2023-05-08 14:48:46
A mustachioed plumber gone to save a princess, a magical universe filled with mushrooms that make you grow, flowers that throw fireballs. Nostalgics will remember that Super Mario is basically a video game. In the 1980s, this game made the glory of its publisher Nintendo.
Now, Super Mario is also on the big screen where it is a real tidal wave at the box office, with a billion dollars in revenue since April.
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In addition to being a video game and a blockbuster movie, Super Mario is also a whole musical universe of which we all, or almost, have in the back of our heads the catchy little electronic melody associated with paintings and game characters.
>> To listen: official theme of the video game “Super Mario Bros”
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To American sound heritage
These melodies, we owe them to the Japanese composer Koji Kondo. From 1985, this pioneer wrote the music for the first Nintendo games, including the Mario and Zelda franchises. Koji Kondo gives its letters of nobility to the genre. Despite the technological limitations of the hardware that reproduces them, his little melodies mark the minds of millions of players.
A few weeks ago, the original music of Mario Bros entered the American sound heritage. She will therefore enter the Library of Congress, an institution whose role is to archive creations that have had a cultural resonance in the country. A first for a video game soundtrack.
Film adaptation
Brian Tyler, composer. [Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/NurPhoto – AFP]
Koji Kondo’s only fault is that he does not compose for the cinema. To take up the challenge, the producers of the film “Super Mario Bros” decide to call on Brian Tyler, the king of young film composers. This one has already proven itself by combining the codes of pop culture with its great symphonic culture. Brian Tyler is notably behind several Marvel films (“Iron Man 3” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron”) and seven films in the “Fast & Furious” franchise.
With “Super Mario Bros”, Brian Tyler is faced with an unusual situation. The majority of the themes have already been written and they should be used in the film’s soundtrack, so that the audience feels on familiar ground.
To solve this equation, Brian Tyler turns to the original composer: Koji Kondo. By inviting him to participate in the film, he establishes continuity with the video game, while gaining the necessary legitimacy with the fans.
>> To listen: music from the movie “Super Mario Bros” composed by Brian Tyler
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The two music lovers correspond for months. Under Koji Kondo’s constant supervision, Brian Tyler constructs, piece by piece, a symphonic mosaic that functions as a permanent homage to Mario’s music.
A treasure hunt
In the end, the soundtrack of “Super Mario Bros” twirls in all directions. It looks like a treasure hunt, in which the audience has fun recognizing the melodies of Koji Kondo behind a whole range of new arrangements of jazz, hip-hop or rock. Brian Tyler has also kept, as a wink, some electronic sounds reminiscent of the first games of the 1980s. The track “Press Start” is a perfect example.
The American composer also brings his contemporary sensibility by incorporating new themes, including an air specially composed for Princess Peach. Previously a passive figure in the video game, the princess is now an active character in the film. Brian Tyler therefore succeeds in his bet: that of creating an original and stimulating score from pre-existing material, while adding his stone to the building.
Subject radio: Pascal Knoerr
Web adaptation: Sarah Clement
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