The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a 2023 American animated adventure comedy film based on Nintendo's Mario video game franchise. Produced by Universal Pictures, Illumination, and Nintendo, and distributed by Universal, it was directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written 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 separated after being transported to a fantasy world and become entangled in a battle between the Mushroom Kingdom, led by Princess Peach, and the Koopas, led by Bowser.
This article is about the 2023 American animated film. For the 1993 live-action film, see Super Mario Bros. (film). For the 1986 Japanese animated film, see Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Matthew Fogel
Eric Osmond
- Universal Pictures
- Illumination
- Nintendo
Universal Pictures
- April 1, 2023 (L.A. Live)
- April 5, 2023 (United States)
92 minutes[1]
United States[2]
English
$100 million[3]
After the critical and commercial failure of the live-action film Super Mario Bros. (1993), Nintendo became reluctant to license its intellectual properties for film adaptations. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto became interested in developing another film during the development of the Virtual Console service. Through Nintendo's work with Universal Parks & Resorts to create Super Nintendo World, he met with Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri. By 2016, they were discussing a Mario film and, in January 2018, Nintendo announced that it would produce it with Illumination and Universal. Production was underway by 2020, and the cast was announced in September 2021.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie premiered at Regal LA Live in Los Angeles on April 1, 2023, and was released in the United States on April 5. Although it received mixed reviews from critics, the film grossed $1.36 billion worldwide and broke multiple box-office records, including the biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film, the highest grossing film based on a video game, and the first film based on a video game to gross over $1 billion. It also became the second-highest-grossing film of 2023, the third-highest-grossing animated film, and the highest-grossing film produced by Illumination. At the 81st Golden Globe Awards, the film received three nominations, including Best Animated Feature Film.[6] A sequel is set to be released on April 3, 2026.
Plot
Italian-American brothers Mario and Luigi have recently opened a plumbing business in Brooklyn, to the derision of their ex-employer Spike and the disapproval of their father. After seeing a significant water main 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 arrives 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 threaten 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 allows Mario and Toad to travel with her. She also tells Mario that she ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom as a baby, where the Toads took her in and eventually made her their leader. In the Jungle Kingdom, King Cranky Kong agrees to help if Mario defeats his son, Donkey Kong, in a fight. Despite Donkey Kong's immense 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 blue-shelled Koopa General destroys part of the road in a kamikaze attack, Mario and Donkey Kong plummet to the ocean 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 after Bowser's advisor Kamek restrains Toad. Mario and Donkey Kong, having been eaten by an eel-like Maw-Ray, learn they both want the respect of their fathers. They escape the Maw-Ray by riding a rocket from Donkey Kong's kart and hurry to Bowser and Peach's wedding.
At the wedding ceremony, Bowser intends to execute all of his prisoners in lava in Peach's honor. Toad smuggles an Ice Flower into Peach's bouquet, which she uses to freeze Bowser. Mario and Donkey Kong arrive and free the prisoners, with Mario using a Tanooki Suit to save Luigi. Bowser frees himself and summons a "Bomber" Bill to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom, but Mario knocks it off course and directs it into the Warp Pipe, where it detonates, creating a vacuum that sucks Bowser's castle and its current occupants into Brooklyn. Mario attempts to grab the Star but is attacked by the enraged Bowser, who also swiftly defeats Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong. As all hope seems lost, Mario is encouraged by his own advert to stand up and face Bowser, who almost incinerates him. Luigi saves Mario, and they both grab the Super Star. Empowered by the Super Star, they defeat the Koopas, destroy Bowser's castle, and incapacitate Bowser. Peach then shrinks Bowser with a Blue Mushroom and imprisons him. Mario and Luigi are hailed as heroes by Brooklyn's populace, including their parents and Spike. Afterward, the brothers move to a house in the Mushroom Kingdom and begin a day of plumbing work together.
