As a kid who spent my childhood in the 80’s and the 90’s, I grew up with my fair share of Nintendo. The old-school gray box with two controllers hooked up to it. Granted, I didn’t have a Nintendo Entertainment System myself. (My parents didn’t allow it.) But that didn’t stop me from enjoying pixelated adventures. I would just ride my bike over to my friend’s house to play. Once we blew the dust out of the cartridges (a sacred ritual kids these days don’t understand), the game was up and running. And it was almost always Super Mario Bros. 3. The 8-bit side-scroller where everyone’s favorite Italian plumber travels down pipes and squashes goombas.
As I grew up, so did Mario. When I jumped into the world of junior high, Mario jumped into the world of Nintendo 64. 3D graphics were in their early stages back then, so Mario–like prepubescent me–was just beginning to take shape. But oh! it was glorious! (The gaming experience that is, not the awkwardness that is junior high.) How many hours of my life were spent watching Mario jump from world to world? How many nights did I stay up way too late racing my friends in Mario Kart?
Good times.
But like all good things, it eventually came to an end. I did what kids are supposed to do: I grew up. The years went by, and adventures through bright colorful lands were traded for more serious things. Time spent gaming with friends on a Nintendo gradually turned into time working alone on a laptop. The childhood dreamland that is Mario’s world faded into the far background. Just a memory.
Then something happened. 40 years after the Mario Bros. game came out, Universal Studios announced they were making the Mario Bros. Movie.
But would the movie be any good?
From Street Fighter to World of Warcraft, video games have had a poor track record when it comes to being adapted to film. And where did this long string of bad movies begin? Back in 1993 when Super Mario was adapted into live-action. Our favorite mustachioed jump man started this mess by setting the videogame-to-film standard abysmally low. So there would be good reason to be skeptical of this new Mario movie.
But when I watched the trailer, the nostalgia came bubbling up. This movie actually looked good. When I took my oldest son to see it, my expectations were high.
So what’s the verdict?
I thought the movie was awesome! I don’t care what the film critics on Rotten Tomatoes say. I’m with all the people in the audience who are singing its praises. It’s everything a video game movie should be. We follow Mario’s origin story as he jumps his way through the hero’s journey. What a fun ride! And with more easter eggs than you can shake a flying raccoon’s tail at, it won serious nostalgia points with me.
Well done Universal! You dusted off the memories and have this child of the 80’s and 90’s rooting for Mario once again.