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It's almost baffling how it's taken this long to get a proper animated film adaptation of The Super Mario Bros. series, which is easily one of the most, if not the most, well-known and beloved video game franchises of all time. For over four decades, Nintendo's titular Italian plumber and face of the company has been entertaining gamers, appearing in over two-hundred different games since Mario's debut in 1981. Mario and his brother Luigi also have a history in the world of filmmaking, though not precisely for the same prestigious reasons. One of the most bizarre adaptations in motion picture history, Super Mario Bros. (1993), starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi (neither of which are Italian), didn't come even close to delivering the iconic style and tone of the original games, instead opting for a flashy dinosaur-themed sci-fi box office bomb.
Despite a strange first attempt, the Super Mario Bros. IP was still ripe for a cinematic adaptation. Thankfully, we finally got that with the aptly named The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Coming from Illumination Animation, otherwise known as the studio behind The Secret Life of Pets, Despicable Me, and Sing franchises, early looks at the film already tease a visually faithful adaption that will thrust fans and audiences into the Mushroom Kingdom like never before. Given the huge intergenerational popularity of the series, the film has been a massive win for Universal Pictures and Illumination and has gone on to become one of the highest-grossing animated films ever as well as Illumination's highest-grossing film.
This begs the question of how you can watch Mario's first feature-length animated adventure. Thankfully we here at Collider have you covered. We can tell you exactly how to watch The Super Mario Bros. Movie including on the big screen and from the comfort of your living room.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on August 3, 2023.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother Luigi, trying to save a captured princess.
- Director
- Aaron Horvath , Michael Jelenic
- Release Date
- April 7, 2023
- Cast
- Chris Pratt2 , Anya Taylor-Joy , Charlie Day , Jack Black , Keegan-Michael Key , Seth Rogen , Fred Armisen , Sebastian Maniscalco
- Writers
- Matthew Fogel
- Runtime
- 105 minutes
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Website
- https://www.smbplumbing.com/
- Story By
- Characters By
- Shigeru Miyamoto
- Producer
- Chris Meledandri, Shigeru Miyamoto
- Production Company
- Universal Pictures, Illumination, Nintendo
- Sfx Supervisor
- Chris Woods
Chris Pratt Assures Fans That 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' Won't Ruin Anyone's Childhoods
"I think the movie is fantastic and I think your childhood is firmly intact.”When Did The Super Mario Bros. Movie Come Out?
The Super Mario Bros. Movie made its way to theaters on Friday, April 7, 2023. The film was initially scheduled for December 21, 2022, but was delayed until April.
Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie Releasing in Theaters or on Streaming?
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is not playing in theaters anymore, but it did make a good sum of money at the box office. With an intellectual property with such widespread international appeal, it made perfect sense that The Super Mario Bros. Movie opened exclusively in theaters.
Is The Super Mario Bros Movie Available On-Demand?
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now available to purchase via Premium On-Demand. You can use the links below to find the movie on the streaming platform of your choice:
Will The Super Mario Bros. Movie Be Available on DVD, Digital, and Blu-ray?
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was made available to purchase on DVD, Digital, and Blu-ray on June 13. The film will include numerous special features that will sure to make sure Peaches will be stuck in your head for years to come. We've listed the bonus features below.
- Getting to Know the Cast – In these short behind-the-scenes pieces, we get up close and personal with the stars of the film and learn what they leaned on to inhabit their on-screen persona.
- Leveling Up: Making The Super Mario Bros. Movie– Bringing one of the world's most beloved video game characters and the world around him, to life was no easy task! Filmmakers and cast give an in-depth look into the making of the film.
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie Field Guide – Join the cast of The Super Mario Bros. Movie as they take viewers through the various Power-Ups and Bonuses that appear in the film. This immersive video will allow the cast to interact with custom on-screen graphics as they select a Bonus or Power Up specific to their character and then explain what it does, how to use it, and its effects.
