''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'' is an upcoming
computer-animated
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
based on the
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
video game franchise ''
Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
''. The film is produced by
Illumination with financing from
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
and Nintendo, and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the franchise's third
film adaptation
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
, following the Japanese
anime film
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
''
Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!'' (1986) and the
live-action film
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
''
Super Mario Bros.
is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for th ...
'' (1993). Directed by
Aaron Horvath
Aaron James Horvath (born August 19, 1980) is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for co-developing ''Teen Titans Go!'' alongside Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network as well as directing the upcoming film ' ...
and
Michael Jelenic
Michael Christopher Jelenic (born May 12, 1977) is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for co-developing the animated series ''Teen Titans Go!'' alongside Aaron Horvath for Cartoon Network (in Jelenic's feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel, the film features an
ensemble voice cast including
Chris Pratt
Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015). He also appeared in The WB drama series ''Everwood'' (2002–2006) an ...
,
Anya Taylor-Joy
Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy ( ; born 16 April 1996) is an actress. She has won several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2021, she was featu ...
,
Charlie Day
Charles Peckham Day (born February 9, 1976) is an American actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is best known for playing Charlie Kelly on the FX comedy ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present), which he co-created with Rob M ...
,
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
,
Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series ''Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Netw ...
,
Seth Rogen
Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series ''Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part on ...
,
Fred Armisen
Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...
,
Sebastian Maniscalco
Sebastian Maniscalco (; ; born July 8, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has released five comedy specials. Maniscalco has also had supporting acting roles in the films '' Green Book'' (2018) and ''The Irishman'' (2019), playi ...
,
Charles Martinet
Charles Martinet (, ; born September 17, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor, known for his portrayal of both Mario and Luigi in the ''Super Mario'' video game series since 1992. He is also the voice of other characters in the series such ...
, and
Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...
.
After the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 live-action film, Nintendo was reluctant to license its
intellectual properties
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
for film adaptations. ''Mario'' creator
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
became interested in developing another film when Nintendo was bringing its older games to the
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
service, and through Nintendo's work with
Universal Parks & Resorts
Universal Parks & Resorts, also known as Universal Studios Theme Parks or solely Universal Theme Parks, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme par ...
to create
Super Nintendo World
is a themed area at Universal Studios Japan, and under construction at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore and the upcoming Universal's Epic Universe at Universal Orlando, Universal Orlando Resort. A result of a partnership ...
, he met Illumination founder
Chris Meledandri
Christopher Meledandri (; born May 15, 1959) is an American film producer and founder and CEO of Illumination. He previously served as President of 20th Century Fox Animation, and has worked as the producer of the ''Despicable Me'' franchise a ...
. 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.
Voice cast
*
Chris Pratt
Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015). He also appeared in The WB drama series ''Everwood'' (2002–2006) an ...
as
Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
*
Anya Taylor-Joy
Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy ( ; born 16 April 1996) is an actress. She has won several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2021, she was featu ...
as
Princess Peach
is a fictional character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original ''Super Mario Bros.'' installment. She is the princess regnant and ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides in ...
*
Charlie Day
Charles Peckham Day (born February 9, 1976) is an American actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is best known for playing Charlie Kelly on the FX comedy ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present), which he co-created with Rob M ...
as
Luigi
is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...
*
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
as
Bowser
, or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the primary antagonist in Nintendo's Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. In Japan, the character bears the title of . Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa ...
*
Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series ''Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Netw ...
as
Toad
Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands.
A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...
*
Seth Rogen
Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series ''Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part on ...
as
Donkey Kong
is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
*
Fred Armisen
Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...
as
Cranky Kong
is a series of video games published by Nintendo since 1981 and created by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
Donkey Kong and Mario have both had the roles of protagonist and antagonist in the series. Other characters have included other Kongs, t ...
*
Sebastian Maniscalco
Sebastian Maniscalco (; ; born July 8, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has released five comedy specials. Maniscalco has also had supporting acting roles in the films '' Green Book'' (2018) and ''The Irishman'' (2019), playi ...
as
Foreman Spike
*
Charles Martinet
Charles Martinet (, ; born September 17, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor, known for his portrayal of both Mario and Luigi in the ''Super Mario'' video game series since 1992. He is also the voice of other characters in the series such ...
