It was not an April Fools’ prank when The Super Mario Bros. Movie premiered on Saturday night at the Regal LA Live theater with Christ Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, and Charlie Day in attendance. With the movie set to release on April 5, 2023, it looks like the initial reviews have given patiently waiting fans high expectations.
The list of companies and people involved reads like a Who’s Who of Hollywood that begins with Universal Pictures being the main production company using its animation studio Illumination Entertainment in partnership with Nintendo. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic directed the film, which was written by Matthew Fogel – a team of industry veterans. Horvath is known for his work on Teen Titans Go! (2013) and Teen Titans GO! To the Movies (2018), where he teamed with Jelenic, who is known for The Batman (2004) and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008), while Fogel flexed his directing chops with Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019).
With Pratt as Mario, Anya as Princess Peach, Day as Luigi, Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, they were swinging for the fence, and with the kinds of reviews they are getting, it looks like they hit a home run.
While we do question the truthfulness of this tweet’s claim of seeing it three times already — being posted on the day of pranks — but the picture of the premiere from the audience does add a bit of authenticity to the rest of the review.
The Dallas Film calls it a “fun explosion of the Mario world and an action-packed adventure.”
The Atom Review says it’s a “HILARIOUS & MAGICAL DELIGHT. A charming adventure with the Nintendo plumbing duo, full of FUN cameos that’ll drain your warp pipes.”
Erik Davis, self-described as “That guy from @Fandango and @RottenTomatoes,” ecstatically reviewed the film with a, “Wahoo!” saying, “[It’s] the ultimate love letter to every era of Mario.”
Paul Gale — video game media personality — took the opportunity to flex his clearance to the after-party while praising the film.
Tim Gettys, Co-Founder of @KindaFunnyVids and member of Forbes‘ 30 Under 30 2019, says he “Teared up from hype more than once…I’m not sure ANY movie in history has ever had THIS MANY easter eggs.”
Kit and Krysta, stars of the Kit & Krysta Podcast as well as the YouTube channel Super Kit & Krysta 64, stumbled over their words to begin their review, but their extreme use of the word “great” says it all for how good the film was for them.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie will hit theaters on Wednesday and for those waiting to stream, look for it on Peacock in about a month and a half as Reuters reported in 2021, “Newly released films from Universal Studios will stream exclusively on Peacock as soon as 45 days after they debut in theaters.”