“Level-Up” in Virtue: Lessons from the Super Mario Bros. Movie

The flagpole is in sight! After trying all afternoon, you are finally going to beat this level. You’ve managed — through a magical combination of  trial-and-error, muscle memory, and blind luck — to dodge every Goomba, Koopa, Cheep-Cheep, Piranha Plant, and Hammer Bro that the game programmers could throw at you. You’ve avoided every pitfall, moving platform, Bullet Bill, and Thwomp that lay in your path. Victory is so close you can almost taste it — you just need to stick this one last jump!

…And you mess it up. You miscalculate the timing and Mario falls into the abyss. The all-too familiar “game over” jingle plays and you find yourself back on the overworld map. You have to start the level over from the beginning… Again!

Anyone who has ever played a Super Mario game knows the intense frustration and excitement that come with testing your skill against the most challenging levels. The popular Nintendo platforming franchise has endured since 1985 because, despite all the exasperation, the rage-quits, and the busted controllers that players have to put up with, these games are fun!

The Fun in Virtue

You wouldn’t think that something like Super Mario Bros. could teach us anything about the spiritual life — after all, it’s only a video game. But I’ve found that the experience of trying (and failing) to beat a difficult Mario level can reinforce important spiritual lessons and can help us “level-up” in virtue. These lessons were recently brought to life on the silver screen in vibrant color by the debut of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Gamers have been blessed over the last few years with fantastic film adaptations of some of their favorite characters. Nintendo’s cinematic collaboration with Illumination Entertainment is without a doubt one of the greatest video game movies of them all! The Super Mario Bros. Movie is fun for all ages. It’s a perfect film for families to enjoy together — which is a sadly uncommon thing these days.

The filmmakers are not trying to push a “woke” agenda down the audience’s throat. Indeed, their only desire seems to be for kids to have a good time at the movies. It’s a Mario game brought to life on screen, which is all that fans wanted in the first place. The film has an infectious energy from beginning to end. It’s funny, colorful, and has a positive message to impart to viewers young and old. 

Heroic Perseverance

Mario’s story begins in his hometown of Brooklyn. He has a dream to start his very own plumbing business with his brother Luigi. No matter what obstacles stand in his way, Mario doesn’t give up. Even when Spike, his former boss, publicly mocks him. Even when his plumbing business is going down the drain. Even when his own father doesn’t believe in him. When Mario falls, he doesn’t quit. He always gets back on his feet, whether it’s on the streets of New York or in the magical realms of the Mushroom Kingdom..

Mario learns and grows through trial and error, just like a gamer learning to clear a level — you try and you fail, and you pick yourself up again. There’s a similar learning process in the spiritual life too. After a fall, we must persevere and continue to fight the good fight and keep the faith, as St. Paul says (cf. 2 Timothy 4:7).

It’s easy to become frustrated when we seem to confess the same sins over and over again, sometimes for many years, or when we experience painful setbacks as we attempt to grow in virtue. But God does not want us to become discouraged. When we remain steadfast in faith, we can be certain that we can succeed no matter what challenges we face.

The reason for our hope is that we don’t have to reckon solely with our own efforts; we can rely on and cooperate with the grace of God. And his grace is sufficient for any situation (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9).

In one of the most memorable scenes in The Super Mario Bros. Movie — the delightful “I Need a Hero” training montage — Mario tries to complete a complicated obstacle course so that he’ll be ready for the upcoming battles against the evil Bowzer and his army of Koopas. Princess Peach is a natural master of the course and finishes it on her first try. Mario, on the other hand, fails spectacularly… over, and over, and over again.

Some might think that this diminishes Mario as a hero. But, in fact, what makes Mario a truly heroic character is that he doesn’t allow his failure to match Peach’s effortless skill to demoralize him. He simply keeps trying to do the best he can. 

Spiritual Pro-Gamer Moves

In the spiritual life we can also turn to the examples set by master “players” — the saints! Though we often fail to match their feats of extraordinary holiness, we mustn’t despair. We can still grow in virtue by imitating their example to the best of our ability, using the opportunities that our state in life provides. 

Mario knows that the odds are always against him. But he believes in himself because he is certain that his friends and allies will always have his back. He can rely on his loyal brother Luigi, on his new friends like Peach and Toad, even on “frenemies” and rivals like Donkey Kong.

At the climax of the film, this spirit of cooperation is what wins the day, when Mario and Luigi use the Super Star to defeat Bowzer in the final battle. When we face our spiritual battles — lifelong struggles with doubts and temptations — we can call on the assistance of the saints and holy angels. They can be our “co-op players” and provide “power-ups” in the form of the graces that their prayers obtain for us from Almighty God. 

So, the next time you’re playing a Mario game and you miss that final jump before the flagpole, before you rage quit or smash your controller, stop for a moment and take a deep breath — after all, controllers are expensive to replace! But, in all seriousness, there’s an important lesson to be found even in something as mundane as a Nintendo platformer: “Leveling-up” in virtue is not easy.

Just like mastering your favorite video game, it’s something that requires constant practice. And just like Mario, you need to be willing to persevere and pick yourself up no matter how many times you fall.