Kinda wild Nintendo waited this long to make something like this. Imagine Disney - at the height of Mickey Mouse’s popularity - deciding to not make a Mickey Mouse cartoon for like two decades or more.
-
Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:
- The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
- Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration
Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.
The Movie of Mario
- Thread starter RT-55J
- Start date
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Obviously like most big brands Nintendo is particularly protective but apparently even more so in other media projects. CollegeHumor was working on a Star Fox stop motion show with Shigeru stylistically modelled after The Fantastic Mr. Fox for Netflix but the plug got pulled apparently due to Netflix leaking news of a Zelda series and cancelled ANY Netflix deal. Say what you will about Illumination but apparently they were able to make the hesitant company feel comfortable (or there's been new leadership in that area).
Sprite
(He/Him/His)
Isn’t this basically what happened in the 80s and 90s? Disney was so protective of their theatrical characters that they just kind of stopped putting them in things.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Saw it today. The best part of the Super Mario Bros. Movie is when my niece shouted "MARIO!" when he got blue shelled off Rainbow Road. I wish I could be that invested in movies again. She told me her favourite part was Mario and Luigi and Bowser was scary. Every time he showed up, even when he was being silly, she went and grabbed my mother and held her close.
My niece was not going to sit through credits for an Easter egg (she was trying to get out the door during the mid-credits sequence) so I had to look it up and yeah, that's not a sequel lay up worth sitting through 6 more minutes of credits on a full bladder.
As for myself... I found it fine? Followed a pretty basic formula, looked OK, not a lot of laughs but also never really offended my sensibilities. It was very much just fine. I probably won't watch it again unless my nephew asks me to or something. Promising my niece I'll take her to Elemental in June (I think if Bowser scared her, the Spider-Man movie might be too scary).
My niece was not going to sit through credits for an Easter egg (she was trying to get out the door during the mid-credits sequence) so I had to look it up and yeah, that's not a sequel lay up worth sitting through 6 more minutes of credits on a full bladder.
As for myself... I found it fine? Followed a pretty basic formula, looked OK, not a lot of laughs but also never really offended my sensibilities. It was very much just fine. I probably won't watch it again unless my nephew asks me to or something. Promising my niece I'll take her to Elemental in June (I think if Bowser scared her, the Spider-Man movie might be too scary).
I don't think so? I'm not a Disney scholar or anything like that. But I recall there being a LOT of direct-to-video, shovelware, and outsourced tv shows made as quick and dirty sequels for all kinds of Disney stuff in the 80s and 90s.
Last edited:
I don't think that stuff got going until the late 90's. Like The Rescuers Down Under was the first sequel to a theatrical movie and the damn burst a few years later.
Mickey's 80s and 90 stuff was primarily cameos and documentaries but there was stuff that Mickey was in with a more substantial role. Mickey's Christmas Carol in 1983 (Scrooge McDuck was the big star of the new main feature for obvious reasons but Mickey was Bob Cratchit), The Prince and the Pauper, Mickey Mouseworks.
That said, it certainly shows how protective Disney is of their property that Mickey was only allowed an "in-voice" cameo on Bonkers. "Here's our big star whose kidnapping is the entire plot of the episode! He's in a cage where he absolutely cannot be seen, but we have his voice actor saying stuff!"
That said, it certainly shows how protective Disney is of their property that Mickey was only allowed an "in-voice" cameo on Bonkers. "Here's our big star whose kidnapping is the entire plot of the episode! He's in a cage where he absolutely cannot be seen, but we have his voice actor saying stuff!"
I'm confused? The Rescuers Down Under was in 1990. I know personally I was watching the Aladdin TV series in 1994, and I basically made it a game to count how many times in an episode there were glaring animation errors. Like, suddenly for several frames Genie's wrist bands would be just transparent and you could see everything behind it because some poor guy in Vietnam forgot to paint that one part of the cell because he wasn't being paid to care.
Re: Mickey Mouse - The idea of Mickey Mouse being shelved 60 years later isn't exactly a parallel with what I'm talking about, which would be more like Mickey Mouse being shelved in the 40s-50s.
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" (2023) is a lot of fun and I think that anyone who likes fun will enjoy it. It truly captures the spirit of its source material: it's bright, breezy, delightful, and produced with ruthless pragmatism.
