The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a 2023 computer-animated adventure film based on Nintendo’s Mario video game franchise. Produced by Universal Pictures, Illumination, and Nintendo, and distributed by Universal, the film was directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel.
The ensemble voice cast includes Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, and Fred Armisen. The film features an origin story for the brothers Mario and Luigi, two Italian-American plumbers who are transported to an alternate world and become entangled in a battle between the Mushroom Kingdom, led by Princess Peach, and the Koopas, led by Bowser.
Synopsis:
Italian-American brothers Mario and Luigi have recently started a plumbing business in Brooklyn, to the derision of their antagonistic ex-employer Spike, and the disapproval of their father. After seeing a significant water main leak on the news, Mario and Luigi go underground to fix it but are sucked into a Warp Pipe and separated.
Mario lands in the Mushroom Kingdom, ruled by Princess Peach, while Luigi lands in the Dark Lands, ruled by the evil Koopa king Bowser. Bowser seeks to marry Peach and will destroy the Mushroom Kingdom using a Super Star if she refuses. He imprisons Luigi to threaten Mario, whom he sees as competition for Peach’s love. Mario meets Toad, who takes him to Peach.
Peach plans to ally with the primate Kongs to help repel Bowser and allows Mario and Toad to travel with her. In the Jungle Kingdom, King Cranky Kong agrees to help on the condition that Mario defeats his son, Donkey Kong, in a fight. Despite Donkey Kong’s immense strength, Mario defeats him using a Cat Suit.
Mario, Peach, Toad, and the Kongs use karts to drive back to the Mushroom Kingdom, but Bowser’s army ambushes them on Rainbow Road. When a blue-shelled Koopa General destroys part of the road, Mario and Donkey Kong plummet to the ocean while the other Kongs are captured.
Peach and Toad return to the Mushroom Kingdom and urge the citizens to evacuate. Bowser arrives aboard his flying castle and proposes to Peach, who reluctantly accepts after Bowser’s advisor Kamek tortures Toad. Mario and Donkey Kong, having been eaten by an eel-like Maw-Ray, learn they both want the respect of their fathers. They escape the Maw-Ray by riding a rocket from Donkey Kong’s kart and hurry to Bowser and Peach’s wedding.
At the wedding reception, Bowser intends to execute all of his prisoners in lava in Peach’s honor. Toad smuggles an Ice Flower into Peach’s bouquet, which Peach uses to freeze Bowser. Mario and Donkey Kong arrive and free the prisoners, with Mario using a Tanooki Suit to save Luigi.
An enraged Bowser frees himself and summons a Bomber Bill to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom, but Mario knocks it off course and directs it into the Warp Pipe where it detonates, creating a vacuum that causes Bowser’s castle to be transported to Brooklyn.
As they fight Bowser, Mario and Luigi grab the Super Star, become invincible, and defeat the Koopas. Bowser is shrunk with a Mini Mushroom and imprisoned. Mario and Luigi are hailed as heroes and celebrated by Brooklyn’s populace, including their parents and Spike. Afterwards, the brothers move to a house in the Mushroom Kingdom and begin a day of plumbing work.
Voice Cast:
- Chris Pratt as Mario, a struggling Italian-American plumber from Brooklyn, New York, who is accidentally transported to the world of the Mushroom Kingdom and embarks on a quest to save his brother.
- Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario’s mentor and love interest, who entered the world of the Mushroom Kingdom as an infant and was raised by the Toads.
- Charlie Day as Luigi, Mario’s timid younger brother and fellow plumber, who is captured by Bowser and his army.
- Jack Black as Bowser, the King of the Koopas, who rules the Dark Lands, steals a powerful Super Star, and plots to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom by marrying Peach.
- Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, a Mushroom Kingdom resident whose species is also named Toad, who aspires to go on his first real adventure.
- Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, an anthropomorphic gorilla and heir to the throne of the Jungle Kingdom.
- Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, the ruler of the Jungle Kingdom, and Donkey Kong’s father.
- Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike, Mario and Luigi’s former boss from Wrecking Crew.
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, a Koopa sorcerer and Bowser’s advisor and informant.
Reference: Wikipedia