The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Directed by	Aaron Horvath Michael Jelenic
Produced by	Chris Meledandri Shigeru Miyamoto
Written by	Matthew Fogel
Studio(s)	Universal Pictures Illumination Nintendo
Release Date	BL: March 22, 2023 AU:: March 30, 2023 L.A. Live: April 1, 2023 NA, UK & IR: April 5, 2023 JP: April 28, 2023 Digital: May 16, 2023 DVD, Blu-ray-4k, Ultra HD: June 13, 2023 Peacock: August 3, 2023 Netflix: October 8, 2024
Runtime	92 minutes
Country	United States Japan

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an American 2023 CGI-animated comedy-adventure feature film produced by Illumination and Nintendo, and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the third film adaptation of the Mario series following the 1993 live-action film adaptation and the Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! Japan-only anime film in 1986.

The film stars Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario with an ensemble voice cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Charles Martinet, Kevin Michael Richardson, Khary Payton, Jessica DiCicco, Eric Bauza, Rino Romano, John DiMaggio, Scott Menville, and Juliet Jelenic. In Japan, the film stars Mamoru Miyano as the voice of Mario, with the ensemble voice cast including Tasuku Hatanaka, Arisa Shida, Tomokazu Seki, Kenta Miyake, Koji Takeda, Naomi Kusumi, Jin Urayama, Yasuhiro Mamiya, and Ann Yamane.

The film features an origin story for the brothers Mario and Luigi, Italian-American plumbers who are transported to an alternate world and become entangled in a battle between the Mushroom Kingdom, led by Princess Peach, and the Koopas, led by Bowser.

The film was released in the United States on April 5, 2023, to mixed reviews from critics. Despite this, the film grossed over $1.361 billion worldwide, setting multiple box-office records, including the biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film and becoming the highest-grossing film based on a video game. It is the second highest-grossing film of 2023, the fourth highest-grossing animated film (third if not counting the 2019 The Lion King remake), the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film, and Illumination's highest-grossing film. At the 81st Golden Globe Awards, the film received three nominations including one for Best Animated Feature Film. Another film based on the Mario series is in development with a release date of April 3, 2026 in the United States.

Plot

The film began with Bowser and minions fighting off against a Penguin army in an icy kingdom. After taking over the castle, Bowser possessed a Star.

Italian-American brothers Mario and Luigi have recently opened a plumbing business in Brooklyn, to the derision of their ex-employer Foreman 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 tortures 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 causes everyone and Bowser's castle to be transported to Brooklyn. Mario attempts to grab the Star, but he is violently bashed up by the enraged Bowser, furiously blaming Mario for ruining his wedding, claiming that Peach was gonna make him happy and start a new life and now he will make him suffer just like him. He brutally whack Mario with his tail and sent him flying to the pizzeria, cruelly taunting Mario into thinking he can stop him, he angrily demanded Mario to come out and fight him or asks if he is too scared to do that. But Mario was to bruised and injured to respond. Bowser laughs it out, thinking Mario has given up after his insults. Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong attacked Bowser to stop him from killing Mario any further, much to his outrage, he decided to teach them a lesson and quickly turn his attention to them. Mario is encouraged by his advert to stand up and face Bowser, who almost incinerates him. Luigi saves Mario, with both grabbing 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. Afterwards, the brothers move to a house in the Mushroom Kingdom and begin a day of plumbing work together.

In a mid-credits scene, Bowser is shown singing another verse of his love song while imprisoned. A Toad guard interrupts and silences Bowser, who complains before the door is closed on him mid-sentence. In the post-credits scene, a green Yoshi Egg hatches in the Brooklyn undergrounds, with Yoshi's signature voice ringing out.

Voice cast

English

• Chris Pratt as Mario
• Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach
• Charlie Day as Luigi
• Jack Black as Bowser
• Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
• Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
• Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek
• Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike
• Charles Martinet as Mario and Luigi's father and Giuseppe (multiple languages for the latter)
• Khary Payton as Penguin King
• Eric Bauza as Koopa Troopa Soldier, Toad General, Diddy Kong and Dry Bones
• Jessica DiCicco as a Yellow Toad, Mario and Luigi's mother, SMB Commercial Lady, Baby Peach, Pauline, a newscaster, baby bully, and Arthur's wife
• Juliet Jelenic as Lumalee
• Rino Romano as Uncle Tony
• John DiMaggio as Uncle Arthur
• Scott Menville as Koopa General and Red Toad

