#cherrysip hc's & rambling

[chloecherrysip]

it has been days and i haven't seen ANYONE mention this so fine, FINE, i will be the one to do it

"We'll see how tough this Mario is when he watches me KILL HIS BROTHER!"

THIS LINE ALL BY ITSELF FELT VERY SCARY AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY THERE WAS NEVER A MOMENT WHERE BOWSER COULD ACTUALLY TRY TO MAKE GOOD ON THIS THREAT, THAT'D BE TOO INTENSE FOR THE TONE THEY WERE GOING FOR, BUT...

WHAT IF...

(look, all i'm saying is the angst gremlin inside of me came ALIVE for a hot second and started imagining scenes playing out in different ways where Bowser DOES have this opportunity with both brothers together before the final battle and it is extremely heartwrenching stuff, OKAY)

I was originally gonna end this post here but welp, now I brainstormed a whole alternative scene under the cut

Imagine this: we're on the Rainbow Road. The blue shell hits! DK does still fall into the ocean (maybe yelling "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAUUUUULT" at Mario as he goes down) but Mario is thrown back by the explosion onto the side of Rainbow Road with Cranky Kong and the other Kongs (he is definitely injured, though) and lands there as they freak out about DK. Peach and Toad are still safely on the other side.

Mario is thus captured with all the other Kongs and taken to Bowser's airship (Peach and Mario call out to each other worriedly but there's nothing she can do and the flying Koopas are coming after her too so Mario yells for her to run and her and Toad have to flee, waaah)

(This would also let Bowser and Mario actually get to meet before the end, which I think would have been nice! Not absolutely necessary, I think the movie works fine without it, but it would have really driven home the threat/stakes a little harder and created a stronger Darkest Moment, I think)

Bowser, seeing that Mario is captured, is just FILLED with hateful glee and wants to break this little man down so badly after he DARED to get close to HIS princess, and he asks Kamek to bring out Luigi from the prison

Mario, now in the airship and restrained, gets to actually SEE Bowser and register how big/menacing he is and they have some banter where Bowser is FURIOUS and Mario is honestly just kind of confused, like, "dude, what is your problem with me??? I just came to this world two days ago???" (He's scared, of course, he's never seen anyone quite like Bowser before, but he also knows his type right away - he's a bully, and Mario's dealt with his fair share of bullies, that's for sure)

But then of course the conversation comes around to "WHERE IS MY BROTHER, LET MY BROTHER GO" and then Luigi is brought in, hands bound, and the brothers can't help but have big, teary smiles and call out happily for each other

But that happiness ends QUICKLY because Bowser advances on Luigi and Mario realizes all at once what's going to happen and he tries to run at him but Kamek drags him back with the magic

And like...I am not one for anything TOO excessive here, I wouldn't want it to be TOO far outside what a movie like this would include, but Bowser does start to hurt Luigi - picking him up and throwing him down, kicking him, scratching him up, and Mario is just in AGONY and desperately struggling to pull free from the magic and begging Bowser to stop, please, if he's mad at someone, hurt HIM, beat HIM up, whatever he wants, but please, don't take it out on his brother, PLEASE, he'll do ANYTHING

But of course, that just makes Bowser taunt Mario more, because he CAN'T do anything. He wants to see Mario broken down and a pathetic mess and begging HIM, the great Koopa King, for mercy because the princess would never be attracted to someone like THAT, how could she, how shameful! Bowser will be sure to tell her ALL about it when he proposes, he is delighted

(oh man, Bowser could even say something like that "whatever happens to him is YOUR fault, you brought your dear brother down with you when you dared to meddle in my fairytale wedding!!!" And it's a ~*~THEMATIC CALLBACK~*~ to Mario's dad, waaaah)

And finally, it looks like Bowser is going to strike a BIG blow but Kamek gets distracted or Mario just becomes desperate enough to pull free of the magic's influence with the power of BROTHERLY LOVE and he gets a punch in on Bowser that knocks him back!!!

And then Mario is helping Luigi up, holding his bruised face sweetly and reassuring him that it's gonna be okay, they're gonna get out of here and go home, and they try to run but they get dragged apart by guards/Kamek/etc again

Bowser is EXTREMELY MAD but manages to calm down and says that he actually appreciates Mario interrupting him with his pathetic little punch because he almost acted too rashly. After all, if he kills Luigi now, he'll be one prisoner short for his ritualistic sacrifice for him and Peach's wedding! Can't have that! Too bad Mario's gonna miss it! And then he grabs Mario and carries him out while Luigi is being carried/dragged back to prison and they're both horrified and crying out each other's names desperately as they're separated AGAIN

Mario gets thrown off the airship by Bowser into the ocean and left for dead (Mario probably gets one more defiant line where he swears he's gonna stop Bowser and Bowser tells Mario that'll never happen but not to worry, him and Peach are going to be very happy together and Mario and his brother will be reunited soon enough - in DEATH [evil laughter])

And then Mario gets swallowed by the eel and DK is already there and things start to play out the same way as the movie from there EXCEPT that when him and DK snipe at each other, Mario starts to break down a little and the line "Well, at least your brother's not gonna die because of you!" has a LOT more emotional weight to it and it's just a longer, more heartwrenching Darkest Moment scene in general, sob)

(and you could also have a scene with Luigi back in prison where he is obviously extremely shaken up and hurt and not knowing what happened to Mario, what did Bowser do with him, is his brother even still ALIVE, why was he so WEAK and unable to do anything, unable to even protect himself or help Mario, etc etc and that helps him have a character beat that maybeeeee makes his surprise rescue of Mario at the end feel more earned????? HMM)

I'M SORRY, I LOVE ANGST (that eventually ends happily) AND IT COMPELS ME

i'm gonna have to write this as an actual, full-fledged fic, aren't I, lolol

[chloecherrysip]

A detailed list about everything I adore and cherish re: Mario and Luigi's reunion in the Mario Movie (to pair with this post of mine)

Luigi almost DYING but then happily, cutely laughing two seconds later once he sees it's Mario who's holding him because HIS BROTHER'S HERE, HE KNOWS HE'S SAFE NOW, NO MATTER WHAT

The way they just stand there and LOOK at each for a split second to register that this is really happening, and all the joy and relief on their faces!!!

How Luigi looks startled briefly when he lands on the ground but Mario is just :D :D :D :D personified and then Luigi mirrors him

How Mario is still powered up (obviously) so he moves SO FAST to grab Luigi in a big hug, and him being the tanooki, it must be such a nice, strong, soft, fuzzy hug, like a big blanket all around Luigi :)

How it's not just ONE really good hug, it's TWO really good hugs!!!!!!!

I WILL LITERALLY NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT MARIO HOLDING LUIGI'S FACE SO SWEETLY WITH THOSE BIG, MISTY, DEEPLY LOVING EYES

Just EVERYTHING about the way they framed it!!!!!!! the way the shot spins around them!!!!! it's beautiful!!!! like, at first i wished they had shown more of Luigi's reaction because it's SO focused on Mario but now I love that, i loveeeee watching Mario's truly heartbreaking and tender face journey without any cuts

Speaking of, it's amazing that Mario is SO emotional, even more than Luigi! The man is very choked up and just SO CLEARLY FLOODED WITH BONE DEEP-RELIEF AND JOY AND LOVE AND EVERY LAST SHOT OF HIS FACE MAKES GRAVITY LITERALLY ABANDON ME BECAUSE HE LOVES HIS BROTHER MORE THAN ANYONE AND HE NEEDS HIM BY HIS SIDE LIKE HE NEEDS TO BREATHE

FOREHEAD TOUCH FOREHEAD TOUCH FOREHEAD TOUCH FOREHEAD TOUCH FOREHEAD TOUCH FOREHEAD TOUCH

The way their noses bump together cutely as a result of the forehead touch, SOB

The way Mario initiates the forehead touch with his hand on the back of Luigi's head so GENTLY, everything about the way he interacts with Luigi here is SO GENTLE and i cryyyy

The quick shot when they both have their eyes closed in the forehead touch!!! Maybe incidental but the screenshot of it has ended my life, i'm a ghost now, goodbye

Mario rocking Luigi back and forth a little when they're hugging the second time and his hand gripping tight on his back ;____;

MARIO SWINGING HIM UP INTO THE AIR, JUST BECAUSE HE HAS TOO MUCH HAPPY ENERGY AND HE CAN

Luigi's BIG sigh of relief, so big it's like he's been holding in the breath since they were first separated <3

THE WAY MARIO IS LOOKING AT LUIGI ONCE THEY SEPARATE THE SECOND TIME. THIS BIG, DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY GRIN LIKE HE JUST WANTS TO HUG HIM MORE. CAN HE HUG HIM FOREVER???? MARIO IS SURE GOING TO TRY

Luigi finally registering what Mario is wearing and immediately, affectionately grabbing at him/teasing him like brothers do!

That Bowser is literally being forced to watch them hug from his ice prison atop the stairs LOLOLOL

That they're framed by the wedding arch that's a heart at the end because their relationship is the TRUE HEART of the movie :) :) :)

Basically just the fact that you can literally see these two brothers, who have been lost and sad and struggling for all this time, become WHOLE again right before your eyes because they have each other back and that's all that really matters

[chloecherrysip]

I see your "Luigi suffers from symptoms of PTSD after the events of the movie" scenarios and I raise you "Mario ALSO suffers from symptoms of PTSD but makes it so much worse for himself because he strongly believes that he doesn't deserve to be emotionally struggling with things, Luigi was the one who went through a horrible time, Luigi was the one who suffered BECAUSE of Mario and his stupid decisions, Luigi was the one who almost died when Mario nearly didn't reach him in time, so how dare Mario focus on his own sorry emotions for even a second, nothing's wrong with him, he needs to stay 100% focused on making sure his brother's okay, he is completely FINE and IN CONTROL and taking care of things like he always does and he's definitely not on the verge of having a panic attack every time Luigi's out of his sight for more than a few minutes, not even a little bit, no one can prove anything!!!"

(That adrenaline after they won the final battle is gonna last for a while, but once it wears off and Mario really has time to think about what happened and hear more about what Luigi went through and register how CLOSE that rescue really was and how it SO easily could have gone wrong, especially as someone whose sense of worth and way of showing love is clearly wrapped up in being The One Who Protects....ohhhhh boy. Honey, you've got a big storm coming.)

