Bowser's Peaches Song May Be Super Mario Bros Movie's Best Chance At An Oscar
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" may have gotten a mixed reception from critics, but audiences seem to be loving it. It's already inspired plenty of memes across social media, and a video of Bowser singing his hit song about his unrequited love for Princess Peach is currently #1 on trending on YouTube. With Bowser sitting at a piano singing an epic ballad about the love of his life, it suddenly makes a lot more sense why Jack Black was cast in the role.
And there's a chance general audiences will get the last laugh from critics, seeing how the song in question will be eligible for an Academy Award for best original song. Granted, it's still early, and even though it's eligible, that doesn't necessarily mean it'll garner a nomination, but you never know. Sometimes, the Academy has a sense of humor about these things, with "Blame Canada" from "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" and "Everything Is Awesome" from "The Lego Movie" having received nominations in the past.
It's also unclear at the moment what kind of competition it could have. The Academy would definitely be missing out on a hilarious moment by refusing to have Jack Black get on stage to sing his heart out. Plus, with the Oscars seemingly always needing to improve viewership, having some more popular choices could help in getting people to tune in.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie could get nominations in other Oscar categories though
It's going to be a while before fans know whether "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" is an official Oscar-nominated film, but the best original song category may be its best bet. Some may think it could also garner a nomination in the best animated feature category, but that may be a further stretch. Again, it's received mixed reviews from critics and is being released in April, which is far from when Academy members vote. It's also facing some stiff competition this year.
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" will almost undoubtedly get a nomination as long as it reaches similar heights to "Into the Spider-Verse," which won best animated feature the year it came out. Perennial Oscar favorite Pixar has a movie coming out later this year — "Elemental." And Disney has an original animated movie coming out in November titled "Wish." That's not even getting into possible surprises, like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" and "Trolls Band Together." Honestly, 2023 is a great year for animation, but given the box office success of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," the Academy may think it's worth another look when it comes to best animated feature.
Ultimately, award nominations are simply one indicator of a film's success. The movie really seems to have resonated with people, and viewers are having a ton of fun with Bowser's "Peaches" song. As long as the film makes people happy, that's all that matters at the end of the day.