*
Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...
as
Kamek
The ''Mario'' franchise is a video game series by Nintendo. While Nintendo is usually the developer and publisher of games in the franchise, various series are developed by third-party companies, such as Hudson Soft and Intelligent Systems. ...
Additionally,
Khary Payton
Khary Payton (born May 16, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as King Ezekiel on the horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' and Dr. Terrell Jackson on the soap opera '' General Hospital'', as well as voicing Cyborg across v ...
voices the Penguin King, and
Eric Bauza
Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian-American voice actor and comedian. His most-known roles include Stimpy on '' Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'', Foop on ''The Fairly OddParents'' and its reboot ''Fairly Odder'', Thunderbolt Ro ...
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
![Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Aaron_Horvath_and_Michael_Jelenic.jpg)
After the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 ''
Super Mario Bros.
is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for th ...
'' film adaptation, Japanese video game company
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
became wary of licensing its properties for film adaptations.
According to Mario creator
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
, the idea for a new ''Mario'' film came from bringing their older games to the
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
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
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
, emails between producer
Avi Arad
Avi Arad (; he, אבי ארד; born 1948) is an Israeli-American film producer who became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and the chairman, CEO, and founde ...
, studio chief
Amy Pascal
Amy Beth Pascal (born March 25, 1958) is an American film producer and business executive. She served as the Chairperson of the Motion Pictures Group of Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony P ...
,
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...
head
Tom Rothman
Thomas Edgar Rothman (born November 21, 1954) is an American film executive and current chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, Motion Picture Group. In this role, Rothman oversees all of the studio's motion picture p ...
, and
Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by Son ...
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
''Hotel Transylvania'' is an American animated media franchise created by comedy writer Todd Durham and produced by Sony Pictures Animation. It consists of four feature films, three short films, a flash-animated TV series, and several video ...
'' director
Genndy Tartakovsky
Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky (russian: Геннадий Борисович Тартаковский, born ), commonly known as Tartakovsky (), is a Russian-American animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor, storyboard artist, ...
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
nga ''Mario'' empire."
However, after the emails leaked, Arad denied that a deal had been made, stating that negotiations had only begun. ''
BuzzFeed News
''BuzzFeed News'' is an American news website published by BuzzFeed. It has published a number of high-profile scoops, including the Steele dossier, for which it was heavily criticized, and the FinCEN Files. Since its establishment in 2011, it ...
'' noted that the emails did not take into account potential conflicts with Sony Pictures' corporate sibling
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game industry, video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is ma ...
, one of Nintendo's chief competitors.
Through Nintendo's work with
Universal Parks & Resorts
Universal Parks & Resorts, also known as Universal Studios Theme Parks or solely Universal Theme Parks, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme par ...
to create ''Mario''-based attractions, later resulting in
Super Nintendo World
is a themed area at Universal Studios Japan, and under construction at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore and the upcoming Universal's Epic Universe at Universal Orlando, Universal Orlando Resort. A result of a partnership ...
, Miyamoto met
Chris Meledandri
Christopher Meledandri (; born May 15, 1959) is an American film producer and founder and CEO of Illumination. He previously served as President of 20th Century Fox Animation, and has worked as the producer of the ''Despicable Me'' franchise a ...
, founder of
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
'
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
is a Japanese businessman who served as the 5th president of Nintendo from September 2015 to June 2018. He was formerly the president of Nintendo of America from January 2002, succeeding Minoru Arakawa, until Reggie Fils-Aimé took his place in ...
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
is a Japanese businessman and executive. He is the sixth and current president of the video game company Nintendo in Japan. He took over as company president in June 2018, succeeding Tatsumi Kimishima.
Early life
Furukawa was born in Tokyo, J ...
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!
''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013 and is based on the DC Comics Teen Titans, fictional superhero team. The series was ...
'' creators
Aaron Horvath
Aaron James Horvath (born August 19, 1980) is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for co-developing ''Teen Titans Go!'' alongside Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network as well as directing the upcoming film ' ...
and
Michael Jelenic
Michael Christopher Jelenic (born May 12, 1977) is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for co-developing the animated series ''Teen Titans Go!'' alongside Aaron Horvath for Cartoon Network were directing the film after the discovery of an Illumination animator's
LinkedIn
LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...