Japanese

• Mamoru Miyano as Mario
• Tasuku Hatanaka as Luigi
• Arisa Shida as Peach
• Tomokazu Seki as Toad
• Kenta Miyake as Bowser
• Koji Takeda as Donkey Kong
• Naomi Kusumi as Cranky Kong
• Jin Urayama as Kamek
• Yasuhiro Mamiya as Spike
• Ann Yamane as Lumalee

Gallery

The film's cast (L-to-R: Rogen, Day, Key, and Pratt)

Joy (L) and Black (R)

Japanese voice cast of the film (L-to-R: Seki, Miyake, film ambassador Nanase Nishino, Miyano, Hatanaka, Shida and Takeda)

The film's cast and crew

Richardson, Bauza and DiCicco at DreamHack

Development

Producer Chris Meledandri

The film was first teased back in 2014 from a leaked email, claiming that Sony Pictures was developing the film, and Avi Arad was rumored to be the producer. However, Arad denied that any deal has been made with the studio. In 2017, it was officially announced that Nintendo and Universal's Illumination animation studio will produce the animated film based on the Mario franchise, with Chris Meledrani and Shigeru Miyamoto producing. The deal came after Miyamoto was introduced to Illumination following Universal's partnership with Nintendo for the Super Nintendo World attraction. He also stated that he's "been considering doing an animated film for many years now." The project went forward and Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated that it is "going smoothly". Furukawa later stated that Nintendo is planning on IP expansion to animation if the Mario film is successful upon release. He said that the company is "very, very careful about where and how [its] IP is licensed". The film was rumored to be directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, according to a LinkedIn credit by an Illumination animator. Horvath and Jelenic have been confirmed as directors, with Matthew Fogel writing the screenplay. Producer Chris Meledandri stated that the film would be "unlike any film Illumination has made to date.” The title of the film was leaked by Jakks Pacific via toy listings from Amazon Canada. When asked about the film's script, Charlie Day, the voice of Luigi, said that he "[knew] nothing" and added "...they are top secret with this stuff". Day also added that the film's high security is comparable to that of the Marvel Studios films. After finishing with Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic headed to Paris, France to work on the film at Illumination Studios Paris in 2018.

The film's inclusion of Mario and Luigi's family were recycled from old sketches by Nintendo that were previously unused.

Casting

Chris Pratt voiced Mario in the film.

The full English voice cast was officially announced by Shigeru Miyamoto during the September 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation. The film's casting was met with mixed feedback from longtime fans, particularly Chris Pratt's role as Mario, to which many are concerned about Pratt's performance of the character.

In response to the feedback, producer Chris Meledandri stated that Pratt's voice as Mario will be "phenomenal". Considering his Italian-American heritage, Meledandri expressed his understanding about the casting concerns, and added that Charlie Day (the in-film voice of Luigi) is of the Italian decent. "Well, as an Italian American myself, I understand[...] the comments. Charlie Day[...] actually comes from Italian heritage. Yeah so that's our nod." Meledandri also said that Mario's "Italian" accent would not be used, but referenced in the film: "We cover it in the movie," he said. "So you’ll see that we definitely nod to that, but that’s not the tenor of the performance throughout the film." In a later interview, Meledandri further commented on Pratt's performance, saying that "I feel I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian Americans. … I think we’re gonna be just fine," noting Pratt's "strong performance". "Chris was cast because we felt he could give a great performance as Mario. And now that we’ve done about 15 recording sessions, and the movie is three-quarters done, I sit here and say that I love his performance as Mario," Medandri said.

Pratt himself said on his Instagram that he "[is] working hard at [the voice]". Pratt added playing as Mario has been his "dream", and explained his experience of playing the "Super Mario Bros." arcade game at a laundromat back at his home in Washington, adding that he "loved that game". In an interview with Variety, Pratt said that his voice role as Mario will be "updated" and "unlike anything you’ve heard", and added that he worked "really closely with the directors". He said that the film is "something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear". Early in development, Pratt's Sopranos-esque voice was praised as a "New York, Italian guy" voice by Penguin King voice actor, Khary Payton, however the New York accent was axed by directors as they felt it sounded too much like the character Tony Soprano.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Charlie Day talked about the film's individual voice-over process due to its high security; "We go in one at a time... maybe they just don't trust me around Pratt...," he said. In a separate interview, Day reiterated about the film's secrecy and further information about his voice-over process. "They released to me very specific lines, and they call me in and say, Say Mario 7000 different ways and then we'll pick which one we want." So I know almost nothing." Day originally voiced Luigi with a New York accent during production. However, the accent was subsequently axed when directors told him was too much like a “Goodfellas” gangster. In response to the change, Day said “Alright! I think you’re wrong, but fine!”

