A fast, brightly packaged crowd-pleaser that mostly works as a nostalgia machine and family adventure, but it’s light on character depth and story. If you want colorful spectacle, game references, and easy momentum, it delivers; if you need wit, emotional weight, or a truly inventive adaptation, it may feel thin.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Family · Comedy
Wed · 1h 33m
Director: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day
Overview
While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers—and brothers—Mario and Luigi are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.
Director
Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Cast
Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day
Curator Review
Verdict
A fast, brightly packaged crowd-pleaser that mostly works as a nostalgia machine and family adventure, but it’s light on character depth and story. If you want colorful spectacle, game references, and easy momentum, it delivers; if you need wit, emotional weight, or a truly inventive adaptation, it may feel thin.
Best for
families looking for a safe, energetic animated adventure
viewers who grew up with Nintendo and enjoy fan-service
kids and casual audiences who want bright comedy and action
people who prefer brisk pacing over complex plotting
Skip if
you want layered character writing or emotional complexity
you dislike movies built around references and callbacks
you prefer sharper comedy or more distinctive animation styles
you’re not interested in video game nostalgia
Overview
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is engineered to move quickly, dazzle brightly, and keep the jokes and references coming. It understands the appeal of the games as a shared pop-culture language, and it turns that into a family-friendly adventure with enough visual energy to stay entertaining even when the story is simple.
Worth noting
What it lacks in depth, it tries to make up for in momentum and crowd-pleasing spectacle. The movie is at its best when it leans into playful world-building, physical comedy, and the sheer pleasure of seeing familiar icons reimagined in a glossy animated format.
Bottom line
Still, it can feel more like a highlight reel of Nintendo imagery than a fully satisfying standalone film. The emotional beats are thin, the pacing is relentless, and the script often prioritizes Easter eggs over character development. For the right audience, though, that tradeoff is part of the fun.
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Themes
video game adaptation, brotherhood, quest narrative, family adventure, nostalgia, good versus evil, fish-out-of-water, rescue mission
Topics
animation, family, adventure, fantasy, nostalgic, fast-paced, colorful, video game adaptation, comedy, crowd-pleaser