I find it ironic that feature animation has amassed a reputation for whimsy and spontaneity, when hardly anything whimsical or spontaneous can be done in the process of animating. As one of the most labor-intensive forms of art, every frame is the product of a massive collaboration across space and time. Long before the animators begin painting their personal flourishes into the scene, the storyboarders have been revised and re-revised with an eye toward where they must be efficient and where they can afford to splurge.
Illumination and Nintendo aimed for "very good" and they achieved it by never cutting loose, never pushing the limits of their artistry, never planning a scene that they might fail to realize - in short, never doing any of the things that are necessary for an animation to become truly great. Describing this as "safe" doesn't do it credit. Most things that are "safe" follow the path of least resistance; whenever they need to make an artistic decision, they choose the one that is the least risky, regardless of where it leads. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, instead, has a clear vision, but takes no unnecessary risks in reaching it. That's why, for instance, so few action scenes with Bowser's army contain any shots of Goombas. Koopas have hands: it's much easier to design their movement come up with expressive and dynamic things for them to be doing. Shigeru Miyamoto got top billing as the producer, and the same artistic spirit guides this movie that inspired him to give Mario a mustache: it was a pragmatic answer to the design question, "How can we indicate which direction this character is facing without adding any extra colors?"
That's not to say that there weren't some really impressive and difficult shots, of course! The side-scrolling parkour run through Brooklyn is the most unconventional sequence in the film, and it sparkles. The crew at Illumination certainly proved their skill and passion in this one, and skillful and passionate artists can't be restrained. But where animators working on other films of this scale might have poured their love and ambition into showing off what they can do, here it all came out into the background. It's fitting that a movie with so many Easter eggs in it should have come out so close to Easter. I'm going to make extensive use of the frame advance button once I get the BD.
Disappointingly, but seemingly de rigueur for the genre, the movie does throw in some pop music, which in some cases replaced some really great original songs. It's virtually impossible for a needle drop in a children's animated movie to be tasteful, and it wasn't. However, I gotta admit, I didn't hate it. They chose good songs that fit the scenes. I can believe that these are songs that Mario himself likes.
For a movie this short to have so many characters in the spotlight, it's impressive that they managed to keep them all feeling fleshed out. I'm particularly pleased with how Peach turned out. The cliché of the Hypercompetent Female Deuteragonist is a trap that a lot of kids' media falls into; in these works, such a heavy burden of positive representation is placed on The Only Girl that it squashes the character out of her, leaving her with no room for vulnerability or self-doubt. I'm pleased to say that I felt they managed to thread that needle here, due in no small part to Anna Taylor-Joy's performance, which brings a lot of humanity to what's often a paper-thin role. It's all broad strokes by necessity, but Peach is the only one of her kind, the idol and rock of her people, and it's that loneliness, together with her respect for courage, that leads her to befriend Mario so readily.
It was also a pleasant surprise to me that they even managed to find some character depth for Donkey Kong.
All the performances were good, really. You never can tell with stunt casting, but even though this bunch of celebrities aren't career voice actors, they got good words out of 'em all. People don't like Chris Pratt for various valid reasons, and he gets typecast ,and he sucks in interviews, but I have to admit the guy can act. Fears that he'd phone it in or disrespect the role did not come to pass. Nor did Charles Martinet get snubbed, contributing both a voice actor gag and a legitimate role.
Anyway, I believe this movie's greatest sin is that they failed to credit Grant Kirkhope or Dave Wise despite quoting their compositions. But yeah I liked it.
I find it ironic that feature animation has amassed a reputation for whimsy and spontaneity, when hardly anything whimsical or spontaneous can be done in the process of animating. As one of the most labor-intensive forms of art, every frame is the product of a massive collaboration across space and time. Long before the animators begin painting their personal flourishes into the scene, the storyboarders have been revised and re-revised with an eye toward where they must be efficient and where they can afford to splurge.
