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

I thought it was interesting that they made bowser actually threatening. Like he actually threatens to kill people, and uses the word kill. Definitely hard to see how mario and friends will invite him to play golf after threatening to literally murder people. Also bowser beats the absolute pulp out of mario at one point, not that its a bad thing, it just seemed more brutal than I thought nintendo would allow
 
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The Roost
Hey folks, just a quick announcement: We've moved the Mario Movie review thread to The Roost, and unlinked the main ST from The Treehouse. From now on, all discussion about the Mario Movie will take place here in The Roost. That goes for any future Nintendo movies and TV shows as well. Thanks!
 
I thought it was interesting that they made bowser actually threatening. Like he actually threatens to kill people, and uses the word kill. Definitely hard to see how mario and friends will invite him to play golf after threatening literal murder people. Also bowser beats the absolute pulp out of mario at one point, not that its a bad thing, it just seemed more brutal than I thought nintendo would allow
I remember Sakurai said that when he created Giga Bowser for Smash Bros., it was from the perspective that he interpreted the character's original 8-bit sprite as being a frenzied and terrifying monster. I think that's something a lot of people who played Super Mario Bros. when they were young are likely able to relate to; before we got more insight into his character he was generally associated as being this frightening turtle beast. The filmmakers did an incredible job juxtaposing both his intimate personal side with his slept-on ferocious side. The way his pupils shrink and go red with rage, his fangs protruding and jaws stretching wide, was amazing.

I hope for the next film they play up the subtle adversarial dynamic he has with Mario. Galaxy 2 has a really fun moment when Bowser refer to Mario as his "rival". I think a defining part of him in the modern games is that he actually enjoys fighting Mario.
 
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I thought it was interesting that they made bowser actually threatening. Like he actually threatens to kill people, and uses the word kill. Definitely hard to see how mario and friends will invite him to play golf after threatening literal murder people. Also bowser beats the absolute pulp out of mario at one point, not that its a bad thing, it just seemed more brutal than I thought nintendo would allow
one of the best executed aspects of the movie is they actually nailed the tone. For a recent Illumination movie it was more willing to have serious and emotional moments played straight.
And yeah, this version of Bowser is actually freaking 99% evil. His only redeemable quality is his affection for Peach, but when she rebels against him, he's going for the kill basically. This version in particular is extremely rageful, he has no balance, no person to keep him grounded, and no actual friend (Kamek could've been, but he acts more like his bootlicker in this at least). He needs a Junior. To grow as a character, Bowser needs to find someone who loves him (I suspect a way they could get Junior in without having to explain a mom is by having him born out of Bowser's wish of being loved (maybe with the help of a wishing device, those are a thing in the Mario universe))
 
It was nice tbh, felt like Leonardo DiCaprio during the whole movie. It also had a Gunbuster reference

While we could nitpick everything that the short runtime prevented to flesh out, at the end of the day I’m glad it actually felt like a movie. This could have been some very corny cringe product placement and fanservice but in the end it was a movie that was based on a videogame, therefore the action sequences simply applied the game’s rules. You got acts, you got arcs, you got a little bookend… Nintendo did it. Not much else to say

On the topic of the games changing forever after that… I don’t see it honestly, it already retcons a bunch of lore so I don’t see future games trying hard to tie into the movie and whatnot. The one thing noticeable though is how established the brand is, between this and Odyssey we have a pretty good idea of where Mario can go in terms of general aesthetics… sadly it also shows the whole Shadow Council thing with all of the generic Toads. Therefore we will never have again stuff like mafiosi Piantas or Super Paper Mario’s story and characters. That’s another topic but what I’m saying is that’s how is it now so mid 2000s Mario is simply never coming back

Looking forward to see Nintendo’s next movies for post credit related reasons
Oddly enough, the game I most wanted to play after this was Super Paper Mario.
 
one of the best executed aspects of the movie is they actually nailed the tone. For a recent Illumination movie it was more willing to have serious and emotional moments played straight.
And yeah, this version of Bowser is actually freaking 99% evil. His only redeemable quality is his affection for Peach, but when she rebels against him, he's going for the kill basically. This version in particular is extremely rageful, he has no balance, no person to keep him grounded, and no actual friend (Kamek could've been, but he acts more like his bootlicker in this at least). He needs a Junior. To grow as a character, Bowser needs to find someone who loves him (I suspect a way they could get Junior in without having to explain a mom is by having him born out of Bowser's wish of being loved (maybe with the help of a wishing device, those are a thing in the Mario universe))
Yeah, that's a thing about Mario games is that they usually have a playful and comedic tone that is not so cynical or so harsh that it makes it come off as mean when the slapstick happens nor does it come off as shocking when suddenly intense things happen like a monster violently exploding/Bowser suddenly melting down to his bones, and I think they nailed it well. I could see every single thing that happened in this movie happening in a mainline Mario game cutscene without feeling off.
 
