Three years ago exactly, the previous film in this franchise made $1.36 billion in the box office, breaking so many records. It became the highest-grossing film based on a video game and the first film based on a video game to gross over a billion. It signaled to Hollywood that video game adaptations were here to stay for the foreseeable future. It also ended up being the third-highest animated film at that time. It's currently sitting at number-six, but, in 2023, the only animated films above it were The Lion King (2019) and Frozen II (2019). What's interesting is that with this new entry, I feel like the filmmakers have incorporated some elements of those aforementioned, 2019 films.
The Lion King was about a young male who loses his father and then has to navigate his coming-of-age, pretty much on his own, but without guidance from anyone older. Jack Black voiced the character of Bowser, the king of the turtle-like aliens, known as Koopas. So, instead of a lion king, this film has a turtle king. Yet, Mufasa was lost to his son in The Lion King, and Bowser was lost to his son, Bowser Jr., as a result of the ending of the 2023 film.
Benny Safdie (Happy Gilmore 2 and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret) voices Bowser Jr., and like his father in the previous film, Bowser Jr. is the villain here. The Lion King was about how the son becomes disillusioned at following in his father's footsteps and then has to find his way back. Here, Bowser Jr. is hellbent on emulating his father and brutally carrying on his dad's legacy. Bowser Jr. never becomes disillusioned. He's pretty one note. There's not a lot of range or other dimensions to him.
Frozen II, as well as Frozen (2013), was about two sisters, both princesses, one with serious, magical powers, which results in them getting separated, and the one seemingly without magical powers having to search for the other. That's essentially the same plot here. Anya Taylor-Joy (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The New Mutants) reprises her role of Princess Peach who is essentially the "Anna from Frozen" in this story. Brie Larson (Captain Marvel and Kong: Skull Island) joins the cast as Princess Rosalina, the older sister to Princess Peach who has superpowers and is the "Elsa from Frozen" here.
The narrative has to shoe-horn Rosalina into this story because there was no mention or indication of her in the previous flick. What the filmmakers decide is lame. In the video game, Rosalina and Princess Peach aren't related, but this film makes them sisters, which could have worked better. However, their distance from each other doesn't make sense up to the point of this film's beginning. Princess Peach grew up not even remembering she had an older sister, and at no point did Rosalina visit her sister in what must have been decades. Things like that happen in real life where siblings drift apart, but this film never really reckons with that dramatically.
With Bowser Jr. losing his father and Princess Peach finding her sister, this film has two stories of characters going on journeys to connect with their lost family members. As such, there is rich, emotional, fertile ground that the filmmakers could have really utilized like Pixar films do. Pixar films usually prioritize the dramatic storytelling and sentimentality. Unfortunately, this film has no interest in that kind of storytelling or sentimentality, but that kind of stuff is effective and without it, this film feels hollow and empty.
Otherwise, the film is simply a train to parade characters from the Nintendo games, not for engaging dramatic reasons, but as a roll call to get audience members who are die-hard fans to applaud. The best example is the character of Yoshi, the cute dinosaur companion. The worst example is Fox McCloud, voiced by Glen Powell (Twisters and Top Gun: Maverick). The way the character was introduced, Fox McCloud seemed like a Han Solo type who was going to be a potential love interest for Princess Peach, but that goes absolutely nowhere. Fox McCloud is basically a glorified cameo. Powell being the voice of it seems like it was only because the character is a pilot and Powell's biggest film Top Gun: Maverick had him playing a pilot. Yet, Fox McCloud doesn't really contribute much and if he weren't in the film at all, it wouldn't have affected much of the narrative.
The only really interesting bits were how the film utilizes alternate animation styles. At a couple scenes, the film uses the 8-bit style of animation that was how the 2D side-scrolling, video game was rendered on the NES console in 1985. When Fox McCloud is introduced, Japanese anime is the style used, probably in honor of the fact that the video game was invented in Japan. At another point, there is what looks like puppetry used, mostly likely CGI shadow puppets, but, nonetheless, those moments were brilliantly done. I almost wish the whole film had been done in that 8-bit style.
Rated PG for action, mild violence, and rude humor.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 38 mins.
In theaters.