One of the benefits of making a movie out of theSuper Mario Bros.franchise is that a huge chunk of the work is done well in advance. The look, the main characters, the sound effects, and the music already have their place, and they’re all widely beloved. Why would Illumination choose to take some of those classic tracks and replace them with overused pop mainstays?
TheSuper Mariofranchise has countless all-time classics across the long history of its in-game soundtracks. Composers like Koji Kondo have imbued theMushroom Kingdom with a distinctive soundthat has stood the test of time. From the infectious fun ofMario 64’s “Slider” to the instant excitement of the “Super Star” theme, the Mario catalog is packed with hits.
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The Super Mario Bros. Moviehas Great Music
Forall the things this film does wrong, the original score is an unambiguous success. The film’s score was composed by Bryan Tyler, a gifted conductor who has been in the industry for over 24 years. His work can be heard across theFast & Furiousfranchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe,TheExpendablestrilogy, and so much more. He arranged versions of the themes for Universal Studios and Marvel. By all accounts, Tyler was excited to take on the 8-bit sounds and give its classic structure the epic orchestral rearrangement it deserves.
Tyler’s work onThe Super Mario Bros. Movieis stellar, incorporating that unique sonic experience of the Mushroom Kingdom into a massive new orchestra. He packs in references to the entire franchise, but it’s more than a greatest-hits showcase. Tyler worked directly with Koji Kondo to perfectly capture the atmosphere. Even theoriginal songs by the voice actorsare fun. The problem is not the score. Go and listen to it on Spotify, it’s note-perfect across the board. The problem is that the film seems to want to distance itself from one of its best elements.
The Super Mario Bros. MovieUses Terrible Needle Drops
There are nine licensed songs in the soundtrack forThe Super Mario Bros. Movie. Technically, the “Mario Brothers Rap” fromThe Super Mario Bros. Super Showdoesn’t count. Two of those licensed tracks were from Nintendo games, specifically the “Attack! Fury Bowser” track fromSuperMario 3D World + Bowser’s Furyand the “DK Rap"fromDonkey Kong 64. The latter, written by legendary composer Grant Kirkhope, appeared in the film withno credit given to Mr. Kirkhope, a flagrant and grim decision that cut out a widely beloved performer. The most noticeable needle drops in the film include Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero,” A-ha’s “Take On Me,” AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” and “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra. Each of these popular songs is a massive hit that most people generally enjoy, but their place in the movie is utterly jarring.
Theneedle drop is a time-honoredtechnique that has a massive gulf between positive and negative examples. EachMario Movieneedle drop grinds the film to a sharp halt as anyone above the age of 12 is painfully reminded of the paint-by-numbers approach that got this feature to the screen. Every track they select is so obvious that a deaf viewer could accurately guess which pop song accompanies each scene. What’s worse is that the original score features multiple songs that didn’t make it into the film’s final cut.
The scene in which Mario, Peach, and Toad are drivenaround the Kong Kingdomby an ape in a blazer was meant to be scored by a track called “Drivin' Me Bananas.” It’s a solid medley of classicDonkey Kongsongs that would’ve perfectly introduced the Donkey Kong domain. Instead, “Take On Me” awkwardly slides in like a bad YouTube edit. It gets worse. According to Jamey Scott, who worked in the film’s sound department, Bryan Tyler had to fight to use his version of the Power Star theme in the film’s final battle. Embarrassingly, studio executives wanted to use Van Halen’s “Jump” in place of thesong everyone in the worldassociates with the Power Star. That iconic theme, the one most people on the street would recognize, the one every viewer would be expecting, would’ve been replaced by a song that’s known for on-the-nose song choices.
Why are Needle Drops so Common in Kids' Movies?
In any other film, the needle drops would be lame, but people would understand their presence. When they’ve already got a stellar score to choose from, they’re unforgivable. Songs made for an animated film can be iconic, they can be groundbreaking classics that define the childhood of their viewers. Songs used in animated films might occasionally excite their young viewers, but they aren’t really there for them.Look at Illumination’s earlier projectSing. It’s basically a movie about karaoke, in which half-formed animal characters sing a selection of hits from the past few decades. According to Illumination, it cost 15% of the film’s budget to license the 65 pop songs they used in its 107-minute runtime. That’s $11,250,000 for 65 classic songs, roughly $173,077 per song. That’s a hefty price tag, but think about what they’re getting for that investment. The project ofSingis delivering a bunch of songs parents remember and children will grow to love. It’s not a film, it’s a sing-along experience for 9-year-olds, without the difficulty of hiring a full staff of musicians and composers.
In microcosm, the problem ofpop song needle dropsis identical to a lot of other big problems in the film industry. Why pay a staff of talented creatives to create a beautiful score, when they can just pay to license an ELO track and reap the benefits of nostalgia? Why hire skilled and dedicated voice actors when big-name stars are more recognizable? Why innovate in a big franchise when the brand name is enough to put butts in seats? All of cinema is slowly sinking into the all-consuming quicksand of “stuff we remember.” If it isn’t immediately recognizable, if all the board members can’t hum along, it has no place in modern cinema. They’ve reached a point whereeven the Mario themeis too obscure, and only a top 40 hit is guaranteed to please their focus-tested version of the average consumer. Grant Kirkhope, Bryan Tyler, and even Mario Mario deserve better.
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