(And of course Luigi senses that something is wrong. He knows his brother, has known him for their entire lives, they can practically read each other's minds sometimes. It's just always tough at first to push through Mario's relentless "don't worry about me, let me worry about YOU" exterior and get him to admit that he is Not All Right. But that doesn't stop Luigi from gently, patiently trying again and again until he finally breaks through. They can both take turns being the strong one while the other falls apart!)

(What I'm saying is LET THESE BOYS CRY IT OUT TOGETHER AND THEN SLEEP NEXT TO EACH OTHER FOR 12 HOURS STRAIGHT AT MINIMUM, THANK YOU.)

[chloecherrysip]

As much as I mourn all the lines that appeared in mario movie trailers but for some reason, didn't make it to the finished product (RIP "I'm not afraid! I'd do anything for my brother!" YOU LIVE ON IN MY HEART ALWAYS AND FOREVER), I've been thinking about "I hope you told your brother how much you love him, because you're probably never gonna see him again" and the rest of that whole dialogue exchange in particular from this specific trailer and how much I wish we'd gotten that moment because I think it would have helped spotlight a vital aspect of Mario's character that the movie already does a REALLY good job with getting across in the first place: the way he communicates how he feels through action and acts of service instead of words!

(more under the cut because this got too long, haha)

Mario is usually a very quiet protagonist so this tracks with the games too, obviously, but even movie!Mario seems like someone who isn't overly verbose or who's especially eager to enter into heavy, feelings-based conversations (at least not without a struggle). Talking about his feelings might not come easy to him, and he maybe even forgets to say things outloud that to him, seem obvious. (Meanwhile, I think Luigi is always up for gushing about his favorite people (see the interrogation scene lol) and probably ends every phone call/text message exchange ever with "love you!" to Mario and his parents, to the point that he might accidentally say it to acquaintances and customers too on occasion, LOL).

So thinking about this exchange with Toad and how, even if the movie didn't acknowledge it past that point, this idea would be hanging over Mario throughout his journey hits harder because you can imagine him thinking: hey, when WAS the last time he told Luigi outright that he loved him that wasn't a distracted "yeah, me too" response to Luigi saying it first? Maybe it's been a long time. Too long. So long it's genuinely upsetting for him to realize! What if his brother doesn't actually know how much Mario loves him, because he does, he does so much, and he's been an idiot for going so long without saying the actual words and now he can't, he CAN'T and he would give anything in the world to go back and do things differently!

And of course, all this panic is totally unwarranted and even silly because I think Luigi knows like his own name how much Mario loves him. Because the audience watching this movie knows how much Mario loves his brother by that point! Mario never says the actual words - in fact, he never says anything particularly positive about Luigi, other than "you were great!" regarding the commercial in the very beginning - and yet it couldn't be any clearer!!! I think it's pretty impossible to come out of this movie (if you were paying attention in the least) not seeing that love plain as day in everything Mario does, down to the littlest things, because he is a man of action and that's how he expresses himself best!

You see it in how he shifts from mildly embarrassed to immediately Intense and Ready To Throw Down on a dime when Spike insults Luigi, you see it in how he pauses to open doors and create paths for Luigi to safely follow him through the construction site as he's parkouring, you see it when the dog becomes aggressive and Mario is just entirely focused on keeping Luigi behind him, pushing him out of harm's way, getting the dog's attention so it will attack him instead, etc. You see it in the warp pipe when his entire demeanor changes the second he realizes Luigi is in trouble, how he desperately paddles to reach him and grab his hand and comfort him about the situation. You see it in how his brother is front of mind for him at every point in his adventure and that's why he fights so hard to talk to Peach, why he agrees to the fight with DK, why he keeps trying even when things seem hopeless and no one believes he can do it. You see it written all over Mario's face during the reunion, every single little way he touches Luigi and brings him closer and checks in on him with crystal-clear relief and joy and gentleness!!! The "show, don't tell" aspect is just OFF THE CHARTS IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE because that's how Mario is. He's not so good at words and remembering to say them. When he loves someone, he wears that feeling, he lives that feeling in so much of what he chooses to do and how he interacts with the world, and while it's always good to say these things outloud now and then just to be clear everyone's on the same page (and I'm sure he does after the movie, haha), it doesn't make it any less meaningful. :)

[chloecherrysip]

Maybe that Mario & Luigi warping footage has driven me mad and now I'm just terminally stuck on MAXIMUM BROTHERLY ANGST but the fact that the Mario movie seems willing to go to a very emotional and sweet place with their relationship is killing me!!! Here are some Mario and Luigi-specific theories/possible moments I've been thinking about for the movie, all nicely compiled (and not just tossed into other people's inboxes, haha) - maybe they'll happen in some way, maybe they won't, but if they DO, oh man, I will be a puddle of goo in the movie theater they'll have to sweep up afterwards:

Mario opening up to Peach and Toad about Luigi, what their life was like in the past, their closeness, and his fears/anxieties about the possibility of not being able to save his brother (some version of this seems EXTREMELY likely in the fire flower scene) (and likewise, Luigi talking to his fellow prisoners about Mario and how much he misses his brother!)

Both brothers taking moments throughout the movie to think of each other and draw inner strength/resolve from that - for instance, Mario struggling with his training, feeling exhausted and hopeless, but thinking of Luigi in danger and how much his brother needs him and that giving him the burst of strength and determination he needs to finally complete the course

LIKEWISE, Luigi panicking or struggling to act in his scary predicaments but thinking of Mario and what he would do/say in situations like this and being able to keep going/stay brave because of that memory

BOWSER FIGURING OUT THE RELATION AND USING LUIGI AGAINST MARIO AT A CRITICAL MOMENT??? (I'm sorry, but it feels like the interrogation stuff has to lead SOMEWHERE) (Bowser clearly is looking for info/weak points he can use against Mario, and Luigi himself ultimately IS that weak point!!!)

This could play out in a lot of different ways - using an in-danger Luigi as bait for a trap, maybe there's some Magic Shenanigans where Kamek throws Luigi's voice to lure Mario away from the group during a battle, or maybe Bowser just taunts Mario about his brother and how Mario's too weak to save him from the torture he's endured/will endure. Whatever the case is, Mario's anger and Ultra Big Brother Instincts overriding all other common sense could cause him to act too rashly or make some serious mistakes in the heat of the moment. :(

Either brother thinking that the other is dead for any period of time and just being BROKEN but also FULL OF FIERY VENGEANCE because of it!!! I know, I know, put me in Angst Jail but Mario could get blown off Rainbow Road and presumed dead for a little while, which could get back to Luigi through Bowser or his minions, OR maybe Luigi escapes but Bowser lies to Mario and tells that he disposed of his brother already and he's too late. I could just see both of them breaking down at first but ultimately being ANGRY above all else and resolving to avenge the other, no matter what ;___; (and this would also make their eventual reunion even MORE emotional and impactful)

Speaking of, the brothers reuniting with the BIGGEST, MOST DESPERATE, CLINGING HUG YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE (this is truly all I care about, I just need the movie to get this right, PLEASE)

Bonus points if there's a big lead-up to it where they maybe they just hear each other at first, or they see one another from a far-away distance and they're just RUNNING and FIGHTING and SCRAMBLING to reach each other, calling out all the while, to the point that they can't even stop, they just TACKLE each other at full speed

(They've never been apart this long before! Ever since they can remember, they've been joined at the hip, and this whole time, it's felt like they were missing a limb, but now THEY'RE BOTH HERE and THEY'RE OKAY and there's a lot of fussing over injuries and frantic questions and THE BIGGEST, TEARIEST SMILES EVER and it finally feels like everything's really gonna be okay, even though there might still be an ongoing invasion/final battle to take care of)

After reuniting, there being a situation where they need to split up again temporarily to accomplish different goals in the name of stopping Bowser and Mario is actually the more anxious one for once who really doesn't want to let Luigi out of his sight after they've just found each other again, but Luigi takes a turn reassuring him that it's gonna be okay (and Mario is quietly impressed by how his brother seems a little braver after his ordeal)

ALSO after reuniting, there being a moment before the final battle with Bowser where Mario is self-doubting and isn't sure he can win, but Luigi doesn't understand that because ever since they were little and dealing with playground bullies, he's ALWAYS thought of Mario as a hero - this new role just fits him so well, at least in Luigi's eyes, and he knows that Mario can do this (I KNOW, I KNOW, A LITTLE CHEESY, but!! i just love the idea of Luigi hearing about/seeing his brother as The Hero and being like "yep, my big bro IS amazing and brave and the absolute best, this makes sense!")

At any point, Mario actually seeing Bowser hurt/threaten Luigi and just going ABSOLUTELY BALLISTIC because of it. RIP BOWSER, YA IDIOT

Possibly related to the above, but it feels like a pretty sure thing that the final battle has to be Bowser VS Mario all the way, that's how so many games end, but! I do think Luigi could provide important assistance at one or two moments. Like maybe Bowser is startling to struggle and goes for the power star, but Luigi has already beaten him to it and manages to throw it to Mario before Bowser reaches him - but then he gets STRUCK HARD or even knocked out by Bowser and Mario's anguished reaction sets off the star's power! (I did see that somewhere else, not my original idea - the concept that the star can only be activated by an intense, pure-hearted emotion - but I love it <3)

That's all I got for now - again, even a FRACTION of these happening would be officially Too Much for my little, feeble heart. I'm just so grateful that from everything we've seen so far, the movie really does seem to be centering the brothers' relationship (even if they're not physically together for most of it) and how much they mean to each other and that is everything!

[chloecherrysip]

Saw your 'Mario has PTSD too' post and I love it. The idea of him trying to pretend that everything is fine for Luigi is just so... augh. I love this trope of a character botteling up their feelings for the sake of others until they can't anymore. May I add a little something? Mario also had a near death experience from getting exploded from the rainbow road and then being eaten by an eel. So I guess he would have PTSD from this too

(Referring to this post!)

