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The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a CGI animated film by Illumination Entertainment in association with Nintendo, in the latter's first-ever hands-on role in a theatrical movie, based upon — what else? — their long-running Super Mario Bros. franchise. It is the third feature film adaptation of the series, after the anime film The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach! in 1986 and the live-action Super Mario Bros. in 1993.
The plot is an origin story of how the Mario Bros. became the heroic defenders of the Mushroom Kingdom, and is treated as its own new separate universe rather than part of the original video games' timeline. Starting out as simple Brooklynites looking to earn some recognition with their new plumbing business, they stumble upon a magical Warp Pipe that whisks them to another world, but in two different places: Mario winds up in the idyllic Mushroom Kingdom protected by Princess Peach, while Luigi is stuck in the Dark Lands, where the evil King Bowser reigns supreme. Guided by Peach and armed with sheer determination, Mario sets out to stop Bowser's invasion and rescue his beloved brother. But his budding romantic chemistry with the princess doesn't sit well with Bowser, who seeks to claim her hand in marriage — and with the mighty Super Star in his grasp, he will burn the Mushroom Kingdom to ashes if he doesn't get what he wants...
Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic of Teen Titans Go! fame directed the feature from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel (Minions: The Rise of Gru, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part), while Dick Figures co-creator Ed Skudder is the head of story. Brian Tyler is the composer of the film's score, collaborating with Koji Kondo to integrate the iconic leitmotifs from the games. Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto produced the film alongside Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri.
The All-Star Cast of the film features Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. Also appearing are Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek. Charles Martinet, the original voice actor for the Mario Bros. in the games, also makes several cameos, including as Mario and Luigi's father and a heavily-accented man named Giuseppe, his last major voice-over roles prior to his retirement from voicing characters in the Mario games on August 21, 2023.
It is the first piece of animated Mario media since the cancellation of Super Mario World in 1991 (and to a lesser extent, Donkey Kong Country in 1998-2000 due to DK's involvement in the film), and the first piece of Nintendo animated media not related to the Pokémon franchise since Animal Crossing: The Movie in 2006 (discounting promotional shorts released during the interim). It also marks the second major collaboration between Nintendo and Illumination's parent company, NBCUniversal, after the Super Nintendo World areas at the latter's Universal Studios theme parks.
In the lead-up to the film's release, Nintendo and Illumination opened a SMB Plumbing promotional website, which became available to the public on February 12, 2023. It hosted the SMB Plumbing commercial that would be seen in the movie itself. A phone number was even on the website that fans could call or text the business (US only) at (929) 55-MARIO, in which calling causes an answering machine with Luigi's voice telling the caller to text the number instead, and texting the number will ask the texter to sign up for a newsletter. The testimonial subsection now has much more positive reviews from people that isn't their mother and a link to a verified Instagram account too. Following the release of the film, the original Website is now dead and simply redirects to a Universal online page to watch the movie.
The film released on April 5, 2023 in North and South America, Europe, and many other regions. Japan is a special case: it opened there on April 28 as the "Super Japanese version" (スーパー日本語版), which was tailored by Nintendo themselves for Japanese norms. Obviously the overall plot remains the same due to the visuals undergoing zero changes at all, so the Japanese version is mostly a straight translation, like a regular dub, with a few personality changes to match how the characters are perceived over there and some different jokes. The JPN cast is led by Mamoru Miyano as Mario, Tasuku Hatanaka as Luigi, Arisa Shida as Peach, and Kenta Miyake as Bowser.
On March 10, 2024, it was announced by Nintendo that a sequel is in production, set for a release date of April 3rd, 2026, with both Hovath and Jelenic returning to direct, and Fogel also coming back as writer. The title, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, was revealed on September 12th 2025.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Toad.
- Adorkable: Luigi is an enduring classic of an example, and this iteration of him is no exception, with Charlie Day providing a new take on him that's familiar to the original but still full of unique, high-strung energy that only he could provide. Many people cite him as one of the best parts of the film, particularly in how well it endeared them to his relationship with Mario; in turn, even its biggest fans all but unanimously agree that it could've been improved by giving him more screentime, with hopes high that he will get more love in future films.
- Even though she's become a xenafied Badass Princess in the movie, Princess Peach does have some dorky moments, especially when around Mario. She bursts with joy and excitement upon realising Mario is human like she seems to be is, and ends up getting so caught up in her excitement that she ends up invading Mario's personal space while inspecting him, even taking his hat off before putting it back on in the wrong way. Over the course of the film, she becomes quite playful and even flirty towards Mario as she grows a budding romantic interest in him.
- Adaptational Badass - Xenafication: While Peach has become increasingly active in games (and double if she's the main chara in them), here she's a badass from the very beginning.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Downplayed with Peach. She's still very kind, but initially is presented as a much more serious character than in the games, being much ruder to Mario, making more than a few jokes at the expense of his height (albeit not malicious ones), in contrast to the Incorruptible Pure Pureness from the games. She starts to grow out of it after he proves his worth by defeating Donkey Kong. The Japanese dub downplays that jerkassery, making her more excitable and closer to the original version.
- Donkey Kong is portrayed as relatively dim-witted in the games but never rude. Here, he begins as a big bully and a Manchild which is only a hero as far fighting Bowser is concerned. Though he does have Hidden Depths like his genuine desire to please his dad and king, which lets him bond with Mario later.
