The box office results of The Super Mario Bros Movie have been released and the “Mamma Mia!” song as well. Mario is number one.
According to Hollywood Reporter, the film broke the record for opening the most animated movie in the country (eclipsing Disney’s Frozen II). It also sold a staggering $377 million worldwide. It grossed $16.4 million in three days, earning $204.6 million domestically.
The fact that Chris Pratt (the voice actor of Mario) did not use an Italian accent was controversial.
“I wasn’t expecting Pixar,” wrote one critic, “but the heroes end where they started, not having been transformed by their experiences or learning anything from them.”
Another critic stated that Mario’s animated movie debut was too safe-minded and passive. He is less interested in the source material than he is.
It’s true. There was no lecturing about global warming. There were no gender swaps, race swaps, or token LGBTQ characters. If you were worried that Princess Peach would be changed to a transgender, or Mario and Luigi would be written as a same-sex couple and not brothers, have no fear—the movie knows who it’s trying to please, even if critics don’t get it. In fact, one critic blasted the movie for the crime of catering to the fans of the game franchise. “Its fan service above all else, regressively so.” The horror!
The film was controversial. John Leguizamo portrayed Luigi in the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. movie. Leguizamo stated that he would boycott it because of the lack of diversity in the cast.
Leguizamo stated, “No, [I will not be watching]” “It could have had a Latin character.”
He said, “They messed with the inclusion.” Let’s get some Latin people! Our population makes up 20% and is underrepresented.
It’s hard to believe they didn’t make Latino plumbers here in Italy. Boycott!
The most interesting part of the story is Leguizamo’s efforts to remind people about the role he played in the original Mario movie. Rotten Tomatoes reports that the film received a 29% rating from critics and audiences. I was there in 1993 when the film was released. I saw the previews but was unable to go to the movie in person.
Christian Toto was a conservative film critic who said that the original film had been a failure. Bob Hoskins was Mario’s character.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a collaboration between Nintendo and Illumination. It seems that Disney has been spending too much time trying to erase white characters from its classics or pushing its LGBTQ agenda on children to realize that the key to success is catering to the fans, not the woke mob.