Additionally, Charles Martinet (who voiced both Mario and Luigi in the Mario games from 1991 to 2023) voices the brothers' father; and Giuseppe, a Brooklyn citizen who resembles Mario's original appearance in Donkey Kong and speaks in his in-game voice.[7] Jessica DiCicco voices the brothers' mother, the plumbing commercial woman, Mayor Pauline, a yellow Toad, Luigi's bully, and baby Peach.[11][12] Rino Romano and John DiMaggio voice the brothers' uncles, Tony and Arthur, respectively. Khary Payton voices the Penguin King, the ruler of the Snow Kingdom descended upon by Bowser's army;[13] while Eric Bauza voices Diddy Kong and the Toad General. Juliet Jelenic, daughter of co-director Michael Jelenic, voices Lumalee, a nihilistic blue Luma held prisoner by Bowser.[13] Scott Menville voices the Koopa General, the winged, blue-shelled leader of Bowser's army, a red Toad, as well as a Koopa Troopa who is turned into a Dry Bones.[14][15][16]
Production
Development
After the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film adaptation, the Japanese video game company Nintendo became wary of licensing its properties for film adaptations.[17] According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, 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".[18] 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.[19]
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 hoped to build a "Mario empire".[17] 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.[17]
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.[19] In November 2017, reports emerged that Nintendo was collaborating with Universal and Illumination to make an animated Mario film.[20] 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.[21]
In January 2018, Nintendo announced that the film would progress with Miyamoto and Meledandri co-producing.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]
Release
Theatrical
The Super Mario Bros. Movie held its world premiere at Regal LA Live in Los Angeles, California on April 1, 2023, with the cast and crew in attendance.[86][87] It was released theatrically in the United States on April 5, 2023, and later in Japan on April 28, in both regular formats and in IMAX 2D and 3D.[88][89] The film was previously scheduled to be released on December 21, 2022[90] 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.[91] 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.[92] It released in 65-plus countries on dates ranging from April 5 to 7. It was released on April 26 in South Korea and on May 26 in Poland.[4]
Home media
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released on digital download on May 16, 2023,[93][94] and was officially released on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 13 in the US, with some early sales starting on June 6.[95] The film was released on these formats in the UK on July 24.[96][97][98]
The film was made available to stream on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service on August 3, 2023.[99] As part of their 18-month deal with Netflix, the film streamed on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix on for the next ten beginning on December 3,[100] and returning to Peacock for the remaining four beginning in October 2024.[101][102][103][104]
Internet leak
On April 30, 2023, a pirated copy of the film was leaked onto Twitter, and was viewed by at least 9 million users in roughly 7 hours, before being removed by moderators. The incident has raised concerns about Twitter's anti-piracy ability, staff reductions, and potential abuse of its private tools, as it was only made possible by a feature that allowed Twitter Blue subscribers to upload high-quality videos of up to one hour in length.[105][106]
Reception
Box office
As of January 14, 2024, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has grossed $574.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $787.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.36 billion.[4][5] It became the highest-grossing film based on a video game after just one week of release.[107] It also became the first film based on a video game as such to gross $1 billion worldwide,[108] becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023 at the time.[109] Although surpassed in September by Barbie,[110] it remains the highest-grossing animated film of the year.[111] In May 2023, it overtook Minions to become the highest-grossing film released by Illumination.[112]
Future
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 was successful.[170] 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".[171] On April 21, 2023, following the film's box office success, Nintendo stated that there would be more films based on their properties, though they did not directly confirm a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie.[172] In June 2023, Pratt stated that while news on the sequel would come "soon", development on the project had been put on hold due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, saying that it would only resume once "the writers [felt] comfortable moving forward".[173][174] In November, it was revealed that Universal was making plans to build a larger franchise around the film while also confirming a sequel.[175][176] In December, Black expressed interest in the sequel being a musical titled Bowser's Revenge.[177] On March 10, 2024, as part of Mario Day celebrations, Miyamoto and Meledandri officially announced "a new Super Mario Bros. movie", along with a release date of April 3, 2026 in the United States and more dates between April for other territories.[178]
Possible spin-offs
In February 2022, Day expressed interest in reprising his role as Luigi in a Luigi's Mansion film[179] and reiterated his interest in March 2023.[180] In April 2023, Rogen expressed interest in Donkey Kong Country forming the basis of future works, stating it created "a lot of opportunity" for a spin-off film.[181][182] That same month, Taylor-Joy expressed interest in a possibility of a spin-off film revolving around Princess Peach.[183]
