which I could care less for - though even here there are some funny moments - including a dog attack scene which I found hilarious. Overall, the scenes that take place within the Mushroom Kingdom I typically find more enjoyable.
The storyline is nothing overly complex - Mario and Luigi start a plumbing business in Brooklyn, and in an effort to bring themselves to prominence (and after a chaotic encounter with their first customers' violent dog), find a warp-pipe in the sewers of Brooklyn. Which leads to the two getting sent to opposite ends of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario going on an adventure to save them. Not a very complex storyline, no - but this movie's main audience is not those in search of complex storylines, per se - it is a Mario-first movie-second made in collaboration with Mario fans for the Mario fandom. Throughout the storyline, various elements of the Mario games over the years are put on display, especially the power-ups - including some of the side-games - one section is itself a nod to the Mario Kart games, which leads from and leads to in a nice manner. The Donkey Kong games also get their highlighting here - mainly in a fight scene where Mario takes on Donkey Kong - with a fair bit of difficulty. The tone is about as upbeat as one would expect if they have seen some of Illumination's other works - though, much to one's thanking, and unlike other Illumination films, potty jokes are kept to something of a minimum. At least, I certainly can't recall any. I recall Miyamoto promised that he was keeping a close eye on Illumination whilst they were working together - and it certainly seems so! Though, we do get some rather fun, maybe a tad risky humour from a cutesy Luma's mouth .. who maintains a consistently positive attitude whilst she is caged as one of King Koopa's hostages.
I will say, though, most of the world-building is limited to a few select locations - some areas are glossed over completely, appearing only in a few scenes. I think there could be some interesting world-building from out of the desert, or out of the Yoshi Jungle maybe .. would be nice to see more on those areas !
As expected from a high-budget Illumination film, the visuals are quite nice to look at. The CGI artists have certainly done a nice job giving a new, but simultaneously familiar look to the Mushroom Kingdom and its inhabitants. The character designs work rather well - certainly different from what has been previously seen, but still not totally uncanny. Though .. I will say that in some of the segments that take place in Brooklyn, the rather visible clash between the stylisations of the Brooklyn people and Mario's family is a bit uneasy. As far as non-human characters go, the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom (goombas, koopas, .. whatever those things are) are rendered exactly as one expects them to look. Bowser and Donkey Kong in particular have been rigged nicely so that they have a very good range of facial expressions. In some cases, these work especially well - I quite like the idea of the Shy-Guys, masked villains of the Mushroom Kingdom, being as King Koopa's sort of 'secret service', as they deliver Luigi to him.
Illumination films are not notorious for their musical numbers as are, say, Disney - and so this movie has rather little in terms of song numbers. Aside from one, 'Peaches', sung by Jack Black - one that is sure to become a pop culture earworm when time allows ... But in lieu of musical numbers, the film does have a soundtrack with purpose - in that it utilises a number of previous music pieces from the Mario franchise to good effect. Most of the times, the chosen tracks feel well-placed. There is also some original soundtrack too, and also an original 'leitmotif' of sorts. As is inevitable with Illumination movies, we also get some pop songs too, in locations where they work as they should. The less said about these unremarkable elements, I feel the better.
The characters are what one may expect - with Peach having something of a strong-willed nature which is admirable. The other characters are about what you'd expect if you have exposed yourself to Mario to a meaningful degree. As for the characters in the roles .. The most notable, Chris Pratt as Mario, shows a small amount of 'inconsistency' in his voice role - sometimes he has his normal voice, others he emulates Martinet, other times a middle-ground between the two. King Koopa by Jack Black is done very well, as is Princess Toadstool. Luigi and Donkey Kong (by Charlie Day and Seth Rogen respectively) leave something to be admired .. but are okay for the most part.
Overall, if one is looking for a complex, life-changing epic of a movie with a multi-faceted storyline, this movie probably is not the one for you. If you're looking for an entertaining diversion, it may well be. If you're a long-time fan of the Mario franchise who happens to be looking for an entertaining diversion - it certainly is. As Mario's first big-screen appearance since a rather bizarre movie from 1993, it certainly hails Mario's prime appeal to a higher degree than did that movie. Though I suppose, with the releases of various Mario games in the 21st century, and given the fact that Mario has only risen to greater prominence in the 21st century, arguably the late 2010s was the perfect time to start work on a cinematic Mario piece. And as one, it does so perfectly.
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