Thanks!! It really gets to me too. I just think Mario is very much wrapped up in being The Strong One, The One Who Protects And Makes Things All Right and Can Be Leaned On, and he WANTS to be that post-movie more than anything because goodness knows Luigi needs it (not even just from a mental perspective, but physical too, considering the poor thing hardly slept or got any food/water for what seemed like multiple days!) but there's also his own exhaustion and the dawning realization of how close things were, how his brother could have very easily died if one little thing happened differently, and the guilt, so much GUILT for essentially being the reason all this happened - it's a lot!! And then the guilt would compound once he starts to slip and knows that Luigi can probably tell, and he doesn't want to make him MORE worried when his little brother's already going through his own struggles, so that just makes him try HARDER to seem Totally Normal and Fine and In Control, and it's not a good cycle. :( (But it doesn't take too long before the inevitable breakdown and the brothers getting to cry it out together. Sometimes you just need to do some messy crying and hugging to feel better!!!!)

And yeah, I think that makes sense! Mario didn't have a cakewalk of a time either, that's for sure, even if there were some nice/peaceful moments in his journey. I saw in one fic someone theorize that maybe loud sounds would instantly make him shift into danger mode and being really on edge because of the blue shell for a little while, and I think that makes sense. And man, the eel stuff really does get more disturbing the more you think about it!! DK and Mario sniping at each other is funny, but I still really wish that scene had been given a little more room to breathe and resonate as a stronger, sadder Darkest Moment in the movie. Especially the line "at least your brother's not gonna die because of you!" which is heavy stuff, man! Mario's clearly angry and upset and feels like the situation is all his fault and he's never going to see Luigi again (heck, he'll never see the rest of his family or his home again either) and he tried so hard but he's finally reached a truly hopeless state where he just wants to wallow in how he's let everyone down and be left alone, which is rare for him. It's a brief moment, but a rough one for sure.

(And maybe once it's all over, he closes his eyes and sometimes still sees himself there, wet and cold and broken down, and there's a moment of blind panic where he's convinced he's imagined everything that happened past that point and he's about to be digested and die down here at the bottom of the ocean, with the horrible certainty that Luigi's dead too, that his brother died alone and scared all because of his stupidity, and he can't breathe, he can't BREATHE - and then he wakes up/comes back to the moment and it's all okay, he knows rationally that it's okay now but he still can't fully calm down because what if NEXT TIME.....)

[chloecherrysip]

Now that I've had a few hours of sleep and am marginally a human being again, let's talk about the mario movie some more! SPOILERS ALL THROUGHOUT THIS POST UNDER THE CUT (if you want to see my non-spoilery thoughts and the first part of my spoiler talk as well, here's that post from last night! Be warned that it's pretty all over the place because it was 4:30 in the morning and I was really tired lolol)

After thinking about it more, I truly do have some PROBLEMS with this movie (will talk more about some of that below and I covered a lot of the issues in my first post too) and I do wish it was better overall and not so painfully surface-level with all the character interactions - I can understand why some people REALLY don't like it while others love it! It's joyful and energetic and BEAUTIFUL but if you spent months and months theorizing and speculating about deep character interactions and a very emotional story, it does really sting to finally see how there is virtually NONE of that and the plot feels kinda empty as a result. :(

But! I'm definitely not upset or anything like that, and I'm still gonna see it two more times in theaters with a smile on my face! TRUTHFULLY (and if you've seen my blog before, you know this about me) what I cared about most in this movie was getting to see Mario and Luigi be adorable onscreen and have a good, healthy, loving relationship, and you do get that to some degree, even if it's nowhere near enough. I can make my peace (and write a lot of fanfic, LOL) regarding the rest. :)

Here is a list of moments between Mario & Luigi that made me happy:

FIRST OF ALL, SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE I LIKED BUT WAS CERTAINLY A CHOICE: Mario's nickname for Luigi is Lu????? He calls him that 3-4 times and at big moments, too. It started to be cute to me, even if I wish they'd gone with "Weegie" or something similar, but it's a little jarring at the beginning for sure.

In general, they are just very physically affectionate with each other! There are one or two quick hugs in the beginning scenes before we even get to the reunion. Also, I can't remember the specifics but the very last scene is them basically teasing/poking each other before running off into the day together and it's cute. :)

Mario is SO protective of Luigi in the Brooklyn scenes and let me tell you, as someone who cares DEEPLY about that, i was LIVING. He gets mad at Spike and tries to pick a fight only when he insults Luigi, and there is also a silly scene with an angry dog and Mario just instinctively puts his arm up in front of Luigi when things get a little scary/focuses on making sure he doesn't get hurt, and I was just having the BEST time. Honestly, I loved the Brooklyn stuff so much that I sincerely wanted the whole movie to just be about that, and things took a downhill turn for sure when the separation happened. :(

Someone definitely predicted this before the movie but Mario hates mushrooms as a food and Luigi likes them. During a dinner scene, Mario is slyly separating mushrooms from his food and putting them onto Luigi's plate in a way that suggests he's done that a LOT. Such a quick shot but I just liked the detail!

THE RUNNING THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION SITE AND MARIO DOING RIDICULOUS PARKOUR BUT ALSO STOPPING TWICE TO MAKE SURE TO TURN BACK AND OPEN THE GATES SO LUIGI COULD COME THROUGH NORMALLY. There was just something SO funny and sweet about [crazy jumping and leaping] [quiet, thoughtful pause to open the gate] [MORE CRAZY JUMPING AND LEAPING, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING, SIR] [another quiet, thoughtful pause to open the 2nd gate], I loveeeeee

Once again, just gotta be obnoxious about being right that the dialogue in the warp zone was "nothing can hurt us as long as we're together!" I HEARD THE LINE AS THIS IN THAT PREVIEW FOOTAGE AND EVERYONE CONVINCED ME IT WAS DIFFERENT BUT LOOK WHO'S LAUGHING NOW (i'm sorry, just let me have this win haha)

There is a sad moment where Mario and Luigi's dad clearly doesn't believe in their business and he even says to Mario something like "the worst part is that you're dragging your brother down with you" which is clearly upsetting to Mario so he leaves the dinner table - but then Luigi leaves the table too to come and sit with him and reassures him that he's not dragging him down and it's just a sweet, comfortable moment between them that I very much wish went on a little longer (the theme of the whole movie lol)

(Also, Mario and Luigi still live with their parents and share a room, they're clearly pretty young and are treated like the "babies" of the family. I wish we had seen more of their room other than a very extremely brief shots!!)

Luigi DOES immediately sell out Mario when Bowser goes for the serious mustache damage, LOL, but the way it's done is honestly so cute and once again, just reemphasizes how much Luigi loves Mario XD He's basically like "YES, I know him, he's my brother Mario and he's the best guy ever!" (And then Bowser, who is preoccupied with Mario = romantic rival for Peach's affections, is like "would a princess find him attractive???" and Luigi is like "if she has any common sense, she should!" (lol, that line could be TOTALLY wrong, I don't remember, but that's the gist of it, I promise) or something like that - just hyping Mario up when he's not even there, LOL

in Mario and DK's "darkest moment" scene where things seem hopeless and they're arguing, Mario says something like "well, at least your brother's not going to die because of you!" and noooo, bb, it's not your fault ;; (this scene could have been done SO MUCH BETTER with a few tweaks, btw, but I will get into that)

Luigi bringing coffee for Mario at the end of the movie in their respective cups :) :) :) So simple but I am a very simple person who just wanted to see little moments like this :) :) :)

I have GRIPES with the final battle scene but seeing Mario and Luigi work together and take care of Bowser as a duo was still good!!! Nothing can hurt them when they're together!!!

Also, already talked about this at length in my first post, but one more time: Mario saving Luigi from falling into the lava and their reunion hug is just my favorite moment of the movie, no contest, it goes by so fast and I wish it was longer but I can be happy with that alone and I can't wait for the screenshots/gifsets where I can see all the details of it more clearly and don't have to rely on my awful memory. Literally just going to think about that split-second of Mario holding Luigi's face with both hands in an unbearably sweet, gentle way forever. These brothers love each other very much, your honor ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

ALSO ALMOST FORGOT: FLASHBACK TO THEM BEING BABIES (AND THEY LOOK SO FAITHFUL TO THE ORIGINAL DESIGNS TOO!) AND MARIO PROTECTING LUIGI FROM A BULLY (lol I very much wish it was a longer and/or more creative flashback, but STILL sweet)

AND NOW THAT I AM DONE WITH BEING POSITIVE ABOUT MY FAVORITE BOYS, LET'S ~*~COMPLAIN~*~

First of all, still CANNOT BELIEVE that "I'm not afraid! I'll do anything for my brother" didn't make it into the movie, are you SERIOUS, it would have been perfect in SO MANY PARTS, they recorded it and everything, why???? IS THERE A DELETED SCENE??? ARE THERE SEVERAL DELETED SCENES??? I DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THAT PERFECT LINE, I WILL MOURN IT FOREVER

The editing in general is a little odd sometimes and it really DOES feel like a lot of scenes should be there that are missing. Another VERY weird cut is in the scene where Peach, Toad, and Mario are crossing the bridge with the Cheep-Cheeps and they just immediately cut the scene when one latches onto Mario's face and don't even include the cute stuff from the trailer with Peach trying to help him??? Like, WHY???? WHY DID THOSE FEW SECONDS NEED TO BE CUT??? I DON'T UNDERSTAND

I think one of the most painful things about this movie is that, as a writer/creative person, I can see SO many small opportunities throughout the movie where a couple of extra minutes and some tweaks in the writing would have made SO much difference. An unbelievable amount of difference! The overall structure of the story and the plot is good! The story of Mario wanting to reunite with his brother and Peach wanting to protect her kingdom (that took her in and cared for her when she was all alone in the world) is solid! But they never give the EMOTIONS surrounding these things ANY space to breathe beyond one line here or there, and that is SUCH a mistake and I can't believe no one thought to do something differently here.

FOR INSTANCE: The "darkest moment" scene with DK and Mario! It goes by so fast, but there is some good stuff there that, if the movie took a MOMENT and really let their pain/fear for their loved ones and their shared complex of unsupportive fathers BREATHE, would work SO MUCH BETTER. Like, I can easily imagine a rewritten version of that scene with very similar dialogue but just MORE of it (more pauses, more emotion, more reactions to one another's problems, more recognition of their similarities, etc) would have made it like a DAGGER in the heart. SUCH a missed opportunity. I am itching to rewrite it, LOL. (I am itching to rewrite a LOT of scenes!)

