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Film The Super Mario Bros. Movie |ST| But first, we need to talk about Cinematic Universes (Open Spoilers)

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Just got back from my second screening and it’s still just delightful. My takeaways:

-The Brooklyn scenes might be my favorite in the movie. The opening is incredibly strong.
-Pacing is definitely too quick but it is breezy and low stakes and an easy watch. second viewing I noticed certain scenes feel majorly chopped. Wouldn't be surprised if there's lots of deleted scenes/a director's cut that stretches the length. But I don't think 90 minutes works to the movie's detriment though. The cast, visuals, and music are all GREAT, and it's a compliment when I say that I really want to just see more of it. I wanna see these characters fleshed out even more. I can absolutely see WHY they went this way though. Gets the most people in the seats and it's better for the kiddos.
-Speaking of the music, the score is wonderful, and while I love the interpretations of the themes they used, I'm more excited for sequels and reference material and how those themes get adapted.
-Licensed music still gets under my skin, especially after listening to the score on Spotify. Very unnecessary addition that wreaks of corporate know-nothings making a bad decision.
-Bowser is the standout character but Mario & DK's rivalry is pushing DK to a close second for me. I really loved how they wrote him with all of his insecure bravado.
-Mario & Luigi's chemistry really works. Again, the first 20 minutes of the movie where it's basically a slice of their lives; I could've watched a whole 90-minute movie about just that.
-Peach's character is great. Took another viewing to notice her more dainty qualities were kept intact in addition to her being seasoned and confident.
-I feel very confident saying that Charles Martinet voices Mario's dad. He sounded like Wario honestly lol so I figure it's him. Idk if he's credited.

Chie said:
So do we know who voiced
Diddy Kong?
been looking around the internet and can't find a name.
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It sounded a little like Toad so I'm assuming Keagan Michael Key.
 
With all these box office records, clearly Doug Bowser needs to go on CBS This Morning to proclaim that Mario is hot, much like Reggie proclaimed about Link.
 
You have to admit there is something deliciously ironic about Nintendo taking shit for years and years about "they don't make cinematic games! The game industry will never be respected in Hollywood with an approach like Nintendo!" ... meanwhile it ends up being Nintendo that ends up creating the first video game blockbuster that truly crosses over as a Hollywood blockbuster zeitgeist film, lol.

And likely they are also going to be the ones that create a cinematic universe out of their IP.

Not Square, not Sony, not Sega, not Microsoft, not Ubi Soft, not Capcom .... Nintendo.

giphy.gif
 
Too tired and late to share all my thoughts but I took notes

4DX was such a great fit and I’m glad I did it for my first viewing, even if my back hurts

I for the most part loved it!
 
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Fun fact about Charles Martinet's cameo: appearently he voiced this role in several other languages including German (and I think French and Spanish). Which is super cool.
 

Some interesting tidbits:
Chris Meladandri: I have to mention one [...] thing, because it just came to mind. Very early on in our conversation, Mr. Miyamoto pointed out that we should never make fun of Mario and Luigi's occupation. Even though you could find a joke about it, we're not going to go there. We're going to respect their occupation. There were things like that, which happened early on in our conversations, that became very important to the trajectory of the movie.
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Shigeru Miyamoto: Initially, I used to draw manga and comic books. I wasn't just focused on Japanese manga; I used to look at comics from Italy and the US and whatnot. I didn't specifically try to draw them for the Japanese market, so that's one aspect.
And the other aspect is that, when people play Mario games, it's really becoming an avatar for the player. Because of that, I think there's a lot of relatability and closeness that people feel to the character of Mario. A lot of times people think that an American-created game, so many people don't even know where it comes from.

Chris Meledandri : Let me add a thought to that. The tone of Mario is very specific, and when choosing Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelinek to direct the film, one of the most compelling aspects of them as potential directors was our sense that they truly understood what that tone is. When you have the specificity of Mario's tone, if you miss it, it can break. We tried very hard to channel the tone that's in the games into the movie.
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Chris Meladandri: Aaron and Michael were new to Illumination for the film, and the team around them largely came from the ranks of Illumination artists. We have 750 people in our studio in Paris. When we sat down to talk about the style for this film, the conversation started with the style of Super Mario and Nintendo.
The design language of the movie started with the existing design language, and there was never an interest in trying to take other design influences that came from Illumination films and integrate them into the approach for this film. I'm very proud of the fact that Illumination doesn't have what people refer to as a house style; we try to approach each film individually. Over the first 6 months of discussing the visual approach to the film, we were steeped in looking at the existing character designs, world designs, building designs, color palettes. And that became the starting point.

