Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie safe for kids? Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie OK for children? Read the The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, an honest parents guide and mom review of the all-new 2023 Super Mario Nintendo + Illumination/Universal Pictures animated film, starring Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key, Anya-Taylor Joy and Jack Black. No spoilers! #SuperMarioMovie May contain commissioned links.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide
What do you get when you combine a minion and a plumber? Apparently an animated Mario Bros. film.
It’s been 30 years since the 1993 Super Mario Bros. live action film blunder. (You saw that train wreck of a film as a kid too, admit it.) With Nintendo and Illumination joining forces for an all-new, all-cartoon movie for 2023, can this brand-new film stomp out the bad Mario movie memories and give new life to the world of Nintendo video games?
Or should this pop-culture icon stay in his Mario Kart lane?
In this 2023 The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, I’m breaking down the visuals, the story, a full TV-14 age rating explanation for violence, adult themes and language, and what kids’ age recommendation is suggested to watch in this new The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2023 parents guide to the new Nintendo + Illumination animated film. A no-spoiler parent review of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, is this Super Mario reboot circling the drain? Or do we finally have a Nintendo winner?
The Visuals
From 8-bit to IMAX. Mario has come a long way. And I admit that visually, I thought it would be hard to impress with Nintendo’s already amazing video game quality graphics. But with the combo of Nintendo + Illumination, I was pleasantly surprised how the bright colors and crisp visuals expanded the Super Mario universe to the big screen in a fresh, exciting way. Illumination didn’t skimp on graphics, powering up the animation CGI from vast landscapes and water waves down to individual threads in Mario’s hat. Visually engaging for kids, it was a smart move to keep Mario animated for this film.
Those prone to motion sickness may be surprised that some of the scenes are quick moving, and could be nausea inducing. I would compare these potentially dizzying scenes to the Despicable Me ride at Universal.
Photosensitivity Warning. For viewers prone to epilepsy and photosensitivity, be warned that there are multiple scenes in The Super Mario Bros. Movie that could be triggering. Multiple scenes are in darkness. There’s soft lightning flashes and flashlights. More concerning however are the scenes where the green “warp pipes” are used. Bright colors, flashing lights and rotating visuals occur during the warp pipe scenes – and they can be seizure triggering (and also possibly nauseating).
The Story
For the first time ever, Illumination and Nintendo join forces to create The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a 2023 new, big-screen animated adventure starring one of pop culture’s most prominent plumbers of the past four decades. Based on Nintendo’s Mario games and co-directed by “Teen Titans GO!” creators Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, this vibrant universe boasts an all-star cast including Chris Pratt (“Jurassic World” and “The LEGO Movie” franchises) as Mario, Charlie Day (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia“) as Luigi, Keegan-Michael Key (“Pinocchio“) as Toad, Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit“) as Princess Peach and Jack Black (“Jumanji” franchise) as Bowser.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie story is simple and predictable. And honestly, though it was back to basics for Nintendo, I didn’t mind this simple love letter to a Nintendo classic. Down to the little details, this 2023 Super Mario movie even explains why Chris Pratt is missing the Mario accent. Though there definitely were a few scenes where I cringed hearing The LEGO Movie Emmet’s voice instead of Mario, the other Mario character voices were spot on. And Jack Black as Bowser is one of his best performances ever. My favorite character, hands down – bringing back his old school Tenacious D glory.
Add in character cameos, video game Easter Eggs, a fun soundtrack and constant action/adventure flow without being drawn out (yay 1.5 hour runtime!), the simple yet predictable story becomes an easy-to-watch and fun movie as families are immersed into the world of Nintendo – no video game controller required.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie PG Rating Explained
Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie safe for kids? Both the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie and the The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2023 are rated PG. Can the Nintendo franchise survive another PG rated movie? It’s no secret that I am highly skeptical of all MPAA ratings (um hello, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker not disclosing any language??). And as we know, PG ratings for kids have been extra contentious over the past few years.
As a parent, it’s been rather heartbreaking to witness how ratings have shifted over the years with a G-rating no longer a safer option for families. PG ratings now oscillating between Turning Red intense to Christopher Robin calm, and even PG-13/TV-14 age ratings teetering on the edge of R or MA ratings (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Werewolf by Night, I see you!), there’s a wide range between the age of 0-14 years old for parents to consider. Having fully disclosed parent guidelines can help determine if a movie or show is kid friendly – and safe for the whole family to watch together.
