The Top Two Movies of 2023; “Barbie” and the “Super Mario Brothers” movie. Though with their many differences, people still find them quite similar. But why? Why are these movies so popular and are they all that they are cracked up to be?
The “Barbie” movie was released in July of 2023 to theaters. “Super Mario Brothers” was shown in the month of April in the same year. In their first year, “Barbie” has climbed up to the top 16 most watched movies of all time. Along with that, “Super Mario Brothers” has climbed one step forward to the top 15 (According to Boxoffice Pro.org). There are many reasons why this could happen, but the most obvious is that the viewers want to see the characters they grew up with in a movie.
Mr. Joshua Castro, a substitute teacher at Santa Rosa Academy, was very excited about the matter. From being a life-long fan of Nintendo, he was really driven to see the “Super Mario Brothers” movie. Castro said, “The very first game I ever played was Super Mario World on the SNES. I was only four years old at the time, and almost thirty years later, there is still a sense of child-like wonder whenever I play a Mario game, and I was so hopeful that the same magic would translate into the new movie.”
Many other people feel the same way. All want to see the director’s take on some of the most iconic characters. From seeing them to being alive from their imagination, to actually coming to life in a movie. Many people were very thrilled to see the characters come into reality. And, the viewers of the movie believe that the directors of the film truly captured the characters.
Yahaira Perez, Freshman, was one of the many who had played with the Barbie dolls when she was younger. She had agreed with the reason why she watched the movie and how well the directors did. Perez said, “ I watched the Barbie movie because I used to play with Barbies when I was a little kid. I do believe that the movie has truly captured the essence of the toy’s history. I loved how they included the original Barbie outfit in the beginning of the movie.” Though people feel that the characters are really well done, viewers of the “Super Mario Brothers” movie find that the films could be improved. From the run time and the overall ark of the plot line.
Castro, though loving the movie, feels that there could be a good way to improve the film. He said, “For what it’s worth, there were a couple things that I believe could have made the movie better. First, I wanted more Yoshis because Yoshi is my favorite Nintendo character. Secondly, I believe that the plot was a little thin and that the pace of the movie was rather fast as if they tried to condense a larger story into the 92-minute runtime.”
However, it isn’t just the brothers who could have had an improvement. “Barbie”, while being done quite well, still had some areas to make it a better film.
Perez agreed with the improvement. From “Barbie” being one of the most iconic characters, she feels the end could have been better. She said, “I feel like the creators of the film should have changed the ending. I think Barbie deserves a better ending.”
Though with the areas of improvement, others still can’t get enough of these characters.
Perez believed, “I would love to see a sequel for the Barbie movie.” She feels these iconic characters deserve to be in the light more. Perez also feels there is so much more to the story then the end of the movie. She hopes another movie is yet to come, and is surely going to watch it if it does. All in all, those who have watched still feel these movies are wonderful. Feeling that the characters of both the doll and the video game are in good hands with the directors. From nailing the characters down to the smallest details, to still making them relatable to the audience. From this, many people want to see more.
Castro explained, “Not only would I like to see a sequel to this movie, I absolutely need a sequel to this movie. Nintendo and Illumination soared higher than my expectations and would also love to see them make movies for franchises as Star Fox and Donkey Kong. Nintendo Studios and their animated film rights are absolutely in the right hands with Illumination.”
