The Super Mario Bros. Movie Blu-ray Review
Power Up Edition
Score: 83
from 3 reviewers
Review Date:
The Super Mario Bros. Movie's engaging visuals, strong Dolby Atmos audio, and universal appeal mark it as a leading video game adaptation. Highly recommended!
Disc Release Date
Dolby Atmos
Dolby TrueHD
Video: 95
The Super Mario Bros. Movie on Blu-ray is a visual masterpiece, boasting a vibrant 1080p HD transfer with rich, explosive colors and razor-sharp detail throughout every frame. While the UHD Dolby Vision offers an enhanced experience, the Blu-ray’s tonal accuracy and depth make it a demo-worthy spectacle.
Audio: 92
The Dolby Atmos track on The Super Mario Bros. Movie Blu-ray delivers an impressively immersive experience. While understated, the overhead use and sweeping soundscapes are impeccably integrated, with robust directionality, rich iconic sound effects, and clear dialogue, ensuring an adventurous auditory journey.
Extra: 53
The Blu-ray extras for 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' provide an engaging 60-minute behind-the-scenes journey, featuring insightful cast interviews, a detailed six-part making-of featurette, immersive tours of iconic game locations, and unique segments like Bowser's song and leadership tips from Anya Taylor-Joy.
Movie: 71
The Super Mario Bros. Movie triumphs as a vibrant and entertaining adaptation that marries nostalgic homage with modern animation, resulting in the highest-grossing video game movie ever. Despite some critique on Chris Pratt's casting, the film captivates audiences with its colorful visuals, fan-centric references, and a spirited portrayal of classic characters like Bowser by Jack Black.
Video: 95
The Super Mario Bros. Movie's Blu-ray video presentation is a testament to modern high-definition capabilities, seamlessly translating vibrant computer-generated imagery to home screens. The film delivers impeccable detail and clarity, flawlessly capturing both the intricate textures of character designs and the expansive landscapes of New York and the fantastical Mushroom Kingdom. The 1080p HD transfer showcases exceptional precision: facial features, textiles, and background elements are rendered with razor-sharp accuracy. Deep black levels contribute to the image's dynamic range, ensuring that even the darkest scenes maintain significant detail without any signs of crush or loss.
Color reproduction is a standout feature; the palette is exuberantly vibrant across the board. While New York sequences carry a realistic, muted tonality, mirroring the urban environment, the Mushroom Kingdom bursts with color at every turn. Rich reds, blues, greens, and pinks leap vividly off the screen, creating a visual feast that maximizes the potential of 1080p resolution. Although the 4K UHD with Dolby Vision upgrade takes this vibrancy a step further, the Blu-ray's color performance is no less impressive. It offers superb tonal accuracy and consistency, pushing displays to their limits while avoiding any source or encoding issues.
In summary, this Blu-ray release invites viewers into a dynamic and immersive visual world. It achieves an extraordinary level of detail and color fidelity, making it a showcase-worthy addition to any collection. Perfectly tailored for large screens, this presentation captures the essence of playing inside a live video game, providing an unparalleled viewing experience that complements the film's exuberant style.
Audio: 92
The Dolby Atmos audio presentation on the Blu-Ray of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" delivers a captivating and immersive listening experience. While it may not be the loudest mix available, it excels in presenting a finely-tuned soundscape with sweeping movements, perfect directionality, and naturally discrete placement. The track offers a full and engaging atmosphere, maintaining excellent clarity from music to dialogue and across a diverse range of sound effects. This is especially notable with the classic Mario sound effects, which are rendered with newfound richness and fullness.
This Dolby Atmos track is both vigorous and dynamic, bringing sophistication and depth to scenes, particularly during action sequences such as the kart races on Rainbow Road. Directionality is remarkable, with sounds effortlessly transitioning across speakers to create an immersive sound field. The height channels are utilized effectively to render overhead elements like debris and fire, enhancing the realism of the experience. The low-end bass is robust, adding a satisfying rumble that remains controlled without ever becoming overwhelming.