Shigeru Miyamoto: When we got some of the storyboards and heard that part of it was going to take place in New York, we thought we would get already existing assets or ideas that Illumination tion had. But when we got the storyboard, I was so surprised because it was completely different.
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WestEgg said:
The supplementary sales from this movie are probably being underestimated. Peaches and the full soundtrack sales are going to bring in millions more, before even getting into merchandising.
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Yeah. It'll be very interesting to see how much the movie grosses overall when all is said and done.
 
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WestEgg said:
Peaches and the full soundtrack sales are going to bring in millions more, before even getting into merchandising.
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I initially read this as referring to merchandising for Peaches and was like "omg yes"
 
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the rightoid push to make this film "based" is so fucking low energy. i know they are grieving their guy being arrested but trying to claim a kids film is a whole new level of sad.
 
thoughthaver said:
the rightoid push to make this film "based" is so fucking low energy. i know they are grieving their guy being arrested but trying to claim a kids film is a whole new level of sad.
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Every single one of them was melting down over Woke Peach before this week. They just saw the movie making gangbusters and they had to change their tune to "ACTUALY IT'S NOT WOKE we're WINNING" cuz they couldn't say Go Woke Go Broke for this.
 
Bowser Sr. said:
Every single one of them was melting down over Woke Peach before this week. They just saw the movie making gangbusters and they had to change their tune to "ACTUALY IT'S NOT WOKE we're WINNING" cuz they couldn't say Go Woke Go Broke for this.
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The funny thing is for the demographic breakdowns on Mario too I think it was like

40% Latino Hispanic
30% Caucasian
15% African American
15% Asian American

If anything the movie is overperforming with PoC demographics. 70% of the audience is PoC, the white audience (and by extension the white male audience) is only a fraction of the pie but they're cheerleading it like they're leading the charge, lol.

Nah fuckwads, Mario is for everyone and really frankly it's the PoC audiences leading the charge on this.
 
SpaceGodzilla said:
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Yeah that too, it's like saying Batman having a cape ... or Batman having a Batmobile ... or Batman having a Batcave ... or Commissioner Gordon using the Bat signal are "easter eggs" from the comic book. Like no, lol, that's just regular Batman shit. That's part of his universe.
 
Okay time for my expanded thoughts, split between spoiler and not!

  • Luigi's voice is indeed much better than Mario's, but around the halfway point I finally adjusted
  • So glad the Kongs got the love + respect they deserve here. Can't wait to see what's cooking on the game side for them.
  • I really adored the relationships between characters across the board. M+L had me tearing up twice, M+DK were wonderfully antagonistic, P+M were great. There was just the right amount of Toad to not overdo it. DK+Kongs... Bowser+Kamek, again, perfect. No notes.
  • The movie was of course a visual stunner. Excited to rewatch it in 2D on my TV though as 3D can be a bit restricting to the finer details.
  • People were not kidding when they said this moved at a quick pace. Some of the scene transitions gave me serious whiplash. But, at the same time, there was very little if any fat here, so I can't complain. It's not like we cut away to an inconsequential B-plot (cough, Sonic movies). It sort of game me the energy of a "Crossover" movie like the Avengers, which served well to open up for many movies to come.

RE: 4DX
  • Kart Scenes nearly threw me out of my seat, but were a perfect fit. Felt right out of an amusement park
  • Platforming scenes were also super cool. When mario got "beat up" you felt it, but also when he got better and platformed well it felt super smooth. Added wind and other effects really immersed me in those parts.
  • I didn't notice any scents, not sure if that was just broken in my theater. FAKE EDIT: seems so, sadly! Others had it.

And, spoilerish...
  • Clocked Charles Martinet right away, surprised pre-release folks didn't (eg. Kit + Krysta)
  • Mayor Pauline Cameo was perfect.
  • Who is this Blue toad and where is Toadsworth?! Would have been perfect for him to be "old" after finding Baby Peach too.
  • I adore Mario calling Luigi Lou.
  • So happy we got a pseudo Luigi's Mansion segment with Luigi's arrival. Making Dry Bones (et al.) scary was so good
  • BABIES
  • RIP Yoshi's Island was such a tease
  • I need a Shy Guy merch that is plush with a plastic mask, wowie
  • The pure CHAOS of Bowser's Kingdom and the rock concert is so perfect
  • C'mon Pratt, do the Meeee-ow right at least!
  • Kamek in drag is iconic
  • Double Dash!!!
  • Balloon Kid Car Wash!!
  • Immediate family looks great, the rest of the Brooklyn population are a bit too generic.
  • King Boo looked a bit off.