(I suspect a way they could get Junior in without having to explain a mom is by having him born out of Bowser's wish of being loved (maybe with the help of a wishing device, those are a thing in the Mario universe)
I think that making him an adopted son would be easier to write and would make for a more compelling story, but we'll see what they'll chose! But I absolutely agree that the next movie needs Bowser Jr because there's a good chance Mario and Bowser will be allies in it.
 
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Perhaps ironic considering my pfp, but I don't think I can visualize this Bowser with a Bowser Jr.
Something about him feels way too... incel-y?? I know Bowser is immature and angry in the games too but that Bowser is immature and angry in a big lug way in that you can visualize him being old enough to already have kids, this Bowser strikes me as the kind of person thoat unironically does bullhorns with his fingers, so it's a bit more of a youthful character.
 
Perhaps ironic considering my pfp, but I don't think I can visualize this Bowser with a Bowser Jr.
Something about him feels way too... incel-y?? I know Bowser is immature and angry in the games too but that Bowser is immature and angry in a big lug way in that you can visualize him being old enough to already have kids, this Bowser strikes me as the kind of person thoat unironically does bullhorns with his fingers, so it's a bit more of a youthful character.
You just need to frame Bowser's flaws in a more tragic way essentially. If Jack Black can sell you a pathetic incel being a beast of a threat at the same time he can sell you on him evolving into a father figure.
 
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I mean
The later Peach was raised by the toads as one of their own bit from later on makes what happened first makes sense. To the Toads Peach is the most capable person around and their big sis that go to whenever something big goes down. So if some panicked weirdo who’s the only other human they’ve ever seen shows up the logical thing is to take them to the Princess for her to handle them. Through help or violence to imprison them
 
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I thought it was interesting that they made bowser actually threatening. Like he actually threatens to kill people, and uses the word kill. Definitely hard to see how mario and friends will invite him to play golf after threatening to literally murder people. Also bowser beats the absolute pulp out of mario at one point, not that its a bad thing, it just seemed more brutal than I thought nintendo would allow
It's really something that the movie manages to capture both his threatening side and his pathetic side from the RPG's and mesh them well together to create someone who is absolutely pathetic...but who's pathetic-ness makes him a threat.
 
We have now hit $120.7 million grossed worldwide.... this move is truly a MONSTER.

Pretty astounding considering the weekend proper hasn’t even started yet.
 
Pretty astounding considering the weekend proper hasn’t even started yet.
There's some analysts predicting $50 million domestic today. This movie is actually bonkers. There's a quote in that article basically saying this will bring people back into theatres... Mario is literally saving cinema post-covid.
 
There's some analysts predicting $50 million domestic today. This movie is actually bonkers. There's a quote in that article basically saying this will bring people back into theatres... Mario is literally saving cinema post-covid.
Isn’t it likely to break all the animated movie records for opening weekend at this point? Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s illuminations best at this point
 
The fact that this was the initial prediction just a few weeks ago:
Biggest opening of all time for an animated movie is coming
oprah4.gif
. HELP.
 
There's some analysts predicting $50 million domestic today. This movie is actually bonkers. There's a quote in that article basically saying this will bring people back into theatres... Mario is literally saving cinema post-covid.
Mario does to movie theaters what it did for home video games. god bless him.

We have now hit $120.7 million grossed worldwide.... this move is truly a MONSTER.


by now, we have outgrossed Shazam 2 worldwide lmfao.

this will easily be highest grossing movie of the year until Guardians 3 comes out. I wonder if Mario'll beat it in the longrun.
 
saw it with the kids last love we absolutely loved it. Tho my mind has to wonder since all universal movies exclusively stream on peacock would they ever put the app on switch?
 
Isn’t it likely to break all the animated movie records for opening weekend at this point? Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s illuminations best at this point
Some analysists are indeed saying numbers that point towards the biggest opening for an animated movie ever.
 
