Bowser Goes to Hollywood (2019 film)

Bowser Goes to Hollywood is an American comedy adventure film and a spin-off to 2018’s Mike the Meerkat: The Movie. It is produced by Universal Studios and distributed by Cartoon Network Studios. It stars the voices of Gabriel Combs, Lennon Richardson, Chris Pratt, J.K. Simmons, Colbi Shofler, and Charles Martinet.

The film was released theatrically in the United States on December 20, 2019. It was also a box office success, grossing $800 million against a $300 million budget, and received generally positive reviews for its plot, casting, performances, humor, and heart.

Plot
Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach. Mario arrives to save her, but is attacked by Goombas. Bowser nearly kisses Peach, but Mario rescues her and escapes as Bowser falls into the Lava pit again.

It is all revealed to be the set for a new Mario movie. The Director says that the movie is finished and the cast returns home. At the premiere of the film, Mario is praised by the audiences, but they ignore Bowser‘s arrival and boo him. Eventually, Bowser realizes that they only see him as a villain and asks the director if he can have a movie of his own, but the Director rejects it and Bowser goes home.

At Home, Mike and Harold try to comfort Bowser, but he can’t stop thinking about how he doesn’t have a movie. He then realizes that the Mario movie is only made because people like the games, so he decides to try and make a video game of his own. He names the game “Bowser’s Adventure: A Super Mario Story” and prints the game on a disk. He declares to send the game to Nintendo to prove that he’s worthy of getting his own movie. He then books a flight for Hollywood on his way to sleep.

The Next Day, Bowser flies to Hollywood to meet the creator of Super Mario Bros, who is working on a movie about Yoshi. Bowser shows the game to him and he plays it, but claims that the game is bad and too forced. Bowser publishes it anyway and the fans give it a positive response, leading to the promise of Bowser getting his own movie. The creator praises Bowser for the game and promises him a movie, which leaves Bowser to book a hotel in Hollywood to shoot the movie. Mike and Harold also flew to Hollywood during the meeting.

Mike and Harold discover a strange creature roaming Hollywood and decide to go scope it out while Bowser goes to a hot tub to talk to Mario about the movie. Mike and Harold discover an alien creature known as the Mumbaa preparing to invade Hollywood. Mike and Harold are then captured, but they send a message out to Bowser. Mario believes that Bowser is not worthy of a movie and shames him for trying, leaving Bowser upset again and losing hope about the movie. He then notices the aliens and is knocked out due to the Aliens tipping over the hotel.

Bowser wakes up in a Warehouse where the Aliens, who reveal themselves to be the Mumbaa - an alien from Bowser’s game - prepare to kill Bowser for misjudging them as villains. Bowser promises that it was just for fun and that he didn’t know they existed, but they still plot vengeance. Mike and Harold sneak through the vents and fight Mumbaa as Bowser escapes and hides in the theater. Bowser then notices critics and begins to fear that his movie might fail due to them criticizing his performance in the Mario movie. Mike and Harold search for Bowser around the WaterTower and realize that he’s missing. They are then captured by Mumbaa, who interrogates them.

Bowser sneaks through the abandoned streets of Hollywood and searches for Mike and Harold, realizing that he has to destroy what he created and that the game powers the Mumbaa. He then enters the Nintendo warehouse and meets with the Creator, who promises not to destroy the game due to its successful selling. Bowser tries to light it in fire, but the Creator hides it from him and locks him in a cage for self defense. The Creator then begins to work on a sequel to Bowser’s game featuring an even bigger villain.

Mike and Harold escape while Mumbaa uses the bathroom and search for the Nintendo warehouse. They accidentally wonder into the DC Warehouse and meet up with Batman, who reveals that Bowser is trapped in the underground sewer network of the Nintendo Warehouse. Batman does not promise to help, but gives them a tracker he put on Bowser. Mike and Harold then follow the beacon to Bowser and enter the Nintendo Warehouse.

Mike and Harold find themselves in the Sewer network as the Creator puts his last touches on the sequel to Bowser‘s game. Bowser escapes and destroys the game, but realizes that the Creator is about to publish the sequel. He tries to stop him, but it’s too late. The Creator publishes “Bowser’s Adventure: Into the Atmosphere” and creates a giant Mumbaa, who eats the Creator. Bowser, Mike, and Harold try to escape as Mario fights off the creature as an apology note for Bowser.

Outside, Mario is tossed into the Sega warehouse and the giant Mumbaa attacks Mike and Harold. Bowser searches for the Computer and damages the game, hurting the Mumbaa, but the Mumbaa knocks the game out of Bowser’s hands. Each of them try to grab the game, but the game is dropped in the sewers. Bowser realizes that he is a turtle and does the call, giving a Ninja Turtle time to give Bowser the game. As Mike and Harold distract the Mumbaa, Bowser finally destroys the game, ending what he started and finally accepting the fact that he doesn’t need a movie or fans to be cool.

In the End, the Mario movie succeeds and fans begin to notice how hard Bowser works to make the games and movie good and begin to praise him. Mario finally accepts Bowser for who he is and Bowser is finally accepted. The Creator is revealed to have survived and gives Bowser a movie, but Bowser rejects the offer and decides that he doesn’t need a movie to be cool. He goes home with Mike and Harold and accepts who he is over fans.

Voice Cast

 * Gabriel Combs as Bowser, a Box Turtle who is the enemy of Mario, the creator of Mumbaa, and friends with Mike and Harold.
 * Lennon Richardson as Mike, an African Meerkat who is friends with Bowser and Harold.
 * Lennon Richardson as Harold, a St. Bernard who is friends with Mike and Bowser.
 * Chris Pratt as Mumbaa, an alien created in Bowser’s game who plots to destroy Hollywood and create an Alien empire.
 * J.K. Simmons as Creator, the creator of the Super Mario games who tries to create a sequel to Bowser’s game.
 * Will Arnett as Batman, a billionaire superhero who gives Mike and Harold a tool to find Bowser.
 * Charles Martinet as Mario, the enemy of Bowser and a plumber who is the mascot of Nintendo and gets his own movie.

Production
The film was officially announced in June 2019, during production of Mike the Meerkat: World War, as an untitled spin-off focusing on Bowser’s story, with Combs and Richardson immediately signing on to reprise their roles. Chris Pratt, J.K. Simmons, Will Arnett, and Charles Martinet joined the cast in July. Filming took place between July and November 2020, being shot back-to-back with Mike the Meerkat: World War.

Reception
The film received generally positive reviews for its plot, casting, performances, humor, and heart. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 89% score, based on 555 reviews, with an average score of 8.77/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “While it may not quite hold up to the MTM films, Bowser‘s spin-off still has plenty of action, humor, and adventure to spare.” On an A+ to & Scale, the film received an “A-”.

Release
The film was released theatrically in the United States on December 20, 2019. It was also released digitally on February 30, 2020, and on Blu-Ray and DVD on March 2, 2020.