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Sure I could have used the ACTUAL trailer, but where’s the fun in that? Anyway, I’ve got OverClocked Remix’s Mario playlist going on in the background, so let’s talk Mario Brothers. Did you hear the movie is out? The good one that actually takes place in the Mushroom Kingdom instead of some urban sci-fi city where dinos and mushrooms all evolved into humans for reasons? I’m a creationist and even I know that’s not how that works. Super Mario Brothers the live-action movie was a flop and rightly so, and fans of the plumber siblings have been wanting a proper adaptation ever since that trainwreck smashed into theaters.

It seems we finally have it in the form of The Super Mario Brothers Movie. I hear it’s really good, and that was after concerns in the animation community who weren’t fans of Illumination’s work declaring it would be terrible. Sure, look at the competition between the live-action movie and that rather odd anime that was found a few years ago, but the TV shows are still liked by fans. So Illumination apparently learned from those shows. Peach may not be the damsel in distress but she still needs help and struggles like any good hero, is only good because she’s had more practice, and if you’re honest with yourself we’ve seen her join the action on and off ever since Super Mario Bros. 2 so it’s not completely ridiculous that Princess Peach Toadstool could join in the day saving. No, this isn’t the dealbreaker for me when it comes to Illumination’s film.

It’s also not the references that even look blatant in the trailers. Did we really need a scene in Super Mario Kart? Bringing in the antagonist from Wrecking Crew was cool and maybe they even grabbed Stanley The Bug Man from Donkey Kong 3 (see if he’s in the background having a salad or something) but for someone who hasn’t seen it this just feels like “hey, look at the obscure stuff we know” references rather than anything that matters to the plot. That’s usually a bad sign but thankfully they seem to have made it work. I do like the Super Mario Brothers Super Show theme for the Mario Brothers Plumbing commercial. They even made the website for their business, which is always a fun touch–and may or may not be active depending on when you read this.

It’s nearly everything a fan of the games and extended media could want…unless you’re me because I’m a picky schmuck at times and this is one of those times. The same thing happened with Scooby-Doo: Mask Of The Blue Falcon. It’s intended to be a tribute to the original work but doesn’t give me what I wanted from the original work. I know enough about this movie’s plot to know that this wasn’t the movie I wanted to see. So what did I want from a Super Mario Brothers movie? More brothers.

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