Bower’s power is on full display in the new trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie that just warped down the video pipe.
While a world full of fans were waiting to hear Chris Pratt’s Mario voice, and to see what type of animation the movie was going use to bring the world of Mario to life, it’s the big bad of the entire thing that’s carted to the forefront.
Off in the distance we see Crystal Palace, before a screen full of flames engulfs everythng, and Bower’s floating castle comes crashing down with an announcement.
“Behold! The king of the Koopas!!”
After Bowser bounds into the frame, he bellows: “Open the gates!”
The setup is like the beginning of an epic war movie. Which, now that we set aside our decades of fandom and childish glee, that actually is what is going on, over and over and over throughout the Mario games — a battle, a war, a high-stakes power struggle between man and beast.
It’s at this point that the makers of the trailer inject humor to land this Mario adventure back in its roots, with a penguin army and its king fiercefully coming out to battle Bowser and his crew, to very little success.
Snowballs slung at Koopa King do nothing, and a question of him yielding is met with a snarling chuckle, then fire once again.
“I finally found it. Now who’s gonna stop me?” He proclaims.
Finally, our hero is introduced. But not as you would expect.
Mario’s introduction comes with the classic theme dragging into a dreamy, forlorn tone. We see a dazed Mario, bouncing around mushrooms. He lands, looks around, and is astonished. As if he’s never seen this land ever before. Because he has not.
Toad trounces into the scene, knowing his name already, and leads him into the Mushroom Kingdom.
“What is this place?” Mario asks.
“Do not touch that mushroom you’ll die!!!!” Toad exclaims, before backtracking this statement to say it’s fine.
“Mushroom Kingdom, here we come,” announces Toad with Mario bouncing from cap to cap in tow.
This is where a partial view of the world comes into focus, with floating castles and greenery abound.
Then, we get a post-credits (trailer edition) scene introducing Luigi, running from Dry Koopas aka Skeleton Koopas aka skeleton turtles, barely getting behind a castle wall to safety and trying to hold the door shut. And… scene. The trailer concludes telling us the flm will be “In Cinemas Soon.”
Cast
Here’s the who’s who-rio:
Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Charles Martinet, and Kevin Michal Richardson all get billing on the trailer.
And here who everyone is playing:
- Pratt = Mario
- Day = Luigi
- Taylor Joy = Princess Peach
- Black = Bowser
- Rogen = Donkey Kong
- Key = Toad
- Armisen = Crankey Kong
- Maniscalco = Foreman Spike
- Richardson = Kamek
When will then be now?
The release date for the animated — and from the very, very early looks of it, superior to 1993’s live-action Super Mario Bros. film — is slated to hit theaters on April 7, 2023 in the USA.
The movie already looks spectacular in its set-up and the world revealing that looks so much like the greatest of Mario games and adventures. If it resembles a bit of Super Mario World, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Mario 3, with some Mario Cart and maybe Mario Party tossed into the mix, we’re all in for an all-timer.
But if it’s gonna play out like any Mario game, we already know how it ends. With a sequel!