ALSO: Luigi is my LOVE and he is adorable throughout this, but I'm gonna be the first to admit that his scrap of an arc in this movie (if you can even call it that) is so lackluster and his heroic moment at the end genuinely doesn't feel that earned! AND ONCE AGAIN, WITH A LITTLE EXTRA WRITING/ROOM IN THE RUNTIME, IT'S A VERY SOLVABLE PROBLEM

And the solution is: build out the prison scenes and have Luigi actually talking to someone else who is locked up!!!!! Other than a couple of lines and jokes, the prisoners don't TALK TO EACH OTHER and Luigi just spends a lot of time looking sad. We don't get ANYTHING about his thought processes while he's captured other than he is thinking of Mario and hoping his brother comes to save him like he's always done.

WHEN CRANKY KONG AND THE OTHER KONGS SHOW UP, HAVE THEM SHARE INFO ABOUT MARIO'S APPARENT DEMISE WITH LUIGI!!! HAVE LUIGI TALK TO HIM (OR THE PENGUIN KING, OR SOMEONE) ABOUT HOW HIS BROTHER'S ALWAYS LOOKED OUT FOR HIM BUT MAYBE SOMETIMES, HIS BROTHER MIGHT NEED SOME SUPPORT TOO AND HE'S GOTTA BE STRONG FOR HIM TOO

It doesn't have to be a long or especially deep conversation, but some lines of dialogue like this would make that moment where Luigi realizes that Mario is right, nothing CAN hurt them if they're together and he's gotta be strong for his older brother too and he jumps in to protect him from Bowser hit SO much harder. That's all it would take!!!

I HAVE ACTUAL WORK TO DO TODAY AND CANNOT GO ON AND ON ABOUT THE MARIO MOVIE FOREVER BUT LAST THOUGHT FOR NOW: the more I think about the final battle, the more I'm conflicted, haha. The twist of everyone from the Mushroom Kingdom ending up in Brooklyn is definitely SHOCKING in the moment and pretty creative but I don't know, I had my heart set on a more classic version of Mario VS Bowser. It just doesn't hit as hard as it could in the end because of how silly the setting is. :( (But the Mario and Luigi teamup with the power star is great, and the music IS fire) (Also LOL at myself for thinking "Luigi won't fight at the end, that wouldn't make sense since Mario had to train" - he just knows how to fight, the movie goes with what's cool over what's logical and that's fair XD)

Also, the end of the movie is a tad confusing and has some pretty huge repercussions for this version of canon? ARE THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM AND THE REAL WORLD PERMANENTLY MERGED TOGETHER BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED??? That's definitely what it seems to imply with Mario and Luigi waking up in their Brooklyn room and then walking out straight into the Mushroom Kingdom! It's pretty bizarre! (Honestly, what I was expecting was that the Bill would destroy the warp pipes and Mario and Luigi wouldn't be able to go home, which I might have preferred, as sad as that would be.)

That's all I got for now! I'm sure I will have more thoughts in the future, haha.

[chloecherrysip]

This is probably starting to get annoying, but here are a few more scattered, silly thoughts about the mario movie. :)

(Did I go see the movie again for the 4th time in theaters last night? YES. Is that an excessive amount of times? YES. Have I spent a ridiculous amount of money at this point? YES. Do I have any regrets? NOT EVEN THE TINIEST BIT, NO.)

Trust me, I would be totally honest if I was starting to get bored, but I'm really, really not??? I had a really tough, busy week and I just wanted to be able to relax and have a good time and it was delightful as always!!! I left feeling so much happier. I'm already thinking about going to see it next week again! No one and nothing can stop me!!!! Other than possibly my bank account, LOL.

Obviously the reunion hug takes the lion's share of the focus, but I just want to express my undying love that Luigi and Mario share MULTIPLE hugs before we even get there, and that's not even counting moments at the beginning and the end where they have an arm around each other in kind of a half-hug! They are wonderfully, unabashedly affectionate and it's the best thing in the world!!!

As much as the family is teasing Mario & Luigi about their commercial, I DO appreciate that after their dad's insensitive comment and Mario leaves the table, all the adults genuinely look a little taken aback and stare at the dad (except the grandpa who is in his own little world lol) as if to say Wow, Not Cool. Like, it seems like saying something like that would even be a step too far for the uncles! I just like that there's subtlety and layers to the family stuff, and no one is portrayed as being 100% a jerk (even if some of them have some jerk-ish qualities like the guy stealing food from poor Luigi XD)

ALSO: in fanworks, I've seen several people allude to the bedroom Mario's shown in as being only his bedroom - I was watching those scenes closely this time just to confirm to myself (because I'm annoying about being as accurate as possible, haha), and it's DEFINITELY both his and Luigi's room! It goes by quick, but you can see another bed with green sheets in the far corner of the room clearly in at least one shot, both in the Brooklyn version and in the Mushroom Kingdom version. For some reason, it just tickles me that it's SUCH a small little inclusion and not really necessary, they could have just left it ambiguous whether they actually share a room or not, but nope, that detail is there if you are looking for it! :)

Y'know, even when Mario is dragging Luigi into a dangerous situation and jumping down through what is essentially a WHIRLPOOL into the sewers, he STILL stands at the bottom and waits/watches to see that Luigi makes it down safely after him before moving forward. OVERALL A SILLY THING TO DO but, as he always does when it comes to Luigi, Mario has those extra moments of care and attention. :)

Peach going on and on about how small Mario is will always just make me smile, I'm sorry XD IT'S TRUE (and I love how he's just like "yeah, yeah, make fun of me if you want" and moves on to the important stuff without actually getting mad, it's clear he's heard it all before)

I JUST LOVE MARIO IN GENERAL. I LOVE HIM IN THIS MOVIE???? I LOVE HIM, ALL HIS LITTLE MOVEMENTS AND MANNERISMS. HE IS JUST THE SWEETEST, BRAVEST LITTLE MAN AND HE DESERVES MORE APPRECIATION

I might make a separate appreciation post but here is a shortlist of little things I love: his little "I don't want to eat this" wiggle-dance when first trying to eat the mushroom, the bashful way he kicks up his feet and holds his hands behind him when he's standing next to Peach in the Flower Fields, the way he just cutely, awkwardly WAVES HELLO at everyone wherever he goes (in Toad Town, through the crowd as they're leaving the castle, even to the Kong Guards), how he's genuinely excited to see Donkey Kong's kart for a split second before DK's "I hate you" comment, how he saves DK in the water with NO hesitation at the risk of his own life because he is just a deeply good person, etc etc etc.

As much as I deeply wish that this movie had an actual scene where Mario gets to talk more about Luigi to his new friends and the dialogue wasn't always operating at Maximum Efficiency, I DO appreciate that there are still those couple of beats where you are explicitly reminded that Mario is doing this, ALL of this, for Luigi's sake and only that. The one that got to me this time is when Peach and him have that sidebar before the DK fight where she's like "this is a REALLY bad idea" and his retort is: "well, do you have another way to save my brother!?" And then you see him go on a little face journey where he's calculating things before agreeing to the fight and proclaiming that yes, he WILL win. BECAUSE HE WILL DO ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING FOR HIS BROTHER AND IF THE ONLY WAY TO REACH HIM IS TO FIGHT AND WIN, EVEN IF NO ONE BELIEVES IN HIS ABILITY TO DO SO, THEN BY GOD, HE'S DOING IT. ANOTHER REASON THAT I LOVE HIM!!

The aesthetic of the shattered Rainbow Road pieces glowing in the ocean around DK and Mario (and then inside the eel) is genuinely very beautiful and I always love the effect of it!

I'M SORRY, I CAN ALSO BE VERY CRITICAL OF THIS MOVIE IF I WANT TO, BUT HOW COULD ANYONE - ANYONE - WATCH MARIO AND LUIGI WREAK ABSOLUTE HAVOC AND DESTROY BOWSER IN PERFECT, EFFORTLESS UNISON WITH THE SUPERSTARS MUSIC PLAYING AND NOT FEEL ABSOLUTE JOY??? That sequence is actually perfect, and the music is even MORE perfect. Every time, I hear it, I feel exhilarated and light as air and like anything is possible! HOW COULD YOU NOT THINK IT'S MAGICAL??? HOW??? [STANDS ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN AND YELLS] HOW????????

Something that I have never noticed until this last rewatch and caught me genuinely offguard is that when Bowser's in the jar and Mario makes the "told ya I'd get you a turtle!" comment to Peach, if you're paying attention to Bowser, he actually does a "hardy-har-har VERY FUNNY" fake laugh as he's being all pouty, and I laughed outloud at that.

ALSO IN GENERAL, I AM SO PROUD OF THIS VERSION OF THE CHARACTERS AND THEIR WILLINGNESS TO PUT BOWSER IN ACTUAL JAIL!!!! HE DESERVES JAIL!!!! Like, I get that we're all very sweet and forgiving here and he's usually allowed to just slink away in most of the games, but seriously, HE COMMITTED VARIOUS WAR CRIMES FOR INCREDIBLY STUPID REASONS, THANK U FOR PUTTING HIM IN JAIL

The last scene with Luigi and Mario doing their handshake and then Luigi just full-on playfully poking Mario in the belly before running off is the CUTEST thing and also has the most Younger Sibling Energy of basically anything in the movie, lol. He also does it to him in the opening scene! I loveeeee ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[chloecherrysip]

Would getting beaten up by Bowser cause Mario some trauma too? Those injuries seemed pretty bad. Bowser could have easily killed him right then and there, and that alone would be enough to cause nightmares I would think.

(Here is the Mario Trauma Conga Line of posts in this thread, lol -> here and here and also here)

Ohhhhhh boy, yes. I would imagine so!! I've thought at times that I'm not sure if I like the movie's decision to have Bowser and Mario only come face-to-face at the very end of the movie. Besides that cartoonish cutout on the training course, Mario never really has to grapple with who exactly Bowser is, the strength/power he has, or the depths of his viciousness (maybe Peach/Toad told him more details that weren't shown, but we just have to assume he was left a little in the dark) -- he was just focused on reaching his brother, and everything else came second. But goodness gracious, you can't deny the impact of that first interaction and how absolutely TERRIFIED Mario looks, especially as Bowser just instantly and brutally overwhelms him. And yes, he seemed pretty badly hurt, with so many bruises and maybe even a fractured arm and/or shoulder with the way he was holding it. Just thinking about him desperately trying to hide in the pizzeria, gasping and in clear pain...man, it hit hard. ;_; That would be traumatizing for anyone!!

