From a surprisingly consistent '80s soundtrack to familiar family struggles, there are plenty of things in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" that you'll only understand if you've been down Rainbow Road a time or two.
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00:00From a surprisingly consistent 80s soundtrack to familiar family struggles, there are plenty
00:05of things in the Super Mario Bros. movie that you'll only understand if you've been down
00:09Rainbow Road a time or two.
00:12Jack Black's turn as Bowser has audiences everywhere falling in love with the grumpy
00:16Koopa.
00:17But could the villain's anger hide something more emotional?
00:19Not sure if you know who I am, but I'm about to rule the world.
00:24Kids will definitely pick up on the audaciousness of Bowser's plan to kidnap and marry Princess
00:29Peach, but they may not realize that his plan masks a lot of hidden pain.
00:33Bowser wants to marry Peach because he believes that a happy union will solve all of his problems,
00:38which seem to involve his self-esteem and perception of himself.
00:41This misguided line of thinking is definitely something we can all relate to as adults.
00:46We've all been there at some point.
00:48Seeing Mario and Peach interacting, Bowser suddenly becomes enraged, yelling that Mario
00:52has ruined his chance to experience happiness.
00:55While the outbursts could be related to losing out on an opportunity to rule the Mushroom
00:59Kingdom, adults will recognize that Bowser feels the burn of being rejected by someone
01:04he apparently cares about.
01:05At the very least, he seems to really think this wedding is the only thing that could
01:09have cured his depression.
01:11It's not entirely clear why Bowser feels so adamant about marrying Peach, but grown-ups
01:15likely know what it feels like to be looked over in favor of another suitor.
01:19It stings, but it's not a good enough reason to destroy an entire kingdom.
01:23Now who's gonna stop me?!
01:25The Super Mario Bros. movie is filled with reinterpretations of classic tunes from the
01:30Nintendo games, many of which have been fully orchestrated to match the movie's epic scale.
01:35Being able to pick out things like the classic World 1-2 theme is a genuine joy for fans
01:39of all ages, but some of the younger folks in the audience might not notice the common
01:43thread between the movie's many needle drops.
01:46Like much of Illumination's other work, a Super Mario Bros. movie features several classic
01:50tracks that underscore the action throughout.
01:53This has been a divisive element of the movie, with some arguing that the movie could be
01:57stronger without these songs, and others thinking they're inconsistently deployed.
02:01The gamer Stacey Henley noted,
02:03"...I'm not sure A-ha's take on me fits with the Mario Kart montage."
02:07But it was strangely charming to see Mario and Luigi run through a makeshift platforming
02:11section of New York to the Beastie Boys' no-sleep-till Brooklyn.
02:14But what the kids might not realize is that pretty much all of the movie's songs are from
02:18the 80s, the decade in which Mario made his debut.
02:21This sort of well-curated nostalgia adds a lot to a movie's authenticity, and it's very
02:26likely that anyone who grew up in or around this time period was pleasantly surprised
02:30by the track list.
02:31It's worth noting that the only outlier here is ACDC's Thunderstruck, which just barely
02:36missed the 80s.
02:37It was recorded in January 1990, kicking off the new decade with a bang.
02:42For a movie made with kids in mind, the Super Mario Bros. movie is loaded with adults struggling
02:47to earn the approval of their parents.
02:49When the story opens, the titular brothers are basically begging their dad to take them
02:53seriously, and he ends up hurting their feelings by doubting their abilities, and barely even
02:57looking them in the eyes while he does so.
03:00Meanwhile, Donkey Kong's grandstanding in the heat of battle is revealed to be a result
03:03of his desire to make his own father proud of him.
03:07Some reviewers have dinged the Super Mario Bros. movie for being surprisingly violent
03:11for a kids' movie.
03:12"...Was that too dark?"
03:13"...Yes!"
03:14"...Sorry."
03:15Bowser melts the skin off of Koopa at one point, while Mario and Donkey Kong's first
03:18brawl looks exceedingly painful for the both of them, especially once power-ups get involved.
03:24But there are two action-set pieces that stick out for featuring characters who sacrifice
03:28their lives to try and destroy Mario and his pals.
03:30At the end of the big Mario Kart chase scene on Rainbow Road, the Koopa General loses his
03:35temper and becomes a dreaded blue shell, rocketing towards Mario and DK's kart and destroying
03:40the track.
03:41After this explosive act, the General is never seen again.
03:45Considering Mario and Donkey Kong barely survived the fall and getting swallowed by a giant
03:49eel, it's safe to say that the General didn't intend on coming back from this attack.
03:53Needless to say, such an active, impulsive self-sacrifice is surprisingly dark, considering
03:58the overall context of the movie.
04:00But even more existentially horrifying is the concept of Banzai Bill.
04:04Launched by Bowser as a last-ditch effort to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom, Banzai Bill
04:08is a sentient being who only exists to destroy itself and others.
04:12In the early games, it's pretty easy to write these things off as having a face just painted
04:16on the side.
04:17But the Super Mario Bros. movie explicitly shows Banzai Bill having an emotional reaction
04:22to Mario's interference, and then detonating a few minutes later.
04:26The kids in the audience might not think twice about the slapstick violence in the movie,
04:30but older viewers may take pause at the implications of both of these apparent character deaths.