The Most Successful Video Game Movie Of All Time Is Still Killing It On Netflix
For decades, Hollywood has struggled to properly adapt video games into feature-length films, resulting in a wide array of failures within the niche. Luckily, recent outings like The Last Of Us, Sonic The Hedgehog, and The Super Mario Bros Movie have proven to be an exception to the rule, offering faithful adaptations that bring audiences everywhere great joy. In fact, after making over $1 billion at the global box office last year, The Super Mario Bros Movie has continued to see massive success on streaming, as it’s currently in the Netflix top 10.
The Super Mario Bros Movie
Long before The Super Mario Bros Movie was topping the streaming charts on Netflix, fans were incredibly concerned for the quality of the project.
The failed 1993 live-action iteration of the franchise is widely considered to be one of the worst video game movies of all time, and initial casting and production announcements did very little to instill faith in fans of the classic platforming games.
Likewise, the announcement that Illumination would be handling the visuals caused many fans to shriek at the idea of the Mario Brothers modeled to look like Gru from the Despicable Me franchise.
Chris Pratt As Mario?
Luckily, the animation team over at Illumination must have internalized the lessons from the Sonic The Hedgehog production process, because they absolutely nailed the visual style of the games. From there, the only hurdle left for gamers to get over was the voice acting of the film’s lead, Chris Pratt.
Before The Super Mario Bros Movie could succeed at the box office, and subsequently on Netflix, fans from around the globe decried Pratt’s standard speaking voice as an abomination that would derail the entire film, mostly due to his inability to mimic the tenor of Charles Martinet.
Across The Mushroom Kingdom
The narrative of The Super Mario Bros Movie on Netflix centers on the eponymous plumbing duo as they run, jump, dive, and kart their way across the Mushroom Kingdom in a bid to help Princess Peach protect her realm from the evil Bowser.
Along the way, the brothers are assisted by Toad, trained by Donkey Kong, and attacked by droves of classic in-game enemies, resulting in a near-perfect film adaptation of the beloved franchise. Though Pratt’s voice is a bit distracting at first, it quickly gives way to an emphatic performance that lets you reimagine Mario in a whole new light.
Most Successful Video Game Adaptation
Clearly, audiences everywhere took note of the adaptation, as The Super Mario Bros Movie quickly went on to become the most successful video game adaptation to ever hit the big screen.
In fact, before The Super Mario Bros Movie was even ported to Netflix for home streaming, it became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, bar none. It amassed more than $1.3 billion in box office revenue at the time of this writing.
The film’s success may have even opened the floodgates for Nintendo to license additional projects for screen adaptations after decades of the gaming company being incredibly averse to such a partnership.
Streaming The Super Mario Bros Movie
Those looking to check out The Super Mario Bros Movie can stream the film today on Netflix. The film offers a ton of heart, some great visuals, and an infectious song by Jack Black‘s Bowser that will leave you humming in the produce aisle for weeks to come.
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