I think it's pretty easy for Mario to ride high on the adrenaline rush of having beaten down Bowser alongside Luigi for a good, long while, but those memories of helplessness and fear would creep back in eventually for him, especially once he starts thinking about what would have happened if the star haven't been an option and things had played out differently. Is there any scenario (excluding the one where he and Luigi get roasted when the manhole cover gives out) where he would have had enough strength left to stop Bowser? Could he have prevented him from hurting Luigi, hurting Peach and Toad and DK, hurting everyone else in Brooklyn, including his parents if Bowser wanted to? (And maybe that's what he has nightmares about, alternative scenarios where the star is taken out of play from the start, because it's a cold, dark fear that comes over him when he realizes that the answer to that question is an almost certain no.)

I definitely think Mario trains hard in the Mushroom Kingdom to become even stronger and more capable, both with powerups and without, so that he's much more ready for a rematch if it ever comes - and he probably overdoes it too, despite Luigi and Peach's best efforts to keep an eye on him. He doesn't ever want to feel like he has no chance without a fancy powerup again against Bowser. He wants to be able to protect everyone he loves and feel confident in that ability. It probably starts out at a slightly unhealthy place for him, but with the support around him, it gets better and more manageable. :)

(And dang, I cannot track this fic down, I swear I read something like this on AO3 and I want to give that person full credit for the idea (update: here it is!), but someone wrote about the concept of Mario checking in on Bowser in jail and Bowser promising Mario that when - not if but WHEN - he gets out of prison and regains his power, he's going to destroy everything Mario cares about, starting with Luigi, and uh, wow, that would REALLY not be good for Mario's mental state either, huh? Huh?????)

[chloecherrysip]

Hey.....remember when I said I wasn't gonna go see the Mario movie in theaters again? WHAT IF, HYPOTHETICALLY, THAT WAS A FLATOUT LIE AND I WENT AGAIN EARLIER TODAY???

AND what if I had more thoughts to share somehow, even though I could have sworn I was tapped out and would never do another longform post like this?? Wouldn't that be so very silly of me????

WELL, FUNNY THING

LOOK, I just really wanted to get out of the house and there was a showing in 3D five minutes away from me and I hadn't seen it in 3D! I have seen maybe ONE movie in 3D in my whole life and it was several years ago so I'm not too used to what that's like - and honestly, the effect is pretty cool! Maybe I'm easy to please but I liked the way the rain/ocean spray/ice in the beginning/etc actually seemed like it was in the air around me! (Also, I got a legitimate jolt when the Dry Bones popped out of the ground, I just didn't expect it to seem so CLOSE lololol)

Also, it was pretty delightful that we are several weeks into this movie's release and there was still someone dressed up fully as Mario in the theatre who walked by me. I love people! :D

I am at the point where just NINTENDO'S OPENING LOGO ANIMATION makes me emotional, with Mario and Luigi together and Luigi hopping playfully on Mario's head before running off with Mario jumping after him. They're just the LITTLE RETRO SPRITES and still!!! Brothers!!!!!!!!

During this viewing, I got really into thinking about the lore of the movie!universe specifically and the history of Bowser and his and Peach's conflict. My main question: what is UP with that castle in the Dark Lands? From the brief glimpse we get of the inside, it looks pretty abandoned with stuff littered all over the ground, not like Bowser just left it to go on his crusade. And yet, everyone talks about the Dark Lands as though that is where Bowser currently is and it's also where he lives when he's NOT in a floating airship. Maybe he abandoned that smaller castle years ago and the airship is actually his new and improved castle and it was a part of the Dark Lands before Kamek/magic in general just lifted it into the air at some point? But then why are there Shy Guys actively living in and/or patrolling the old castle still??? HMM

Also, Bowser says he had to spend YEARS searching for the super star! That's a lot of time!!! Have the penguins hidden it away from everyone all this time just to keep it safe? Has Peach known about it all along/done anything to help protect it herself? Is there only one star in existence? Does it regenerate after being used and if so, how long does that take??? I like thinking about all these little details, haha.

ALSO x 2, I'm just interested in Bowser and Peach's interactions before the movie in general. Bowser mentions that they've been "sworn enemies" for quite some time and the way he says "Princess Peach! Brave as ever!" just feels like something you say to someone you've spoken with before/have a little familiarity with that ISN'T just creepy spying/pining from afar, lol. Has Bowser tried to invade in the past? I almost wonder if, in the beginning, Peach was her charitable self who tried very hard to reason with him/strike up a peace treaty but it's just always gone wrong or she's VERY MUCH MISREAD all attempts at flirting on Bowser's part or she has just seen too much evidence of him being cruel/willing to kill to get what he wants in the process and that's why she's like "nah fam we're gonna annihilate this monster and leave not a trace behind, i'm DONE with all that peace stuff" now. She is NOT HAVING IT any longer and honestly? I respect that. Bowser is the worst.

(Slightly related: someone remind me that once I'm done with my fic, I need to go into more detail about another alternative movie scenario I've been thinking about where Mario is able to get rid of the Bomber Bill without the Brooklyn stuff ever happening and a furious Bowser grabs both Peach and Luigi (because every time I'm reminded that they never pay off Bowser's threat to use Luigi to hurt Mario, I become a little more insane) and flees in a smaller airship back to the Dark Lands with Mario & company in hot pursuit, and it's basically a more traditional Mario game finale but maybe there's BOWSER BACKSTORY regarding the Dark Lands castle and also Peach & Luigi being kidnapped together lets them bond and eventually become Breakout Buddies and look, it would be a fun time and I want to flesh it out more, OK)

This movie has GOT to come out on digital soon because I NEED to gif so many things (and I don't want to use camrips!!!) and one of those things is every instance of Mario awkwardly waving hello to strangers. HE DOES IT LIKE 5-6 TIMES, HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO. IT'S SO CUTE

Also, I love that Mario calls Cranky Kong "sir" when agreeing to the DK fight. THE MOST POLITE MAN IN THE WORLDDDD

I adore how genuinely touched Mario seems by Peach saying that him not knowing when to quit is a great thing. His little, gentle "thanks" in return makes my heart SOFT. Just makes me think about the vibe of him being the "impulsive" son, the "troublemaker" son in the family and how people like his dad have maybe been tough on him about that quality, and for Peach to just be so excited and look so HAPPY at the concept is so surprising to him -maybe she's the first person outside of Luigi to act like that!

me to me: you have seen this SO many times, do NOT tear up again when Mario sees the commercial on the cracked TV!!!

also me to me: CAN'T HEAR YOU, ALREADY TEARING UP

Also forever emotional about the fact that Mario and Luigi have absolutely NO context for what the star is or what it can do when they decide to grab it together - Peach told Mario to go for it, and that's ALL the information available. But the manhole cover is melting and Bowser's flames are literal seconds away from engulfing them. And even so, they're not afraid, because they're together again and whatever happens next, they'll face hand in hand, side by side, and it's that trust, that unbreakable bond that truly makes them invincible at the end of the day, and DON'T MIND ME, I'LL JUST SOFTLY WEEP OVER HERE

LUIGI WIPING A HAPPY TEAR AWAY AS HE AND MARIO HOLD ONTO EACH OTHER AT THE VERY END ;_______; HE MUST FEEL SO RELIEVED ;_______; PROTECT HIM ALWAYS

I made myself laugh as I was leaving the theater by thinking about the person that had to write that newspaper article at the end about what happened. What must that article read like???? How would you ever begin to be able to describe the events that took place here without sounding like an insane person???? Are the people who didn't see it in person reading this like "uhhhh is this April Fool's Day???" I WOULD HAVE THAT REACTION. I DON'T ENVY THAT PERSON'S POSITION lolol

[chloecherrysip]

As you might have gathered from my frenzied posts yesterday, ya girl saw the Mario Movie for the second time on Thursday, and I have some additional thoughts! I already rambled on about the brothers' reunion AT LENGTH but let's actually talk about some other things (but also still a LITTLE BIT about that here too because I literally cannot be stopped).

Most importantly, I feel like I have had a big change of heart about the movie - in a good way! :)

So I had bought this Thursday ticket first before I made the really impulsive decision to go to a midnight showing on Tuesday, and I kept the ticket because I wanted to see what I would think a second time (and there were obviously some favorite moments that I really wanted to watch again). But I came out of the first showing so conflicted that I was like: "Am I even going to have that much fun at a second showing? Will I be a little bored sometimes?" (Plus, I was having the worst headache yesterday and just not in the best mood in general lolol)

And it was so, so MAGICAL

I think my first viewing experience was weird because 1) I was anxious and way overhyped 2) It was late at night and I was TIRED and 3) I found myself SO distracted throughout the movie because my brain was busy trying to redefine expectations as things went on, to the point that the whole end battle was extremely fuzzy to me because it was just SO DIFFERENT from what I'd been thinking it would be and my sleepy brain didn't know how to reconcile it. This time, I went in knowing exactly what the movie was going to be and what I could expect, and I just??? had the best time imaginable??? I was SO happy the whole way through?????? Literally enthralled and delighted and smiling to the point that my face hurt all over again???

Like, just to be clear, the problems I've already gone on about are still problems at the end of the day -- but truthfully, I care about them a lot less now. At the end of the day, this movie is beautiful, has heart, and keeps you interested, and just having gotten that out of a mario movie after all this time is really special to me. I do genuinely think that if you felt conflicted and disappointed after your first viewing, you should watch the movie again and see how you feel a second time around, because shedding all those expectations and going in without all that hanging over me just made for an absolutely wonderful experience that I'll remember for a long time!

Part of that too is the crowd I saw it with! At my midnight screening, there were obviously no kids and everyone was a little subdued. This time, there was a good number of kids, and man, they were having such a good time. The dad/daughter duo sitting beside me laughed SO many times and it was delightful (she was SO excited at the Mario Kart stuff).

