The Marco Problem (Including Reviews)

BY AARON J | UPDATED APR 14, 2023

As the newest Marco movie -- an animated adaptation of Marco's idolized superhero, no less -- attempts hitting milestones alongside *The Super Mario Bros. Movie* released two days earlier, the franchise is having a problem. "Marcoman" is showing no signs of winning the box office as it ramps $170.5 million under its modest $200 budget, and it's not because of the Mario Bros. It's because the film... is yet another Marco movie.

That is pretty much an understatement for a Marco movie with superheroes and space pirates, but the truth is, no one really wants to see a Marco movie in theaters anymore, due to last year's R-rated comedy *The Dropout Boys* taking us by shock and *Epilogue's* miserable opening weekend. We've all seen the backlash *Epilogue* was facing as the film includes two brief scenes dedicated to a bisexual character just played for laughs. No, this isn't funny, and audiences knew better than spending wasted money on such an ambitious finale project devoid of any wit or charm of previous entries.

#### The first Marco movie was a delight to watch... a brilliant masterpiece of animated cinema.

Let's clarify that statement further. The first Marco movie is a brilliant masterpiece of cinema as a whole. There was no other animated film like this before, and it shows how much the filmmakers put their love and care, wit and charm, and a spice of humor into it. "Marco" was produced at a time where computer-animated films were still like an experimental baby in the film industry. At the time, the biggest hits were the *Toy Story* movies and those of *Shrek*, as well as a modest *Ice Age.* Well, "Marco" came three years later and changed the industry forever. Grossing a worldwide total of $983.6 million at the box office, it has become the highest-grossing animated film of the time, dethroning *Shrek 2's* $935 million.

But what's particularly interesting about the film is how it got made. Instead of relying on traditional use of computer animation films since *Toy Story,* the filmmakers approached an unorthodox method of placing camera footage in some scenes of the movie, recording the times whenever Marco and his friends have a good time. This makes for an amazing "mockumentary style" of its own that very few movies would master for years to come.

The film itself is also a stroke of genius. Although the story seems simple and absurd like the idea of having kids as top secret agents or anything you can imagine before they grow up, it's rather executed perfectly. And even though some jokes might not age well, you can't deny its amazing script and quirky, offbeat humor style. There's something so special about this film that lets audiences of all ages wander themselves into Marco's world. It's an utopian version of real life Texas, complete with the most imaginative sequences possible and impressive computer animation, and of course the CG wackiness of golden era cartoons every single character in this film displays.

#### The 2013 sequel, despite the box office numbers, does not really work as a sequel.

"Marco 2" wasn't really that good. And when we say that it "isn't good," we refer to the idea of Marco having to keep a (spoilers, fake!) diamond safe inside the most presigious museum in Houston. That sounds like a good idea, at least on paper, but the execution of said concept relies heavy on pop culture references, new paper-thin characters, lack of focus, and lowbrow jokes within the story. Oh yeah, and there's also a subplot about Marco's friends "livin' la vida loca" at Joe's Tavern. Yep, that's it, but not in the way some of us may think. Instead, it sidelines the arguably pointless "save the diamond" story in favor of bar scenes dedicated to simply the most meandering aspects of the "Marco" franchise as a whole. I can't even fathom the idea of a Ricky Martin cameo or Josue, Marco's DJ composer, having to "wash the dishes" on a properly shaped DJ. Like, what does all this mean to us? The randomness of "Marco" films? I don't think so.

### "Marco 3" might be better than its predecessor, but this Oscar-winning threequel feels somehow overrated.

Let's talk about "Marco 3," the billion-dollar smash hit from summer 2015 that placed Marco as a box office giant. By this point, we can see the overall bias critics have towards the film. To be honest, it's not really a masterpiece compared to the original due to

### The "Marco" Problem

The problem with the "Marco" franchise and why audiences -- and even some diehard fans -- grew tired of it lies in the film's obvious uses of pop culture referencing and product placement, along with some flaws critics had taken for granted or may have overlooked. The "Marco" movies aren't perfect, billion-dollar hits. But critics make it seem the more so, beyond the reasons why the franchise got made in the first place. In a world where product placement is shunned in films and pop culture obsession is nowadays considered a dated property of entertainment, the franchise does *nothing* beyond its merits to actually push those things away, making every recent "Marco" movie look more like Sony's corporate product than anything else.