Anya Taylor-Joy stated she "researched" by "playing a video game", calling her work "so much fun". In an interview in November 2022, Taylor-Joy called the Mario fandom "wild". When asked on whether she's experienced in video games, she replied "Not really as a kid." Despite this, she expressed enjoyment of playing at arcades, calling herself a "hardcore adult arcade individual". Following up, she said, "But once I booked the job and my friends were so excited [for it], we bought all of, you know, the Mario Kart world and we really went for it."

Payton, the voice of the Penguin King, had recorded his lines in a closet during the pandemic, unsure if they would be included in the film. Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic requested Payton to join the voice cast as they headed to Paris, saying he was "excited". He additionally weighed in on Chris Pratt's Mario voice online controversy, pointing out that "people always overreact online". He called it "a fun take" on the character and compared it to the New York heritage similar to the "Sopranos". However Mario's New York accent was axed by the time of the film's release due to the directors feeling it resembled the character "Tony Soprano" too much.

Conversely, Payton's Teen Titans (Go!) co-star and voice actress Tara Strong (Iggy Koopa's voice actor in the cartoons), criticized Pratt's casting and expressed preference for Charles Martinet to voice Mario instead. Martinet himself spoke positively of the film, saying "I think it's gonna be a lot of fun".

On the November 29, 2022 edition of Nintendo Direct, the Japanese dub voice cast was announced. Mamoru Miyano, Tasuku Hatanaka, Arisa Shida, Tomokazu Seki, and Kenta Miyake will provide the voices of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Bowser. Koji Takeda will voice Donkey Kong.

Release

The film was released in theaters by Universal Pictures on April 5, 2023 in North America and April 27 in Japan. An exclusive release on the Peacock streaming service will follow afterwards. It is originally planned to be released on December 21, 2022, with DreamWorks Animation's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish taking over the date. The final release date was changed to April 2023. Shigeru Miyamoto stated that the delay would be "well worth the wait."

The film's first teaser trailer was released on October 6, 2022 during a dedicated Nintendo Direct presentation, which was also simultaneously shown at New York Comic Con 2022. A follow-up Direct featuring the second trailer premiered on November 29, 2022. A third Direct, showcasing the final trailer, was released on March 9, 2023.

The film's first clip premiered at The Game Awards 2022.

In the United States, the film is rated PG "for action and mild violence" by the Motion Picture Association.

It was available to stream on Peacock 45 days after the movie's release. The movie was also made available on Netflix in late 2023.

On February 28, 2023, it was announced on the movie's social media accounts that the release date for the film would be moved to April 5, 2023 in the United States and in more than 60 countries.

On March 28, 2023 (one month before the Japanese release date of the film), ex-Nogizaka46 Nanase Nishino was named ambassador for the Japanese dub of the film. The film will get special screenings in Japanese audio in North American theaters, for a limited time starting on April 28, the same day it opens in Japan. Theaters are listing that the film was screened with no English subtitles.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released on digital download on May 16, 2023, 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. The film was released on those formats in the UK on July 24.

The film was made available to stream on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service on August 3, 2023. As part of their 18-month deal with Netflix, the film is streaming on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, then moved to Netflix on October 8, 2024, and then will return to Peacock for the remaining four.

Merchandise

Toys based on the film were manufactured by Jakks Pacific, and were released in February 2023. The first line includes Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi, and Toad. McDonald's released a wave of toys of the movie, sold from December 2022 to January 2023 as part of the Happy Meal brand. The international branches sold exclusive render prop toys.

Music

Brian Tyler scored the film's music, and worked closely with longtime Mario composer Koji Kondo to incorporate themes from the games within the film's score. Songs from Jack Black (titled Peaches) and Keegan-Michael Key were improvised for the film.A soundtrack will be released via Back Lot Music (Universal Pictures' in-house record label) and iam8bit. In a March 2023 video, Seth Rogen shared that Donkey Kong is introduced in the film accompanied by the title theme music from Donkey Kong 64, the "DK Rap", composed by Grant Kirkhope.