And there was APPLAUSE at the end! That by itself is always a magical experience to me at the movies when people clap at the end because it's just such a pure expression of happiness (since there's no live performance and the clapping is to no one's benefit, lol). And then as I was walking out, there were these little boys excitedly talking about how the movie was a "5/5!!!" for them and....man, I don't know. The universe likes to give gentle reminders that sometimes things are just Not That Deep and it's okay to be a little less cynical and a little more generous. (But I will still complain a LITTLE below, haha.)

ANYWAY, THAT'S ENOUGH MUSING, HERE ARE SPECIFIC THOUGHTS:

The significance of the Nintendo logo sequence being retro Mario and Luigi together at the very beginning :) :) :)

Didn't even realize the first time that Mario doesn't just instinctively stick his arm out in front of Luigi protectively during the dog scene, he ALSO does it when Spike stands up from the table, even though Spike's only focused on Mario at that point!!!! Something I really wanted from the Brooklyn scenes was to see that protectiveness and care in Mario's body language for Luigi right from the start, and they do SUCH a good job at that, like more than I could have hoped for. It's a reflex for him! When there's even the slightest whiff of danger, you can see Mario's thought process go straight to "keep Luigi behind me, make sure he stays safe" and I loveeee

Luigi is such a mama's boy! ❤️❤️❤️ Bragging about her liking their commercial so genuinely! They also have a cute, subtle moment when he's trying to get some food at the dinner table and everyone's talking over him/not listening but his mom brings him a bowl and gives him a little, soft pat on the shoulder, it is adorable.

(Also Luigi getting swept up in the moment and dropping the "mic" but it's his phone and he breaks it continues to be just...such a good character moment. He is so wonderful throughout the beginning of the movie and I just want so much more of him in the sequel, please ;; )

JUST THE FAMILY STUFF IN GENERAL IS GOOD AND SURPRISINGLY SUBTLE AND REALISTIC????

Like, they could have gone REALLY broad with it and just made their parents horrible people if they wanted to do a "Mario has Dad Issues" plot but like, it's very clear that there's a LOT of love and care in that household! Along with a healthy dose of dysfunction, of course, but that's every family, haha. And honestly, their dad reminds me of my dad, who is a wonderful person BUT can also make really insensitive comments without realizing or just simply be really judgmental if one of his kids makes a choice he wouldn't personally make. It's still weird that they actually have a big family in this version of canon (if they live in the Mushroom Kingdom at the end of the movie, do they still go back and visit home all the time? Is it tough to be literally a world away from your parents??? I AM INTRIGUED BY THAT) but I can get behind it, haha.

In one of my other posts, I wrote that it looked like Mario and Luigi were the babies of the family, but there actually is a much younger kid at the dinner table, I realized - i think it's a little girl in a baseball cap who's maybe 7 or 8? Probably their cousin? She seemed very, VERY bored with everything going on. Also, for a split-second at the end, you can see her recording what's happening with her phone/taking a selfie XD I want to know more about this mystery kid and Mario and Luigi's relationship with them, haha.

Also, to go back a little, that construction site parkour scene had a lot more to it than I remembered! Mario doesn't just open the gates for Luigi - he also knocks down a ladder for him, throws down a piece of material for him to be able to run over a gap, and I think some other things too. Back to my original point about how no matter what's going on or how caught up he is, what his brother needs is always such a critical part of his thought process ❤️

I LOVED THE MARIO AND PEACH STUFF SO MUCH MORE THIS TIME???? There still isn't enough by far, but I was just so much fonder of their little moments. The "you're just trying to make me feel better" "is it working?" "a little, yeah" exchange was CUTE. Also, I kind of adore that Mario improves but doesn't ACTUALLY finish the training course (which feels realistic in such a short timeframe) but Peach sees that he's really trying and that's all she needed to know, that he was serious and had the determination to give it his all. :)

ALSO I love when Mario looks very nervous right before his fight with DK but he and Peach lock eyes and she gives him a determined smile and nod and that helps him.

(ALSO x 2, when Bowser breaks out of the ice at the wedding, Mario and Peach are holding hands very sweetly!!! I want to know what they were saying to each other at that point! She was probably SO relieved to see that he was alive and all right, ahhhh)

PEACH'S WEDDING DRESS IS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, MAYBE A CONTROVERSIAL OPINION BUT THE ODYSSEY DRESS COULD NEVER!!!

I have ALWAYS loved the idea of Peach's eventual wedding dress having pink elements throughout (even in the veil!!) because it's her signature and this dress DID and I was so endlessly delighted, can't WAIT to see all the details more in super high quality screenshots

ALSO THE WEDDING SCENE IS GENERAL IS SO GOOD??? I TRULY THINK THE WAY THEY STRUCTURED THIS SCENE AND PEACH'S CAPTURE WAS INCREDIBLY SMART???

I knew it was basically a foregone conclusion that Peach would be taken captive at some point because that is SO iconic, but I truly thought they would play it out more traditionally where Mario comes to her rescue. And the fact that they don't even go NEAR that idea, Mario doesn't even KNOW anything about what's going on her and she's on her own with Toad, and she just!!! handles the situation!!! she takes Bowser out (temporarily) and does everything she can to save the prisoners and I just loved that they were able to have it both ways while still letting her be TRULY badass instead of just paying lip service to the idea without ever following through

THE FINAL BATTLE IN BROOKLYN...HIT SO MUCH HARDER FOR ME THIS TIME...AND NOW I LOVE IT

I was just so bewildered the first time I saw the movie by the twist but this time, i was 100% IN THE MOMENT and let me tell you, Mario being all bruised and scared and then seeing himself and Luigi on the cracked television...my goodness, I genuinely teared up. I'm tearing up now thinking about it!!

IN GENERAL: THE WAY THEY BALANCE BOWSER'S HUMOR WITH SOME EXTREMELY MENACING, SCARY STUFF IS SO GOOD

I love that you're laughing at him and then suddenly, he just does something CRUEL and TERRIFYING and ESSENTIALLY PSYCHOPATHIC (even the little things like intentionally crushing Kamek's hands in the piano and making him keep them there!!) and you're scared of all him all over again

I know, I know, I already spoke about Mario and Luigi's reunion AT LENGTH, but I got one more thing -> it is genuinely SUCH a relief that Illumination did not go for the cheap "wow how embarrassing when men show emotion!" joke. in fact, not only did they avoid any joke like that, they went as far in the other direction as I think you could possibly go????? Like, seriously, I wanted FEELINGS here and the fact that it even blew ME away how tender and loving their whole exchange is really says something!!! I WILL LITERALLY TALK ABOUT THE FACE HOLDING AND THE FOREHEAD TOUCHING FOREVER, THEY ARE THE SWEETEST BROTHERS OF ALL TIIIME

Finally, I am STUPID because I genuinely walked away from the movie the first time with the impression that the worlds were permanently merged together at the end??? But after reading other people's summations of the ending, that's clearly not the case and Mario and Luigi just live in the Mushroom Kingdom now, whoops, haha. (I would be interested to know how far in the future that scene is!! I assume it would take some time to make that decision and that they weren't like "yeah, let's just immediately leave behind everything we've ever known and our whole family for a place we've spent a couple of days in" lol)

And also a quick list of some things that I'm still annoyed about because, well, it can't ALL be good:

The 80's music didn't bother me originally BUT it's starting to come to light now that the soundtrack is out that there are full, finished, AMAZING tracks that just aren't in the movie and it's pretty clear they sync up really well with those scenes???? SO IT DEFINITELY SEEMS LIKE THE ORIGINAL INTENTION WAS TO NOT HAVE ANY OUTSIDE MUSIC BUT SOMEONE HIGHER UP DID SOME MEDDLING AND GOT THEM ADDED AND THAT IS INFURIATING. And you can totally tell!!! WE NEED A VERSION OF THE MOVIE WITH ALL THE ORIGINAL TRACKS PUT BACK IN FOR SURE

It continues to feel like there are whole scenes/parts of scenes just missing from the movie! FOR INSTANCE: it seems like a MAJOR plothole that Toad was captured alongside Peach but then he's just...walking around freely? Able to get her a bouquet with the ice flower??? I feel like something was missed there. I really do wonder if there's like 10-20 minutes of footage/potential footage that was mercilessly cut for time. Will we ever see some of it (maybe on the blu-ray)? Will it be lost to time/Nintendo's vault forever? SOMEONE LEAK THE FORBIDDEN SCENES :(

Speaking of, RIP "I'm not afraid! I'll do anything for my brother!" I WILL ALWAYS MOURN YOU AND LOVE YOU AND WONDER WHEN YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN SAID IN THE MOVIE

Guys. The slow motion. WE GET IT. It's funny the first couple of times, but by the fifth time, it's SO OLD.

Also, I continue to desperately wish that the Luigi rescue at the end felt more earned. It's SO good but it needs one more beat! One more realization! One more character moment! SOMETHING! :( :( :( :(

I had ANOTHER idea about how they could have sold this more and even tied it back to an earlier moment in the movie. When the scene cuts to Luigi in the dumpster watching Mario fight, frame what he's seeing so that it reminds him of being babies on the playground again, but now Mario's where Luigi was!!! And Bowser's the bully!!! And his brother needs him just as much as Luigi needed Mario back then!!!! You wouldn't even need any dialogue - just let the shot LINGER on Luigi and give us a tiny bit of that flashback intercut one more time alongside his changing expressions! It would be SO simple but I think it'd be effective AND give that earlier flashback more reason to be there in the first place (as adorable as it is).

OK I'VE TALKED ENOUGH

[chloecherrysip]

What if Mario becomes afraid of the ocean after the whole eel thing?

(Posts related to this one: here and here!)

Hmm, I hadn't thought about that, but it's possible! I don't know if he'd necessarily develop a fear of the ocean, but I could see him struggling a bit with being in water (or even just a bath) at first without having a slow, creeping sense of déjà vu and feeling transported back to that time, if only for a moment. It's not even the ocean itself that scares him - it's more how he felt when he was there, that despairing weakness, those sharp, aching pangs of true hopelessness that are usually so alien to him, of having let Luigi and everyone else down, of knowing in his bones that he and his brother were going to die in this world without ever seeing each other or home again. He hates reliving that, but it's hard to fight when his senses transport him back there, and he just wants to get out of the water again as soon as possible to leave it behind and remind himself that everything's fine.

