Mario & Luigi (2014 film)

Mario & Luigi (2014 film)
Studio(s)	Nickelodeon Movies Animal Logic di Bonaventura Pictures Vertigo Entertainment Nintendo
Distributor(s)	Paramount Pictures Nintendo
Type	Computer animated
Genre(s)	Action Comedy
Country of Origin	United States
Guy Pearce George Lopez Julie White Neil Patrick Harris David Cross Clark Duke
March 26, 2014 (International) April 4, 2014 (United States)
PG
Original Language	English
Budget	$150,000,000
Box Office	$982,089,261
Runtime	140 minutes
Series	Mario & Luigi (film series)
Prequel(s)	None
Sequel(s)	Mario & Luigi: Sibling Rivalry

Mario & Luigi is a 2014 American computer-animated action comedy film based on the Super Mario video game series and the game series with the same name. Released in March 2014, it is the first film in the Mario & Luigi film series. It stars the voices of Guy Pearce, George Lopez, Julie White, Neil Patrick Harris, David Cross, and Clark Duke, and includes the voice actors Charles Martinet as Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth, Scott Burns as Bowser, and Samantha Kelly as Peach and Toad.

The film was directed by Chris Wedge. Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto executive produced and supervised the movie. The music was produced by John Powell. The story centers around the Mario Bros. as they search for Princess Peach, who was kidnapped during a vacation in Dinosaur Land with them.

The movie was successful both commercially and critically, grossing nearly $1 billion and receiving positive reviews, respectively.

Production

With the complete failure of the 1993 film Super Mario Bros, filmmakers stayed away from the franchise. However, a producer of the film pitched an idea for a CGI Mario movie that stayed close to the source material. Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto were presented with a draft of the script and rejected it. The script was rewritten, giving it more humor and taking away Mario and Luigi's speaking lines (as the original draft gave Mario and Luigi capable of saying full sentences). The new draft was presented to Iwata and Miyamoto again, and this time they approved it, remarking how well the new characters could fit as characters in an actual Mario game. A few months later, Nintendo gave the rights to Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Toadsworth to Paramount Pictures in a one-film deal. Paramount received the rights to Toad soon after.

As part of the deal, Iwata and Miyamoto had to supervise the film. Chris Wedge was approached to direct the film. He read the script and added and rewrote a few sections, then said it was acceptable, then signed on to direct.

Filmmakers made it a priority for Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, and Toad's voice actors to reprise their roles. Kenny James' voice work for Bowser was analyzed, and it was decided that Bowser's present voice would not be fit for his speaking lines. They listened to Scott Burns' portrayal of the character in Super Mario Sunshine and were very pleased. Burns rejected the offer at first then accepted. Next, Charles Martinet was asked to reprise the roles of Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth and said yes, saying, "I couldn't think of doing anything better for the characters." Samantha Kelly was recruited into the cast just a few days later. She reprised her roles as Peach and Toad.

Auditions for new characters were quickly held. Julie White, Guy Pearce, and George Lopez were hired to voice new characters, and Neil Patrick Harris, David Cross, and Clark Duke were signed on to voice Bowser's henchmen Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplunk, and Seargent Guy, respectively, who were all introduced in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

Production began in February 2010. A month before, Wedge tweeted, "Let's make a movie! #Mario&Luigi". This caused widespread rumors about the production of a Mario movie, and in September 2010, the rumors were confirmed true. The film was a given a 2012 release date, but was pushed back indefinitely due to Wedge also working on Epic. Finally the movie, given the title "Mario & Luigi: The Movie," was given the international release date of January 4, 2013.

Mario and Luigi were given slight redesigns, under Iwata and Miyamoto's supervision. The bros. were redesigned with slightly slimmer forms and longer, skinnier arms. The colored letters on their caps were changed to black, replacing the respective red and green. Iwata and Miyamoto were positive about this, noting how similar the designs looked to the designs used for the Mario & Luigi games. Iwata and Miyamoto made it clear that none of the others characters be redesigned. They supervised the design of the new characters but gave the artists plenty of freedom. They let artists have full freedom to design Inprobosio, a villain in the film.

In October 2010, the movie suffered a major delay. Iwata and Miyamoto felt that the film was straying too much from the game series, and Nintendo threatened to take away the rights to the Mario character from Paramount. They felt that Mario and Luigi were acting out of character, explaining that the fight scenes were where it showed most, with the bros.' fighting style was too hardcore. Wedge explained that he was just trying to give Mario fans the Mario Bros. they wanted to see. Iwata and Miyamoto responded with, "They want to see a more cartoony Mario Bros." Negotiations were discussed over the period of a few months, but production was never called off. Finally the agreement was renewed, and production soon continued.

In November 2011, the film's first trailer was released on Nintendo's official YouTube channel. It achieved 10 million views its first day open and 20 million on its second day, even though the video was barely over 30 seconds long.

In February 2012, the movie went through another delay. Producers explained that the movie just wasn't going anywhere, and they faced an underlying question: please the new fans or the old ones? After a long hiatus, production was put back on track, but the movie's release date was pushed back to November 8, 2013.

Going through a few more smaller instances of development hell, the film was finally finished in July. Iwata and Miyamoto watched the final product and said they loved it. The movie's international release was pushed back to March 26, 2014.

The second trailer was finally released in August. It instantly became a viral hit on YouTube. Two more trailers were released in November and February the following year. The movie's TV spots began circulating on TV airways in January. Many noted how the movie looked different from what the first trailer, released back in November 2011, had envisioned. Inprobosio was met with positive comments, and the trailers were praised for present the film's action-adventure tone without giving away too much. Fans complained about the absence of characters like Yoshi. A prdocuer of the film responded to the comments, saying, "Instead of complaining about the characters that don't appear, appreciate the characters that do." Later, he made another statement: "Yoshi actually will be in the movie, but that's it." The trailers and TV spots hid the fact that Bowser had actual speaking lines, and mostly showed him laughing, working with Inprobosio, or fighting Mario & Luigi. Only one TV spot showed Bowser speaking.

