It often doesn’t really matter what a movie’s actual quality is, as its success is judged based on how it did at the box office. This isn’t always a terrible metric, since it means that people obviously were interested in the subject matter, but sometimes it also means that even mediocre movies can get a sequel instantly greenlit based on popularity alone. The studios know that if the first movie made a ton of money even with a half-baked script or premise, there’s no reason they would need to put a ton of effort into a sequel in order to make just as much of a profit.
This is a problem that a potential sequel toThe Super Mario Bros. Moviemight run into. As of the writing of this article, there has not been an official announcement ofplans for a sequel, but the initial film was so successful that it’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t want to capitalize on that. However, the movie itself definitely wasn’t perfect, and it’s likely that even if they did get a sequel, they wouldn’t put in a lot of effort to fix those major problems when they’re going to make a billion dollars anyway. Nintendo may be protective of its properties, but even they would never turn up their noses at an easy profit.
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie is Just Okay
The Super Mario Bros. Movieis a success in some ways, but painfully mediocre in others. The story it presents to the audience is one that works, but is fairly basic and predictable. Sure, it’s a kids movie, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have an innovative or unique plot. The story works, but it also does a disservice to its main character, making Mario the least interesting person in the film. This has frankly been a problemthroughout mostMariomedia(pretty much no one voluntarily chooses to play as Mario in a game likeMario PartyorMario Kartwithout getting roasted for being “boring” by their friends), but it’s especially egregious in a movie that’s supposed to revolve around him. There’s no reason why Mario has to be the main character of this movie, as he doesn’t really impact the plot much more than the other characters do, and he doesn’t seem to undergo any major development.
The movie also suffers from some other problems that drag it down from being considered truly great. There are some really great voice acting performances, but there are others - particularly from Chris Pratt and Seth Rogen - that are incredibly underwhelming. There’s also a problem with somepainful needle dropsthat insert pop music into moments that really don’t need that kind of soundtrack, which some have complained just takes them out of the movie entirely. While there’s a lot to like about the movie, such as the fun references to bits of lore from theMariofranchise (though there were some viewers that found them to be too heavy-handed) and a fantastic score that utilizes classicMariomusical tracks, there’s also a lot that’s just…okay. And the main problem with that is that the movie did so well despite those flaws that it’s unlikely they’ll be fixed in future films.
There’s No Incentive To Make A Good Super Mario Bros. Sequel
If the movie could make a ton of money even through a lot of its mediocrity, why would a studio put more effort into a sequel? If the goal is to make money - and despite thehard work of writers and animators and actors, who probably do have at least some passion for the project they’re working on, that’s still the main goal for the studios - then they’ll always want to go for lower effort, because that can also mean lower budgets. If the initial movie was flawed but still praised by some fans and was also a huge box office success, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t just replicate the formula and do it all over again.
That’s the main problem with a formulaic approach, as fans’growing weariness with franchiseslike the MCU has proven. When the formula itself isn’t interesting, it feels like the story is just going around in circles, and this is the exact danger that a potentialMariomovie sequel faces. Illumination hasn’t exactly been known for their quality or innovation in the past, so it wouldn’t be shocking if they really dropped the ball on a follow-up toThe Super Mario Bros. Movieand release something even more mediocre than the first, just because they know it will still make them billions. In all honesty, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the studio that’s still capitalizing off of the Minions failed to make a move toward any sort of creativity or quality.
However, there’s so much to work with when it comes toMariothatIllumination really shouldn’t waste its potential. TheMariomovie had a lot of good qualities as well, and if they manage to hone in on those things and get rid of the unnecessary bits, they could have a sequel that’s even better than the first. Nintendo may have to be the one to pull the strings in this direction, as they’ll obviously be more protective over the IP than anyone else. Whether or not they will, of course, still remains to be seen. The most likely route still seems to be that history will just repeat itself, and the sequel to theMariomovie will turn out to be as “okay” as the first one was.