Musically, the track is impressive, with front main speakers carrying the bulk while surrounds effectively support the musical elements. Notably, iconic tracks like AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” make a memorable appearance, underscoring pivotal moments with energy. Dialogue remains clear and well-centered throughout, ensuring seamless enjoyment of the film’s audio elements. Overall, this exemplary Dolby Atmos mix perfectly balances nostalgia with modern audio fidelity to create an engaging auditory experience for audiences of all ages.
Extras: 53
The Blu-ray extras for "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" offer a comprehensive dive into the film's creation, accentuating both technical and creative aspects. The featurettes provide an engaging exploration of the voice cast's unique contributions, including insights into their connections with the characters. The behind-the-scenes feature, "Leveling Up," is particularly noteworthy for its detailed coverage of the movie's production, design philosophy, and integration of iconic elements from the original games. The "Field Guide" offers fans an interactive overview of the film's settings and featured easter eggs, enriching the viewing experience. Meanwhile, the "Peaches Lyric Video" showcases Jack Black's charismatic performance as Bowser, complementing the musical tone of the film. Anya Taylor-Joy's piece on leadership is a creative addition that offers viewers actionable insights inspired by her role as Princess Peach.
Extras included in this disc:
- Getting to Know the Cast: Cast insights on character development and voice acting.
- Leveling Up: Making The Super Mario Bros. Movie: In-depth look at film production.
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie Field Guide: Exploration of the film's iconic settings.
- Peaches Lyric Video: Bowser's musical number performed by Jack Black.
- Leadership Lessons from Anya Taylor-Joy: Leadership insights from the actress.
Movie: 71
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" emerges as a vibrant, energetic tribute to the beloved video game franchise, brilliantly leveraging modern animation technology to capture the whimsical spirit integral to the Mario universe. Helmed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, this film sharply contrasts the 1990s live-action attempt by embracing the colorful, animated style that resonates with audiences across generations. The filmmakers wisely infuse the narrative with countless Mario game references, delighting long-time fans with familiar sounds, levels, and easter eggs while maintaining an engaging storyline. Despite some straightforward narrative beats, the film effectively captures the essence of Mario's adventures, offering both nostalgia and fresh excitement.
The primary plot revolves around brothers Mario and Luigi, voiced by Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, who unwittingly venture into the extravagant Mushroom Kingdom. Here, Mario allies with Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) to thwart Bowser's (Jack Black) sinister plans. The cast delivers commendable voice performances, with Jack Black stealing the show as a flamboyantly villainous Bowser, exhibiting comedic flair tailored perfectly to the character. While Chris Pratt offers a serviceable Mario, his performance at times lacks the spark associated with Charles Martinet's iconic take on the character.
Visually arresting and packed with action sequences reminiscent of key gaming highlights—from Rainbow Road races to arena brawls—the movie is a feast for fans. The film balances fan service with a fast-paced adventure, making it accessible to both gamers and newcomers. The decision to entrust Illumination Studios with Nintendo’s flagship property proves successful, culminating in a cinematic experience that honors its gaming roots while paving the way for potential future installments. With its remarkable box office success, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" suggests promising ventures ahead in the realm of animated video game adaptations.
Total: 83
The Super Mario Bros. Movie on Blu-ray offers a captivating adaptation that stands out amongst a sea of lackluster video game-based films. With vibrant visuals and engaging audio, the presentation brilliantly captures the whimsical essence of the game universe, albeit with a storyline that could feel conventional. The film's charm lies in its ability to appeal to both longstanding fans and newcomers, thanks to an alluring mix of nostalgia and freshness. Illumination and Nintendo have successfully laid the groundwork for a cinematic exploration of Nintendo's iconic franchises.
Technically, the Blu-ray showcases an exceptional 1080p HD transfer that is nothing short of demo-worthy. The Dolby Atmos audio track elevates the viewing experience with immersive soundscapes that draw viewers deeper into Mario's world. Accompanying these stunning presentations are bonus features that provide added value, offering insights and a deeper appreciation for the film's creation process.
