The Mario Movie's Delay Gives Us More Time To Get Over The Cast List

thegamer.com:

In a devastating blow to the seven people who are unironically excited for the film, the Mario movie has been delayed from its Holiday 2022 slot into April 2023. Delays of animated movies aren't uncommon, as modern animation takes a long time to polish and we haven't seen anything of this movie bar a poster with the cast's names. Animated movies are often some of the most aware of their competition too, understanding that the children who want to see them are accompanied by adults who have to shell out for several tickets at once, and asking them to do so multiple times a month rarely leads to success. However, if this was the reason, the only feasible animated competition comes from Across the Spider-Verse, which on the same day as Mario's delay into April 2023, announced it was delayed into June 2023, which gives both films some breathing room until Minion Hard With A Vengeance is announced and sweeps the Spring 2023 animation box office.

There are likely other factors at play than Spider-Verse, however. While there is some crossover between Mario and Spider-Verse fans (not least adults like myself who apparently never fully grew up), they don't feel like they're in direct competition too much. In fact, geeky adults are probably the only ones who will be glad at not having to make a choice this December. While lots of children like Spider-Man, Spider-Verse had the plot and themes you'd expect in a teenager-oriented movie, even if the presentation was jazzy enough to entertain all viewers. Mario, meanwhile, will likely be a cuddly family movie pitched first and foremost at younger children but with enough charm and heart to reach the adults too - although with perhaps a little too much schmaltz for the cynical teenagers