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
Khary Payton (born May 16, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as King Ezekiel on the horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' and Dr. Terrell Jackson on the soap opera '' General Hospital'', as well as voicing Cyborg across v ...
, who has collaborated with Horvath and Jelenic on various projects at
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1 ...
, the duo flew to
Illumination Studios Paris
Illumination Studios Paris (formerly known as Illumination Mac Guff) is a French animated feature production company owned by Illumination, a division of Universal Pictures. Based in Paris, France, the company was created in 2011 as part of Unive ...
a month after the release of their first feature film, ''
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
''Teen Titans Go! To the Movies'' is a 2018 American animated superhero comedy film based on the television series ''Teen Titans Go!'', which is based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name. This film is directed by Peter Rida Mi ...
'', in September 2018.
In September 2022, it was announced by
New York Comic Con
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006.
History
The New York Comic Con is a f ...
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
Edward Daniel Skudder (born May 26, 1986) is an American director, producer, writer, animator, musician, and voice actor. He is known for being the showrunner and co-executive producer for the Cartoon Network animated series ''Unikitty!''. He ...
confirmed that he worked as head of story on the film.
Casting
In February 2021, Mario voice actor
Charles Martinet
Charles Martinet (, ; born September 17, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor, known for his portrayal of both Mario and Luigi in the ''Super Mario'' video game series since 1992. He is also the voice of other characters in the series such ...
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
Sebastian Maniscalco (; ; born July 8, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has released five comedy specials. Maniscalco has also had supporting acting roles in the films '' Green Book'' (2018) and ''The Irishman'' (2019), playi ...
revealed he was voicing Spike, Mario and Luigi's boss from the game ''
Wrecking Crew'' (1985).
During a September 2021
Nintendo Direct
Nintendo Direct is a series of online presentation or live shows produced by Nintendo, where information regarding the company's upcoming content or franchises is presented, such as information about games and consoles. The presentations began i ...
presentation, Shigeru Miyamoto announced that
Chris Pratt
Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015). He also appeared in The WB drama series ''Everwood'' (2002–2006) an ...
,
Anya Taylor-Joy
Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy ( ; born 16 April 1996) is an actress. She has won several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2021, she was featu ...
,
Charlie Day
Charles Peckham Day (born February 9, 1976) is an American actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is best known for playing Charlie Kelly on the FX comedy ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present), which he co-created with Rob M ...
,
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
,
Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series ''Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Netw ...
,
Seth Rogen
Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series ''Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part on ...
,
Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...
,
Fred Armisen
Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...
, 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.
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
Khary Payton (born May 16, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as King Ezekiel on the horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' and Dr. Terrell Jackson on the soap opera '' General Hospital'', as well as voicing Cyborg across v ...
and
Eric Bauza
Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian-American voice actor and comedian. His most-known roles include Stimpy on '' Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'', Foop on ''The Fairly OddParents'' and its reboot ''Fairly Odder'', Thunderbolt Ro ...
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
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, 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
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
". Conversely, Payton's co-star and voice actress
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as ''The New Batman Adventures ...
criticized Pratt's casting and expressed a preference for Martinet to voice Mario instead, lamenting on Twitter what she described to be
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
's disregard of
professional voice actors. Martinet himself spoke positively of the film, saying, "I think it's gonna be a lot of fun".
Animation and design
The film was animated by
Illumination Studios Paris
Illumination Studios Paris (formerly known as Illumination Mac Guff) is a French animated feature production company owned by Illumination, a division of Universal Pictures. Based in Paris, France, the company was created in 2011 as part of Unive ...
in Paris, France. Production was underway by September 2020, with animation work ending in October 2022.
Donkey Kong's design was changed for the first time since the video game ''
Donkey Kong Country
''Donkey Kong Country'' is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a reboot of Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'' franchise and follows the gorilla Donkey Kong and h ...
'' (1994). For his new design, artists incorporated elements of both his modern design and his original design from his debut appearance in ''
Donkey Kong
is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
'' (1981).
