Lightbulb Experience - thanks to Mario Mario
picture shows my husband in the now updated centre (2022), which housed the cinema my son and I used to go to in the 80's.
An unexpected last-minute
invitation to join my son and grandsons to the cinema to see “The Super Mario
Bros Movie” provided me with a new opportunity to review my writing. The
opportunity prompted my 10-year-old grandson to remark, “Isn’t it great that
you used to take dad to see a movie every week and now he can take you to see a
movie. I wonder if when I have my children, I will take my mum to watch a movie
with us!” A clear perception of how the generations perpetuate our habits.
But I digress. My sons
used to play the original Mario Bros game on Nintendo in the 1980’s (the
original game came out in 1985), and my son said he had been waiting since then
to see the movie. When the live-action version came out in 1993 he was deeply
disappointed that it wasn’t an animated version. I had been totally unaware of
this because quite frankly my interest in video games is nil. I find the
beep-beep irritating and can’t quite get the point of why people spend hours absorbed
in these games.
As the movie progressed,
I became totally involved in the storyline. My sons’ and grandsons’ previous
explanations of the game suddenly became clear. The light went on. The classic
tale of the good princess (Peach) struggling against evil (Bowser) ignited in
me a primaeval desire for good to win. This happens in a fantasy world of
course. Mario and his brother Luigi are catapulted into strange lands through a
drainpipe. Well, they are plumbers. This is a useful device to link the fantasy
world with the real world.
I think what I had failed
to understand was that the beep-beep was Mario’s climb onto new levels to rescue
the princess. It wasn’t just a random sound. Mario had to use all his gymnastic
skills, quick wit and determination to succeed. Mario and Luigi are a classic
dynamic duo just like Laurel and Hardy (you have to be a bit older to get
that), Batman and Robin, Holmes and Watson. There is also a catch phrase used “Mamma
Mia”. Reminds me a bit of “Elementary, my dear Watson.”
So, to summarise the plot
is simple, the characters are appealing and it has stood the test of time,
nearly thirty years anyway. Mario, I get it! At last!
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Lovely post, Rosalie. What catches my attention is that there were 3 generations watching Mario! How fascinating! God is awesome.
ReplyDeleteyes, it seems my grandson is determined to keep up this tradition
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