Super Nintendo World vs. ‘Mario Movie’: What Comes Closest to the Video Games?
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Whether you’re the movie version of Mario, Luigi, or simply a diehard Nintendo fan, life in the Mushroom Kingdom begins with a green warp pipe. This isn’t normally the case in the games—in which green pipes usually transport characters from one area to another—but it is in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Universal Studios Hollywood’s Super Nintendo World, both of which opened recently to broaden the already expansive world of Mario and his vibrant buddies.
America’s first Super Nintendo World park opened to the public in mid-February (Japan’s has been open since 2021), with Mario crash-landing in California around the same time his big Hollywood movie bullets into theaters. With The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which premiered in theaters April 5, Nintendo fans have a lot of new ways to experience their favorite franchise. Is this the best time ever to be a Mario fan? Or should we all just stay home and stick to the games?
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Before you book a ticket to the movies or Universal Studios Hollywood—the latter might be a little trickier than the former, where park entry is regularly sold-out—we’ve got the 411 on whether or not these new adaptations are a power up from the game or a pass.
And don’t just take it from us! While touring Super Nintendo World, The Daily Beast also chatted with a variety of Mario superfans visiting the park. With favorite games that ranged from Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong to Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Odyssey, these experts gave their insight on the lengthy wait times at the park, what to order from Toadstool Cafe, and whether Chris Pratt should be Mario.
It All Begins with a Tiny Plumber…
Whether you’re flattening Bowser in Super Paper Mario or soaring through the sky with Luma in Super Mario Galaxy, the stories of Nintendo’s games are usually fun and easy to digest. Without the full video game aspect in play in these experiences, however, the park and the movie have to bolster thrilling animation and design with their stories. But what stories, exactly, do they tell?
The story in The Super Mario Bros. Movie is half-baked at best. Most of the first act follows Mario (Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), as they pursue a new family business in Brooklyn. It feels more like The Secret Life of Pets (by Mario Bros. Movie studio Illumination Entertainment) than Nintendo. Then, after they’re sucked into a rogue pipe in the sewer, the pair is split apart. Mario lands in the Mushroom Kingdom, where a Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) leads him to Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). She promises to help him find his brother if he helps her defeat the evil overlord Bowser (Jack Black).
While Bowser is a main part of the movie and franchise, he’s virtually nonexistent in Super Nintendo World, apart from his steaming lava castle that sits upon the highest hill in Super Nintendo World. You enter the park through a rainbow-lighted green tube into Peach’s castle, where virtual picture frames display Goombas and Koopas. But without Bowser’s presence, there’s no real goal to chase in the theme park, as there is in the Mario games. In playing the mini games scattered around the park, you’re not “beating” him in a way that feels as satisfying as the games—you fight his minions and Bowser Jr., but never Bowser himself.
The beautiful details when waiting to go through Bowser’s Challenge.
Super Nintendo World has four mini games tucked into each corner of its square-shaped lot, which don’t connect to a larger story but do offer something to focus on. However, in order to play them or get anything out of any of the other interactive elements in the park, you’ll need to purchase a $40 wristband. Using the wristband tracks your progress in the mini games and other attractions—like the Mario Kart-styled Bowser’s Challenge and some real-life power blocks that you can “punch” for virtual coins—via the Universal Studios Hollywood app.
Unfortunately, the wait times for the mini games are catastrophic. In order to play a game that involves spinning a wheel for 30 seconds to watch a Goomba roll away, you’ll need to wait in line for at least 30 minutes. To slap a bunch of blue-and-yellow touch screens into one solid color—a game that probably already exists at Dave and Buster’s—you’ll have to queue in the hot sun for another 30 minutes or more. With four games in total, you’ll spend two hours in line for around two minutes of unsatisfying gameplay. And unlike with the Bowser’s Challenge queue, which is littered with fun Easter eggs and exquisite Mario designs, you’re stuck with nothing to do while you wait for your turn.
On that note, Bowser’s Challenge is another miss when it comes to storytelling. Vaguely based on Mario Kart, you enter Bowser’s stormy castle. The wait for this, the park’s only real ride, ranges anywhere from one hour to three. (Note: There’s a much shorter single-rider line. My friend and I opted to use that, waited only a third of the quoted time, and were still seated together.) You’ll don a Mario cap and some VR goggles to experience the full 3D experience of the game. As we were waiting in line, though, the ride experienced technical difficulties.
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That was just one of three times it stopped working the day we were there, one park goer told me. “I don’t even think we’re even going to make it [on the ride],” Cee, a Nintendo fan sporting Mario, Peach, and Luigi costumes with her kids, said. “I heard from another patron that it wasn’t even worth the wait.” She opted to wait for a mini game instead. “They should offer some kind of express pass for some of the other stuff in here.”