- “Peaches” Lyric Video – Jack Black is known for his big personality and really no one else could play the part of Bowser, so get ready to sing-along to his big musical number as he serenades Princess Peach.
- Leadership Lessons with Anya Taylor-Joy – Let’s face it: being a princess isn’t easy. Thankfully, we have Anya Taylor-Joy, custom graphics, and movie clips to give us Princess Peach’s guide to being an awesome leader. We’ll provide some real-life tips and power-ups that kids of all ages can use in their daily lives.
Where and When Will The Super Mario Bros. Movie Be Available to Stream?
As of Thursday, August 3, 2023, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now streaming on Peacock. Although Peacock is technically available for free, the service's library is limited, and most of the original and high-profile content is reserved for paid subscribers. As far as paid subscriptions go, there are two options available - Premium and Premium+. Premium costs $4.99 USD per month and offers the entirety of Peacock's library as well as access to live programming such as sports games and other events, all with limited ads. Premium+ doubles the price at $9.99 USD per month and has the added benefits of removing most ads and allowing subscribers to download select titles for offline viewing.
The film will also be available to stream on Netflix in the United States on December 3, 2023.
Watch the Trailers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The first trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released during a Nintendo Direct special, being introduced by two of the film's biggest stars, Chris Pratt and Jack Black. Black in particular stars as the film's main villain, Bowser, otherwise known as King Koopa, and the teaser opens with the villainous turtle waging war on a group of overconfident penguins. When Bowser gets access to the penguins' Super Star, he asks who could stop him, leading to that classic jingle from the games and the intro to Mario (Chris Pratt) himself. Mario quickly meets the paranoid Toad (Keegan Michael Key), who takes our hero to the Mushroom Kingdom for the very first time. The trailer concludes with an after-title tease of what Luigi is getting up to, showing him evading some skeletal dry bones and taking refuge in a creepy castle.
The second trailer opens with meeting another iconic character from the franchise: his historic primate rival, Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen). We also get a first look at Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), who appears to be a much more active part of Mario's adventure and won't be locked up in another castle for most of the runtime. This time the damsel in distress appears to be Luigi, and now Mario will need Toad and Peach's help if he wants to save his scaredy-cat brother from the clutches of Bowser. The trailer concludes with another great visual that will make fans happy: Mario and his friends drive in various karts on a rainbow road before Mario yells his classic phrase - "Yahoo!".
'Super Mario Bros. Movie': Chris Pratt & Charlie Day Explain How They Found the Right Voices for Mario & Luigi
They also discuss their real-life Mario Bro. and Day's directorial debut, 'Fool's Paradise.'Other Video Game Movies You Can Watch Right Now
The Angry Birds Movie (2016): Another animated film with the words "the" and "movie" in the title, The Angry Birds Movie is based on arguably the biggest mobile game of all time. Many would understandably expect an adaptation of a game where you hurl birds at green pigs to not really be great material for a movie. Yet, The Angry Birds Movie consistently delivers lots of fun and laughs. Much of that is likely due to its impressive cast containing Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Bill Hader, and more.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019): Nintendo also happens to be the owner of another gigantic gaming franchise, that being the wide, wonderful world of Pokémon. For the first-ever live-action feature film, we get to see the story of a surprisingly sarcastic talking Pikachu with the voice of Ryan Reynolds. complete with a massive list of fan-favorite Pokémon from the long-running series, this unusual type of mystery film is a blast from start to finish.
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020): The film adaptation of Sega's "Blue Blur" sent the internet into a blind rage when the first trailer showed an absolutely hideous and horrifying Sonic for the live-action version, which was so bad that the design for Sonic (Ben Schwartz) was later changed to a far more accurate form. Though it was a rough start, Sonic the Hedgehog ultimately won over fans and audiences with its surprising dedication to the source material. Sonic himself is a lovable protagonist, but Jim Carrey as Dr. Robtnik steals the show and makes it one of the better video game films.