The Super Mario Movie

The Super Mario Movie is a 2005 computer-animated fantasy adventure comedy film based on Nintendo's Mario video game franchise. Directed by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter, and produced by Nintendo, it is the first film in the Nintendo Cinematic Universe (NCU). The film stars Robin Williams and Steve Carell as the titular brothers, alongside Natalie Portman, Kiefer Sutherland, Kel Mitchell, Adam Sandler, Mel Brooks, and many others in supporting roles.

After the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 live-action Mario film, Jordan Kerner bought the rights in late 1996. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto became interested in developing the first film during the development of the Nintendo GameCube. Development for an animated Mario film began in 1997 but did not leave the planning stage until Sony Pictures acquired the rights in 1998. Through Nintendo's work with Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood to create Super Mario Parks, which had canceled until June 2017, now Super Nintendo World, he met with Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios CEO John Lasseter. By 2000, they were discussing a Mario film and, in January 2001, Nintendo announced that it would produce it with Universal Pictures. Production was underway by 2001, and the cast was announced in September 2002.

The Super Mario Movie premiered at the Regency Village Theater on May 24, 2005, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 1, 2005 by Sony Pictures Releasing, followed by an international release on June 22, 2005 by Universal Pictures, as the first film in Phase One of the NCU. The film received positive reviews from critics, praising its animation, voice cast, visual effects, musical score by Rupert Gregson-Williams and its story, though some criticized its runtime and plot.

The film was a box office success, grossing $1.049 billion worldwide on its budget of $115 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 2005 and setting box office records for the biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film and the highest-grossing film based on a video game. Two sequels followed: The Super Mario Movie 2: Level Up! (2010) and The Super Mario Movie 3: Bowser's Revenge (2015). The rights for the three films were sold off to Universal on February 9, 2010.

Plot
Italian-American brothers Mario and Luigi have recently started a plumbing business in Brooklyn, to the disdain of their ex-employer Spike and their father’s disapproval, unaware the pair are to relocate to San Francisco.

In the Mushroom Kingdom, ruled by Princess Peach, and 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. Peach got the vision to plan to ally with someone to help repel Bowser. But, Peach and Toad are sucked into a Warp Pipe and separated.

Peach land in Brooklyn, while Toad landed in nowhere. She reluctantly plans to go to the Mushroom Kingdom, before Bowser will capture her. However, Mario discovers Peach in his shed. He tranquillizes him, causing Peach to accidentally drop his bag of rings through a portal to the Transamerica Pyramid's tower roof, upon reading the writing on Mario's shirt, before passing out. Mario hesitantly agrees to help Peach. The two slowly bond, with Mario relating to Peach's desire for friends. His attempt to save Peach in a public restroom is thwarted by Koopa, who arrives to force Mario. Mario and Peach found Toad in a bar and he created a bucket list Mario helped her complete several entries along their journey. She also tells Mario that she ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom as a baby, where the Toads took her in and eventually made her their leader.

Meanwhile, Bowser, discovers that Mario and Peach are going to San Francisco. As he tracks them down, Mario, Peach and Toad manage to fight off several armies sent by Bowser, but Mario is injured in the battle.

Arriving in San Francisco, Peach brings Mario to Luigi, who treats him at his brother Nigel's home. Peach receives a new pair of pink high heels to replace his ruined ones after the car chase. The group heads to the roof of the tower and recovers the rings as Bowser arrives Bowser arrives aboard his flying castle and proposes to Peach, who reluctantly accepts after Bowser's advisor Kamek tortures Toad, tortures Luigi, and throw Mario away. The one escape, sucked into a Warp Pipe and hurry to the Mushroom Kingdom.

At the wedding reception, Bowser intends to execute all of his prisoners in lava. Toad smuggles an Ice Flower into Peach's bouquet, which she uses to freeze Bowser. Mario uses a Tanooki Suit to free the prisoners, and Luigi. At the same time, one of the Koopas tries to kill Bowser and Kamek instead, causing him to drop him through a trapdoor. An enraged Bowser frees himself and summons a nuclear Bomber Bill to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom with his warp rings. Still, Mario knocks it off course and disparate Warp Rings and directs it into the Warp Pipe where it detonates, creating a vacuum that causes everyone and Bowser's hovercraft to be transported to Brooklyn.

As they fight Bowser, Mario and Luigi grab the Super Star, become invincible, and defeat Bowser and Koopas by banishing him into a warp ring portal to the mushroom planet.