Overall, probably about a 4/5 for me. I'm not pining for a rewatch, in the theater at least. I'll for sure revisit it once it's on streaming. At the end of the day, it's a perfect extension of (and advertisement) for the games. Just like Super Nintendo World, it's doing what it was meant to do!
 
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Saw this the other night, and thought it was an enjoyable romp, with some issues.

  • I do agree with the common complaint that most of the cast felt pretty static, although Mario at least had his own character arc
  • I was honestly flabbergasted at how Luigi got taken off the table for so much of the film. If there's a sequel, I really hope we get a ton more of him and Mario together, especially with how good a job Charlie Day did voicing him
  • The pacing really bothered me until they got to the Kongs. Sure felt like they were trying to blast through certain story points as quick as they could
  • Got pretty bored with the licensed music pretty quickly. Give me more new takes on the games' amazing music pls
  • The Kongs were my favourite part of the movie, loved everything to do with them tremendously. I really didn't think I'd love a Seth Rogen-voiced Donkey Kong as much as I did, but he was superb--especially his entire dynamic with Mario. GIVE ME THAT DK SPIN-OFF MOVIE
  • Pretty much all of the action sequences were wonderful, particularly the kart chase (Koopa General in spin-offs when?) and the entire climax. So much good animation throughout all of it
  • Jack Black Bowser was as perfect as I expected him to be
  • It was really shitty that Grant Kirkhope never got credited and I really, really hope they fix that for the home release
Hope that kids enjoyed it. I know I would have loved the hell out of it back in the day!
 
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I went yesterday with a friend and his family to watch the movie again. I liked more than the first time, and the more I think about it I love the final act of the movie, specially the final fight. That scene was the most Mario thing in the life.
 
Jbone916 said:
For those of you who are music nerds like me, this musical reference breakdown video is incredibly thourugh:

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Thanks, loved this video. Been listening to the soundtrack at work all week and was nice to see him wonder about some of the same “is thats” as me. Also, I thought I was going crazy because I’ve seen multiple people say ‘Fever’ is played in the credits medley, and I kept wondering if they were actually talking about Hammer Bros/etc from SMB3/etc. Glad to see I’m not losing it!

One of my only complaints with the score is I wish some of the Mario music ‘moments’ were even longer. The original stuff from Brian Tyler is also really nice, don’t get me wrong, and it all fits together so well, but just like the movie itself, I want even more. What is there is fantastic, though.
 
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I finally found time to share my thoughts here!

I've watched last thursday, and I loved everything about it! Yes, even the licensed songs ;P

Helps a WHOLE bunch that we have a Pratt-free version of the movie over here, and the usual Pratt dub actor (Raphael Rossatto), did his best Martinet impression througout the movie;

Sure, I'd like a little downtime in between big setpieces, but I was too distracted with everything else that was massaging my senses; from visuals, music, overall presentation and contextualization of the Mario universe and its mechanics in a fun, yet simple, story; It's just evolved enough to be fitting to be engaging and fits to Mario's usual premisse on the games;

I REALLY loved Foreman Spike's redesign, by the way... 🐺 💦 and I'm hoping to see him and Cranky Kong added to Mario Kart Tour ASAP!
 
So after my friends bailed on me, I thought 'screw it' and went to a showing on my lonesome. Surprisingly packed with kids at a late(ish) weeknight showing as well at my cinema here in UK land.

I have to say I enjoyed it. I mean it wasn't high cinema by any standards but as someone who has grown up with these games and characters getting the chance to see them in action on the big screen, and in a way that did the characters justice, was a whole lot of fun. I can see why critics were lukewarm on it, but it really does feel like they took the Mario video games condensed it into a 90 minute film and added a sprinkling of Illumination...er...Illumination-ness.

There are a lot of positives to take from this here. I really liked Peach's depiction in particular and this needs to be the standard for her character from now on, so no more easy kidnappings for the sake of light plot Nintendo, you hear? Jack Black was amazing as Bowser, and I appreciated giving him a slightly goofy angle remeniscent of the Paper Mario games. Mario and Luigi were handled well too, and honestly I think Chris Pratt was just fine. Toad was the MVP for me actually, made me chuckle on a good couple of occasions. But I agree with sentiments that the Kongs were the weak link performance-wise. DK just didn't seem very, I dunno, DK to me?

It's a weird movie with a lot of pace issues and I feel it could have used a slightly longer run time to flesh out some scenes, but the plot served its purpose. Honestly it was worth it for the music alone, what a great soundtracked packed full of nostlagia. Honestly I would give this movie a B-grade for Nintendo's opening foray into movies. Good, but definite room to improve. Hopefully they go a bit more daring with the now inevitable sequel.

