As people slowly discuss their most anticipated movie of 2023, The Super Mario Bros. Movie will end up on many people's lists, and the second trailer for the upcoming video game adaptation may have just sealed that. After a positive reception from the first trailer, the newest trailer gave a deeper insight into the movie, focusing on a war against Bowser and characters like Princess Peach preparing for it. The reaction to the second trailer has been mostly positive, with people excited about the plot disclosure and the first scenes with Princess Peach, who did not appear in the initial teaser. While fans went to Twitter feeling happy about equal character screen time and elevating characters' roles, one criticism still looms over the film - Chris Pratt's voice casting as Mario.
Princess Peach Finally Getting The Spotlight She Deserves
It's unfortunate that with all Princess Peach has been capable of throughout the decades, as seen through various RPGs (her own game Super Princess Peach and Super Smash Bros.), she ends up being defenseless in the mainline series of Super Mario games. Thankfully, this isn't the case with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where she instead seems like the most capable and powerful out of everyone in the movie so far aside from Bowser.
To say fans are excited would be an understatement, as they've been wanting Peach to have a role outside the usual shenanigans for some time now. Although Super Mario Odyssey did a better job representing her in the games, she still found herself in the usual situation as a damsel in distress. Now, it seems like this is the Princess's movie, where she has a major role as a leader in facing up against Bowser.
All Bosses
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is clearly a passion project that aims to please longtime fans of Mario, staying true to what he as a character and the games have been known for decades now. Mario and Luigi have both been to multiple kingdoms, locations, realms, and even planets, and they've faced many Super Mario bosses of all shapes and sizes throughout.
With the new film and its clear drive for authenticity, fans humorously speculate the foes Mario will face outside of Bowser as a threat. User @antdude92 seems to have a good idea of who will show up, with all bosses confirmed for Mario that include the likes of Donkey Kong, Bowser, Koopas, and even Chris Pratt himself.
Equal Opportunity Casting
In a traditional film or narrative structure, there's typically the main protagonist followed by one or multiple supporting characters, followed by an antagonist. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, however, seems to take Mario's vast world of hidden detail and eclectic characters and give them all a respectable amount of screen time with personalities that arguably outshine Mario's, making this one of the few times a film or story makes everyone feel like the hero.
Fans have been elated with the second trailer and how it's gone about revealing characters that weren't seen in the first teaser trailer, and this has especially been true with Peach, Luigi, and Toad who saw the most representation in the trailer. Though they usually don't contribute much in a traditional Mario platform and have stereotypical functions, the Mario movie is making sure that every character gets the respect they deserve, even potentially stealing the spotlight from Mario.
The First Draft
Whenever something popular releases, it's easy to make a meme format out of material that can be interpreted any which way. In the case of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, fans have been particularly focused on the short Donkey Kong scene in which Mario faces off with his original arcade nemesis, but is quickly pummeled to the ground almost effortlessly.
User @TomWarren comically takes the scene and puts it in the context of a journalist's point of view in which they've submitted material but, much like Donkey Kong was to Mario, is quickly pummeled with edits and fixes needed on the first draft. This hilarious spin on the scene seems to have hit the nail on the head for a lot of writers as seen in the replies, and it's one of many funny takes on the scene fans have made memes from.
Princess Luigi
Princess Peach has always been known as the video game medium's definitive damsel in distress, having been kidnapped by Bowser since the 80s. Though it's usually up to Mario and co. to save her, The Super Mario Bros. Movie clearly did not want to take that route and instead made Princess Peach a warrior of royalty who looks after her kingdom, doing all it takes to protect it.
With Bowser terrorizing the Mushroom Kingdom, however, it's refreshing that Illumination, and Nintendo decided to do things a bit differently this time, seemingly making Luigi become the one that's primarily in trouble. User @sapphyreblayze mentions that most fans by this point are exhausted of the repeated story going from game to game, so it's amazing to see Peach actually stand up and fight for herself when she's been capable of doing so for so long.
Ragdoll Sound Effects
At the beginning of the second trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it doesn't take long for Mario to get quickly punched by Donkey Kong as they face off in an arena. This particular scene from the trailer has been a popular moment to use for memes, and in this case it's sped up to reflect that of comedic classics and, more accurately and famously, Half-Life.
Though the sound isn't from the game itself, Garry's Mod has become a popular tool within the community of Half-Life that has almost made it synonymous with the game, even non-modders, and the rapid ragdoll sound is arguably its most famous. The sound effect was added to a sped-up clip of Donkey Kong fighting Mario, and Twitter is left with a funny clip that they can't get enough of.
The Super Smash Mario Bros. Movie
Super Smash Bros. has grown its roster tenfold from entry to entry, with plenty of surprising entrants that keep fans on their toes with each reveal. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS introduced high production value with each trailer and character reveal that saw cinematic shorts, animations, and more, and it got fans thinking about what it would be like if a Super Smash Bros. film were ever to be made.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is clearly not a Super Smash Bros. film, clearly focusing on Mario and his adventures through the Mushroom Kingdom. But video game outlet IGN took it upon themselves to make a quick edit of the opening scene of Donkey Kong beating Mario and added some Smash Bros. flair to it for a humorous edit of what it would be like if a film ever came to be.
A Shoutout To A Japanese Voice Actor
Though The Super Mario Bros. Movie has mainly been promoted as an American-based film, it's actually being dubbed in many languages for moviegoers all over to watch in their native language. In Japan, in particular, one of the big takeaways from The Super Mario Bros. Movie is that famed voice actor Mamoru Miyano is taking the helm of the film's lead role, Mario, and fans are both ecstatic and confused.
Mamoru Miyano has a huge history of credits that take on some prestigious roles in anime, films, and video games, though he's mostly known for the likes of Rintaro Okabe from Steins;Gate, Riku in Kingdom Hearts, Ryuji in Persona, and most famously as Light in Death Note. His range and skill are equal parts notable and inspiring, and to now witness him as Mario is equal parts shocking and exciting as now Mario will channel a deeper and darker voice to himself.
Side-By-Side
For some odd reason, rather than promote an animated film for what it is, a lot of promotional material feels the need to have an awkward side-by-side shot of the actor playing a role adjacent to their character. This has happened with more animated films than one can count when they're produced in the United States, so it wouldn't be too farfetched to expect a similar approach to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, especially since it may go down as one of the best animated films ever.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie has a very notable cast such as Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Keegan Michael-Key, and Seth Rogen, and with their ability to bring in audiences from all over, it's only a matter of time before their animated counterparts meet alongside them in a poster.
The Brazilian Dub Takes The Win
For the most part, the second trailer solidified fans' excitement for the movie, such as a new characterization for Princess Peach and the appearance of Rainbow Road – nodding to Super Mario Kart. While everything looks almost immaculate, from the animation to the callbacks to the video games, the only thing fans are still discontent with is Chris Pratt's voice as Mario.
Chris Pratt already received criticism for his voice acting when the first trailer dropped, with fans noting that the voice does not match anything to Mario in the games. The new trailer showed even more footage of Pratt's Mario, with the first utterances of catchphrases like "Let's go!" and "Yahoo!" Unfortunately, many fans are even more dissatisfied that some are looking to other dubbed versions that have the popular exaggerated pronunciations of these phrases. Twitter user @playcentermd pinpointed the Brazilian dub as closer to how Mario speaks in the video games, finding it far superior to Pratt's.