Before the whole Barbie and Oppenheimer thing (Barbenheimer as it shall forever be known) many thought that the biggest movie of the year would be the tale of an Italian plumber obsessed with mushrooms. I'm talking of course about The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and it's going to be jumping to Netflix (off of a few Goomba's heads) before 2023 is over.
Those in the US will be able to stream the movie on Netflix from the 3rd of December, but sadly there has been no word on a potential UK release date (fingers crossed it's not too different, but you can rent it on VOD). Still, it should make for a perfect family movie this holiday season, with a 95% Rotten Tomatoes audience score testament to that.
Everyone knows the story of Mario right? 1. Peach gets kidnapped by Bowser 2. Mario saves her 3. Wahoo! Well the movie doesn't stray too much from that near 40-year-old formula, except for one controversial decision, Mario is now from Brooklyn. Voiced by Chris Pratt, it takes a bit of getting used to for long-time fans but Pratt soon blends into the role.
As well as Pratt we are treated to an all-star cast with Anya Taylor-Joy (of the Queen's Gambit fame), Keegan Michael-Key Charlie Day and Seth Rogen amongst our team of heroes. But in truth, the most genius bit of casting is Bowser, voiced by the legendary Jack Black. Even if you haven't seen the movie, you'll have heard the dangerously catchy "Peaches" song.
After the so-bad-it's-good 1993 movie which was borderline nightmare fuel, it's great that we finally have a more accurate take on the mushroom kingdom for Nintendo fans to enjoy. After the superb Mario Wonder launched in October, there are bound to be some new fans of the plumber keen to see more of his adventures too.
Netflix is absolutely crushing it in the world of animation right now. Its recent animated series Blue Eye Samurai debuted with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes while it is also adding the Scott Pilgrim animated series later this week with a Terminator anime still to come.