Following the incident, Mario and Luigi decide to stay in the Mushroom Kingdom and let Peach, Toad and others live with them. Mario and Luigi are hailed as heroes 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 together. Three months later, Bowser is still in possession of Mario and Peach's power and usable equipment salvaged from the remains of his castle, planning his return and revenge against Mario, Peach, and Luigi.

Voice cast

 * Robin Williams as Mario, an Italian American plumber from Brooklyn, New York.
 * Natalie Portman as Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario's love interest, who entered the world of the Mushroom Kingdom as an infant and was raised by the Toads.
 * Steve Carell as Luigi, an Italian American plumber and the younger twin brother of Mario, who has a sense of envy and reverence towards.
 * Kiefer Sutherland 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.
 * Kel Mitchell as Toad, a Mushroom Kingdom resident whose species is also named Toad, who aspires to go on his first real adventure.
 * Adam Sandler as Donkey Kong, a powerful gorilla who is often depicted as a friendly rival to Mario.
 * Joe Ranft as Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong's little brother.
 * Mel Brooks as Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong's grandfather.
 * Eric Bauza as Wario, an obese yet muscular, hot-tempered, and greedy man.
 * Jason Statham as Waluigi, a tall, lanky character who is often portrayed as a foil to Luigi.
 * Dolores Rogers as Bowser Jr., the son of Bowser.
 * Wendee Lee as Larry Koopa, the youngest Koopaling who is often seen at the forefront of the Koopalings' antics, and he wields the orange magic wand.
 * Pamela Adlon as Lemmy Koopa, a small, fun-loving child who wields the green magic wand, and has been shown capable of being serious when the situation calls for it.
 * Adlon also voices Princess Daisy, a tomboy, a trait first stated in her debut appearance and is Luigi's love interest.
 * Joe Alaskey as Morton Koopa, the only Koopaling to have a brown skin tone and is often depicted as the largest Koopaling, wielding the red magic wand.
 * Trey Parker as Roy Koopa, whose head and sunglasses are pink (as was his shell originally), and he wields the black magic wand.
 * Colin Farrell as Iggy Koopa, a hyperactive, demented, and unpredictable Koopaling who wields the yellow magic wand.
 * Farrell also voices Ludwig von Koopa, the eldest Koopaling who possesses a magnificent intelligence most likely superior to that of the other Koopalings, and wields the blue magic wand.
 * Tress MacNeille as Wendy O. Koopa, the sole female Koopaling; she wields the purple magic wand.
 * MacNeille also voices Toadette, a commonly recurring female Toad in the Mario franchise, who has been shown to be on good terms with such characters as Princess Peach, Daisy, Toad, Toadsworth, Yoshi, Luigi, and Mario.


 * Michael Peña as Wayne Whipple
 * Jemaine Clement as Nigel, Luigi's best friend.
 * Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike, Mario and Luigi's antagonistic former boss from a company called Wrecking Crew.
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, a Koopa sorcerer and Bowser's advisor and informant.

Additionally, Charles Martinet, who voices Mario and Luigi in the Mario games, voices the brothers' father and Giuseppe, a Brooklyn citizen who resembles Mario's original appearance in Donkey Kong and speaks in his in-game voice. Jessica DiCicco voices the brothers' mother, the plumbing commercial woman, a yellow Toad, and Luigi's bully. Rino Romano and John DiMaggio voice the brothers' uncles, Tony and Arthur, respectively. Paul Briggs voices the Penguin King, the ruler of the Ice Kingdom descended upon by Bowser's army, while Eric Bauza voices the Toad General. Della Sabha, voices Lumalee, a nihilistic blue Luma held prisoner by Bowser and baby Peach, and Scott Menville voices the Koopa General, the winged, blue-shelled leader of Bowser's army, as well as a red Toad.

Development
After the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film adaptation, the suggestion for a computer-animated Mario film was first put forward by Jordan Kerner during a script meeting. Kerner met Shigeru Miyamoto, founder of Nintendo. Nintendo of America president and Hiroshi Yamauchi's son-in law, Minoru Arakawa. He presented Arakawa with an initial draft of the script. One month after their meeting, Kerner went to Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto to meet Hiroshi Yamauchi. He pitched to Yamauchi the storyline which led to Nintendo receiving interest in the project. Kerner left with a $2 million contract giving the temporary control of the character of Mario over to Kerner. Nintendo retained merchandising rights for the film through a "creative partnership" with Sony Pictures. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, the idea for a new Mario film came from bringing their older games to the upcoming 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.

