As video games from our childhoods continue to be inserted into mostly bad animated movies, you learn to lean away from the nostalgia factor. I wasn’t entirely too thrilled while watching the first installment, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, of the animated Mario movies. It was decent, mildly funny and kind of boring. Its sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” follows in its footsteps almost perfectly.
The way that the movie ran reminded me of “A Minecraft Movie,” which I also didn’t particularly like. It served mostly as nostalgia bait for Gen Z and a lazy plot put together for young kids. As a lover of all things Mario from a very young age, I definitely was excited to see the first movie, and it wasn’t entirely awful. The animation on the two movies is beautiful, especially the second movie. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is a lot more focused on its visuals and Easter eggs for the older kids rather than an actual thought out plot. The lack of actual plot in many of these live action remakes is what makes it such a hard watch for Gen Z and adults.
One of the best parts of the movie, though, is the art itself. The movie dives right into the iconic visuals from the game and creatively brings it to life. The power-up transformations throughout the movie creatively showcase power-ups, and the action sequences seem like a love-letter to the game. While the dialogue and jokes are a little rough, the visuals are done beautifully.
It’s also hard to remember that these movies, seeing as they’re inspired by games for children, are for children. Virality on social media as well plays a big part in the production of these movies, as the easiest way to promote a movie to kids is trying to fit in with their trends. As much as I’d love a deeply thought out, plot driven remake that focuses on feeling like you’re playing the game again, younger kids wouldn’t understand it.
So, while I didn’t really enjoy it, it is a really pretty movie with some fun Easter eggs for kids and adults alike. Families can enjoy it together, and that’s really all that matters in the end for studios that want to make a quick buck.
