Let's-a-go!
My dear friend Emma requested this post sometimes before the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). Now, having seen and processed this fantastic blast of childhood nostalgia, I have completed the assignment. These were the very best moments from my favorite film of 2023 so far.
A spoiler alert is in order, as I discuss the film's events in detail!
Here are my honorable mentions: Mario and Donkey Kong work together to escape underwater; Mario and Luigi explore the way between worlds; Princess Peach's origin story flashback sequence; The Bowser mid-credits sequence; The plumbing commercial introduction.
10. The Big Wedding
Leading up to the film's climax, we follow this tense sequence as Bowser (Jack Black) is about to marry Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) before all chaos breaks loose. There are many fun details and easter eggs throughout the film, but one of my favorites is the blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment where one of the wedding guests accidentally pushes a Koopa shell, which subsequently starts to bounce back and forth, as they are known to do.
9. Mario Arrives in Mushroom Kingdom
In a film full of semi-magical moments, this is one of the purest. After being transported into another world, our protagonist Mario (Chris Pratt) takes a while to marvel at his new surroundings, before he meets Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) and finds out just where he is. The animation department did a brilliant job making Mushroom Kingdom look appropriately majestic, and the soundtrack takes the curious atmosphere of discovering a whole other world even further.
8. Towards the Plumbing Gig
During the first act of the film, as Mario and Luigi (Charlie Day) are still working as plumbers in New York, we follow the brothers on their way to work. This is the film's first moment that really leans into the video game aesthetic: the brothers' movement on their way to the job is heavily influenced by how the characters move in the Super Mario games and other platform-based video games, and as someone who absolutely loved platform games growing up, seeing this type of movement on the big screen was a simple yet extremely effective way of making my inner child squeal with joy.
7. Peach Teaches Mario
Before they set out on their mission together, Princess Peach has to make sure that Mario is up for the job. Therefore, we get a delightful Training Course sequence, which once again translates the delightful action of the platform genre onto the big screen with aplomb. First, we see a badass sequence of the experienced Peach absolutely acing the course, after which we follow poor Mario trying his best, in a moment that will resonate with anyone who has spent a while getting the hang of a new video game and keeps dying (we've all been there, right?).
6. The Kong Arena Fight
Yet another spectacularly fun action sequence, this set-piece is set in the Great Ring of Kong, in the very heart of the Jungle Kingdom, and it's just so refreshing and exciting to see this location as a part of the film's tapestry. The fight itself, between Mario and Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen), is a classic take on those Super Mario moments when you're overpowered in a boss fight, and have to rely on your wit. The sequence is eventful and entertaining, and when all is said and done, quite the feel-good underdog story.
5. Bowser's Entrance
The Super Mario Bros. Movie had my undivided attention from the very first scene, because damn, what an opening it was. To an appropriately exhilerating soundtrack and with creative and explosive animation, we see the grand visual of Bowser's troops descending on Snow Kingdom, after which the antagonist himself makes his grand entrance, making it crystal clear from the beginning that casting Jack Black as Bowser was one of the better decisions in Hollywood history. As an introduction to the villain, an introduction to the Mario world and a general mood-setter, this opening sequence does not f**k around, and leaves the viewer hungry for more.
4. Luigi Reminisces
In one of the more touching sequences, an imprisoned Luigi looks back on his bond with Mario, and their shared childhood. We see a flashback of Mario defending Luigi from a bully, and I for one was choking up like it was The Green Mile or something. The bond between the brothers was captured very authentically and powerfully into the film, and this short and sweet scene makes it all the more touching. Even when he's being held in a terrible prison, Luigi just knows that his brother is out there, and that somehow everything will be alright again.
3. Bowser sings 'Peaches'
Did I mention that Jack Black as Bowser was an amazing casting decision? Because Jack Black as Bowser was a f**king AMAZING casting decision. As the end credits were rolling, my friend Tuukka turned to me and made a very valid point: he wouldn't be surprised if he found out that Jack Black himself had the idea that Bowser should be written as a desparate romantic who just wants to marry Princess Peach, just so he could belt out some power ballad thunder. Ah, what a song.
2. Rainbow Road
I'm gonna tell my kids this was Fast & Furious. Of course they were going to incorporate the insanely popular Mario Kart spin-off games into this film, and the results were everything one could hope for. Set in the most iconic milieu of them all, Rainbow Road, we follow one nail-biting adrenaline rush of a sequence, as Bowser and his crew chase down the Kong army, with Mario, Toad and Peach leading the pack and heavily involved in the action. This is, without a doubt, the greatest car chase sequence I've seen in an animated film.
1. The Final Fight
It's a bit cliché to choose the big climax as the film's best sequence, but I couldn't help it - everything comes together with such perfection, making the final fight into one hell of a climax. Our characters are transported back to our 'real world', as the final showdown between Mario and Bowser takes place on the streets of Brooklyn. So much that had been built up finally happens - we get to see the Super Star power-up in action (complete with an epic arrangement of the familiar Super Star theme), Mario and Luigi finally being hailed as heroes by the folks at home, and best of all, the touching bond between the brothers reaching a new high in the tear-jerking moment where Luigi finds his courage and saves Mario from Bowser's fire breath, using a manhole cover. Ah, what a fitting final act for what was an expectation-defying, inner-child-resonating, massively fun nostalgia overload.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week, as I rank the top 10 films by the studio A24.
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