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Super Mario Bros. — The Movie!

Here's my extremely scatterbrained review of Super Mario Bros., the 1993 film that took more than a few liberties with its video game subject matter. Here's a surprise: I absolutely did not hate this movie. It's ridiculous and stupid, but it's got a lot going on, and some of it really works. Maybe it's just that it's so unbelievably different from any other movie I've seen. Maybe it's just the Bob-ombs. The review is more an exercise in throwing a bunch of random shit at the html wall to try to convey the broad, silly themes of the film. In other words, it's all over the place. Still, if you've never seen the Bob Hoskins version of Mario, I'd recommend a viewing.

Posted by Matt on 06/23/2004. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 260 comments

Two other cool things about the movie that no one has mentioned yet:

Lance Henriksen plays the Mushroom King, who gets one line at the end.

There is one scene to reward people who sat through the ending credits, in which Spike and Iggy are pitching a video game idea to two Japanese businessmen.

Also, Spike and Iggy were both named after characters from the games. Iggy was one of Bowser’s kids in SMB3 and SMW, and if I remember correctly, Spike was a turtle who upchucked spiked balls and threw them at Mario in SMB3.

And yeah, it makes you wonder whether the screenwriters read the comic books, or whether it’s just a coincidence that Big Bertha has a crush on Mario.

Chestnuts roasted by Aaron Ackerson @ 08/27/2004 10:03 PM

YOU ARE ALL F#####’ B#######.

Chestnuts roasted by FUCK YOU @ 08/28/2004 2:58 PM

You fools, the best part is at the end when Samantha Matthis is trapped in that place with all the sparks and electricity, she bends all the way down and you see a whole LOT of of her assets. I’m thinking nippleage in a childrens film? WOOHOO!!!!

You’ll need to use the Jog function on your VCR folks.

Hey I was eleven ok?…

/Runs back to girlfriend…

Chestnuts roasted by JGN @ 08/31/2004 8:51 PM

Large Mystery Woman/The big fish is named "Big Burtha", the fish that spit out smaller fish in underwater levels, Big Boss Bass was the big fish that jumped at you on water platform levels, saddly I know this type of info.

P.S. GREATEST MOVIE EVER, with Street Fighter coming in close second.

Chestnuts roasted by Tri-Clyde @ 09/01/2004 2:38 AM

I’ve always enjoyed this movie. Not as a guilty pleasure, but as a pride at being one of a small handful of people who did. It’s kinda fun to love something that everyone else hates. You feel like you have it all to yourself and only have to share it with a few others. So what if it didn’t follow the games? I don’t think I would have watched it if it did … it would have had to be animated. *shudders* So what if the plot was corny? At least there were no holes in it. None that I saw anyway. It’s not the greatest movie ever, but it has always been one of my favourites. One of the best game-to-movie films ever, at least. But then Frogger could beat Tomb Raider.

Chestnuts roasted by Lucky @ 09/01/2004 6:35 PM

Wazzup?! Well it could be a good movie. Just edit it a little. :)

Chestnuts roasted by Robbie @ 09/07/2004 1:29 PM

Wazzup?! Well it could be a good movie. Just edit it a little. :)

Chestnuts roasted by Robbie @ 09/07/2004 1:30 PM

This movie is one of my sick little pleasures. I bought it the other day for five bucks, just because.

I enjoyed the review. It’s as scattered as the film.

Chestnuts roasted by Jillian @ 09/13/2004 9:47 PM

the fat lady is called big bertha that bitch is from the water world level she eats you if you get to close

Chestnuts roasted by logan @ 09/17/2004 5:41 PM

:( i love this movie… after reading bits of your review, however, i completely hate it. thanks, ass.

Chestnuts roasted by xaanz @ 09/28/2004 10:10 PM

Interesting tidbit to point out. Koopa’s head chief of police/guard/warren/whatever you want to call him actually looks more like Luigi than the Luigi they used for this movie does.

Chestnuts roasted by Mac Dragard @ 10/25/2004 9:54 PM

i saw this in the theater with my dad when it came out, my dad played the game as much as i did. he was confused, i loved it.

sept 12, 2001. I flip to HBO, this movie is playing and it is the scene when New York begins decintigrating, starting with the Twin Towers. 8o

Chestnuts roasted by jesse @ 10/28/2004 8:31 PM

i saw this in the theater with my dad when it came out, my dad played the game as much as i did. he was confused, i loved it.

sept 12, 2001. I flip to HBO, this movie is playing and it is the scene when New York begins decintigrating, starting with the Twin Towers. 8o

Chestnuts roasted by jesse @ 10/28/2004 8:31 PM

I loved that movie… I know why everyone hates it… and I think they’re all stupid for not overlooking the simple reasons for the changes.

#1: They had to make it make at LEAST some semblance of sense. Thus they changed the story a little to fit into a real world setting, BUT still stayed true to the characters.