Action figures of Mario, Luigi, Captain Toad, Peach, Bowser, and Inprobosio were released to promote the film.

Four short films, titled "Mario & Luigi's Mushroom Hunt," "Tea Party with Peach," "Mario's Hammer Mastery," and "Family Matters," were released through Nintendo's YouTube channel to also promote the film. The films had very little dialogue, except for "Family Matters," which featured Bowser Jr., with Caety Sagoian reprising her role, with his dad Bowser. The shorts were eventually included in the DVD and Blu-Ray.

Voice Cast

• Guy Pearce as Inprobosio — Inprobosio is one of the main antagonists of the film. Bowser finds him as a stone in a cavem and accidentally revives him.
• George Lopez as Captain Toad — Captain Toad is the leader of the Toad Brigade, who protect Princess Peach. He goes with Mario, Luigi, and his wife to rescue her.
• Julie White as Toadelle — Toadelle is Captain Toad's fearless wife. She is more assertive than her husband, and gets annoyed easily.
• Neil Patrick Harris as Private Goomp — Private Goomp is one of Bowser's highest-ranking minions. He shows to have little intelligence but is always loyal to Bowser.
• David Cross as Corporal Paraplunk — Corporal Paraplunk is one of Bowser's highest-ranking minions. He has the bravest heart of the trio.
• Clark Duke as Seargent Guy — Seargent Guy is one of Bowser's highest-ranking minions. He's the smartest of the three, and the most diabolical.
• Charles Martinet as Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth — Mario and Luigi are the main protagonists of the film. Toadsworth is the father figure of Princess Peach, and has known her her whole life.
• Scott Burns as Bowser — Bowser is Mario and Luigi's archenemy. He resurrects the villain Inprobosio and together, they kidnap Peach.
• Kenny James as Dry Bowser — Dry Bowser is Bowser's undead form. He comes back to fight the Mario Bros. after he is presumably defeated.
• Samantha Kelly as Princess Peach and Toads — Peach is the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom who gets kidnapped during a trip to Dinosaur Land. The Toads are supposed to protect her.

Reception

Box Office

On its opening weekend, Mario & Luigi made $121,010,120. During its theater run in North America, it gathered $400 million in ticket sales. It gained over $700 million in other countries. The movie was only in theaters for three weeks, but it managed to gross nearly $20 million short of $1 billion.

Accolades

• Academy Awards — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• African-American Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• Alliance of Women Film Journalists — Best Animated Female (Peach) Nominated / Best Animated Female (Toadelle) Won
• American Cinema Editors — Best Edited Animated Feature Film Nominated
• Annie Awards — Best Animated Feature Nominated / Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production Nominated / Directing in an Animated Feature Production (Chris Wedge) Nominated / Production Design in and Animated Feature Production Won / Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production (Guy Pearce) Won
• Austin Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• Boston Online Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• Boston Society of Film Critics — Best Animated Film Won
• British Academy Film Awards — Best Animated Film Won
• Chicago Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• Cinema Audio Society Awards — Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures - Animated Won
• Critics' Choice Movie Awards — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Won
• Denver Film Critics Society — Best Animated Feature Won
• Dorian Awards — Visually Striking Film of the Year Won
• Florida Film Critics Circle — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• Georgia Film Critics Association — Best Animated Film Won
• Golden Globe Awards — Best Animated Feature Film Nominated
• Golden Tomato Awards — Best Animated Film Won
• Houston Film Critics Society — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• IGN's Best of 2014 Awards — Best Action Movie Nominated / Best Animated Movie Won / Best Movie Nominated
• Indiana Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• International 3D Society's Creative Arts Awards — Best Animated 3D Feature Film Won / Best Stereography - Animation Won
• Iowa Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• Kansas City Film Critics Circle — Best Animated Film Won
• Kids' Choice Awards — Favorite Animated Movie Won
• Made-in-Hollywood Awards — Won
• Motion Picture Sound Editors — Best Sound Editing in an Animated Feature Film Nominated
• MTV Movie Awards — Best Fight (Mario & Luigi vs. Dry Bowser) Nominated / Best Hero (Mario) Nominated / Best Villain (Inprobosio) Won
• New York Film Critics Circle — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• Phoenix Film Critics Society — Best Animated Feature Won / Best Original Score (John Powell) Nominated
• San Diego Film Critics Society — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• San Francisco Film Critics Circle — Best Animated Feature Won
• Satellite Awards — Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media Won
• Saturn Awards — Best Animated Film Won
• Southeastern Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Nominated
• St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association — Best Animated Film Nominated / Best Soundtrack Nominated
• Toronto Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Won
• UK Regional Critics' Film Awards — Best Animated Film Won
• Utah Film Critics Association — Best Animated Film Nominated
• Visual Effects Society Awards — Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture Won / Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture (Inprobosio) Won / Outstanding Creative Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture (Dinosaur Land) Won / Oustanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture (End of the World) Nominated
• Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association — Best Animated Feature Won / Best Score (John Powell) Nominated
• Women Film Critics Circle — Best Animated Females Nominated

Sequel

Shortly after the film's release on DVD and Blu-Ray, it was announced that a sequel, titled Mario & Luigi: Sibling Rivalry, had just gone into development.

Director Chris Wedge stated, "We just barely scratched the surface of the Mario universe." He expressed his desire to include characters like Wario, Bowser Jr., and the Koopalings in the sequel.

Further information said that a third film was already being planned, and that the trilogy would end by 2019.

Gallery

Official logo

Official teaser poster