The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) - film and score (Brian Tyler)

[Jay 37,374]

For some reason, all 3 physical editions (CD, vinyl, cassette) move the Opus track down to be in between "Courting the Kongs" and "Drivin’ Me Bananas"

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

Mmm. That's weird

[Tydirium 1,167]

Also, "Level Complete" is listed between "Blue Shelled" and "An Indecent Proposal"... Very strange order. Maybe it's a mistake?

[Jay 37,374]

They probably rejiggered things to make each Side of the vinyl make sense, and then used that program for the cassette and CD too 

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

 

Nice preview he posted on his YouTube

[Tallguy 3,401]

The score is up on Spotify.

 

 

[Jay 37,374]

A very nice benefit of Apple Music allowing anyone in any country to view their product pages from other countries meant I was able to listen to the samples of every track on their website while driving too and from work yesterday

 

My thoughts after hearing the samples are that I really, REALLY liked every time an old theme was worked in - all the tiny cameos, as well as all the longer re-arrangements.

 

As for the purely original Tyler stuff, I appreciated the large orchestral sound and general instrumentation/orchestration, but not a single melody I heard stuck with me in any way and the first word that comes to mind to describe the action music is "generic"

 

Now that the album's out here, I'll listen to the whole thing this morning and re-assess

[Tallguy 3,401]

I'm a few tracks in. I like the quotes but I really don't hear any Brian Tyler in there.

[Jay 37,374]

Um, I'm up to "2 Player Game" and he just straight up rips off Kylo Ren's theme in this track

[michael_grig 472]

The album is absolutely great! What an entertaining listening experience!

I think the first half is better than the second though. The action score towards the end gets a bit "boring" when the movie isn't playing along with it.

But I can't wait to see the movie with it in theaters then!

[Jay 37,374]

OK I just heard Kylo Ren's theme in "Imprisoned" as well

[artguy360 1,844]

Listening to it now. Just ok so far.

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Um, I'm up to "2 Player Game" and he just straight up rips off Kylo Ren's theme in this track

Can you give me a time stamp. I haven't noticed it so far

[Jay 37,374]

Super Mario Bros. Opus @ 4:40

 

2 Player Game @ 3:03

 

Imprisoned @ 1:44

 

Rainbow Road Rage @ 0:40

 

Fighting Tooth And Veil @ 1:11 and 2:42

[Tydirium 1,167]

It sounds a bit similar, but aside from the initial half-step descent and the overall direction of the pitches, it's not an exact match. The last two notes are much higher than the ones in Kylo's theme.

[Faleel 5,360]

Sounds more like Majora's Mask than Kylo Ren...

 

Though the other part of the villain theme definitely has an Imperial vibe.

[Tydirium 1,167]

I saw the movie last night and loved it. I had only heard the preview clips of the score before going, so there were some surprises. The only really disappointing thing about the score for me doesn't even have to do with the score itself, but rather its use (or lack of use) in the film:

 

I was all excited to hear Tyler's awesome rendition of the Donkey Kong theme "Drivin' Me Bananas" in the context of the film, only to sadly realize that it had been left out, evidently replaced with a pop song.

 

Spoiler

I'm 99.999% sure it was meant to score the scene of Peach, Mario, and Toad being driven around the jungle to meet the Kongs; the little gap of silence in the cue after the ascending notes, followed by the epic loud rendition of the DK theme would have been when the kart leaps off the ramp up into the air, and then they start gliding.

 

It was such a bummer (for my little brother too, who had kept replaying the preview of that track in the hours before watching the movie), but at least Brian Tyler included it on the album. I hope that once the movie is released digitally, someone fits the cue to that scene as originally intended.

 

By the way, let me say how nice it is to have a soundtrack album for once that seems to have basically the complete score. I was bracing myself for various highlights to be left off the album, but was thrilled to see that they were all there. Instead we have the opposite situation: the film is missing some of the score! Still not ideal (that "Drivin' Me Bananas" cue would have been amazing in the film), but I'd definitely rather have the movie be missing music, than the album. I'll post more of my thoughts on the score later, but I overall thought it was great.