Music
During an October 2022 Nintendo Direct presentation, Meledandri confirmed that
Brian Tyler
Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor, arranger, and record producer, best known for his film, television, and video game scores. In his 24-year career, Tyler has scored '' Transformers: Prime'', ''Eagle E ...
is set to compose the score for the film. Tyler is working closely with longtime ''Mario'' composer
Koji Kondo
is a Japanese music composer, pianist, and music director who works for the video game company Nintendo. He is best known for his numerous contributions to the '' Super Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series of video games, among others pr ...
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.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
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.
Marketing
On October 6, the teaser trailer was released live in a Nintendo Direct presentation, showing Bowser and his army attacking a kingdom of Penguins and finding a Power Star, Mario first arriving to the
Mushroom Kingdom
The is a fictional principality in Nintendo's ''Mario'' series. It is the setting of most main-series ''Mario'' games with an inconsistent presentation. There is no established canon regarding the topography of the ''Mario'' universe, and many ...
and Luigi running from an army of Dry Bones. In a short QnA 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 respective 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
''TechRadar'' is an online publication owned by Future and focused on technology. It has editorial teams in the US, UK and Australia and provides news and reviews of tech products and gadgets. It was launched in 2007 and expanded to the US in ...
'' noted a slight
New York accent
The sound system of New York City English is popularly known as a New York accent. The New York metropolitan accent is one of the most recognizable accents of the United States, largely due to its popular stereotypes and portrayal in radio, ...
in Mario's lines, calling it a possible throwback to Mario's depictions in American media such as ''
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' is an American live-action/animated television series airing from September 4 to November 30, 1989, on syndication. The series is based on the video games ''Super Mario Bros.'' and '' Super Mario Bros. 2'' by ...
'' and the 1993 film before Charles Martinet became the character's official video game voice actor. In a newsletter from ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', the response to Pratt's voice was likened to the backlash against the first trailer of ''
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
''.
On November 29, the official trailer was shown in a Nintendo Direct with footage showing Mario losing a fight against Donkey Kong in an arena filled with other Kongs, Bowser interacting with a captured Luigi; Mario training on an obstacle course resembling a typical ''
Super Mario
(also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every m ...
'' game level; power-ups such as the Tanooki Suit and the Fire Flower; and several characters driving
go-karts
A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance racing ...
on a path reminiscent of the
Rainbow Road, a recurring location in the ''Mario Kart'' series. Public reactions were still largely favorable, though online discourse continued to center on Pratt's performance as Mario.
On December 9, 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 Game Awards 2022 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2022. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on De ...
. ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' 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
The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
between the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
and
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
.
The footage revealed Rogen’s performance as Donkey Kong and included Mario's transformation into Cat Mario, first seen in ''
Super Mario 3D World
is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U in 2013. It is the sixth original 3D platform game in the ''Super Mario'' series and the sequel to ''Super Mario 3D Land'' (2011) for the Nintendo 3DS.
Players control Mar ...
''. Some entertainment news sites pointed out the addition of Rogen's "iconic laugh" heard as Donkey Kong. 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
''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier.
History
...
'' commented, "Seth Rogen has been hired to... just be Seth Rogen".
On February 12, 2023, a
Super Bowl commercial
Super Bowl commercials, colloquially known as Super Bowl ads, are high-profile television commercials featured in the U.S. television broadcast of the Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). Super Bowl commercia ...
for the film was released, featuring a rendition of the title theme from ''
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' is an American live-action/animated television series airing from September 4 to November 30, 1989, on syndication. The series is based on the video games ''Super Mario Bros.'' and '' Super Mario Bros. 2'' by ...
''. 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".
Release
''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'' is scheduled to be theatrically released by
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
in the United States on April 5, 2023, followed by Japan on April 28, in both regular formats and in
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
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
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
'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
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
45 days afterwards and on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
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
is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
'' 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
is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the ''Mario'' franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 20 ...
'' film.
See also
*
List of films based on video games
This page is a list of film adaptations of video games. These include local, national, international, direct-to-video and TV releases, and (in certain cases) online releases. They include their scores on Rotten Tomatoes, the region in which they ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Super Mario Bros Movie, The
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