Peaches reached number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100 after debuting at number 83, making it Black's first solo single to chart. The song also reached the top 40 in Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Black performed the song at the Game Awards 10-Year Concert. During the final night of it's North American leg of Five Albums. One Night. The World Tour, Black performed the song live on stage in Brooklyn, in which the Jonas Brothers invited him to perform on stage, at the intermission.

Reception

The film received mainly mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the animation, musical score, faithfulness to the source material, and Black's performance, while criticized for its plot and screenplay. The film has a "Rotten" score of "59%" on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 280 reviews. On Metacritic, the film has a score of "46/100" based on 53 reviews.

John Leguizamo, who portrayed Luigi in the live-action film, criticized The Super Mario Bros. Movie for a lack of Latin representation in its cast (despite Anya Taylor-Joy and Fred Armisen having Latin heritage), and stated that he did not intend to watch the animated film.

Accolades

The film's nomination at the Game Awards 2023 for Best Adaptation

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
Golden Trailer Awards	June 29, 2023	Most Innovative Advertising for a Feature Film	"Giant Peach" (Inside Job)	Nominated
MTV Millenial Awards	August 4, 2023	MIAWudio of the Year	Peaches	Nominated
		Killer Series or Movie	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Won
Hollywood Music in Media Awards	November 15, 2023	Best Original Score – Animated Film	Brian Tyler	Nominated
		Best Original Song – Animated Film	Jack Black, John Spiker, Eric Osmond, Michael Jelenic, and Aaron Horvath (Peaches)	Nominated
Hollywood Professional Association Awards	November 28, 2023	Outstanding Color Grading – Animated Theatrical Feature	Jason Hanel (Company 3)	Nominated
The Game Awards	December 7, 2023	Best Adaptation	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards	December 10, 2023	Best Voice Performance	Jack Black	Nominated
Astra Film Awards	January 5, 2024	Best Original Song	Jack Black, John Spiker, Eric Osmond, Michael Jelenic, and Aaron Horvath (Peaches)	Nominated
Astra Film Awards	January 6, 2024	Best Voice-Over Performance	Jack Black	Nominated
		Best Original Song	Jack Black, John Spiker, Eric Osmond, Michael Jelenic, and Aaron Horvath (Peaches)	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards	January 7, 2024	Best Animated Feature Film	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Nominated
		Best Original Song	Jack Black, John Spiker, Eric Osmond, Michael Jelenic, and Aaron Horvath (Peaches)	Nominated
		Cinematic and Box Office Achievement	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards	January 14, 2024	Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song	Jack Black, John Spiker, Eric Osmond, Michael Jelenic, and Aaron Horvath (Peaches)	Nominated
Saturn Awards	February 4, 2024	Best Animated Film	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Nominated
Movieguide Awards	February 9, 2024	Best Movie for Families	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Won
SCL Awards	February 13, 2024	Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical	Jack Black, John Spiker, Eric Osmond, Michael Jelenic, and Aaron Horvath (Peaches)	Nominated
Annie Awards	February 17, 2024	Best Voice Acting - Feature	Jack Black	Nominated
People's Choice Awards	February 18, 2024	The Movie of the Year	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards	February 21, 2024	Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature	Simon Pate, Christophe Vazquez, Milo Riccarand	Nominated
Producers Guild of America Awards	February 25, 2024	Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures	Chris Meledandri, Shigeru Miyamoto	Nominated
Astra Film Creative Arts Awards	February 26, 2024	Best Publicity Campaign	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Nominated
18th Seiyuu Awards	March 9, 2024	Kids & Family Award	The Super Mario Bros. Movie Japanese dub cast	Won
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	July 13, 2024	Favorite Animated Movie	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Nominated
		Favorite Male Voice From an Animated Movie	Chris Pratt	Nominated
			Jack Black	Nominated
		Favorite Female Voice From an Animated Movie	Anya Taylor-Joy	Nominated
		Favorite Villain	Jack Black	Won

Box office

As of August 31, 2023, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has grossed $574.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $784.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.361 billion. It became the highest-grossing film based on a video game after just one week of release. It also became the first film based on a video game as such to gross $1 billion worldwide. In May 2023, it overtook Minions to become the highest-grossing film released by Illumination. The film was the highest-grossing film of 2023 until it was surpassed by Warner Bros. Pictures' Barbie in September. The film's success led to the surpassing of various records in the film market.

It is also credited in the rising of stocks for not only Nintendo, but movie theater chains as well, such as AMC Theaters.