 

Btw, here is an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and Koji Kondo where they talk about Brian Tyler and the score:

 

https://www.gameinformer.com/interview/2023/04/05/interview-shigeru-miyamoto-and-koji-kondo-talk-the-super-mario-bros-movie

 

EDIT:

 

Someone has already stuck "Drivin' Me Bananas" back in the scene where it belongs:

 

 

[Jay 37,374]

Driving Me Bananas is easily one of the best tracks on the OST album

 

Crazy that they'd replace it with an 80s pop song that's already been in a thousand movies

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

I get where ypu're coming from with the Kylo Ren thing, but I feel it's different enough to not be distracting. For me at least

[Tallguy 3,401]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

2 Player Game @ 3:03

 

Imprisoned @ 1:44

 

Rainbow Road Rage @ 0:40

 

Fighting Tooth And Veil @ 1:11 and 2:42

 

Oh come now. It's closer to Nemo's theme from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea! (And that's also a reach.) They're all descending figures.

 

6 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

I get where ypu're coming from with the Kylo Ren thing, but I feel it's different enough to not be distracting. For me at least

 

Are you the sort of person who can't hear Lilo & Stitch without hearing the Nazi theme from The Rocketeer?

[Bellosh 3,419]

Haven't had a chance to listen...any references to themes from the Galaxy games??

[Faleel 5,360]

1 minute ago, Tallguy said:

 

Oh come now. It's closer to Nemo's theme from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea! (And that's also a reach.) They're all descending figures.

 

Never expected this reference!

Just now, Bellosh said:

Haven't had a chance to listen...any references to themes from the Galaxy games??

Yes!

[Tallguy 3,401]

12 minutes ago, A Farewell to Kings said:

Never expected this reference!

 

Neither did I!

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

2 new articles about the score (LA Time's is much more extended)

 

https://variety.com/2023/artisans/news/super-mario-bros-score-references-koji-kondo-1235574953

 

 

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-04-07/super-mario-bros-movie-music-soundtrack-score

 

[Tydirium 1,167]

First review I've seen of the score:

 

https://zanobardreviews.com/2023/04/07/the-super-mario-bros-movie-soundtrack-review/

[King Mark 3,631]

I remember the classic Mario theme

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

The film is making A LOT of money. 

It's on a tracking of a domestic 3 days of 137 million. And 195 million for 5 days.

 

And overseas it's already made 62.5 million.

 

That's great!

[Faleel 5,360]

It's kinda funny, the comments sections on the Nintendo sites I frequent are losing their shit (positively) because this score is getting released everywhere in just about every format.

[PrayodiBA 517]

Speaking as an animation fans,

I have to give it to Illumination studio 🙌

 

The most effective and commercial animation studio out there. Of course this speaks both as a good thing and bad thing.

 

The bad thing, obviously, only felt by small minority here, me included. As I only just saw Mario, and I came didn’t expect a good story, and that’s what I got. I am also not that overly familiar with Mario universe, so I also didn’t find the movie entertaining. 

But man, I watched the movie throughly appreciating the movie as a successful business product. And that what matters the most for Universal and Illumination. The huge box office number proves just that. And not only that; I think the most important mandate in every Illumination pitch meeting is “budget must be under, or maximum at 100 mil”, hence making every Illumination movie very much profitable, vastly surpassing Disney/Pixar movies (in term of profitability of course). 
 

It’s mind boggling to see, with beautiful animation quality as shown in this movie (also shout out to Illumination animation team, the quality is huge improvement from before) comparable to Disney/Pixar output, it only costs half, if not less, from what the mouse house usually spends. Does it have something to do with the animation team is based in France?

 

The highest praise must be directed to Illumination head of course, it’s Chris Meledandri. Consider him the businessman version of John Lasseter from Disney/Pixar era and what a smart business man he is! 

