Channeling an Iconic Video Game: Matthew Fogel Talks about ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’

Super Mario is a game franchise that has serious legs. From arcade game to Nintendo platform game, the forty-year-old game, with its signature sounds, lively characters Mario and Luigi and recognizable music score by Koji Kondo, is still a hit with young and old. The game takes place primarily in the candy-colored Mushroom Kingdom, with the brothers always on a mission that tests their mettle. With eight worlds consisting of four levels each, there are plenty of chances for players to level up. Princess Toadstool/Peach is often a part of their milieu, and their nemesis is frequently King Koopa/Bowser.

On April 5, 2023, Mario and Luigi will hit the big screen in the Universal Pictures’ release The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Directed by Aaron Horvath (Teen Titans Go!, Teen Titans GO! To the Movies) and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!), the kinetic film is a charming blend of nostalgia, lighthearted storytelling, and old-fashioned gameplay images. 

Christ Pratt voices Mario and nails it with cheeky aplomb. Charlie Day is Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy is Princess Peach, and Jack Black makes Bowser his own as only he can. Written by Matthew Fogel (The Lego Movie 2: The Second Movie, Minions: The Rise of Gru), the movie incorporates fine details of the game and stays true to the basic story. Hearing the Beastie Boys’ pulsating ‘No Sleep Till Brooklyn’ not only transports us to Mario and Luigi’s neighborhood, it carries us on clever rap bars back to the time period. The soundtrack is replete with tasty 80s gems, which embraces the era that was the genesis of the game. Both fans of the game and game neophytes should enjoy this daring, yet sweet quest to save the world with the Mario Bros.

Matthew Fogel recently spoke with us about the enjoyment of adapting one of his favorite games.

Had you played Super Mario Bros. before?

I grew up playing Super Mario Brothers. My first game was Super Mario World, which is still my favorite video game ever, and not just because it was the first Mario game in which you could save your progress, which was game-changing for someone with iffy hand-eye coordination like me.

How difficult was it to adapt this from such an iconic, classic game?

Everyone who made this movie are just crazy Mario fanatics. With more than forty years of characters and lore, it was really about deciding what we wanted to see in the movie and then deciding how best to express those ideas cinematically. There were obviously some tough choices, because if everything I loved about Mario was in the movie, the movie would be 18 hours long.

How did you decide which parts of the game to include in the movie and what parts to leave out?

Early on we decided we didn't want to be beholden to just the standalone Mario games, we wanted to include other games from Mario's rich history, like Mario Kart and even Donkey Kong. But it was never easy to decide. Ultimately, you just have to choose what serves the story best, and hope people like the film so we can make more Mario movies with all the amazing things we couldn't include in this one.

Did you picture such a vibrant world when you wrote the script?

I knew the possibility of what the world could look like, but our directors and their incredible production design team exceeded any expectation I had. The way they took the Mario visual language and scaled it up for a movie is just so exciting. Watching them build these worlds never gets old. I can't wait for fans to experience it. I'll never forget the first time I saw Mario walking through The Mushroom Kingdom. It was like a dream coming true.

You've composed music before. How similar is it to your screenwriting process?

Writing music and screenplays are both about creating within a defined structure. Some people find the structure restrictive, but when you're staring at a blank page, slowly losing your mind, it's nice to have some foundation under you.

This is for kids, but adults can also enjoy it. How do you ride that fine line when writing?

I don't really think about kids vs. adults when I'm writing. I find so many different kinds of things funny and there's nothing better than a bit that has the entire audience laughing.

The soundtrack is 80s. Is the story set in the 80s?

The story takes place in modern times. The music is just a fun nod to the nostalgia so many of us feel when we think of Mario. I have no idea what year it is in The Mushroom Kingdom.

How did you get involved with the project?

We were halfway through making Minions: Rise of Gru when they asked me to take a look at Mario.

Is it more difficult to write for animation than live-action?

What I love about writing for animation is that it's iterative. I'll write a scene, we'll see it in storyboards, and then, as a group - the producers, the directors, and me - take it apart and see where it's working or not. We ask ourselves: is it helping the story? Deepening character? Is it funny? Then I'll go back and re-write. We'll watch it again. Rinse, repeat. 

In live-action you only get one chance at the scene. Writing for animation is actually just like playing Mario. You fail and fail - sometimes embarrassingly so - but with every failure, you learn and improve, until you finally figure it out. The trick is not giving up, which is exactly what the movie is about.

What do you think makes this game so popular?

There's a lot of reasons, I think. The way Nintendo brilliantly balances consistency and innovation; the unbelievable design and super charming characters; the gameplay that is both so simple and so challenging. But for me, it's just how much fun the games are to play with others. 

In those dark early days of the pandemic, my girlfriend and I started playing Luigi's Mansion. We knew that no matter how scary the news was, there was something we could do that would always bring a smile to our faces. For so many of us who grew up playing Nintendo, these games just feel like home. 

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is only in Theaters on April 5, 2023.