Why is The Super Mario Bros. Movie rated PG? In this 2023 The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, this Nintendo + Illumination animated film collaboration is rated PG for “action and mild violence.” With film and TV ratings also unpredictable these days, having fully disclosed parent guidelines can help determine if a movie or television show like Super Mario Bros. Movie is kid friendly. Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie hiding some adult themes and language behind their animated film mask? Let’s breakdown that PG age rating in this 2023 The Super Mario Bros. Movie parents guide.
Violence/Suspense. The Super Mario Bros. Movie violence is what I’d expect for an Illumination animated film, very comparable to the Mario video games and Despicable Me type of violence including hand to hand combat, torture, use of weapons and explosions. There are a few mild suspenseful jump scares (with eerie music) that may frighten little ones. But they are quick and within the more kid-friendly range of suspense. Mild animal cruelty – used for laughs.
There are a couple of different Mario characters that could be considered “scary.” Skeleton-like creatures with red glowing eyes (Dry Bones) come out of the ground in “zombie” like fashion. Mild bruising, but no blood or gore to worry about. Quick inferred scene of vomiting (nothing seen).
There are also a couple of verbal references to “ritualistic sacrifice” that may raise some Indiana Jones eyebrows.
Adult Themes. Overall adult themes are very mild for this Super Mario animated film. There are scenes of dancing/gyrating by one character, and multiple verbal and visual references to “dancing pecs.” Mild themes of love, flirting, dating and marriage. Mild visual toilet humor (nothing seen). Also multiple verbal references to death and dying – mostly for comedic effect.
Language. Does The Super Mario Bros. Movie have swear words and bad language? Well…technically no. There is 1 use of the word “hellhound” in the film. While technically a creature from mythology, this could possibly perk up little ears and be considered offensive to some families.
Milder insults and bad language include “dumb,” “idiot,” “psycho,” “shut up.” Overall, very mild for this PG rated film.
2023 The Super Mario Bros. Movie Age Rating for Kids
With a short runtime of 1 hour 32 minutes, this 2023 Super Mario animated film is definitely geared towards kids and families, and surprisingly towards younger kids. This action-packed animated film is filled with video game nostalgia for old and young Nintendo fans, along with humor, a fast-paced story and a catchy soundtrack to keep kids entertained from beginning to end.
Your child’s sensitivity to suspense, scary creatures, and nightmares will play a huge role in determining if Super Mario Bros. Movie is ok for kids to watch. But overall, this family film is definitely kid friendly.
The 2023 animated Super Mario Bros. Movie is comparable to Sonic the Hedgehog and the Despicable Me franchises, minus the crude humor.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie from Nintendo + Illumination and Universal Pictures is rated PG for “action and mild violence” by the 2023 MPAA.
Yes! There are 2 end credits scenes in The Super Mario Bros. Movie: 1 mid credit scene and 1 end credit scene.
Based on my 2023 The Super Mario Bros. Movie parents guide and mom review of the film above, this parent movie reviewer would not recommend The Super Mario Bros. Movie to kids younger than the age of 3-4 years old.
Considering the full PG rating breakdown above, this parent movie reviewer would not recommend Super Mario Bros. Movie to kids younger than the age of 3-4 years old. The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2023 PG rating is pretty light and comparable to Despicable Me/Minions movie ratings (without the crude humor).
With very mild language, animated movie violence and overall minimal adult themes, I would almost dare to say that The Super Mario Bros. Movie could be G rated (based on the old MPAA scale) and definitely safe for kids. Geared towards the kids between the ages of 3-6 years old, I actually was surprised to see how inclusive Mario is the younger generations of Nintendo fans.
The Overall
While I found myself craving A LOT more video game humor than I was given (there were SO many missed opportunities for Nintendo jokes, and they had the Teen Titans GO! writers on board), I was entertained by this simple yet predictable Nintendo fandom homage. Easy to watch, easy to love – it’s no wonder that this pop culture icon keeps winning over generations of Nintendo lovers again and again.
Nintendo needed this win. Not quite a first place finish, but darn close. With a good mixture of character cameos, video game Easter Eggs, a fun soundtrack and constant action/adventure flow, the nostalgic feels combined with the modern day CGI, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a super jump better over the 1993 live action. Kids are going to LOVE it.
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Super Mario Bros. Movie, the all-new 2023 Nintendo + Illumination animated film super jumps into theaters starting Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Will your family be watching?
I was invited to screen The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2023 in exchange for The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide. All photos courtesy of Universal Pictures. Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for more movie updates, celebrity interviews, entertainment and behind-the-scenes info!
Ana says
Thank you so much for adding the photosensitive epilepsy warning for The Super Mario Movie. I couldn’t find any information for this. Having teen with this type of epilepsy it means the world to me.
christie says
So glad you find it helpful! I had a reader ask to add to every post, so I make sure to include now