He can clearly see the market and find what they really want. And I also assume he already got “a lucky charm/formula” that he is prepared sprinkle to all of the movies in arsenal.

 

And now we have also seen the trailer for Illumination’s next movie, Migration. It’s original IP, and in a glance, most will be skeptical whether this can emulate the success like usual. But as shown with Secret Life of Pets and Sings, we never know, this can be the start of Migration 3: No Way Home.

 

 

[Tydirium 1,167]

I'm a bit surprised that more people here aren't talking about this score (yet, anyways); it's phenomenal! As far as scores which reference existing franchise themes go, the last time I remember hearing a score this infectious all the while treating the source material with such deep respect, was probably John Powell's Solo. This is easily my favorite Brian Tyler score that I've heard so far, and it's not even close.

 

The amount of references is off the charts, too; it will be interesting to see how many the forthcoming reviews pick up on, because it feels like I keep discovering new ones that were right under my nose the whole time. Here are some examples:
 

Spoiler

The short transition notes at 0:30 of "Level Complete" are actually the beginning of the overworld theme from Super Mario Bros. 2:

 

 

 

The beginning of "Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom" is the Fossil Falls theme from Super Mario Odyssey (0:14):

 

 

 

1:35 of "Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom" is the P-switch music from New Super Mario Bros.:

 

 

 

1:44 of "The Mushroom Kingdom" is the beginning of the Bowser battle music from Super Mario Galaxy:

 

 

 

3:17 of "King of the Koopas" is a menacing version of the Super Star theme from Super Mario Bros.:

 

 

 

0:25 of "The Mushroom Council" is the Peronza Plaza theme from Super Mario Odyssey:

 

 

 

The beginning of "The Adventure Begins" is the flagpole music from Super Mario Bros.:

 

 

 

0:14 of "The Adventure Begins" is the theme for Peach's castle from Super Mario 64:

 

 

 

The jazz piano source music at the beginning of "It’s a Dog Eat Plumber World" is the overworld theme from Super Mario Bros. 3:

 

 

 

The beginning of "Fighting Tooth and Veil" is the ending theme from Super Mario Bros.:

 

 

 

0:11 of "King of the Koopas" is the airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3:

 

 

 

1:04 of "Fighting Tooth and Veil" is a later part of the same airship theme (0:21):

 

 

 

0:49 of "Buckle Up" is 0:36 of "Rainbow Road" from Super Mario Kart:

 

 

 

0:16 of "Karts" is the select screen music from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe:

 

 

 

0:08 of "Courting the Kongs" is 1:04 of "Jungle Hijinx" from Donkey Kong Country:

 

 

 

0:25 of "The Darklands" is 0:11 of "Dark Hallways" from Luigi's Mansion:

 

 

 

 

I could go on and on; there are plenty more I haven't listed. Hopefully sooner or later we get a post here that catalogs all of the known references to existing themes, because there are a ton!

 

I admit that I was initially skeptical of this composer assignment, but I've never been so happy to be wrong. I hope the film music community gives Brian Tyler all the praise and respect that (in my opinion) he deserves for this thing, because it's clear that a lot of hard work went into getting this just right. I can only hope that he is brought back for future installments/spin-offs, if this is the level of detail and respect he is going to show to this franchise.

[Tallguy 3,401]

@Tydirium that's a LOT and I'll go through it later.

 

We saw the movie today and it was a hoot. The crowd was well pleased. Not that the bar is super high, but this was the most fun I've had at the movies this year. It beats John Wick 4 and Dungeons and Dragons.

 

Pratt is terrific. Seriously. So is Black. But Black is playing a pretty off the shelf Black character, Pratt is doing something kind of new for him.

 

Yes, it's saturated in Nintendo jokes and I'm sure I didn't get half of them. But it's also just a fun and entertaining movie.

 

The music is really great, even outside of the quotes. And Take on Me was the most pointless needle drop I've heard in a long long time.