The film grossed $574,934,330 domestically, and $1,361,973,409 worldwide.

Records

These are some of the following box office records accomplished by the film:

• Biggest global opening for an animated film: $375.6M, surpassing Frozen II ($358.5M)
• Highest second weekend gross for an animated film: $92.3M, surpassing Frozen II ($85.9M)
• Biggest opening for a video game film adaptation:
  • $146.3M (domestic; 3-day), surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($72.1M)
  • $375.6M (global), surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($141M; 3-day)
  • Surpassed by
• Highest-grossing video game film of all time (see in "Box office"):
  • Domestic: Surpassed Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($190M)
  • Global: Surpassed Warcraft ($439M)
• Biggest opening for an Illumination film:
  • $146.3M (domestic; 3-day), surpassing Minions ($115.7M)
  • $375.6M, surpassing Despicable Me 2 ($208M)
  • $13.5M (Japan), surpassing The Secret Life of Pets ($7M) (also for Universal)
• Highest-grossing Illumination film:
  • Domestic: Surpassed Minions: The Rise of Gru ($369.6M)
  • International: Surpassed Minions ($1,159.3M)

Future

Sequel

Chris Meledandri announcing the film's sequel on Mar10 Day 2024

In May 2021, Furukawa said that Nintendo was interested in producing more animated films based on its intellectual properties if the Mario Bros. film is successful. 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". Black also stated his interest in a potential sequel featuring Pedro Pascal (who had previously played Mario in a Saturday Night Live sketch) voicing the character Wario, who could serve as the film's main villain. In June 2023, Pratt stated that while news on the sequel will come "soon", development on the project had been put on hold due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, saying that it will only resume once "the writers feel comfortable moving forward". In November, it was revealed that Universal was making plans to build a larger franchise around the film, including a definite sequel. In December 2023, Black expressed interest in the potential sequel being a musical titled Bowser's Revenge.

On March 10, 2024, Miyamoto and Meledandri officially announced the sequel along with a release date of April 3, 2026 in the United States. Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, and writer Matthew Fogel, will all return for the sequel.

Possible spin-offs

A spin-off film focused on the Donkey Kong series is reported to be in development at Illumination, with Seth Rogen set to reprise his voice role as the character. In February 2022, Charlie Day expressed interest in doing a Luigi's Mansion film. That same month, Anya Taylor-Joy was in talks about the possibility of a spin-off film revolving around Princess Peach.

When asked about a sequel, Chris Meledandri said that he's "not allowed to talk about that right now" and would "continue to work with [Nintendo] on the board level and[...] hope to do more things together."

In an interview, Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that more Nintendo films are in development.

Gallery

Main article: The Super Mario Bros. Movie/gallery

Trivia

General

• The film is an origin story, which had been implemented in the past two film adaptations and the Super Show series.
• It is the first Mario series' animated work since the Donkey Kong Country TV series.
• It is the very first film produced by Nintendo itself, as it co-financed and supervised its production.
• It is the first non-Pokémon Nintendo film since Animal Crossing: The Movie in 2006, which is unreleased outside Japan.
  • However, Nintendo has little to no involvement in the Pokémon anime series and their movies.
• It is the first time a film and anything Hollywood-related were presented in a Nintendo Direct, and even have dedicated ones.
• Illumination is an animation studio known for the blockbuster Despicable Me franchise. The Mario film will become their first film adaptation of a video game series.
• Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic developed the Teen Titans Go! animated television series for Warner Bros. Animation.
  • Peter Rida Michail, fellow crew member and co-director of Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, also worked on the film's end credits.
• Matthew Fogel previously wrote Minions: The Rise of Gru, released on July 1, 2022. He also co-wrote the story for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, in which Chris Pratt and Charlie Day also starred in.
  • Coincidentally, there is a Lego line for Super Mario.
• It is the first theatrical film adaptation of a Nintendo video game franchise made by a major Hollywood studio.
• Prior to the film, Mario characters and elements have officially appeared in films, such as Disney's Wreck-It Ralph and Sony's Pixels.
• Released in 3D, it is the second major Super Mario work to have stereoscopic 3D, following Super Mario 3D Land.
• As a result of the film's Mario-resembling character designs, it is Illumination's first film to not depend on their usual designs typically made by Eric Guillon.
• In Argentina, the film was broadcasted on a local television network while still being shown in theaters.
• It is the first time Donkey Kong, or any character from the series, officially used a Mario power-up: Fire Flower.
• The movie is the first Mario series entry to hint that Princess Peach was not originally native to the Mushroom Kingdom.
• It was shown that Mario initially hated mushrooms.
• It is Illumination's most-reviewed film, to date, on Metacritic (53 reviews) and Rotten Tomatoes (280 reviews).
• The "Super Mario Bros. Plumbing" commercial is presented in pillarboxed widescreen, and as the camera pans to show the Mario Bros., the aspect ratio widens to the cinematic anamorphic aspect ratio.
• The film was reported to be illegally posted on Twitter entirely, watched by millions. Accounts that uploaded the film were since suspended.

