Mamma Mia! Super Mario Bros. movie evokes nostalgia

anvi TALYAN

Growing up with a father interested in video games, Kara Miller, junior, was introduced to the world of Mario at a

She ended up playing Mario games throughout elementary and middle school, gaining an interest in “Super Mario 3D World,” “Mario especially “Mario Super Sluggers.”

“I don’t really have an interest in baseball, but I love that game. I played it 24/7,” Miller said.

Though she doesn’t play much now, Miller said she regained interest in the games after hearing about the “Super Mario Bros.” movie, which was released in theaters Wednesday, April 5.

Miller said the voice actors caught her attention, and that she is looking forward to seeing it.

“Even if it sucks, even if it’s the worst movie ever, I’m going to love that movie,” Miller said.

Miller is not alone in feeling nostalgia with the release of this new movie.

After also growing up playing Mario, Thomas Puetz, math teacher, has been able to introduce the game to his children.

“The games hold up decades later,”Puetz said.

Puetz said some of his best memories came from late nights playing Mario with his friends, and he was excited for the movie after seeing the cast list.

"My sons and I really enjoyed the Super Mario movie," Puetz said. "It was a fast-paced adventure filled with fun references for fans of the franchise."

Tyler Penrod, Class of 2006, works as a technical artist at Insomniac Studios, where he has gained experience in the video game world.

After working with these games, Penrod said he has been able to recognize aspects of Mario that have allowed the games to maintain popularity.

“There's a simplicity to Mario, and it's kind of evolved over the years as games make these technological leaps,” Penrod said.

Penrod also said Mario is an icon in the video game world.

Though other video games have recently been adapted into movies, Penrod said Nintendo most likely decided to wait on making this new movie due to the negative feedback received after making their live-action in 1993. Despite this, Penrod said he thinks now was the right time for them to release the movie and he hopes to see more in the future.

“It'd be interesting to see what they would do with it, like how do you condense hours and hours of game into a two hour story,” Penrod said.

Nintendo rereleased their old "Game and Watch" controller in 2020, after it was first launched in 1997.

The Evolution of Video Game Controllers

In the movie, Mario hates mushrooms, though they act as powerups.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has made over $693 million worldwide.