[Jay 37,374]

Well, I don't think it's a phenomenal score, or Tyler's best. 

 

I love all the game theme integrations, but the original stuff leaves a lot to be desired 

[Faleel 5,360]

Well, you think he copied Kylo Ren's theme, so your opinion isn't exactly trustworthy....

 

 

JK 😉

[Tydirium 1,167]

I honestly don't see anything wrong with the original stuff. His new main theme is quite catchy and gets a lot of play, as does his Peach theme, and his Bowser theme (which the "Kylo Ren" bit seems to be a part of, btw) sounds like it could easily fit in a Mario game. In addition to the countless references to the franchise themes, these new themes also show up a ton, and one could easily spend a good deal of time tracking down all of their occurrences in the score.

 

Tracks like "Rainbow Road Rage" are very exciting both on album and in the context of the film, and remind me a lot of Powell's action writing. For me, this is 1000x better than anything I initially thought we would get. When I first heard about this movie, I assumed we would get a typical RCP-style Hollywood score, and that the extent of the franchise theme references would be maybe one or two brief appearance of the main Mario theme and the underground theme. So basically, the absolute bare minimum, the "normie" themes.

 

Instead, we got an intelligent all-out orchestral score, jam-packed with obscure references. I suppose it's possible that the extensive use of pre-existing themes is coloring my opinion of the score as a whole, but I don't think so. Compared to some recent Tyler stuff (Escape Room, Scream), it's a thrill to hear him using an orchestra this way.

 

[Edmilson 7,473]

28 minutes ago, Jay said:

Well, I don't think it's a phenomenal score, or Tyler's best. 

 

What is Brian Tyler's best score in your opinion? I haven't listened to Mario yet, but I quite like stuff like The Expendables, Thor: The Dark World and TMNT.

[Faleel 5,360]

4 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

What is Brian Tyler's best score in your opinion? I haven't listened to Mario yet, but I quite like stuff like The Expendables, Thor: The Dark World and TMNT.

He might be thinking of somethung like Now You Seem Me probably

[Jay 37,374]

43 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

What is Brian Tyler's best score in your opinion? I haven't listened to Mario yet, but I quite like stuff like The Expendables, Thor: The Dark World and TMNT.

 

Now You See Me is my fave, I also like Children of Dune

[Arpy 4,145]

Inoffensive, ephemeral film that didn't take any creative risks whatsoever. Typical Tyler score that favours loudness over all else.

 

Kinda what I expected when I heard this film was released. 

 

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

Chronological order

 

1. King Of The Koopas (1:55-2:09 replaced by Battle Without Honor And Humanity)

2. Mario Brothers Rap (this is full version, in the film it's slightly different)

3. Plumbin' Ain't Easy

4. It's A Dog Eat Plumber World

5. Saving Brooklyn

6. The Warp Pipe

7. Strange New World

8. The Darklands

9. Welcome To The Mushroom Kingdom

10. The Mushroom Council

11. The Plumber And The Peach

12. Platforming Princess

13. World 1-1 (0:36-1:50 is replaced with Holding Out For A Hero)

14. The Adventure Begins (2:05-end)

15. The Adventure Begins (0:00-2:05)

16. Peaches (this is full version, in the film it's shorter)

17. Lost And Crowned

18. Imprisoned

19. Courting The Kongs (0:00-0:24)

20. Drivin' Me Bananas (replaced with Take On Me)

21. Courting The Kongs (0:24-end)

22. Rumble In The Jungle

23. Karts! (0:43-1:30 replaced with Thunderstruck)

24. Practice Makes Perfect

25. Buckle Up

26. Rainbow Road Rage

27. Blue Shelled

28. An Indecent Proposal

29. The Belly Of The Beast

30. Fighting Tooth And Veil

31. Tactical Tanooki

32. Grapple In The Big Apple

33. Superstars

34. The Super Mario Brothers

35. Bonus Level (0:53-end) (0:22-0:53 replaced by Mr. Blue Sky)

36. Level Complete

37. Press Start

38. Super Mario Bros. Opus (slightly different during the credits)

39. Bonus Level (0:00-0:22, end credits scene)

 