Illumination and Nintendo aimed for "very good" and they achieved it by never cutting loose, never pushing the limits of their artistry, never planning a scene that they might fail to realize - in short, never doing any of the things that are necessary for an animation to become truly great. Describing this as "safe" doesn't do it credit. Most things that are "safe" follow the path of least resistance; whenever they need to make an artistic decision, they choose the one that is the least risky, regardless of where it leads. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, instead, has a clear vision, but takes no unnecessary risks in reaching it. That's why, for instance, so few action scenes with Bowser's army contain any shots of Goombas. Koopas have hands: it's much easier to design their movement come up with expressive and dynamic things for them to be doing. Shigeru Miyamoto got top billing as the producer, and the same artistic spirit guides this movie that inspired him to give Mario a mustache: it was a pragmatic answer to the design question, "How can we indicate which direction this character is facing without adding any extra colors?"
That's not to say that there weren't some really impressive and difficult shots, of course! The side-scrolling parkour run through Brooklyn is the most unconventional sequence in the film, and it sparkles. The crew at Illumination certainly proved their skill and passion in this one, and skillful and passionate artists can't be restrained. But where animators working on other films of this scale might have poured their love and ambition into showing off what they can do, here it all came out into the background. It's fitting that a movie with so many Easter eggs in it should have come out so close to Easter. I'm going to make extensive use of the frame advance button once I get the BD.
Disappointingly, but seemingly de rigueur for the genre, the movie does throw in some pop music, which in some cases replaced some really great original songs. It's virtually impossible for a needle drop in a children's animated movie to be tasteful, and it wasn't. However, I gotta admit, I didn't hate it. They chose good songs that fit the scenes. I can believe that these are songs that Mario himself likes.
For a movie this short to have so many characters in the spotlight, it's impressive that they managed to keep them all feeling fleshed out. I'm particularly pleased with how Peach turned out. The cliché of the Hypercompetent Female Deuteragonist is a trap that a lot of kids' media falls into; in these works, such a heavy burden of positive representation is placed on The Only Girl that it squashes the character out of her, leaving her with no room for vulnerability or self-doubt. I'm pleased to say that I felt they managed to thread that needle here, due in no small part to Anna Taylor-Joy's performance, which brings a lot of humanity to what's often a paper-thin role. It's all broad strokes by necessity, but Peach is the only one of her kind, the idol and rock of her people, and it's that loneliness, together with her respect for courage, that leads her to befriend Mario so readily.
It was also a pleasant surprise to me that they even managed to find some character depth for Donkey Kong.
All the performances were good, really. You never can tell with stunt casting, but even though this bunch of celebrities aren't career voice actors, they got good words out of 'em all. People don't like Chris Pratt for various valid reasons, and he gets typecast ,and he sucks in interviews, but I have to admit the guy can act. Fears that he'd phone it in or disrespect the role did not come to pass. Nor did Charles Martinet get snubbed, contributing both a voice actor gag and a legitimate role.
Anyway, I believe this movie's greatest sin is that they failed to credit Grant Kirkhope or Dave Wise despite quoting their compositions. But yeah I liked it.
In my experience, plenty of people don't. Or at least they don't consider it sufficient consolation for the absence of whatever else they're expecting that they're unlikely to find here.
I'm what they describe as "in touch with my inner child," which means that almost everything that amused me when I was five years old still amuses me. I dunno how it comes off to someone who's capable of outgrowing things.
I'm what they describe as "in touch with my inner child," which means that almost everything that amused me when I was five years old still amuses me. I dunno how it comes off to someone who's capable of outgrowing things.
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
I mean, I guess this is an improvement over "Damsel in Distress" but this being considered a cliche is incredibly depressing to me.
Well, it's all just attempts to mitigate the consequences of the fundamental problem of not having enough female characters, isn't it?
Phantoon
I cuss you bad
Yeah, it's an attempt to compensate for generations of damsels in distress. As usual, however, people can go far too far with it.
I thought they handled Peach pretty much perfectly in this; while she has been kidnapped a ridiculous number of times she's really competent in her own right (and is generally my favourite character in any game she's playable in.
I thought they handled Peach pretty much perfectly in this; while she has been kidnapped a ridiculous number of times she's really competent in her own right (and is generally my favourite character in any game she's playable in.
