The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s amazing opening weekend marked yet another milestone for video games in cinema, but perhaps even more so, it signaled that Disney and Pixar’s grasp over the industry is not as firm as one could have thought, especially as it’s been Universal who’s been putting out the best animated blockbusters as of late.
In that sense, the Mario movie is only continuing what Minions: The Rise of Gru and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish did last year, as Illumination and Dreamworks have seized a unique opportunity served on a silver platter by Disney Plus. Super Mario Bros. is a record-breaking movie, and the mere prospect of Nintendo getting ready to turn more of its beloved icons into film could also be the start of a new era where Disney is no longer at the top, but why?
Why Super Mario Bros. Is Doing So Well
It’s probably safe to say Mario games are rather simple, and to that end, Illumination and Nintendo clearly understood the assignment by turning Super Mario Bros. into a no-frills videogame adaptation that gives fans exactly what they want. That’s why upon its release the film was met with so much negative feedback from traditional movie critics, whose opinions heavily clashed with gaming-focused outlets that reviewed Super Mario Bros. with much kinder eyes.
Mario was never intended to be a Pixar-type of film, it's not supposed to toy with grown-ups’ emotional fibers, instead, Nintendo’s goal was to remain faithful to Mario by making a movie that puts entertainment value above anything else. All that comes bundled with more Mario and Nintendo easter eggs than most people can count to make for one solid piece of family-friendly entertainment.
Mario managed to defeat its toughest critics, and possibly the only group that matters, the fans. Despite the initial backlash to Chris Pratt’s casting as Mario, it’s hard to call out the actor for not putting in a solid performance, at the very least. Overall, the movie simply shows a lot of love from the people that worked on it to ensure Mario was given the respect the franchise deserved.
It’s easy to pick apart the film’s story for what it is, however, doing so is almost like denying that Mario became gaming’s greatest icon, even in spite his games having little to no narrative arc to begin with.
Sending Pixar To Disney Plus Was a Mistake
While Nintendo understood Mario had to be given a proper theatrical run, that’s something Disney appeared to forget about under ousted CEO Bob Chapek, whose efforts to sell Disney Plus meant audiences have not enjoyed a proper Pixar film in nearly four years. Yes, Soul, Luca and Turning Red all came out after 2020, but it’s hard to argue sending them over to streaming does not diminish their value.
Conversely, what little Disney has put out in theaters, Lightyear and Strange World, are some of the worst films bearing the studio’s name, which is all the more shocking if one thinks about how easy selling a Toy Story spinoff should be. If Nintendo and Illumination gave fans exactly what they wanted, then Disney appears to do the opposite, and that’s without including all the live action remakes like Pinocchio, Peter Pan & Wendy or The Little Mermaid that nobody asked for.
Disney thought that it could rest on its laurels far longer than it should have, and the result is Universal’s animation houses rose to the challenge, and they’ve done so spending a lot less money too. The reach of Pixar movies was reduced, but the studio’s massive budgets were not, and the result is Lightyear ($200m) lost a lot of money, whereas Mario and the Minions made bank for nearly half the cost.
What's Next For Disney And Universal?
The good news for Pixar fans is that Bob Iger returned to Disney to course-correct some of the harm that was done. Certainly, Iger is not completely innocent as Disney Plus was his brainchild, nevertheless, families can now rest assured that Inside Out 2, Frozen 3 and Toy Story 5 will all be movie theater experiences.
This summer’s Elemental should remind everyone that Pixar is back, though it’ll be interesting to see if the “wait for streaming” will hurt its box office or if it can make Mario levels of money.
Speaking of which, Super Mario Bros. has unlocked a new power-up for Illumination as Mario sequels are all but guaranteed to become the next big thing in animation. If the Nintendo cinematic universe is a thing, then Universal and the gaming giant are sitting on billions of dollars for years to come.
That’s not all, because as Puss in Boots 2 reminded audiences, Shrek 5 is also coming somewhere down the line. On top of that, so are Kung Fu Panda 4 and Despicable Me 4, both of which take pride in delivering that same brand of family-friendly entertainment that has paid off for Mario, so Disney better buckle up.