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The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Aaron Horvath Michael Jelenic
Screenplay by	Matthew Fogel
Based on	Mario by Nintendo
Produced by	Chris Meledandri Shigeru Miyamoto
Starring	Chris Pratt Anya Taylor-Joy Charlie Day Jack Black Keegan-Michael Key Seth Rogen Fred Armisen Sebastian Maniscalco Charles Martinet Kevin Michael Richardson
Music by	Brian Tyler Koji Kondo
Production companies	Universal Pictures Nintendo Illumination
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	April 5, 2023 (2023-04-05) (United States) April 28, 2023 (2023-04-28) (Japan)
Running time	92 minutes
Countries	United States Japan
Language	English

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an upcoming computer-animated fantasy action-adventure comedy film based on the Nintendo video game franchise Mario, produced by Illumination with financing from Universal Pictures and Nintendo, and distributed by Universal. It is the franchise's third film adaptation, following the Japanese anime film Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! (1986) and the live-action film Super Mario Bros. (1993). Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (in the latter's feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel, the film features an ensemble voice cast including Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Charles Martinet, and Kevin Michael Richardson.

After the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 live-action film, Nintendo was reluctant to license its intellectual properties for film adaptations. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto became interested in developing another film when Nintendo was bringing its older games to the Virtual Console service, and through Nintendo's work with Universal Parks & Resorts to create Super Nintendo World, he met Illumination founder Chris Meledandri. By 2016, the two were discussing a Mario film and in January 2018, Nintendo announced that it would collaborate with Illumination and Universal to produce it. Production was underway by 2020, and the cast was publicly announced in September 2021.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is scheduled for release in the United States on April 5, 2023, and in Japan on April 28.

Synopsis

While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers Mario and brother Luigi are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi. With the assistance of Mushroom Kingdom resident Toad and some training from the strong-willed ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach, Mario taps into his own power.

Voice cast

• Chris Pratt as Mario
• Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach
• Charlie Day as Luigi
• Jack Black as Bowser
• Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
• Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
• Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong
• Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike
• Charles Martinet
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek

Additionally, Khary Payton voices the Penguin King, and Eric Bauza is slated to appear in a yet-undisclosed role. Martinet, who serves as the regular voice actor for Mario and Luigi among other characters in the video games, will appear in "surprise cameos" in the film.

Production

Development

After the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film adaptation, Japanese video game company Nintendo became wary of licensing its properties for film adaptations. According to Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the idea for a new Mario film came from bringing their older games to the Virtual Console and other services; such transitions took time for the company, and Miyamoto recognized that "our content business would be able to develop even further if we were able to combine our long-beloved software with that of video assets, and utilize them together for extended periods." Miyamoto knew that the process of making a film was far different from that of making a video game, and wanted a film expert to lead the effort.

Following the November 2014 hack of Sony Pictures, emails between producer Avi Arad, studio chief Amy Pascal, TriStar Pictures head Tom Rothman, and Sony Pictures Animation president of production Michelle Raimo Kouyate were released revealing that Sony had been attempting to secure the film rights to the Mario franchise for several years. Arad visited Nintendo in Tokyo in February and July 2014 in an attempt to secure a deal. In October, Arad emailed Pascal and said he had closed the deal with Nintendo. Pascal suggested recruiting Sony Pictures Animation's Hotel Transylvania director Genndy Tartakovsky to help develop the project, while Kouyate said she could "think of 3–4 movies right out of the gate" and expressed hope in "build a Mario empire." However, after the emails leaked, Arad denied that a deal had been made, stating that negotiations had only begun. BuzzFeed News noted that the emails did not take into account potential conflicts with Sony Pictures' corporate sibling Sony Interactive Entertainment, one of Nintendo's chief competitors.

Through Nintendo's work with Universal Parks & Resorts to create Mario-based attractions, later resulting in Super Nintendo World, Miyamoto met Chris Meledandri, founder of Universal Pictures' Illumination animation division. Miyamoto found Meledandri's creative process similar to his own and felt he would be the proper lead for a Mario film. They had started more earnest discussions by 2016, knowing that if they felt it would not work that they could easily walk away. In November 2017, reports emerged that Nintendo was collaborating with Universal and Illumination to make an animated Mario film. Then-Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima clarified that a deal had not been finalized, but that an announcement would come soon. Kimishima hoped that if the deal was successful, a 2020 release date would be possible.

In January 2018, Nintendo announced that the film would progress with Miyamoto and Meledandri co-producing. Meledandri said the film was a "priority" for Illumination and that it will most likely come out in 2022. He added that Miyamoto would be "front and center" during production. In January 2020, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated that the film was "moving along smoothly" with an expected 2022 release date. Furukawa also said Nintendo would own the rights to the film, and both Nintendo and Universal would fund the production.

In August 2021, it emerged that Teen Titans Go! creators Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic were directing the film after the discovery of an Illumination animator's LinkedIn profile that included the film in their list. Following the full casting announcement, Horvath and Jelenic were confirmed to be directing, with Matthew Fogel attached as the screenwriter after previously scribing Illumination's Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022). According to Khary Payton, who has collaborated with Horvath and Jelenic on various projects at Warner Bros. Animation, the duo flew to Illumination Studios Paris a month after the release of their first feature film, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, in September 2018.

In September 2022, it was announced by New York Comic Con that the film's teaser trailer would be released on October 6, 2022; the teaser formally revealed the film's title, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Shortly thereafter, Ed Skudder, who previously worked with Horvath on Unikitty!, confirmed that he worked as head of story on the film.