4-So
Spicy
One of my favorite parts of the movie is the obstacle course Peach forces Mario to run before they set out. Considering this Mario would never have seen anything like what he eventually encounters in the Mushroom Kingdom, it makes narrative sense for him to need to develop and practice his skills. In the games, we take for granted that this human automatically knows what do with super powers - growing big, throwing fireballs, flying - but he also knows how to traverse the land because reasons. Multiple levels of breakable blocks, fireballs, Piranha Plants, etc. No problem for video game Mario but this version of Mario, while capable (as shown in the Brooklyn scene), has to contend with this new and different world if he is going to save his brother.
So it makes sense that Mario would have to learn to be Mario. It's a good sequence.
So it makes sense that Mario would have to learn to be Mario. It's a good sequence.
Personally, I'm not upset at the shortcomings in the children's movie
I wasn't enthralled but I'd still see a sequel anyway. What can ya do.
I wasn't enthralled but I'd still see a sequel anyway. What can ya do.
Frankly what gets me is how many people fault Nintendo for playing it safe.
I enjoy SMB '93, despite all it's messy choices, which are LEGION. But that pic did for VG movies what the Atari crash did for home gaming. With all the eyes on them this time, and the pressure to NOT FUCK IT UP 2: Koopa Bugaloo , was there really any other option?
I enjoy SMB '93, despite all it's messy choices, which are LEGION. But that pic did for VG movies what the Atari crash did for home gaming. With all the eyes on them this time, and the pressure to NOT FUCK IT UP 2: Koopa Bugaloo , was there really any other option?
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Maybe I was misreading it, it sounded like that cliche is something to be avoided? I think it's nice to see?
I think you may be talking past each other. He's not saying the cliche is when a woman is portrayed as competent, but specifically the case of a hyper-competent secondary female character of lesser importance to the central male protagonist. Here's an article from 2017 discussing one particular version of this phenomenon with a number of examples.
Like many cliches, this is not necessarily bad, but like all storytelling tropes it comes with its own pitfalls and is worth being aware of as a pattern.
Last edited:
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Ah, got it! Yeah, I had a feeling I wasn't following but couldn't figure it out, this makes sense.
And it has a chart! Any time there's a chart I'm more engaged, ha.
Just saw it. Pretty good.
Dang, this has hundreds of references to parts of the games! I don't know if that makes this the most reference-laden movie of all time or if I'm just more familiar with the Mario games than with the subjects of most other movies. I was personally pleased with the inclusion of Foreman Spike since Wrecking Crew was my first Mario game. I'm wondering how the folks Nintendo felt about that reference since it was a game neither Miyamoto nor his disciples worked on.
The training scene is a perfect metaphor for a player putting in the time to get good at a game.
I know pop songs usually suck in movies like this, but by total coincidence I just finished a playthrough of MGSV Phantom Pain in which I made "Take On Me" my helicopter theme so I smiled when this movie played it.
Dang, this has hundreds of references to parts of the games! I don't know if that makes this the most reference-laden movie of all time or if I'm just more familiar with the Mario games than with the subjects of most other movies. I was personally pleased with the inclusion of Foreman Spike since Wrecking Crew was my first Mario game. I'm wondering how the folks Nintendo felt about that reference since it was a game neither Miyamoto nor his disciples worked on.
The training scene is a perfect metaphor for a player putting in the time to get good at a game.
I know pop songs usually suck in movies like this, but by total coincidence I just finished a playthrough of MGSV Phantom Pain in which I made "Take On Me" my helicopter theme so I smiled when this movie played it.
Last edited:
4-So
Spicy
Something I noticed on a second watch: In the scene where Mario and Luigi descend into the sewer to turn the pressure valve, when the pipe they are on breaks it falls toward a brick wall that they burst through, eventually leading them to the warp pipe. But during the fall they pass through a waterfall first (created by the sewage canal), a reference to the trope of hidden areas behind waterfalls. I'm not sure if that's a Zelda reference or just a generic videogame thing but it made me smile when I caught it.
Look closely at the hole they leave...
In the first act of the movie, Mario passes through direct references to 1-1 (the parkour through Brooklyn culminating at the flagpole in front of Castle Burger, 1-2 (a sewer, which even has a sign that says "Level 1-2"), and 1-3 (a region full of giant mushrooms and floating moving platforms). Among the scenes in the montage of traveling with Peach and Toad to the Jungle Kingdom is 2-2 (a bridge with jumping cheep cheeps).