Reviewed by Jon Barton

HMC's first feature length - and I use the term loosely, considering it's five minute runtime. For all the wait and build-up Mario Saga suffers in much the same way Regime Of Terror does - in that its devoid of an entire third act. Furthermore the film carries heightened appearance of this fact sheerly because of its skill. Its superbly constructed and animated, boasting some very complicated but confident stuff. But without any real narrative drive for the movie this seems ill-placed and, in a bitterly ironic way, convoluted. It's almost as if its sequel is the first chapter and this a prologue. Using Gustave as Mario in places didn't help either. Deemed animating a fully-fledged Mario would be hard, but you accept that responsibility when you take on a project such as this, and consequently the audience is bound to feel cheated by a default character replacing the bittersweet plumber. I personally hope for one that the Mario in the sequel will be finer than the one seen here, who seems to do little in the way of actual movement. Strictly speaking the sequences where Gustave is used would have proved difficult, but audiences download a so-called license movie and expect license integrity, in this case a leaping, interactive Italian and not a well-made statue. For me, Mario Saga potentially highlights all the flaws of the product while hopefully the sequel will serve to highlight its strengths. It's a good film, and for all its subtleties it deserves the mantle of the best Mario movie out there. That is until Mario Saga 2 comes along, which I severely hope will be longer, smarter and Gustave-free.

6/10