To conclude, The Super Mario Bros. Movie stands as a benchmark for future video game adaptations, raising both expectations and excitement for what's to come from Nintendo’s cinematic ventures. With its meticulous combination of high-definition visuals and superior audio, this release is a must-have. It's quite possible that The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the best video game-based movie ever made, capturing fans' hearts while setting the stage for potential expansion into other beloved franchises. Highly recommended!
Blu-ray.com review by Martin LiebmanRead review here
Video: 100
The movie was made for high definition, and the explosion of sharp computer-generated imagery and abundantly colorful locales bring a level of excellence to the screen that may not exceed expectations...
Audio: 100
The presentation may not be the loudest on the market, but the sense of sweeping movement, perfect directionality, naturally discrete placement, and general sense of atmosphere are all finely tuned and...
Extras: 50
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Field Guide (1080p, 6:41): A journey through the familiar sights and sounds, people and places seen throughout the film....
Movie: 70
But with new technology in moviemaking comes all-new opportunities to really take the zany, bizarre, colorful, diverse, and visually arresting and very familiar world of its various games and, with the...
Total: 80
It doesn't exactly have much competition, despite the large number of game-based films, but considering the dearth of good adaptations there's just not much room for argument here....
Blu-ray Authority review by Matt BrightonRead review here
Video: 100
The 2.39:1 AVC HD encode image is colorful, detailed and is so bursting with life that I’ve already run out of good things to say....
Audio: 90
Until I saw this movie, I’d not imagined what it’d be like to hear AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” playing in the background while Mario was trying to save the day....
Extras: 60
Movie: 0
This, of course, isn’t the first Mario Bros. movie – there was a live action one back in the early 90’s and, well, let’s just say that less said about that – the better....
Total: 80
The Super Mario Bros. Movie managed to improve on the 90’s live action version (though, admittedly, the bar was set pretty low) and we’ve been given what most of us have been waiting for....
High-Def DigestRead review here
Video: 100
The New York sequences have more of a realistic-looking color palette with those grimy colors saturating the city cape, but once in the Mushroom Kingdom, every color is turned to eleven that pops perfectly...
Audio: 100
This is one excellent Dolby Atmos mix that everyone will get a kick out of, especially the music and nostalgic noises that pop up often....
Extras: 60
- This is a six-part featurette that goes through the cast and crew discussing the design, the inspirations, working on the different worlds, easter eggs, and more....
Movie: 80
Screenwriter Matthew Fogel and the two directors have cooked up a recipe that pays tribute to all eras of the video game with sounds, levels, and inside jokes, along with telling a decent enough story...
Total: 80
There's a good story, some fan-favorite characters, and a ton of setup for what could be a big-budget franchise for Nintendo....
Director: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc
Actors: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day
PlotIn a vibrant, fantastical realm, two Brooklyn plumbers named Mario and Luigi unexpectedly find themselves pulled into a magical pipe during a routine job. Emerging in the mystical Mushroom Kingdom, they quickly realize they're far from home. The kingdom is under threat from the tyrannical Bowser, a fearsome Koopa king who has nefarious plans for conquest. Separated from his brother, Mario teams up with Princess Peach, the kingdom’s determined leader, and Toad, a loyal citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom. They embark on a daring quest across various whimsical and treacherous landscapes in an urgent mission to locate Luigi and thwart Bowser’s plans.
Along their journey, they encounter numerous allies and adversaries, each contributing unique challenges and assistance. Guided by Peach's leadership and Mario’s evolving bravery, they form a formidable team against Bowser’s minions. Their adventures test their courage, wit, and resilience, leading to self-discovery and forging deep bonds of friendship. As Mario and Peach navigate through the kingdom's intricate challenges, they uncover hidden strengths while preparing for an inevitable confrontation with Bowser. With time running out and stakes reaching their peak, their journey grows ever more perilous, setting the stage for an epic showdown to decide the fate of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Writers: Matthew Fogel
Release Date: 05 Apr 2023
Runtime: 92 min
Rating: PG
Country: United States, Japan
Language: English