2 Player Game plays nowhere in the film if I remember correctly. This seems more like a bonus cue where Tyler showcases a few themes of his own: 

- Mario's Theme

- Peach's Theme

- Bowser's Theme

- Mario's Theme

[j39m 75]

I've just had a listen to this and I'd say I'm pleasantly surprised. Even without the film to put things in context, a casual listener (and virtual non-gamer) like myself has lots to look forward to just hunting for allusions in the musical tapestry.

 

This may seem an odd pick, but I most enjoyed The Warp Pipe. Hearing the "underground theme" in such a high register used as vaguely creepy underscore grabbed my attention.

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

@TydiriumThank so much for those videos and small breakdown of themes.

 

Could you maybe put the videos in Spoiler brackets? The whole page is getting a bit slow

[Tydirium 1,167]

Done. Sorry about that!

[artguy360 1,844]

I saw the movie yesterday and have been listening to the OST since Friday. The score works well in the film, but I don't care much for the original music aside from the main original Mario theme which fits very well along side the existing Mario music. Hearing the video game themes integrated into the score is the best part of the music. The licensed songs are not interesting to me at all. Overall, a very fun soundtrack where the video game themes far outshine the original score.

[Tallguy 3,401]

The original music didn't grab me on a first listen, but it's great in the movie.

[JohnnyD 1,223]

I saw the film Thursday evening. Overall, I thought it was good. Could it have been better? With a better script and better pacing (maybe 10 minutes longer), yes. Also, the needle-drop pop song moments were NOT needed at all. The cast was pretty good. This is the only film animated by Illumination that I have seen and will more than likely ever see, but I have to say that this is certainly a Nintendo production in association with Illumination, as the extra budget really shows in the quality of the animation; the animation was very good. Brian Tyler’s score is serviceable; it shines when he and Koji Kondo have Kondo’s themes incorporated throughout. I give the film a 6.5 out of 10 stars.

[Stark 316]

Great film and great score! My only real complaint about the film is “not enough Luigi” and about the score is “the rainbow road sequence could have been better (more game themes perhaps)”.

[Richard Penna 3,695]

The opus is pretty good, and what I assume are Tyler's themes for Mario and Bowser are nice but a tad on the generic side.

 

Listening to the rest now, the original theme cameos are nicely done so far and it goes between orchestra and synths in a way that perfectly plays to Tyler's strengths, although so far it's all a little bit 'standard', really. Nothing that makes me sit up and think, 'woah'. I'm only 5 tracks in and I'm losing interest, fast.

 

Also, I'm predicting that 90 mins is going to outstay its welcome. However, whenever I criticise a release for being too long, I hit myself figuratively over the head for sheer hypocrisy when we complain about how short almost every other release is.

[Faleel 5,360]

 

[TolkienSS 407]

Saw it tonight.

 

Fun movie. Perfect run time. It's a Super Mario movie, it doesn't need any more. Mario and Luigi's relationship was really sweet. 

Found it annoying that it became The Peach Movie halfway through with Mario being a bumbling fool, and Luigi being written out of the story for half the movie.

But hey, as far as revisionism goes, it's a softer version in 2023.

 

The finale was awesome.

 

Score was largely forgettable. The pop songs were cringe. The Kondo themes were the highlights, the rest might as well be library music.

[Tallguy 3,401]

2 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

with Mario being a bumbling fool

 

But he wasn't. He wasn't experience. But they went out of their way to show from the start how awesome Mario is. And the "side scroller" when they're running through Brooklyn was one of me favorite gags in the movie.

 

2 hours ago, TolkienSS said:

and Luigi being written out of the story for half the movie.

 

That was a bummer. I had no problem with them being separated but there should have been a secondary Luigi story. Heck, even the little kids in the audience were expecting more of Luigi's Mansion.