But talking it through helps, and time passing helps! I think he'd get a to a point before too long where he's able to put the memory safely behind him, hidden behind new, wonderful memories, and really enjoy being back in the ocean. :)

[chloecherrysip]

So I just got back from a midnight showing of the Mario Movie!!! AND I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT IN DEPTH (BEHIND A CUT OF COURSE, NO SPOILERS FOISTED UPON ANYONE UNLESS THEY WANT THEM)

If you are just looking for a general impression of whether I thought it was good/bad and some things to keep in mind before you see it yourself (I do want to offer a helping hand in setting expectations for people who are afraid they've hyped it up too much), you can read that part FIRST and then I will provide a clear warning/a ton of space where you have to scroll further to get to the actual spoilers so you can back out! But I AM going to spoil things after I provide that warning, so please don't read further if you don't want to know.

(Also if you don't want to read through all the spoilers but you DO want to know if something specific happens/doesn't happen, feel free to message me! I don't mind answering.)

LET'S-A GO

MY GENERAL, NOT-SO-SPOILERY THOUGHTS:

As someone who has loved these characters for a very long time and has always longed for more media with them, I really, genuinely did have a wonderful time watching the movie. Now that I'm home, I'm realizing that my face actually ACHES from smiling too much, haha. I think everyone who has that built-in affection for the source material will have a good time with it and not regret seeing it, and the movie seriously FLIES by because you're just so busy enjoying it and being along for the ride!

ALSO, IF YOU WERE WORRIED ABOUT THIS (NO SPECIFICS, WILL GET INTO IT MORE BELOW), MARIO AND LUIGI AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS, BY FAR AND AWAY, THE BEST PART OF THE MOVIE, THEY ARE SO UNBELIEVABLY ADORABLE EVERY MOMENT THEY'RE TOGETHER, WHICH IS NOWHERE NEAR ENOUGH TIME BUT OH WELL. GIVE ME A MOVIE WHERE THEY'RE TOGETHER THE WHOLE TIME RIGHT NOW, I DEMAND IT

THAT SAID....

I do think that if you are someone who has spent a lot of time theorizing about potential scenes/conversations between characters and hoping for meaningful interactions and a lot of emotional resonance and payoff (like me!), you need to bring your expectations WAY, WAY, WAYYYYYY down before going in. Bring them incredibly far down, and then bring them down a little lower, even. Trust me on this.

I saw in a review before I went in that "you can tell pretty immediately when watching that this is meant to be an extremely surface-level movie for children" and I wasn't sure what that meant, but after seeing it...yeah. yeah, I do see what they meant. There is just a lack of depth here that's pretty glaring (even for a children's movie!) and I think the short length of the movie is what really, REALLY hurts it. I just desperately wish it was 10 minutes longer and every scene had another two minutes added on where the characters could just TALK to each other. The characters almost never get to just talk to each other about anything that isn't servicing the moving of the plot forward at a breakneck pace, which is sad!!!! As much as I loved seeing all the characters together, it all just felt...a little empty. And that stinks, really.

Also, a good thing to know: if you have watched ALL the trailers/TV spots like many of us have, you have seen a VAST majority of the movie already, like 65% at least, I would say. Everything but the first 10 minutes and the last 15-20 minutes, basically! And while there are additional shots/pieces of dialogue in those scenes, of course, several of the scenes from the trailers where people were like "oh boy, can't WAIT to see the rest of that scene" - uhhhh, you basically already saw the whole scene, I'm sorry to say. That was definitely a bit of a disappointing realization for me, to realize that a scene I'd looked forward to from the trailers was here and - oh, it's already over, we're moving on. :( (And I can write a list of which scenes those were down below, if you want to know.) The movie really, REALLY needed some time to breathe, for goodness sake! This is probably the most frustrating thing, just not understanding why it had to be so SHORT and why every scene is paced like lightning.

ALSO: a couple of lines from the trailers that people really loved are not in the movie at all!?!?!?!?!?! I WAS APPALLED. WHAT HAPPENED THERE? WAS THE SCENE CUT OR DID THEY JUST RECORD LINES WITHOUT SCENES ATTACHED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE TRAILER????? (I will also list these below!)

All in all, I do want to be clear that I am NOT majorly disappointed! A little disappointed, sure, but I'm still smiling thinking back on the movie and I don't regret seeing it at all! I think people will enjoy it a lot if they just manage their expectations going in!!! But yeah...I think there's going to be a LOT of "fix-it fic" that comes out of this movie, whether that's people elaborating on the scenes or simply writing a better, longer, more emotionally resonant version of the plot (which honestly I might dabble in, LOL)

AND NOW LET'S GET INTO ACTUAL SPOILERS

FIRST, MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: DO MARIO AND LUIGI GET TO HUG WHEN THEY REUNITE????? SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT

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THEY DO!!! AND IT'S THE BEST

I'm not even joking, it's my favorite moment of the movie by far, absolutely no contest, would watch it 1,000+ times on repeat and die happy, LOL. It comes and goes quickly like all things in this movie does but they DO get a few beats to themselves and just - their faces!!!! their body language!!!! THE RELIEF AND HAPPINESS AND LOVE FOR EACH OTHER IS SO PALPABLE, JUST IN ALL THE LITTLE WAYS THEY REACT AND TOUCH EACH OTHER!!! I would have to see it again to really get all the little details, I'm sure I missed things in the moment, but the highlights are Mario cupping Luigi's face in both hands REALLY sweetly and also going in for a second quick hug where he lifts Luigi off the ground. And then there is some light ribbing from Luigi about what the heck he's wearing (he's still in the Tanooki powerup!) XD

Unfortunately, no one cries or gets teary (at least not that I noticed? I could be wrong and there was a super quick moment of it) but other than that, it was truly a lovely, little moment and this what I cared most about in the movie by far, SO I CAN REST EASY NOW. I think I saw someone say "I want their reunion hug to be good enough that it's featured in ALL Mario & Luigi hug compilations" and ohhhh, trust me, it WILL be!

(If you are curious about context for their reunion, here you go: there is unfortunately no jailbreak or anything like that, Luigi is still in jail when Bowser decides to SACRIFICE ALL HIS PRISONERS BY DROPPING THEM, CAGE AND ALL, INTO LAVA to prove his love for Peach!?!?! Peach herself manages to temporarily stop the cages from lowering but then Luigi is the lowest hanging cage and basically gets most of his cage EATEN AWAY BY LAVA but manages to crawl out and try to escape, only to fall! BUT THIS IS WHEN MARIO IS FIRST GETTING THE TANOOKI POWERUP AT THE SAME TIME AND HE SWOOPS IN AND SAVES HIM, IT IS GREAT AND SUPRISINGLY TENSE)

I will get into more detail about the rest tomorrow in a follow-up post when it's not almost 4:30 in the morning, but here are some more spoilers/things I liked or didn't like!

LIKED:

Pretty much everything in Brooklyn! I will write a more specific list tomorrow of all the sweet Mario & Luigi stuff but it is all EXTREMELY good, to the point that I started to actively dread the separation :(

PEACH GETTING CAPTURED AND GOING THROUGH WITH A WEDDING TO BOWSER TO SAVE HER PEOPLE BUT THEN KICKING ASS AND TAKING NAMES ALL BY HERSELF???? SHE SAVES HERSELF, NO MARIO NEEDED, AND IT'S FANTASTIC AND UNEXPECTED

Mario and DK's rivalry is SO juvenile but SO funny. All their little sniping at each other is cute XD

Bowser is also SO funny??? Everything with him pining after Peach and his SONG and all of his minions being EXTREMELY confused about his plan made me laugh more than anything else (BIG Mario Odyssey visual references for the wedding, btw XD)

I'M SORRY, I GOTTA SAY IT AGAIN....JUST MARIO AND LUIGI IN GENERAL. EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM. THEY ARE PERFECT LITTLE MEN WHO LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH. ALSO, VINDICATION FOR ME BECAUSE WHAT MARIO SAYS TO LUIGI IN THE WARP PIPE IS "nothing can hurt us as long as we're together" (which is then repeated later at a critical moment) and nobody believed me that he was saying that but he IS!!!!!!! I KNEW IT

The whole "why is Peach the only human here?" question getting EXPLORED???? AND SHE HAS A BACKSTORY WHERE SHE ESSENTIALLY IS FROM MARIO & LUIGI'S WORLD AND WAS FOUND AND RAISED BY THE TOADS???? It was VERY interesting and i was EXTREMELY intrigued

Stuff that was disappointing:

There was essentially nothing about Mario and Peach and Toad's teamup & journey that you didn't already see in the trailers/TV spots :( There's maybe a COUPLE of cute, new lines but that's it.

Other scenes where you basically saw it all if you saw the trailers/TV spots - the fire flower fields scene (other than Peach's backstory! But no more talking about Luigi from Mario, waaah), the Bowser + Luigi interrogation (a tiny bit more to it but barely anything and they do not directly interact again, SORRY FANS OF THEM), Luigi in the Dark Lands, and the threesome traveling to different lands. :(

THE LINES "I'm not afraid! I'd do anything for my brother" and "I hope you told your brother how much you loved him because you're probably not gonna see him ever again" ARE NOT IN THE MOVIE (UNLESS I BLACKED OUT OR WAS DISTRACTED AND MISSED THEM) AND THAT IS ACTUALLY A CRIME!!!!!! I AM GENUINELY KIND OF UPSET ABOUT THIS AND DEMAND MORE INFO. HOW THEY COULD RECORD THE FIRST LINE IN PARTICULAR AND NOT INCLUDE IT???? SHAME, SHAME, SHAME

Again, just....a lack of characters getting to have conversations/connections in general. Mario and Luigi's relationship and closeness is the only one that you really BELIEVE. Mario and Peach just don't get time to TALK, and neither do Mario and Toad. Honestly, Mario and DK's relationship felt more fleshed out in the end, and even that was just by a tiny bit.

Speaking of...no Mario + Peach romance in the least, sorry. :( They get ONE scene where DK makes fun of Mario for "flirting" with her but that's basically it. They don't even really get a scene with any romantic undertones other than just general smiling/warmth at each other?

