April 21st, 2023
Common Sense Media Age: 7+ Violence 3/5 Language 3/5
My Age Recommendation: 7+ (Due to comic violence)
I was extremely excited to see that they were taking another shot at making a Mario movie, but this time without live-action characters and an outdated story line! When this movie originally released, I was surprised to see the mass amount of 'meh' reviews on day one and started to wonder if this movie was going to be a complete flop. However, my love for the Mario franchise outweighed my instincts and I watched this anyways, and I was extremely disappointed. The story follows Mario and Luigi as they are sucked into a magical green pipe that separates them both from each other. Luigi's magic pipe takes him to Bowser's kingdom where he is captured, and Mario must master the ways of this magical universe with the help of Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong if he wants to save Luigi before it's too late! Let me start off by saying, this movie wasn't entirely horrible. The animation was smooth and probably some of the best animation ever in a movie, the jokes and easter eggs to original Nintendo games were great and kept it entertaining, and this movie overall is great for kids. Unfortunately, I have to review this movie as if it was not a kid's movie, so entertainment is not the only factor. The story itself sounded okay on paper, but the execution with the dialogue and pacing made this movie unbearable to watch for me. The characters themselves were great in terms of development, but I think the writers sacrificed a good story in place of easter eggs and I feel like they just put as many hidden references as they could without thinking about the pacing or dialogue of the characters. I will say, this method of hidden references did make this movie enjoyable for kids and for a select few die-hard fans, but many fans (including me) liked the references but hated the story. Overall, I think this movie is fine for kids to enjoy, but parents will be counting down the minutes until the movie is over!
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