After early establishing scenes, Tyler's new main theme for The Super Mario Bros. Movie is more haphazardly incorporated in the score until its closing moments. A slapping rock rendition early in "World 1-1" leads back into straight orchestral mayhem. It's overwhelmed by the Donkey Kong material in "Drivin' Me Bananas," supplies relief from the Bowser theme in the middle of "Blue Shelled" and the end of "The Belly of the Beast," explodes at 3:13 into "Fighting Tooth and Veil" in fanfare mode, and shifts to determined minor key in the first half of "Tactical Tanooki." The main theme has an epiphany in the second half of "Grapple in the Big Apple" with choir, mingles extensively with legacy themes in the ultra-bright "Superstars," and opens "The Super Mario Brothers" in slight melodrama before closing that cue with typical finale form. The theme humorously emerges in the middle of "Bonus Level" for a more flamboyant crescendo, complete with a "Mario" lyric at the end, and anchors the start and end of "Level Complete" with a retro instrumental tone. More about character than melodic grace is the new theme for the villain, Bowser. Some of his secondary motifs from the games are dropped in, but the primary thematic phrasing for him is new. It's an elusive melody, not clearly applied in parts of the score, but it consolidates nicely in the middle of "King of the Koopas." As part of Tyler's suite, it builds throughout the fourth minute of "Super Mario Bros. Opus" before a more bombastic march edition at 0:10 into "King of the Koopas" joins a vintage rock interlude for electric guitar that transfers straight from the game. The idea adds some fright to the end of "World 1-1" and guides the tone of "Imprisoned," offering generic posturing early in "Blue Shelled." It's prominent in the first minute of "An Indecent Proposal" against vintage motifs, tries to fend off all the heroic themes old and new in "Fighting Tooth and Veil," and dies off with a reference at the start of "The Super Mario Brothers." The best new theme may belong to Princess Peach, heard with massive orchestral and choral force at 2:41 into the "Super Mario Bros. Opus" suite. It lends a snippet to the end of "Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom," builds confident momentum late in "The Mushroom Council," and becomes spritely and confident in the middle of "Platforming Princess." This theme turns nicely sensitive in "Lost and Crowned," is cute in the middle of "Practice Makes Perfect" and late in "Buckle Up," shifts to full battle mode against Bowser fragments during "Fighting Tooth and Veil," and enjoys a magically redemptive moment with choir at 0:25 into "The Super Mario Brothers."

Tyler's consultation with the composers and others from the franchise's past yields countless references to themes and minor motifs from across the realm of related Nintendo products. For casual enthusiasts of the game, the most pivotal of these will point to the first game's music by Kondo. That product's main theme is applied all over The Super Mario Bros. Movie as a companion to Tyler's new main theme, the duo sometimes layered simultaneously. The memorable six-note motif from Kondo's theme is most prevalent as a motif here, but fuller renditions are definitely explored. Tyler sneaks in this idea at 5:11 into "Super Mario Bros. Opus" and revisits it to close out the track. Hyperactive, momentary bursts at 1:01 and 2:29 into "Press Start" are affectionate. The theme persists at the start of "Strange New World" in ethereal tones, 0:37 into "Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom," 0:38 into "World 1-1" under the new main theme (a moment sadly cut from the film and replaced with a song), and very briefly at 1:08 into "The Belly of the Beast." The best and wildly energetic extended performance of this theme occurs at 1:18 into "Fighting Tooth and Veil." While it informs the unfortunate "Mario Brothers Rap," Kondo's main theme returns for better life in the melodrama at the end of "Grapple in the Big Apple" before building to a momentous conclusion in "Superstars." It punctuates a quick celebration at the end of the "Bonus Level" finale and opens the end credits in "Level Complete." Also used extensively is Kondo's course complete and underground themes. The former is applied as a counterpoint line at 1:14 into "Press Start," recurs at the end of "Platforming Princess" in redemptive victory, bloats up with noble brass at the start of "The Adventure Begins," becomes integrated with the finale near the end of "Fighting Tooth and Veil," and interjects rather suddenly at 1:09 into "Level Complete." The underground theme is prominently conveyed as source on piano in one scene, but that cue doesn't appear to exist on the score album. It is alluded to a few times in "Press Start" and develops onto rambling low piano in the first minute of "The Warp Pipe." The theme's primary four notes are established for menace early in "Imprisoned" and again at 1:20 into "An Indecent Proposal." The idea experiences a quick action explosion at 1:23 into "Tactical Tanooki" and makes an abrupt entrance at 0:33 into "Level Complete." These Kondo themes, among many others, are tossed into that end credits arrangement in a rather haphazard assembly, with arguably too many motifs crammed together without elegant transitions in that summary credits cue.

A variety of other themes from Kondo and others are applied in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, though many of their insertions are singular events. More substantial is the game's invincibility theme, which is nicely orchestrated for anticipation at 2:58 into "Super Mario Bros. Opus" and rambles for a moment with wild percussion at 2:10 into "Press Start." After some teasing with dramatic symphonic gusto at the end of "King of the Koopas," this idea disappears until its natural resurrection at the outset of "Superstars" with magnificent energy. Likewise, the game's underwater theme makes a few appearances; its stately waltz is barely heard at 0:40 into "Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom" but makes itself fully heard at 1:13 into "Level Complete." The rainbow road theme lets loose at 0:48 into "Buckle Up" with choir and tingling percussion, though its incorporation isn't as sustained as expected. The motif for a dead player pokes through at the end of "Press Start" in pure analog form, and the game's end theme is utilized at the start of "Fighting Tooth and Veil" with dignity. Meanwhile, Tyler was asked to include ideas from the Donkey Kong musical universe, resulting in some motific references to add to his exotic woodwind, vocal, and percussion effects for that Jungle Kingdom sequence of cues. The vintage melodies are nicely adapted in "Courting the Kongs" and "Drivin' Me Bananas," though the (strangely uncredited) Donkey Kong rap intro music is not provided on the score album. There are countless other references to motifs in the later incarnations of the game, ranging from "Super Mario Bros. 3" to "Super Mario 64" and many others. Only avid enthusiasts of the game will know the connections for these inclusions, though other listeners will still find that the applications provide snippets of style that stand apart from Tyler's base mode. That general writing of new material for The Super Mario Bros. Movie is functional but not always exemplary. The action music between "Saving Brooklyn" and "The Darklands" is too anonymous, as are some portions of "Tactical Tanooki" and "Grapple in the Big Apple." A very long album release is an immense treat for concept fans, but it does contain these somewhat generic cues of more mundane Tyler music. Still, the long album, which managed distribution via CD, vinyl, and cassette (just watch... thirty years from now, a sealed copy of this cassette will sell for a million dollars), has to be excused as an Easter egg hunt at the very least. As a coordination effort, Tyler deserves significant praise for his care and attention to this franchise's music. His new main and Peach themes are worthy additions. The score is wildly out of control and shifts between themes and eras with zeal, but that's the whole point.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download