WestEgg said:
Professor E. Gadd or Funky Kong
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Let's be honest, it ain't going to be Goldblum they cast as E.Gadd. It's going to be Taika Waititi doing the Taika Waititi voice and we're going to like it.
 
Watched the movie once in LA dub (amazing dub btw, people were laughing all the time, a big favorite in México for a reason) and English. I think the english voices didnt have much energy in comparison (only Jack Black and Charlie Day were standouts, Pratt was fine, most of the rest were meh, whoever was doing Cranky's voice was awful at it imo)
 
Oh.. a thing I saw some folks commenting on the original english audio, didn't really happened for the Brazilian dub;

People mention that when Mario is first seen in the commercial on TV, he's doing an Italian accent, and then when the movie cuts for them in real-time, it was a brief joke and they drop it entirely for the rest of the movie;

Since Raphael Rossatto here was doing a Martinet impression throughout, he (and Manolo Rey's Luigi) never really stopped with the stereotype Italian accent; and quite frankly? It's much better this way... The characters feels much more familiar of what we're all used with the games!

Mario's family also all talk with the typical cartoony Italian rhythm, by the way ~
 
Just watched it with my older kid, we loved it. I wish there was more, can’t wait to watch it again when it releases on … mm … where will this release? Prime video?
 
iag said:
Just watched it with my older kid, we loved it. I wish there was more, can’t wait to watch it again when it releases on … mm … where will this release? Prime video?
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Peacock first, Netflix later I think.
 
Just got back from the theater and I e joyed the movie very much. During the first half I was loving it, it has a really strong opening, but the later half wasn't as good, still enjoyable though.

I understand why the critics didn't like the movie; without a personal connection to the Mario games and the magic of seeing them translated to a movie, it really isn't anything too special, but I think every Mario fan will like it. I think it does a really good job at what it was setting out to do, so in my view it's a success.

I think some of the setpieces could be more exciting, but I also appreciate the cozy vibe. It's not trying to be super cool and edgy, it's confident about its charm, so basically just like Mario. Most of the jokes landed really well too, Bowser's army is a highlight.

The Brazilian dub is pretty good, having Mario with an Italian accent and not voiced by an abhorrent actor was already a win.
 
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Do you know my favourite little moment of the movie was?
King Bob omb walking down the aisle and sitting on the bench for the wedding. I don't even mean the scene where he explodes. No I mean his 2 seconds walking scene. I don't know why, but the way they animated his walk is so freaking adorable, I fucking love it. Also next to him you can see a bob omb bowing when he sees him.
 
this is mad random but does anyone got meme with the whole “movies i like vs movies i don’t like” with the rotten tomato scores and the wojack?
 
TheSentry said:
Maybe this has been answered but I can’t find it: Do we have an official statement or a solid answer as to why the movie has such a late release date in Japan?
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Japan has a very cutthroat movie industry. It's probably as simple as that's the earliest they could organise having an appropriate number of screens.


Leviraps said:
this is mad random but does anyone got meme with the whole “movies i like vs movies i don’t like” with the rotten tomato scores and the wojack?
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This one?
 
I have some thoughts on this character.

Lumalee.jpg


Lumalee is one of the more comedic characters in the movie, and likely comes off as just a vehicle to deliver nihilistic takes in a cute way for laughs. And that's certainly a component of the character. But, I think things go a bit deeper than that. Some may say I'm reading too much into this, but I honestly don't think I am.

Lumas are star children, and are devoted to Rosalina, who they see as their mother. Even if Rosalina is not part of this film, the existence of Lumas almost certainly indicates the existence of Rosalina. On one level, seperation from Rosalina, its maternal figure, could very much be seen as a reason for Lumalee to have fallen into depression, but I think it goes a bit deeper than that.

Lumas live their lives in a cycle of destruction and rebirth. This is very spelled out in Galaxy, they are born from stardust, grow up to become new stars, planets, comets, etc., and then one day, they die, and disintegrate back into stardust to be reborn one day. From Lumalee's perspective, the situation he is in is just a transitional one, rather than one that portends the ultimate end, and even death is just a fleeting phase between rebirth. Life, death, rebirth, it's all part of the same, never ending and unstoppable flow. Being killed really does not phase him in the way it does the other prisoners, which is why he has the behavior he does.
 
Can anyone who has seen the movie this weekend confirm if they really are playing the Tears of the Kingdom Trailer in theaters? I saw some chatter on twitter about it, but I'm not sure if it's true. But if it is, that might be enough to convince me to go see the movie again.
 
Quoted by: SiG
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