Bowser’s Challenge has been likened to the Disney parks’ gamified ride Toy Story Midway Mania, which also features a colorful shooter-style component. But unlike Disney’s version of the interactive theme park ride, which awards digital plush animals to the highest scorers, there’s really no reward for this Nintendo whirl. You steer around and shoot Koopa shells at Bowser and his evil lackeys while riding around familiar Mario spots, like an underwater world and the twisted halls of Bowser’s Castle. But you only see your final coin score at the end, leaving you to shoot shells into the abyss in the meantime with no sense of your progress.
Both The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Super Nintendo World need some intense rewrites. But worry not: Though the storylines of the park and the new movie don’t measure up to those of the original games, there are a handful of other areas at which they excel.
Style Over Substance
Nintendo would never be slapdash when creating a new universe, Super Nintendo World and The Super Mario Bros. Movie included. From the spikes scaling down Bowser’s back to the question blocks looming in the middle of the “sky”—a fun illusion in the park using a sky-blue wall and a handful of seemingly floating items—both the movie and the theme park nail the Mushroom Kingdom.
We’ll start with Super Nintendo World this time around, because the new theme park visualizes the games we’ve been playing for years with impeccable craftsmanship. Princess Peach’s Castle sparkles with stained glass windows and glittering pink shutters, making for a perfect entryway into the park. Mushrooms spring out of the ground, serving as umbrellas for tired park goers, who need to rest on tiny toadstools. In the distance, a POW block flickers, a Yoshi giggles while running around in endless loops, and a winged Koopa hiccups his way through flight.
Just like Peach’s Castle!
Perhaps we ought to view Super Nintendo World as a museum for the franchise, rather than an opportunity to extend what we already love about the games. This theme park is pure artistry, with a smattering of small interactive options and a gift store that lets you bring the treasures home. Alas, Nintendo players like me want to get their hands in and play, which, unfortunately, isn’t really an option at Super Nintendo World. Even though Bowser’s Challenge lacks inspiration in gameplay, however, coasting down Rainbow Road—with wind engines to blow your hair and Mario cap off—should be on every Nintendo fan’s bucket list.
The same goes for watching The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which will certainly serve as a wonderful artifact to show future generations of Nintendo fans to come. Growing up, I would’ve loved a Mario movie to accompany my game playing. (Sure, there was the 1993 film, but this new installment is far more accessible for children.) The film’s aesthetics match the game perfectly: Mario’s hat has the perfect flop, and the villains creep, crawl, breathe fire, and turn to bones just like we remember. There are some fun additions too, like Princess Peach showing even more charisma and finesse than she does in the games.
If you’re not looking to play a new Mario game or watch a new Nintendo story play out, but rather experience the world of Toads and Yoshis in a new format, both the movie and the park can do that for you. Super Nintendo World offers real-life immersion, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie has engrossing animation. I would’ve drooled over both as a kid. Now, as an adult, I’m craving a bit more innovation. Still, watching the movie and entering Super Nintendo World were euphoric experiences for the mesmerizing designs alone.
The Gang’s All Here
But that wonderful world is nothing without the characters—which is why none of us will forget where we were the day Chris Pratt was announced as the voice of Mario.
“I’m not really feeling Chris Pratt right now, just like everyone else,” Victor, 38, told me at the park, while waiting in line for the Goomba mini game. Almost all of the Nintendo fans I spoke to were anti-Pratt—though they all offered a polite “No, thank you” to his casting, in contrast to the masses of vitriol Pratt earned online.
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Luckily, Pratt isn’t wearing the Mario costume at Super Nintendo World. (Or is he?) The character meet-and-greets were among the highlights of Super Nintendo World. Longtime fans, children, and other park goers queued at specific times to say hi to Mario and Luigi, who are paired together, and Princess Peach, who (rightfully) earns her own standalone spot at a pagoda near her tower.
Peach’s solo appearance lines up well with her character in the movie. Half of the cast’s performances in The Super Mario Bros. Movie are on-point. No, Pratt isn’t that bad as Mario, but Charlie Day as Luigi is far better. The stand-out is Anya Taylor-Joy, whose bright, bubbly, and independent Princess Peach is often more fun than the damsel in distress we’re used to from the Super Mario Bros. games.
Peach’s new role was a high point for excited Nintendo fans at the park. Dahlia, a 16 year old visiting the park in full Luigi garb, was enthusiastic about this role reversal: “I’m excited because Peach is not the one who is being kidnapped by Bowser. It’s Luigi!” she told me, while waiting in line for the Piranha Plant mini game. “I like that she’s going to be working with Mario.”
Even on a gray weekday, it was crowded.
Jack Black’s Bowser is about what you’d expect from Jack Black’s Bowser: He’s cringey but sometimes fun, and he sings. Seth Rogen is an admirable Donkey Kong, paired with Fred Armisen as his father, Cranky Kong. Apart from Bowser, who feels too much like Jack Black to resemble the original character, the one bummer is Toad, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key.
