Super Mario Bros. Is A Funny, Trippy, Heartwarming Film For The Fans

'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' sets wokeness aside, and tells a heartwarming story for the fans, with psychedelic imagery and lots of laughs.

Before even setting foot into the theater this afternoon, I'd had a good feeling in my gut that Hollywood had learned its lesson after the first Super Mario Bros. movie, and that this one was going to be much different. And boy was I right about that.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has already set records after their opening weekend, earning over $375 million globally, and is expected to well exceed $1 billion when it's all said and done.

This movie was certainly made for kids, but it's the adults seem to be enjoying it just as much or more, and for good reason. The characters, imagery and cinematography, acting, soundtrack, story, and intelligent and thought-provoking themes are what's making this movie an instant classic, and perhaps the single-best video game film adaption ever made.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is highly psychedelic and trippy in its imagery and cinematography. It's one of the most colorful films you'll ever see. I raved in my recent John Wick 4 over its use of color and lighting to portray a very colorful yet neo-noir film experience, but this film is really more reminiscent of a 90 minute acid trip (and that's a good thing!). I love the color schemes and animated lighting effects in this movie. It's probably some of the best I've ever seen in any film ever, and it's times like these I wish I hadn't given up a life of experimental drug use so soon - because otherwise I almost certainly would've seen this film while tripping my balls off ( on shrooms or Lucy, I'm not picky! ;) ). Some of the most memorable moments of this movie were catching brief glimpses in the establishing shots of the entire mushroom kingdom, watching Mario and Luigi glow from their invincibility power-up after utilizing star power, and watching Mario, the Princess and Donkey Kong Country's entire colonial army racing down Rainbow Road to face off with Bowser. Between the glowing, flashing, and rainbow-lit scenery, the cinematography and imagery is enough reason alone to go see this movie (and maybe drop a couple hits of acid before-hand to enhance your experience).

The acting in this movie is fantastic. Jack Black delivers an outstanding standout performance as the antagonist Bowser. Jack Black manages to not only perform hilariously as you might expect, but also truly embraces the conniving evil in his voice and truly brings the character from the video we love to hate to life onscreen. Black also utilizes his musical talent multiple times in the film, which any Tenacious D fan will certainly love. Bowser ends up being perhaps the most memorable character in the film due to Black's humor and his vocal monologues, hilariously singing about the object of his greatest desires, Princess Peach. Seth Rogen also delivers a hilarious performance as Donkey Kong, and Chris Pratt gave the other standout performance as the titular character.

And of course, a great movie wouldn't be complete without a killer soundtrack, which the fans of the video game serious will love. There are lots of reprises of the classic Super Mario Bros. video game soundtrack, which have been cleverly rewritten for the film, but there are also a multitude of classic tracks that all music fans will be satisfied with. Take On Me, Thunderstruck, and The Beastie Boys' No Sleep Till Brooklyn all sit nicely within the film's soundtrack and make each seen they're heard in very memorable.

It's the story of this movie that truly makes it amazing, though. It's clear writer Matthew Fogel understood what the fans wanted out of the film and was able to usher the gameplay of the Super Mario Bros. video game series one to the big silver screen flawlessly. What makes this film so special is the relationships and dynamics between the characters, their backstories, and their journeys through this magical world that they're interfacing with. Surprisingly, Princess Peach is one of the more memorable characters due to her maternal instinct for her constituents, the Toadstools, who all look up to her and rely on her for protection. Much like the video games though, Peach is also somewhat of a badass who isn't afraid to fight back against villainy when she needs to, and when she has the ability to do so. The dynamic between her and Mario is interesting, and the trust they have for each other grows throughout the film, culminating in the Princess becoming one of Mario's greatest allies and friends. Same with Luigi, who in the film is Mario's younger brother, best friend, and even business partner, as the film begins with the two opening their own plumbing business in Brooklyn (and learning quickly and hilariously that starting a business is not an easy feat). Their onscreen relationship is quite heartwarming, and a great reminder to all of us that at the end of the day, our families will always be there for us through thick and thin, no matter what.

Mario and Luigi first arrive in the Mushroom Kingdom accidentally, through an act of courageousness trying to fix a major water pressure issue deep inside Brooklyn's sewer system. After warping into the magic kingdom through a mysterious pipe in the depths of the Brooklyn sewers, the two accidentally become separated, with Mario landing in the middle of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Luigi landing deep in the middle of Bowser-controlled territory, in which his army is moving swiftly toward Mushroom Kingdom, in attempts to take over the kingdom and kidnap the Princess for a forced-marriage (not kidding!).

The rest of the movie is led by Mario's character, preparing to fight Bowser to help Peach save her kingdom, and to rescue his brother Luigi which Bowser has imprisoned. The story is simple, but allows for Mario's character to really shine cinematographically-speaking, as his character is full of conflict and very unsure of himself. Up until this point, Mario hasn't had the easiest life - the only person that ever believed in him was his younger brother Luigi. He could never rely on anyone else for anything. His former boss, his uncle, and even his father all frequently gave Mario a hard time, and never took him too seriously, which we see in the opening scene after the Super Mario Bros. plumbers air their first commercial for their business, and Mario and Luigi's family of Italian immigrants as well as his former boss, laugh at him over it. This makes for an interesting dynamic in Mario's character. He's somewhat afraid and unsure of himself in this new world he needs to navigate to find his brother. But Princess Peach believes in him, and helps him realize just how capable he truly is - which is one of the major themes of the film - overcoming self-doubt and realizing one's true potential, which Mario does towards the end of the film. There are many other positive themes in the movie, including never giving up even when you're (literally) knocked down, as well as a great scene in the middle of the film between Mario and Peach, in which we examine the timeless philosophical question humans have asked themselves since the dawn of time: How did we get here?

Keep in mind, this was supposed to be a kid's movie, but talented screenwriter Matthew Fogel was able to portray all these ideas in a very thought-provoking and fun way. This movie has almost no business being this smart... but it is, and it's one of the reasons we adults seem to be falling in love with the story so quickly.

When it's all said and done, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is supposed to be a 90-minute-long kids movie, but seems to jam-pack so much action, comedy, thought-provoking themes, and a great story into it so flawlessly that it ends up appealing to adults even more than the youthful audience it was intended for. That, and maybe it rubs our nostalgia nerve in a way that other film scripts just couldn't do. It's funny, trippy, and heartwarming all at the same time, and for that, we here at EndingPolitics.com give it three and a half out of four stars, two big thumbs up, and call it the best animated movie since the original Toy Story, and the best video game film adaptation ever made.