The Super Mario Bros. Movie: reviews, how to watch, trailers and everything you need to know (2024)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has brought Nintendo's mascot to the silver screen for the first time since 1993, and it's out now!You can check out our Super Mario Bros. Movie review here.

Eager not to replicate the failings of the live-action Super Mario Bros. movie from the 1990s, Nintendo has enlisted the help of Illumination, the animation studio that's best known for bringing us the Despicable Me, Minions, Sing, and Secret Life of Pets franchises.

To help bring their beloved characters to life on the big screen, Nintendo's also brought in an all-star Super Mario Bros. Movie cast to lend their voices to the likes of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Bowser.

Here's what you need to know about The Super Mario Bros. Movie right now, including the plot, all the trailers, and how to watch the film.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie release date

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now in theaters. After several release date changes, the film finally settled on an April 5, 2023 release in more than 60 markets around the world, including the US and the UK.

Elsewhere, The Super Mario Bros movie will release on a variety of April and May dates in territories in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, with the Japanese release set for April 28 to coincide with the Golden Week Holiday period.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie reactions

Reviews for The Super Mario Bros. Movie are fairly varied. At the time of our most recent update, the Mario movie has a 59% critics rating but a 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In What To Watch's review, we rated the film three out of five stars, saying that the film was a 'fun, fast-paced but overly familiar adaptation that could have been a little bit more inventive along the way'.

Rolling Stone's Christopher Cruz said: "As Nintendo's first serious attempt at conquering filmmaking, it's a lovingly crafted entry point with the potential for more."

IGN rated the film 8/10, calling it: "a fireball of animated fantasy, overcoming a Paper Mario-thin plot with undeniable charm and energy".

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, meanwhile, gave it 2/5 and said of the film: "this much-trailed, much-hyped new animated feature is tedious and flat in all senses, a disappointment to match the live-action version in 1993."

How to watch The Super Mario Bros. movie

The Mario movie is receiving a theatrical release first. So if you're planning on seeing it, you'll need to grab a ticket at your local movie theater.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie cast

The voice cast for The Super Mario Bros. Movie was revealed back in September 2021, and it is packed full of huge Hollywood stars. The cast includes:

• Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Mario
• Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as Luigi
• Anya Taylor-Joy (The Northman, The Queen's Gambit) as Princess Peach
• Jack Black (School of Rock) as Bowser
• Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele) as Toad
• Seth Rogen (This is the End) as Donkey Kong
• Fred Armisen (Big Mouth) as Cranky Kong
• Kevin Michael Richardson (Family Guy) as Kamek
• Sebastian Maniscalco (The Irishman) as Spike

Fans of the character should be pleased to know that Charles Martinet is also on board for a "special voice appearance" after providing the voice of Mario and Luigi in the Mario video games for more than 30 years. We won't spoil who he plays here, but we do have an article explaining who Charles Martinet voices in the Mario movie if you couldn't quite work it out.

• Check out our Super Mario Bros. Movie cast breakdown

The Super Mario Bros. trailer

The final trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie begins with a hilarious Luma teasing Luigi and sees Bowser assembling his forces to invade Peach's Kingdom. What follows is an action-packed teaser that shows off more locations from the Mario universe, plus an extended sequence on Rainbow Road. Check it out here:

The first full trailer for The Super Mario Bros. movie arrived at the end of November 2022. This new trailer gave us a slightly clearer idea of what to expect from the film and gave us a proper look at more of the characters in actions like Princess Peach, Luigi, and Donkey Kong. Plus, it's packed full of references to all sorts of Mario games from over the years. Check it out below:

You can also check out the first teaser trailer for the series which saw Bowser leading an attack on a Penguin Kingdom below and find the latest teaser which gave us our first look at Seth Rogen's version of Donkey Kong below:

In a fun bit of promotion, you can also call the Super Mario Bros. and check out a website for their plumbing business. On top of that, a commercial for the business has also dropped online.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie plot

The full synopsis of The Super Mario Bros. Movie from Universal Pictures reads: "While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers Mario (Chris Pratt; Jurassic World and The LEGO Movie franchises) and brother Luigi (Charlie Day; It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.

With the assistance of a Mushroom Kingdom resident Toad (Keegan Michael-Key; The Lion King) and some training from the strong-willed ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy; The Queen's Gambit), Mario taps into his own power."

The trailer also makes it look like Bowser is up to his usual tricks, collecting Power Stars and sending his forces to attack the many kingdoms from the Mario universe. By the looks of things, he's got his sights set on the Mushroom Kingdom next, so Princess Peach has decided to take a stand against him. Whether or not Chris Pratt's Mario is up to defending the Kingdom is a different question entirely, as he's not exactly performed perfectly well in the clips we've seen so far...

Who directed The Super Mario Bros. Movie?

Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are behind the camera for The Super Mario Bros. movie. The pair have previously collaborated on Teen Titans Go! and Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. The screenplay has been written by Matthew Fogel (The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Minions: The Rise of Gru), and the film has been produced by Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto.

Will there be a Super Mario Bros. movie sequel?

At the time of writing, we don't yet know whether there will be a second Super Mario Bros. Movie, though the film's huge success at the box office—it's broken Frozen 2's record for the biggest-ever opening weekend of any animated movie, ever—it's all but certain that Nintendo and Illumination will be teaming up for another project.

Jack Black has already shared his ideas (and ideal casting) for the potential sequel. Speaking to GameSpot, he has teased that he's not sure Bowser will be the big bad next time around, but he thinks Wario could be next. What's more, he's got his eyes on The Last Of Us' Pedro Pascal to play him!

Black said: "It's not a given that Bowser will return. You know, I did a few Kung Fu Panda movies, and it was a different villain every movie. They may do the same thing", adding: "You know, what if there is a more powerful, more evil villain? Then I may need to be turned to help Mario and the rest to defend our universe against some other unseen force of evil. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Wario. Pedro Pascal is Wario."