Writing

For their work on the film, Jelenic and Horvath wanted their work to be the opposite of the "irreverent" Teen Titans Go!, aiming to develop a faithful adaptation of the games, which they both felt had not been done before, as well as something "more cinematic" and "more emotional" than Teen Titans Go!. Jelenic and Horvath wanted the film to serve as an "origin story" for Mario and Luigi, whom they wanted to portray as "blue-collar guys" by focusing on their backgrounds as Italian-American plumbers from Brooklyn. They also wanted to reflect how gamers win in the games by not giving up, turning that into a character trait for the film's portrayal of Mario.

While writing the film, Jelenic and Horvath chose to interchange Princess Peach and Luigi's roles from the games, with Luigi being the one in need of rescuing and Peach being the one helping Mario, because they felt having them in their original roles was "too straightforward". The duo drew inspiration from Super Mario 3D World (2013), a favorite of Jelenic's, and its portrayal of Peach as a playable character, with the duo wanting to focus on her role as the Mushroom Kingdom's monarch and "how strong that person would need to be to protect ". They also rewrote Bowser into a scarier character, while also adding some comedy and vulnerability to the character.

Casting

Middle: Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, and Seth Rogen voice Bowser, Toad, and Donkey Kong, respectively.

In February 2021, Mario voice actor Charles Martinet said the possibility of reprising his role in the film would be a "marvelous thing" and that if he were asked to voice Mario, "I'll go in and play with great joy and happiness." In August 2021, Sebastian Maniscalco revealed he was voicing Spike, Mario and Luigi's boss from the game Wrecking Crew (1985).

During a September 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation, Shigeru Miyamoto announced that Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Kevin Michael Richardson, Fred Armisen, and Maniscalco would headline the voice cast and that Martinet would be featured in "surprise cameos". The announcement was met with a mixed reaction from fans; while some welcomed the idea of celebrity actors voicing the characters, others questioned and criticized the choices, in particular Pratt as Mario instead of Martinet (who has voiced the character since 1992) or an Italian actor. Meledandri said Pratt would not be voicing Mario with a thick Italian accent as Martinet has traditionally done. In response to the criticism of Pratt's casting, Horvath stated, "For us, it made total sense. He's really good at playing a blue-collar hero with a ton of heart. For the way that Mario is characterized in our film, he's perfect for it."

Plot details were kept secret from the actors during recording, according to Day, who noted he had to record his dialogue in many different ways, after which the directors selected the version they believed would be best suited for the scene. Upon the trailer's release, voice actors Khary Payton and Eric Bauza confirmed their parts in the film; Payton voices the Penguin King and Bauza is slated to appear in a yet-undisclosed role. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Payton recorded his lines in a closet at his home, though he was uncertain if he would appear in the final edit. He expressed his enthusiasm at being invited to join the film, and also defended Pratt's performance as Mario, describing the voice as being a "cousin to the Sopranos". Conversely, voice actress Tara Strong criticized Pratt's casting and expressed a preference for Martinet to voice Mario instead, lamenting on Twitter what she described to be Hollywood's disregard of professional voice actors. Martinet, while often presenting mixed opinions, has been quoted as saying "I think it's gonna be a lot of fun" in regards to the film.

Animation and design

The film was animated by Illumination Studios Paris in Paris, France. Production was underway by September 2020, with animation work ending in October 2022. Lighting animation and rendering were improved from previous Illumination projects for the film. Donkey Kong's design was changed for the first time since the video game Donkey Kong Country (1994). For his new design, artists incorporated elements of both his modern design and his original design from his debut appearance in Donkey Kong (1981). Jelenic and Horvath wanted the animation to balance between cartoony and realistic, having moments of slapstick comedy while also adding genuine peril during their action sequences, comparing the film to an action film. For the go-karts featured in the film, the directors worked with a vehicle design artist and artists at Nintendo to create go-karts that fit their portrayal in the film while drawing inspiration from their portrayal in the Mario Kart games. Post-production work on the film ended by March 2023.

Music

During an October 2022 Nintendo Direct presentation, Meledandri confirmed that Brian Tyler is set to compose the score for the film. Tyler is working closely with longtime Mario composer Koji Kondo to incorporate themes from the games within the film's score. Recording sessions for the score began on October 17, 2022, at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. Songs from Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key were improvised for the film.

Black Hydra composed the music for its official trailer, called "Super Mushroom". The instrumental was released on November 30, 2022, on YouTube.

Release

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is scheduled to be theatrically released by Universal Pictures in the United States on April 5, 2023, followed by Japan on April 28, in both regular formats and in IMAX 2D and 3D. The film was previously scheduled to be released on December 21, 2022 and April 7, 2023 (the former of which was taken over by DreamWorks Animation's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in response to the film's delay to the latter date). On February 28, 2023, it was announced that the film would be released two days earlier, on its current date, to more than 60 markets while maintaining the April 28 date for Japan and stating that additional markets are to follow during April and May.

It will be available to stream on Peacock 45 days afterwards and on Netflix in late 2023.

Future

In May 2021, Furukawa said that Nintendo was interested in producing more animated films based on its intellectual properties if the Mario film is successful. The following November, reports emerged that Illumination was developing a Donkey Kong spin-off film, with Rogen set to reprise his role. In February 2022, Day expressed interest in reprising his role as Luigi in a Luigi's Mansion film.

See also

• List of films based on video games

Notes

1. Super Mario Bros. was developed by Nintendo R&D4, published by Nintendo, directed and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, and designed and illustrated by Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.

References

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External links

• Official website
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie at IMDb 
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie at Box Office Mojo
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie at Metacritic

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