Took the opportunity of a public holiday to take the family to catch The Super Mario Bros movie at the cinema. Both of my girls are big fans of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which they seem to like playing despite us being home to almost every current-generation console bar the Xbox Series X (we have a Series S). The two of them have been asking me about the movie ever since they heard the radio ads, and have already started singing along to Jack Black’s Peaches for the past week.
Picking a Cinema
But before we get to the movie, I had several requirements on the cinema hall itself. In the U.S., it’s possible for a movie-goer to rent headphones which will then pipe in audio description (think of it as audible subtitles) that add context to a scene for blind movie-goers. If you need an example of audio description, you can actually turn it on for quite a number of movies and shows on Netflix.
Ok, back to the cinema hall. Malaysian cinemas do not provide audio description, so I’ll need provide the “audio description” to my eldest daughter who is blind. Typically a person talking during a movie screening will be met with “eye-daggers” from other movie-goers in the same cinema hall, especially when the former is being disruptive. Nowadays though, cinemas chains have introduced kid-friendly halls where noise from movie-goers is to be expected.
The cinema that I went to was TGV’s Junior cinema hall at 1 Utama shopping center where we caught the Friday afternoon screening. The thing about the Junior hall is that it comes with a play area for kids to play with before the movie starts, and there are plenty of things to play with such as Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and large puzzle games featuring Scrabble, Uno and Thomas and Friends.
The hall itself was on the small side, with what TGV markets as “Duo” seats on the first three rows nearest to the screen. The “Duo” seats are smaller than the usual twin seater, but are cozy enough to accommodate an adult and a child. The rest of the rows feature individual seats. There’s a slide and beanie bags in the area closest to the screen for kids to play with throughout the entire duration of the movie.
On to the Movie
So, about the movie. It’s an ode to Mario games old and new. Scenes in the movie are littered with callbacks to games such as the original Donkey Kong and Mario Bros games, both of which are now available on the Nintendo Switch through the Nintendo Switch Online where retro titles are now being made available.
To be clear, the plot isn’t a take on the usual “damsel-in-distress/our princess is in another castle” trope common in Super Mario Bros games, but the movie does have amazing renditions of the platforming that takes place in those games. The movie’s second half also references Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Akira of all things. Thanks to having being exposed to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and New Super Mario Bros games, my girls knew not only the characters but also the piranha plants, goombas, koopas, Bullet Bills, question blocks, and all manner of power-ups that appeared in the movie.
The kids (and myself along with the missus) left the cinema hall satisfied, and I now have a 6-year old that tries to run like Mario with her arms swept back. Definitely a must watch (especially if you are a video games fan).
Getting in the Game(s)
So if you left the cinema after watching The Super Mario Bros Movie intent on checking out Mario video games, well, the Nintendo Switch Mario Choose One Bundle is one good place to start. The bundle comes with one Nintendo Switch console and you get to choose one out of 3 Mario games: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe or Super Mario Odyssey.
A Nintendo Switch Online membership is highly recommended as well, as it will enable online play for games such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as well as provide access to a curated library of 70 plus classic Super NES and NES games, including the retro games that I mentioned earlier.