- Bowser treats his troops with utter disrespect, compared to his A Father to His Men attitude in the games, even killing one for as much as making a question. His child self was that rude in Yoshi's Island, but it is implied he grew out of it. This is notorious because he's always been a villain but this version ups his cruelty, making him an outright Bad Boss instead of a Benevolent Boss to his troops.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the games, the Koopa Troopas are Just Following Orders. Here, they're eager for conquest.
- Ambiguously Human: Peach. She certainly looks like someone who could have born on Earth, and she's outright said to not be native to Mushroom Kingdom, but it's never said where she comes from or if she IS human.
- Ambiguous Situation: When asked what he would do if Peach refused his marriage proposal, Bowser kills the minion who asked said question immediately. It's not clear if he killed him because he dared to ask about such a possibility or because Bowser was making a cruel demonstration that he would kill her if she refused.
- Badass Princess: Peach of course. With a significant boost of Adaptational Badass.
- Badass Normal: Mario is just a normal Italian-American. Then he gets the Super Star.
- Big Bad: The King of all Koopas, Bowser, whose plans amount to Take Over the World and forcibly marry Princess Peach.
- Big Brother Instinct: Mario to Luigi, ever since they were babies. Luigi responds with Big Brother Worship.
- Big Good: Peach leads the heroes against Bowser.
- Bloodless Carnage: Bowser kills a Koopa, turning him into a Dry Bone, by burning him without leaving a drop of blood behind.
- The Cameo: Pauline makes one as Brooklyn's mayor saying everything is fine with the sewers.
- Yoshis are among the fauna that Peach, Mario and Toad pass by on their way to the Ape Kingdom.
- Diddy Kong cameos as an overeager fan of Donkey's.
- Chekhov's Gun: Blue mushrooms cause an Incredible Shrinking Man.
- Came Back Wrong: Subverted with the Dry Bones. They seem to be typical dumb zombies at first but it is shown later by a minion killed by Bowser they retain their intellect and personality when killed; Bowser's army just happens to be already filled with morons from the start.
- The Comically Serious: King Penguin speaks with a Badass Baritone and is a Large Ham. He's also a two-foot tall penguin who fights by throwing snowballs.
- Curb Stomp Battle: Bowser tears his way through almost everything and everyone without significant opposition until the movie's third act when Mario and Luigi get the Super Star.
- Demoted to Extra: Luigi is mostly a Distressed Dude until the Final Battle in Brooklyn itself and Toad is the one who plays The Lancer for Mario for most of the movie.
- Disproportionate Retribution: A Koopa innocently asks Bowser what he's going to do if Peach denies his marriage proposal. Bowser reduces him to a Dry Bones. And to make matters worse, Bowser actually had an answer for the question.
- The Dragon: Kamek, which uses magic offensively and is much more dangerous than the average Koopas.
- Entitled to Have You: As the most powerful ruler in the world, Bowser feels himself entitled to Peach as his Trophy Wife. Towards the end, at least some of his love for Peach is shown to be genuine, if still decidedly one-sided.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Peach, to the max. She's a fighter from the start, she doesn't tolerate fools, is a bit hard on Mario at times when training him, will not hesitate to fight against any invaders... but she balances it with wearing very cute dresses, taking care of her kingdom almost like a protective mom, being very sweet and even a bit prone to teasing if not fighting, etc.
- Happily Adopted: Peach was raised very well and lovingly by the Toads, which is why she's so devoted to protect them.
- Hero with an F In Good: Donkey Kong is only a hero as far fighting Bowser is concerned, being rude and condescending towards Mario. At first, that is.
- Implied Love Interest: Peach and Mario flirt but are not outright confirmed as love interests.
- Instant Expert: Though not seen, Peach nailed the obstacle course on her first try. She justifies it as her having grown up in the Mushroom Kingdom.
- Kick the Morality Pet: Played for laughs when Bowser slams the piano lid on Kamek's fingers, initially oblivious to the situation, and plays it off as "pain [being] the best teacher".
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Being forced into a wedding dress doesn't slow Peach down. Especially when Toad snuck an ice flower in her bouquet.
- More Despicable Minion: The Koopa General may not get much characterization, but what little he does get shows that he's just as bad as Bowser without the latter's few sympathetic qualities.
- Ms. Fanservice: Played for Drama with Peach. While she's certainly the subject of a lot of Male Gaze, her sheer beauty is what drew Bowser's attention and why he wants her to be his Trophy Wife.
- Multicultural Alien Planet: The Mushroom Kingdom shares its realm with the penguins, Koopas, apes and the Darklands.
- Not So Different: Mario and Donkey Kong start to bond when they understand they're both "Well Done, Son" Guys.
- Play-Along Prisoner: Lumalee outright floats out of his cage at one point but stays because he's eager to be executed.
- Remake Cameo: Charles Martinet, Mario's VA in the video games, appears as Mario and Luigi's father and Canon Foreigner Giuseppe.
- Roaring Rampage of Rescue: What Mario's journey in the film is, deep down. So Bowser and his people captured Luigi? He will go Beyond the Impossible to save his younger brother.
- "Stop Having Fun!" Guys: The fittingly named Cranky Kong.
- Taking You with Me: After his rig is destroyed, the Koopa General invokes the dreaded blue shell, turning himself into a suicide bomber to try and kill Mario.
- This Loser Is You: Bowser seeking out the Super Star and Peach as his prizes, without any regard for Peach as a person, has more than a few shades of how some people treat the games.
- The Worf Effect: Donkey Kong is established as quite strong, being a deadly threat that Mario has to rely on guile and cunning to defeat. DK gets one good tackle in and is then backhanded by Bowser in short order.