Cast

• Ironically, while there has been criticism for the lack of an Italian actor voicing Mario, there's rarely ever been someone who played the character of that heritage, including Charles Martinet himself.
  • Besides Martinet, all the members of Mario's family in the film (Jessica DiCicco, John DiMaggio, and Rino Romano) are of Italian descent.
• Rino Romano's first voice work in a major Hollywood feature since 2010.
• Scott Menville, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Khary Payton, the voice actors of Robin, Trigon, and Cyborg in Teen Titans (Go!), voiced Koopa, Kamek, and the Penguin King in the movie.
• Seth Rogen and Jack Black, the voice actors of Mantis and Po in Kung Fu Panda, voiced Donkey Kong and Bowser in the movie.
• Juliet Jelenic, the voice of Lumalee, is the daughter of co-director Michael Jelenic.
• Mamoru Miyano dubbed most of Illumination's films in Japanese, except for Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets 2 and Hop (Kōichi Yamadera on voicing at least one character in all the films dubbed in Japanese to this date).
• This is the final overall Mario-related project to have Charles Martinet as a voice actor before he becomes Mario Ambassador on August 21, 2023 and Kevin Afghani taking over the Mario series starting with Super Mario Bros. Wonder. However, Martinet's voice clips are still used in reissues of games that featured them originally.

Music

• The film's sound work was done at Skywalker Sound, with the design done by Randy Thom and Jamey Scott.
• Composer Brian Tyler's first work in a theatrical animated film.
  • Tyler composed music for a few video games.
  • Tyler also arranged music for Universal Pictures' current logo.
• According to Tyler, there were 130 songs from the Mario series used.
• In the teaser trailer, the opening verse of the Super Mario Bros. theme played was actually taken from the theme song of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! TV series.
  • The same full song appeared in-film, along with the expanded "Super Mario Bros. Plumbing" commercial.
• Super Mario Galaxy composer Mahito Yokota is among the "Nintendo Team" credits, in addition to his themes being featured in the film.
• "Attack! Fury Bowser!" from Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury and "DK Rap" from Donkey Kong 64 were directly included in the film. Neither credited specific composers; "DK Rap" composer Grant Kirkhope expressed disappointment of being uncredited.

Financial

• Produced with a $100 million budget, it is Illumination's most expensive film, to date.
• These are the following box office firsts accomplished by the film:
  • First animated film to gross over $1 billion:
    • That is a video game film adaptation (first one overall)
    • Since Disney's Frozen II
    • To be released since post-pandemic
    • Produced by Illumination that's not part of the Despicable Me franchise.
    • Based on a Nintendo property, if counting the Pokémon films
  • First Illumination film to gross past the average $300 million-mark and surpass $500 million, domestically.
    • Also the first animated non-Disney film to do so.

See also

• Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!
• Super Mario Bros.

External links

• Official Website
• "Super Mario Bros. Plumbing" Website
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie at the Internet Movie Database
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie at MarioWiki, the Fandom wiki on Mario.
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie at Super Mario Wiki, the Super Mario wiki.
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie at the Anime News Network

Nintendo-related movie adaptations
Mario	Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! (1986; JP; video) • Super Mario Bros. (1993) • The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) • Untitled Super Mario Bros. film (2026)
Pokémon	Pokémon film series
Other series	Animal Crossing: The Movie (Animal Crossing; 2006; JP) • Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins (Star Fox, 2016) • Untitled The Legend of Zelda film (The Legend of Zelda; TBA)
Compiled	Donkey Kong Country: The Legend of the Crystal Coconut (1999; video) • Kirby: Fright to the Finish (2005; video/TV)
Miscellaneous	The Wizard (1989) • Super Hornio Brothers (1993) • Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) • Wreck-It Ralph (2012) • Pixels (2015) • 8-Bit Christmas (2021)