Through Nintendo's work with Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Florida to create Mario-based attractions, later resulting in Super Mario Parks, now Super Nintendo World, Miyamoto met John Lasseter, founder of Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Pixar Animation Studios animation division. Miyamoto found Lasseter'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 November 1998, knowing that if they felt it would not work that they could easily walk away. In May 1999, Nintendo announced that the film would progress with Miyamoto, Neal H. Moritz, Shinichi Ikematsu and Kerner co-producing. Lasseter said the film was a "priority" for Columbia Pictures and that it would most likely come out in 2005. He added that Miyamoto would be "front and center" during production. In January 2000, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated that the film was "moving along smoothly" with an expected 2005 release date. Furukawa also said Nintendo would own the rights to the film, and both Nintendo and Sony would fund the production. The Super Mario Movie was first officially announced on August 10, 2000, at the San Diego Comic-Con, with a June 2005 release date.

In August 2002, it emerged that Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Pete Docter after previously co-directly ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsters,_Inc. Monsters, Inc.]'' (2001). Following the full casting announcement, the three were confirmed to be directing, Shrek 2 writers, J. David Stem and David N. Weiss wrote the screenplay along with Andrew Adamson and Joe Stillman; Stem and Weiss also wrote the story attached as the screenwriter. In May 2004, it was announced by New York Comic Con that the film's teaser trailer would be released on October 6, 2004. Shortly thereafter, Ed Skudder confirmed that he worked as head of story on the film, along with Paul Briggs (who also voices King Penguin in the film), in addition to Don Hall, Rich Moore and Chris Williams as a co-director.

Writing
Stem and Weiss wanted their work on the film to be the opposite of the "irreverent" Shrek 2, 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 Shrek 2. "When people probably first heard our names attached to the movie, they expected we'd do the Shrek 2 treatment to Mario", said Weiss. "But every project we come to, we make new choices depending on who the audience is and what we're going for". Stem asserted that Nintendo involved themselves with every aspect of the production, "from story to visual development to the animation".

The duo wanted the film to serve as an "origin story" for Mario and Luigi, opting to portray them as "blue-collar guys" by focusing on their previous backgrounds as Italian-American plumbers from New York City in early games (specifically Brooklyn, as in older American media). They also wanted to reflect how gamers win in the games by not giving up in spite of making mistakes, turning that into a character trait for the film's portrayal of Mario. For a while, "the filmmakers were very committed" to that version of the story, but then in November 2002, the filmmakers realized the film's plot would be more engaging if they reversed Princess Peach and Luigi's roles from the games, with Peach helping Mario for saving the world from Bowser, because they felt having them in their original roles was "too straightforward".

Casting
In February 2003, 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 he would "go in and play with great joy and happiness". In June 2003, Sebastian Maniscalco revealed he was voicing Spike, Mario and Luigi's boss from the game Wrecking Crew (1985).

During a New York Comic-Con presentation, Miyamoto announced that Robin Williams, Natalie Portman, Steve Carell, Kiefer Sutherland, Kel Mitchell, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Maniscalco would headline the voice cast and that Martinet and Tyrese Gibson 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 Williams as Mario instead of Martinet (who had voiced the character since 1991) or an Italian actor. Martinet voices the brothers' father as well as a citizen of Brooklyn named Giuseppe, the latter using Mario's game voice. Additionally, voice acting veterans Rino Romano, John DiMaggio, and Bonnie Hunt voiced Mario and Luigi's Uncles Tony and Arthur, and mother respectively, as the intention was to cast actors of Italian ancestry for the brothers' family.

Animation and visual effects
The film was animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks in Culver City, California. Production was underway by November 2002, with animation ending in December 2004. Post-production work wrapped by May 2005. Lasseter said that Sony updated their lighting and rendering technology for the film, with Kerner claiming that it "pushed the technical and artistic capabilities of [the] studio to new heights".

Lasseter, Stanton, and Docter wanted the animation to juggle stylized animation with realism, with Stanton claiming that "there are moments of cartoony fun, but [...] we wanted it to feel like a big adventure film and that there are stakes and maybe you believe that these characters can die, so they're not super-squashy and super-stretchy, and we used consistent volume on the characters to make them feel a little more grounded". 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.

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). For Mario's family, Horvath and Jelenic were given early designs of Mario by Nintendo as references; they ended up using slightly altered versions of those designs in the film.