ALSO: no Rosalina, no Daisy, no Wario/Waluigi, no Bowser Jr or the Koopalings, no real cameos of any sort that I picked up on EXCEPT you do see King Boo and some other notable villains at Bowser and Peach's wedding, which was neat! But Daisyyyyyyy. ;____;

Lumalee literally plays NO actual role in the movie and there is no sacrifice for a 1-up or anything like that. The character is just there to be morbid comic relief, which is kind of a letdown!

I HAVE TO SLEEP NOW, but quick thing about the ending (I will elaborate in another post) - the final battle is truly BONKERS. It's NOT a classic Mario VS Bowser battle at all, which is what I originally wanted, but jury's still out on whether I liked it or not? Will have to sleep on it. XD

WILL FOLLOW UP WITH ANOTHER POST TOMORROW WHEN I'M NOT ACTIVELY FALLING ASLEEP

[chloecherrysip]

WE ARE SO CLOSE TO THE MARIO MOVIE so here's one last wishlist/theory-fest from me! I already wrote a more robust one of these that was Mario and Luigi-specific that you can find on my blog. This one is still fairly specific to them but does feature a couple of other things. :)

(Just to be clear, these are all just theories! If I touch on something that really happens, it is pure luck, I swear.)

Someone else recently said this but just gotta reiterate because it is incredibly important: SOME KIND OF REPRESENTATION OF MARIO AND LUIGI AS KIDS, PLEASE. A full-fledged flashback would be INCREDIBLE but even just a meaningful photo would be truly delightful. I would also love to see where they live even briefly! I want character details, items strewn about, family photos, just a sense of really strong, lived-in comfort between them, etc very badly, even if it's just a few blink-and-you'll-miss-it shots.

(Also, this is specific but: if there IS a flashback at some point and it is ~*~thematically relevant~*~ AKA Mario taking care of Luigi in some way or Mario being told by a parent to "look after your brother" or something similar, i WILL cry right then and there)

Quality Luigi & Peach interaction, even just a tiny bit! I'm sure there will be some passing moments of this at the very end, but I've also been thinking a lot about the possibility of them meeting up in the airship before Mario finds them??? I do think the writing is on the wall that Peach will be taken prisoner in the third act (although I would honestly REALLY respect it if the movie just never goes there at all with her). Maybe she frees herself or is saved by Luigi & company and joins their jailbreak in progress. It's cute to think of some of Mario rubbing off on Peach during their trip and her being instinctively protective of Luigi right away. He tries to step in front of her when danger strikes at first because he is a gentleman but it quickly becomes crystal-clear that she's got combat training and he has exactly none. She is very nice but also insistent that he should stay behind her instead, haha. (and then Bowser recaptures both of them just as Mario shows up I'M SORRY I WANT THE ANGST)

(Also, I don't think this is likely to happen at all but just a potentially angsty thought: if Mario IS missing in action around this time like many people suspect after Rainbow Road (considering Peach and Toad seem to drive back alone in the commercials) and Peach assumes the worst, it's sweet and sad to think of her encountering Luigi in the airship and taking full responsibility for him right then and there because she promised Mario they would save his brother and she intends to fulfill that promise no matter what, even if he's gone)

Another kinda specific thing but I could see it happening and if it does, my soul might leave my body for a second: there being a moment in the final confrontation with Bowser where Mario seems completely down for the count, but then he hears Luigi call his name or cry out in general and that's the spark that gets him back up!!!

In general, I really hope there gets to be a TINY, TINY BIT of time at the end of the movie where Luigi is shown happy and having fun after his ordeal, please. He deserves it!!! Even if it's just some art/snapshots over the end credits or something. I want him and Mario to get to go to some of the places we throughout the movie together and actually enjoy them (maybe they have a picnic with Peach and Toad in the fire flower fields, maybe they race karts for fun with the Kongs, etc) or even if they're shown exploring Toad Town, that would be enough (And for the record, even if they don't show this, I'm going to believe it happens IN MY HEART)

Also it would be funny to see Luigi trying out Peach's training course and/or experimenting with powerups if he never gets to use one in the course of the movie and struggling (but Mario cheers him on and is there for support!) (or maybe he's even GREAT at the training course - in a chaotic way - because guess what, he lived it already!!!)

I'm not holding out much hope for this at all, but man...I just really want Daisy to exist in this universe. Even just MENTION her. Even just have her in a crowd or party scene at the end for the briefest second! I am begging u for the slightest little scrap, movie.

[chloecherrysip]

Hey, i'm just gonna do some musing on the last scene of the Mario Movie under the cut and how long I think it takes the brothers to get to that point, because I feel like my opinion on this is sort of at odds with others I've seen?

(spoilers, obviously!)

This is just my own opinion, no ill will intended to anyone who's done this, but every time I see a fanwork that's basically like "Mario and Luigi literally make the decision to move to the Mushroom Kingdom THE VERY SAME NIGHT AS THE FIGHT WITH BOWSER" or that they even go back to the Mushroom Kingdom immediately afterwards with everyone else and don't even have to think about it too hard, I am BEWILDERED and CONFUSED??????

I know that Mario saw a lot of beauty and wonder in the world, but the brothers were only there for MAYBE two to three days at most (if we're assuming the traveling montage wasn't longer than it seemed). I would assume they've lived their entire lives in Brooklyn, maybe even in that very same apartment/house we see, considering all the photos on the walls. Like, they GREW UP there. And while their family has its problems and general dysfunction like all families do, there's clearly a lot of love there as well! I just always think to that moment where they come home and everyone looks very happy to greet them/welcome them in. They clearly have relationships here and connections, and after maybe even thinking they'd never see their family again for a while there in the Mushroom Kingdom, you'd think they'd want to spend a little time after all that whirlwind just being close to their mom and dad and other loved ones, helping rebuild the street block from all the damage, etc.

(Maybe that's just really boring and other people don't care about the family stuff, they KNOW Mario and Luigi eventually end up as residents of the Mushroom Kingdom so just skip all the in-between already, but it matters to me, OKAY)

I like to imagine the eventual decision to live in a different world as one that takes weeks, if not months to figure out. And during that time, they still visit the Mushroom Kingdom plenty, of course! They have tea with Peach and explore Toad Town and visit the Kongs and go on little adventures and help out with conflicts and Luigi gets to have a good time and see the nice parts of the world, FINALLY, and all of this strengthens the friendships they've made. And as time goes on, they start to realize that they want to stay more and more until eventually, it's an easy choice to make. :)

And during this in-between part, I want Peach to come visit them in the regular world too!!! CONSIDERING SHE IS LIKELY FROM THIS WORLD AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT HER ORIGINS, WHY WOULDN'T SHE???? She probably can't steal away TOO much considering her position, but I just have the biggest smile on my face imagining Mario and Luigi taking her to all their favorite shops/restaurants and her being endlessly fascinated by the silliest little things and the parents trying to AGGRESSIVELY matchmake every chance they get, lol. I just love the Mario & Peach & Luigi dynamic and want to see both brothers becoming closer with her in their own ways, what can I say. <3

Also, it's kind of funny to imagine that what pushes them over the edge re: moving is Peach's offer to build them a house for free. A WHOLE HOUSE??? FOR FREE??? WHILE THE GOING RENT IN BROOKLYN IS OUT OF CONTROL??? This may be the only chance the brothers get to move out of their parents' house without it costing an arm and a leg and by god, they're going to take it and run with it

(Yes, that last point is a little TOO real, sob)

[chloecherrysip]

What are your opinions on Peach’s portrayal in the movie? Would you have written her any differently?

Overall, I personally liked it! Her portrayal was definitely very DIFFERENT than game!Peach, and I can understand why some fans can't really get behind this alternate characterization - I think Peach is the one character where the portrayals are SO different that you really have to think about them as separate characters VS the others where you can pretty easily bridge a gap between the movie version and the game version. Also, uh, most of the dialogue/writing for her was fairly bland, I will say. I think more time and longer conversations between characters would have done wonders here (lol my main complaint with the entire movie) but overall, the way they wrote her lines felt a tad...underbaked, to say the least. I hope they'll improve on that in a sequel!!

BUT! Ever since I was a very tiny child, I have yearned for scenarios of Peach fighting and saving herself and handling Bowser all on her own, and I am EXTREMELY grateful that this movie actually follows through with that and doesn't fully play into the more traditional damsel in distress scenario after setting Peach up as more capable and combat-experienced!!! Because one of my LEAST favorite modern tropes with portraying women is when a story sets up a female character as extremely badass and capable and able to kick all the bad guy's butts...but that's only in the opening scenes where it doesn't matter, don't worry, she'll be rendered completely helpless during the important stuff because, clear the way, the MAIN MALE CHARACTER/LOVE INTEREST (that she usually trained herself) is here to be the star now! And I was afraid that's where we were going here when Peach was captured - which is why I found it SO delightful that she had her own plan and we get this awesome scene of her not only taking Bowser out of commission (temporarily), but also fighting her way through a horde of enemies AND stalling the prisoners' descent long enough for Luigi and everyone to be saved! It is a MARIO BROS MOVIE, of course, not a Peach movie, which is why the rest plays out as it does and she does take a backseat, understandably, but the fact that they let her have this moment all to herself when they could have easily written something more traditional where Mario swoops in and breaks up the wedding meant a lot to me (and that younger version of me).

(And just to be clear, this is not me saying that this version of Peach is superior in any way to game!Peach. I have always loved Peach! I'm just glad the movie didn't try to have it both ways. Either make Peach her sweet, gentle, non-fighting focused self who is in need of rescue and there's nothing wrong with that OR make her much more combat-ready and follow through on that characterization to the logical conclusion (instead of having the character spout off "tough" ultimately empty lines while never actually getting to prove herself)!!! They chose the latter, and that works for me! But I know it doesn't for everyone.)

I also liked her being a little more excitable and silly while still having proper, delicate mannerisms in a lot of places (I especially like how she carries herself/doesn't back down when they arrive at the big Kong door) and her interactions with Mario. If it was me writing the movie, I probably would have punched up her sweetness and poise a BIT more and (again) fleshed out her dialogue to have more life and nuance to it than just Efficient Plot-Forwarding Information At All Times but overall, nothing major!

Again, I totally understand people who were frustrated by how at odds it felt with the games! I think I just see the character now as two alternate versions that I enjoy and appreciate pretty equally for different reasons. :)