Mario does to movie theaters what it did for home video games. god bless him.



by now, we have outgrossed Shazam 2 worldwide lmfao.

this will easily be highest grossing movie of the year until Guardians 3 comes out. I wonder if Mario'll beat it in the longrun.
It probably will, unless Guardians 3 does No Way Home numbers. Mario is locked for top 3 highest grossing of the year, if not number one.
 
It probably will, unless Guardians 3 does No Way Home numbers. Mario is locked for top 3 highest grossing of the year, if not number one.
and I kinda don't think it will. feels like hype for it is very tepid.

people will go see it for sure, but neither one of the other 2 Guardians movies crossed a billion and i feel like the same fatigue that clearly hit Ant Man is gunna hit this one too.
 
this will easily be highest grossing movie of the year until Guardians 3 comes out. I wonder if Mario'll beat it in the longrun.
Mario is gonna do better than Guardians 3. Guardians 3 needs pretty significant growth to hit a billion and part of me thinks it won't reach Guardians 2's $863 million.
 
and I kinda don't think it will. feels like hype for it is very tepid.

people will go see it for sure, but neither one of the other 2 Guardians movies crossed a billion and i feel like the same fatigue that clearly hit Ant Man is gunna hit this one too.
Ant Man was just a terrible movie, it's completely understandable why it cratered at the box office. Guardians will actually be good. I just worry that Ant Man will turn people off from it.
 
Ant Man was just a terrible movie, it's completely understandable why it cratered at the box office. Guardians will actually be good. I just worry that Ant Man will turn people off from it.
I think fatigue is setting in with MCU as well. I know it's been said forever now, but the BOT folks says early tracking is solid but not spectacular for Guardians. For me personally, MCU ended with endgame. They should have given it a rest instead of leaning into B and C tier characters and spamming Disney + with all these shows.
 
I think fatigue is setting in with MCU as well. I know it's been said forever now, but the BOT folks says early tracking is solid but not spectacular for Guardians. For me personally, MCU ended with endgame. They should have given it a rest instead of leaning into B and C tier characters and spamming Disney + with all these shows.
yep me too.

roster of characters at this point is so lame. Sam Wilson is cool as Cap but there's an insistence to establish another Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor equivalent. instead of just getting the X-Men and Fantastic Four off the ground. should've been priority #1, even if MCU needed a 2-year break to get it done.
 
I think fatigue is setting in with MCU as well. I know it's been said forever now, but the BOT folks says early tracking is solid but not spectacular for Guardians. For me personally, MCU ended with endgame. They should have given it a rest instead of leaning into B and C tier characters and spamming Disney + with all these shows.
Yeah, I'm kinda burnt out on the MCU. I'm in it for Guardians, Spider-Man, and the Loki series (to a lesser extent, I swear to god if they fuck this up with Kang again....), but that's because Guardians actually feels like a finale and Spider-Man is Spider-Man. It feels like they're just pumping these out without caring about a story or character moments. Like, Doctor Strange didn't have shit to do in his own movie, Ant-Man had no stakes, Thor.... well, the less said about that movie the better, What If was terrible outside of a few episodes, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier blew it in the finale. Shang-Chi, Wandavision, and Black Panther were good though.
 
If MCU fatigue is setting in (and the recent shakeups at Marvel start to cause things to come unravelled) the blockbuster market will have a power vacuum.

It might finally be time for the rise of video game adaptations. I mean actual good, faithful ones. Sonic, Mario, and TLOS seem to be paving the way, maybe more could be done..
 
If MCU fatigue is setting in (and the recent shakeups at Marvel start to cause things to come unravelled) the blockbuster market will have a power vacuum.

It might finally be time for the rise of video game adaptations. I mean actual good, faithful ones. Sonic, Mario, and TLOS seem to be paving the way, maybe more could be done..
Ahhh yeahhh.

Kingdom hearts nonsense.

Hearts and darkness dialogue with a full crowd is worth the price of admission.
 
If MCU fatigue is setting in (and the recent shakeups at Marvel start to cause things to come unravelled) the blockbuster market will have a power vacuum.

It might finally be time for the rise of video game adaptations. I mean actual good, faithful ones. Sonic, Mario, and TLOS seem to be paving the way, maybe more could be done..
Looking forward to the Octopath and Xenoblade adaptations by Peter Jackson.
 
I know both Nintendo/Illumination talked openly about their partnership continuing but this will really be for a longer time than you might think, not just potential sequel or DK movie. Meladandri got literally added to NCL board of directors as a Outside Director back in 2021. Am not suggesting Illumination will work on every Nintendo franchise in movie from now on but for things they could do Illumination will be partnerting with them for a while.
 