Soundtrack

 * Further information: The Super Mario Movie (soundtrack) and Music of the Nintendo Cinematic Universe

During an September 2004 Comic-Con presentation, Lasseter confirmed that Rupert Gregson-Williams was set to compose the film's score. Pereira worked closely with longtime Mario composer Koji Kondo to incorporate themes from the games. The film's music references leitmotifs from Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Kart, among other Mario games.

Marketing
On October 6, the teaser trailer was released live in a Comic-Con presentation. In a short questions and answers period following the trailer reveal at New York Comic Con, Jack Black stated that "Bowser has a musical side" in the film, teasing a theme for the character. The teaser trailer received over three million views in 24 hours. Journalists generally praised the trailer's visuals and tone, as well as Black and Key's performances as Bowser and Toad. However, Pratt's performance as Mario was described as lacking in emotion and sounding too similar to his normal speaking voice. Vic Hood from TechRadar noted a slight New York accent in Mario's lines, calling it a possible throwback to Mario's depictions in American media such as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and the 1993 film, before Charles Martinet debuted as the character's official voice actor in Mario's Game Gallery where he spoke full dialogue for extended periods of time.

On November 29, the first official trailer was shown in a Nintendo Direct. Public reactions were still largely favorable, though online discourse continued to center on Pratt's performance as Mario.

On December 8, the first clip of the film, showing Toad guiding Mario through the Mushroom Kingdom and to the entrance to Peach's Castle, was revealed at The Game Awards 2022. The Verge 's Ash Parrish commented, "Despite the skepticism surrounding Chris Pratt's performance as Mario, the movie's visuals — and I cannot stress enough, only the visuals — look incredible".

On January 29, 2023, a preview clip of the film was released during the NFC Championship Game. Some entertainment news sites pointed out the addition of Rogen's "iconic laugh" heard as Donkey Kong in the clip. Emma Roth from The Verge commented, "I'm pleasantly surprised at how well his voice (and laugh) suits the character", while Luke Plunkett from Kotaku commented, "Seth Rogen has been hired to... just be Seth Rogen".

On February 12, 2023, a commercial for the film was released during Super Bowl LVII, featuring a rendition of the title theme from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. A corresponding website which was featured in the trailer was also released, which advertises the Super Mario Bros. Plumbing Service from the film as if it were, according to Plunkett, "...a struggling small business servicing the Brooklyn and Queens areas".

Theatrical
To be added.

Home media
The Super Mario Movie was released on VHS and DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on November 22, 2005. The film was later released onto Blu-ray and Universal Media Disc (UMD) on September 19, 2006. The DVD sales peaked at $49.3 million, with Blu-ray and UMD sales peaking at $92.7 million by the end of 2009. A 10th anniversary re-release on Blu-ray + DVD was released on November 3, 2015.

The film was also collected in a 10-disc box set titled "Nintendo Cinematic Universe: Phase One – The Beginning" which includes all of the Phase One films in the Nintendo Cinematic Universe.

Box office
The Super Mario Movie opened in 3,905 theatres on June 1, 2005 in the United States. It grossed $38.4 million in its opening day, with an additional $6.4 million in Wednesday night previews, and grossed $93.6 million in its 3-day weekend from Friday through Sunday. Overseas, the film grossed $58.2 million, with an additional $9.9 million in Thursday night previews. It then grossed $128.4 million in its opening weekend.

The film grossed $TBA in the United States and Canada and $321.9 million overseas for a worldwide total of $539.1 million on its budget of $60-80 million.

Critical response
The Super Mario Movie holds an approval rating of 98% based on 275 critics' reviews, according to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.75/10. Its site's consensus reads: "Wonderfully animated, with the best of effects, the greatest orchestra and enough emotional weight to bring a tear to your eye, The Super Mario Moviesupports its help in creating the best video game film, and Nintendo provides the best film for any fan of the classic Mario games." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore assigned the film a rare grade "A+" on its scale of A+ to F, while PostTrak surveyed audiences and reported that 100% of audiences liked the film, with 98% of them definitely recommending it.

Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars and wrote: "The Super Mario Movie may just seem like another cash grab attempt by Nintendo, like it was meant to be for its 1993 predecessor. But, what works about this film is that it works to its fullest extent. The full orchestra is unbelievable, incorporating reiterations of the songs from the classic Mario games. With its voice cast, Charles Martinet stands out as his character, providing the best performance imaginable. When you get to the final showdown near the end of the film, Martinet gives it his all, much more powerful than we've ever seen him do before." He also added that "there is absolutely nothing that could ever be wrong about The Super Mario Movie. Nintendo absolutely delivered the best animation possible."

Sequels
Coming soon

Transcripts
Coming soon