The Toads feel like Illumination’s new version of Minions—except instead of a group of them, there’s just one Toad who follows around Mario and Peach through the entire movie. He’s kind of a pain, and his special themed cafe in Super Nintendo World is, too—more on that in the next section.
Toad’s Stirring the Pot
We’ll keep this part about the food short. It’s nearly impossible to secure a seat at the Toadstool Cafe in Super Nintendo World. So, heed this warning: If you want a chance to try a massive Princess Peach cupcake or a mustachioed Mario burger, get to Universal Studios as early as possible.
We arrived just an hour after the park’s regular opening time on a Thursday in March, and the cafe was already fully booked for the day. If you’re really anxious about getting in, you also have the option to be safe, rather than sorry—by shelling out the extra $20-plus to get an early access ticket, which allows you into Super Nintendo World an hour early. That’s what Kirstyn, 29, did. when she brought her husband and young son to visit the park all the way from Mississippi.
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“We got the early access, so before the crowd got here, it was a lot better,” the Nintendo fan, who has now turned her son into a diehard, tells me, as she waits for him to take a photo with Princess Peach. “It was pretty much empty. We got on the Mario Kart ride instantly—we walked straight on. And then we went straight into the Toadstool Cafe and got a seat quickly. When the regular park hours opened, it flooded with people.”
Kirstyn recommended trying the cafe’s cheesy garlic knots (even at eight in the morning, when she arrived) before she dashed over to get that prized Peach pic. But if you don’t arrive early, you’ll be stuck salivating over your memory of Mario’s family-style mushroom carbonara in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Overall: Go to the Park, See the Movie, or Play the Games?
There’s no way to convince diehard Nintendo fans not to go to Super Nintendo World or The Super Mario Bros. Movie, so go if you’re dead-set on going. Still, we urge you to keep your expectations low. If you’re on the fence about either the park or the movie, our advice? Spend the money on a new Nintendo game instead.
Most of the fans I chatted with at the park were unimpressed by the lack of interactivity at Super Nintendo World. While all of them were blown away by the engineering and how true it felt to the original games, beautiful statues and buildings aren’t enough to keep us Nintendo fans satisfied. We love a good storyline and an even more thrilling adventure; neither Super Nintendo World nor The Super Mario Bros. Movie can offer those.
That said, there are two golden Super Stars hidden beneath the lava muck of both new experiences. The first belongs to two beloved characters, Donkey Kong and Yoshi, who open up new worlds in both the theme park and the movie. The movie takes us to the Jungle Kingdom, which is an exciting journey into Donkey Kong’s life. It would certainly make a suitable location for a sequel—though that honor may go to an adventure with little dinosaur Yoshi, whose egg we see hatching in an end-credits sequence.
Spot the Yoshi!
Ironically, these two characters are also set to have big breaks at another Super Nintendo World, coming to Universal Orlando. Both Donkey Kong and Yoshi will star in special rides akin to Bowser’s Challenge at the Florida-based theme park, which is set to open in 2025. Perhaps there’s more hope for Nintendo fans out east.
The second piece of hope comes in something a bit more controversial: the crowds. Though I grew agitated with the flocks of people blocking me from accessing any of the games at Super Nintendo World—this theme park is not prepared for a packed summer season—it’s ultimately a sign that the Nintendo fanbase is thriving. The mediocre mini games and lack of story may age poorly, but hey! At least we can all come together in one place, something Disney fans have been doing for ages.
The same goes for the movie. I attended an opening night screening in Los Angeles and was greeted with a bounty of red and green caps, overalls, and eggshell dinosaur costumes. Attendees at the park and the movie were a jumble of old folks (at the park, I saw two attendees wearing “Super Grandma” and “Super Grandpa” shirts with Peach and Mario on them), kids struggling to drive supersized Mario Karts, babies in Baby Mario gear, adults with and without kids, and more. The Nintendo fanbase stretches across generations. Thank goodness we now have a movie and a theme park to show future fans.
Though a handful of folks were disappointed with the park in particular, most still told me about how fun it was to experience it with their family. “We’re real big Mario fans,” Cee told me. “I grew up on it. I make my kids buy Mario games to play with me. They’re like, ‘Mom, we want a game!’ And I’m like, ‘Only if we get a Mario game to play together first!’” For her, the ability to dress up in character with her kids seemed to be a good reason to fight through the park’s downsides.
While neither the theme park nor the movie is perfect, and you’re going to have to beat the crowds to get into either, they both serve as proof that the Nintendo fanbase craves new experiences outside of the game. With that fan support, hopefully, Nintendo will continue pouring out exciting new opportunities for years to come. But a massive themed restaurant with more seats at the table would be nice!
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