I know both Nintendo/Illumination talked openly about their partnership continuing but this will really be for a longer time than you might think, not just potential sequel or DK movie. Meladandri got literally added to NCL board of directors as an Outside Director back in 2021. Am not suggesting Illumination will work on every Nintendo franchise in movie from now on but for things they could do Illumination will be partnerting with them for a while.
I’m sure there is some sort of contract specifying everything has to go through a universal studio given the theme park, etc. but maybe not. Seems like the partnership is locked in though.
 
I know both Nintendo/Illumination talked openly about their partnership continuing but this will really be for a longer time than you might think, not just potential sequel or DK movie. Meladandri got literally added to NCL board of directors as an Outside Director back in 2021. Am not suggesting Illumination will work on every Nintendo franchise in movie from now on but for things they could do Illumination will be partnerting with them for a while.
You have to love the irony that Nintendo and Universal have created such a profitable relationship four decades after Universal tried to crush Nintendo over Donkey Kong in court.
 
I don't know how the profit sharing is, but i assume Nintendo gets a cut of the B.O. and merchandising in exchange for very little paid up front to keep cost down if the $100 million budget is to be believed. I do wonder if that arrangement will change.

The problem with video game films is the big studios except Sony themselves don't own the properties, so they would be less profitable. You need to have a special relationship where the IP holder agrees to take a cut elsewhere or in the backend to make these bets possible.b Especially if we veer into live-action where movies easily cost $200 million.

Or we could see deals where the studio pays a large lump sum upfront and takes on the risk and all the rewards. This probably would be appealing to the Capcom/Square-Enix's of this world, but I think Nintendo is in it to keep their IP fresh and relevant and could take a longer view.
 
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I’m sure there is some sort of contract specifying everything has to go through a universal studio given the theme park, etc. but maybe not. Seems like the partnership is locked in though.
Melenadri was also executive producer on Puss in Boots 2 and there were reports about Shrek reboot as well. When you consider that Universal Pictures is basically distributing DreamWorks movies I think the collaboration with DreamWorks and Nintendo would be cool, especially for Zelda movie. This Universal stuff is not directly tied to Meledandri but I feel DreamWorks collaboration will still happen either way.
 
Melenadri was also executive producer on Puss in Boots 2 and there were reports about Shrek reboot as well. When you consider that Universal Pictures is basically distributing DreamWorks movies I think the collaboration with DreamWorks and Nintendo would be cool, especially for Zelda movie. This Universal stuff is not directly tied to Meledandri but I feel DreamWorks collaboration will still happen either way.
It isn't just Universal Pictures distributing DreamWorks movies, Universal acquired DreamWorks in 2016 and are now a fully owned subsidiary.
 
I'm more of a scientific person, but I can't shake this gut feeling that Mr. Iwata watches over Nintendo, some how. Almost every major endeavor they've attempted since he's passed away has gone past expectation and in some cases way past expectation.

NES Classic announced as a small little hold over product because Nintendo has nothing much for holiday 2016 ... suddenly becomes sold out everywhere and micro-consoles become a little fad for a bit.

Pokemon Go ... ok neato a Pokemon AR mobile game ... that suddenly takes off to the point that it's all over the news, shutting down city blocks, being referenced in US presidental elections ... I mean ... what?

Nintendo launches Switch after the disaster of the Wii U and the 3DS fizzling, but hey maybe it'll do half decent. It ends up outselling the Playstation 4, might have a shot at beating the DS and PS2 for the best selling console of all time. And oh yeah, it didn't require any kind of real brand alteration from Nintendo either (ie: bending over backwards for the Wii Fit/Sports/Brain Training crowd being the main focus of the system) ... you have 30+ year old IP like Legend of Zelda crushing their sales highs by more than double, 3D Mario hitting sales highs, etc. etc.

Global COVID shutdowns, probably the most significant event since World War II happens and right as those are starting, Nintendo basically has the perfect game ready by happenstance right at that exact moment ... Animal Crossing for Switch. Sales skyrocket beyond any previous Animal Crossing game, Switch sales go through the roof.

Mario ... movie. Well OK, it should do better than that crappy 1993 movie and hopefully win some respect back for Nintendo. Sure it has some good sales potential. But it's looking like something far bigger than that, looks like it's a critic proof box office monster and movies could be a central part of Nintendo's business going forward.

Like at some point you just sorta have to shrug, lol.
 


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