We have just watched the Direct for the Super Mario Bros. Movie and although it was super short, it did feature Mr Miyamoto and Chris Melandri as well as a few words from Chris Pratt and Jack Black. However, best of all it also gave us our first trailer for the movie. And while we were already cautiously optimistic… the good news is the trailer actually got us even more excited! The trailer is barely two and a half minutes long and so before we tell you our thoughts – take a look for yourself:
So, now that you’ve watched it… here are five things we loved and one we didn’t (at least not yet):
1. Jack Black’s Bowser may steal the show
The first scene we get is Bowser and his Kamek-led troops attacking a Penguin Kingdom. And while there’s so much to love including the obvious nods to Mario 64 and the amazing attention to visual details, Jack Black’s Bowser is powerful, frightening, meticulously animated and amazingly entertaining and we definitely want to see more!
2. We want to visit the Mushroom Kingdom!
The next major scene is Mario seemingly being thrown through a traditional green warp pipe and entering the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time. And while we only get brief glimpses of the world the level of detail and how engaging everything looks means we definitely want to explore this place. Plus, it helps that Keegan-Michael Key seems to be pulling off a pretty great Toad – a Toad that can jump!
3. Mario Looks… Awesome!
Now, while there were some leaks earlier today that gave us a glimpse of Illumination’s version of Mario, the good news is the trailer gives us several shots of Mario’s new look. And don’t get us wrong – it’s a little different, but we’ve got to say we kinda love it! Scrubbing slowly through the shots of Mario, not only do we see how great his clothes are looking; Mario’s denim overalls, traditional red shirt, white gloves and lace-up brown boots have never looked this good. Plus, Mario is pulling some faces we’ve likely never seen before and we love the animation so far.
4. Luigi’s quick cameo & the traditional logo
While seeing Bowser, Mario and Toad was already a treat, just before the video faded to black we got a quick scene of Luigi desperately fleeing from some Dry Bones followed by the official reveal of the movie’s logo. Not only are we excited to see Luigi’s traditional cowardly-hero personality shine through – it’s a great-looking logo that definitely is a shout-out to the earlier Mario games and seems to indicate both brothers are going to be playing big roles.
5. The tone & visual style of the movie
Coming from the makers of the Minion movies, it makes sense that we had some concerns about the tone of this one. And don’t get us wrong we realise that this movie is definitely targeted mainly at a younger audience. That being said, the clips included in the trailer give us hope – that really anyone can enjoy this animated romp; From the Bowser’s early interaction with the Penguin King to Toad’s maniacally-squeaky Blue Mushroom warning – this looks like it will have us laughing (or at least smiling) the whole way through. And if the visuals and style they revealed so far are anything to go by – this is going to be one heck of a good-looking movie set in a world many of us have explored and imagined for so many years through a different medium; combining so much that we know and love and seeing it in a new an interesting way. I can’t wait.
Chris Pratt’s Mario voice
Now with all that positivity and while Jack Black’s Bowser, Kevin Michael Richardson’s Kamek and Keegan-Michael Key’s Toad were surprisingly good (and therefore allowed us to sigh in massive relief), unfortunately, we weren’t as sold on Mario’s voice… at least not yet. We really didn’t get to hear enough of it and so here’s hoping our opinion will change. However, from what we heard (particularly the line “Mushroom Kingdom here we come” at around the 2:03 mark) it seems Pratt is mostly kind of caught between using his regular voice and a bad New York Italian accent. And while I’m not sure which of those two sides would be better – sitting between them really makes him sound a little unsure of himself. However I’m optimistic; Not only because we only got very short snippets of his lines and maybe it’ll sound better once it’s all put together properly but also because I’ve got a feeling that despite our worries – the style and tone of the trailer mean Mario’s voice will not be a big enough reason not to enjoy the movie even if it doesn’t sound quite like we hoped it would. Plus, I’m keen to see how Charles Martinet will feature too.
In case you missed it – we also got some more Pokémon Scarlet & Violet news today. Read about it here.
So much hype for this. And loved that cameo of Luigi at the end. Also, I’m sad that I have to agree with the Mario voice acting.
I know – but I’m hoping it’ll get better the more we hear of it. In the meantime it’s worth checking out the Portuguese and French versions – Mario sounds great in those!