I saw the Super Mario Bros Movie (2023). It's excellent. There is really not much for me to say. Illumination outdone themselves and is arguably their best movie. The run time is air tight, and I am thankful for the 92 minute run time. Everyone actually put in the effort, voice actors, the animators and writers, the subtle shout-outs and in-jokes to the games, and the humor never gets obnoxious or pop-culture heavy. I will say while I never cared for the licensed songs used, they at least don't outstay their welcome and are only used with small snippets. The movie does heavily use the Mario soundtrack, it's remixed variations, and even some DK to greater and more efficient degree. I noticed a lot of the songs used are from the 80s or late 80s, so it makes some sense, but not really necessary. Still better than how Sonic 1 or Sonic 2 handled most of its music. The Sonic movies barely used the game music, used 90s hip-hop music, or was using "modern" pop songs way out of date.
Speaking of which, SMBM I do find better than Sonic 1 and Sonic 2. Better in terms of overall pacing and not wasting time on characters no one cares about. Sonic 2 is still great, don't get me wrong, but I really hope the team learns something from Mario Bros. In terms of TV or movie of games adaption pantheon, SMBM is an A. This movie is up their with Castlevania, Mortal Kombat (1995,) Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, and Warcraft.
