Estrada Celiac
Listen to this articleThe 2023 movie season’s quickly ramping up and one of the most anticipated films hitting theatres this spring is The Super Mario Bros. Animated Movie.
This animated adventure, based on the popular Nintendo video game franchise, looks to be a glowing love letter to the Super Mario series.
Fans are less than two months away from the film’s April release date.
The marketing campaign has filled its viewers with a ton of fun nostalgia and now the runtime has been revealed for Mario’s colourful cinematic comeback.
Thanks to the Irish Film Classification Office, we now know that The Super Mario Bros. Movie will be 92 minutes long.
Though that runtime might seem very short in the eyes of some moviegoers, There are a lot of things to keep in mind when it comes to this particular film.
For one, given the technology involved, animated films on average are shorter than their live-action counterparts.
To compare it to other recent Illumination and Universal animated projects Minions: The Rise of Gru was 90 minutes while Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was 100 minutes long.
Even though this is going to be a grand return for the Mushroom Kingdom on the big screen, this isn’t going to be some epic reinvention of its genres like Scream VI or John Wick: Chapter 4, the latter of which is well over 2 hours long.
On top of Mario being both a must-watch for longtime fans and a gateway for new potential fans of this franchise, the 92-minute runtime ensures the most showtimes possible.
Nintendo isn’t just thinking of one film, they want to turn Mario into a mega-movie franchise. The success of Mario Bros.
might also lead to other popular franchises like Legend of Zelda, Metroid, or Luigi’s Mansion getting the big-screen treatment they deserve.
A Second Chance For Mario
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is Nintendo’s second attempt at a theatrical adventure. 1993’s Super Mario Bros. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Al_DShXX0
was a cinematic disaster to put it lightly and made Nintendo keep their precious IP from leaving the gaming space for the next 30 years.
At that time Mario practically invented the 3D platformer with classics like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine while reaching a wider audience with his highly successful racing sub-franchise Mario Kart.
Both his platforming and racing history will play a major part in this film with things like Rainbow Road and the karts found in Mario Kart fully realized for the big screen.
Like the games, Jack Black’s Bowser is again out for world domination and on a quest to destroy Mario.
However, unlike past searches, Princess Peach, voiced by the always excellent Anya Taylor-Joy, isn’t kidnapped and stowed away in a faraway castle.
She will be helping Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, on his mission to save the Mushroom Kingdom from the dreadful clutches of Bowser.
Also, as implied by the excellent trailers, it looks like Charlie Day’s Luigi will hilariously play the damsel in distress role this time.
“Let’s-A-Go!” to the Movies.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie releases in theaters on April 7, 2023.
While the runtime is never guaranteed quality, this adventure’s short and sweet nature will help make this film a lot of money.
Nintendo fans are anxiously awaiting Mario’s return to the big screen, but until then, you can view the latest trailer for the film down below.