#2: There has to be conflict in a movie. and with this being an action movie… there has to be danger related to the conflict. THUS The gombas aren’t just walking mushrooms.

#3: Yoshi is a large reptile. in the movie he actually looks like a reptile.

#4: I’d really like to see you people make a better mario movie. The one that WAS made was entertaining, had a great cast, and stayed true to the characters and ideas while changeing things to fit it into a real world setting. All in all… this is probably the best movie made from a video game ever.

Seriously.

Chestnuts roasted by Morden Night @ 11/05/2004 2:07 AM

Call me CR-AZY, but I absolutely LOVED this movie. I remember my family and I seeing it back in the Summer of ’93 after getting a family portrait taken (which still exists to this day, and I am looking at my very own 3×5 version as I type this), but I digress. I didn’t really understand the concept too well as a nine-year-old, but I do remember falling in love with one major positive this movie possessed that I have never laid eyes on before: John Leguizamo. I guess it was at that time I realized I was a woman because I was enamored with this sexy young man playing Mario’s much younger(???) brother, Luigi (which I always thought was strange, I mean, sure, I’m glad they made movie Luigi into not just such a fine piece of ass, which has made me appreciate him all the more to this day, but also clean-shaven, but I always thought of Lu-Lu being about four years younger, tops). Anyways, I know the Nintendo/Super Mario Bros. elitist would consider my opinion sacrilege, but who really cares? I still love this movie, nonetheless, and am willing to admit to more Nintendo heresy: I also liked the Donkey Kong Country computer-animated kids’shoe released a few years back and would love to have both on DVD someday.

P.S., I’m still a fan of John’s to this day. :)

Chestnuts roasted by Thema @ 10/06/2006 7:06 PM

Hey the movie could at least have some better nintendo themes to it.. it could have been better

Chestnuts roasted by Anonymous @ 10/16/2006 2:33 PM

You missed a couple things that I think you`ll find funny.

I think Koopa`s cousins were supposed to represent the hammer brothers, and the unlucky street chump who got turned into a Goomba, was supposed to be Toad.

Chestnuts roasted by Shawn @ 11/17/2006 10:35 PM

I never seen that movie b4 but, it does look like a cornball movie…. =/

Chestnuts roasted by Lorf Dranzarr @ 12/15/2006 11:42 PM

Luigi was missing his mustache in the movie.
Also,the fungus,in the movie,has something to do with the mushrooms in the video games.
That’s why Mario was able to use that mushroom as a shield at the end of the movie.I liked the little raptor in the movie,it was really close to resembling Yoshi.Also,if they wanted Mario to use fireballs,they could have given him a flamethrower.I didn’t see anything actually wrong with the movie,though,I liked it a lot.

Chestnuts roasted by Grifforzar @ 12/19/2006 1:15 AM

That was the worst movie ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chestnuts roasted by The keebler elf @ 01/08/2007 12:21 PM

hi i love your movie i have seen it 18836 times now and it is fabiless

Chestnuts roasted by Emma @ 01/10/2007 3:18 AM

lol, this movie is so stupid, yet I’m so addicted to it. I would even buy it on a HD-DVD or Blu-ray.

Chestnuts roasted by Berdo @ 03/16/2007 12:59 PM

I thought this was a great movie. I even showed it to my entire school body on feild day. they love it. Well, they loved the Bob-Omb anyway. I guess you can say Bob-Omb was the star to our eyes.

Chestnuts roasted by Nathan the Bob-Omb @ 05/23/2007 5:38 PM

Here are some rights and Wrongs in this movie.
When we first see Mario and Luigi they are plumbers from Brooklyn, RIGHT. Mario and Luigi’s outfits towards the end realisticly match, RIGHT.
Yoshi looks like a Dinosaur RIGHT, Bob-ombs do what they do RIGHT, Samantha Mathis makes a Decent Princess RIGHT Koopa is Dennis Hopper with spiked hair and a Buisiness suit instead of being In a Lizard Costume which would be more threatening and relevant to the Games WRONG!!!!
This movie is good until Mario and Luigi get to Dinohattan which should have been called Mushroom land or Kingdom. Where are all the various lands? the only scenery that matches to the Games is the walls to Koopas Building (should have been a Castle) which look like fortress walls in SMB3 and the desert scene where Mario and Luigi Interigate Iggy and Spike.
Oh and the Mushrooms are Realistic but they don’t do what they’re supossed to do Luigi just grabs one and nothing happens. I don’t Know! they could have made it to work like the Starman. and why are the Goombas the only henchmen koopa has. They could have had koopa troopas and rip the costume idea from Razar from 1990′s TMNT2. According to the sigh one one of the buildings their is a Bullet bill reference BUT Since when is Bullet Bill a Store of a Place to hang, they’re bullets that koopa could have shot at Mario and Luigi!. If I Could i’d do the fans a Favor and rewrite this movie like they did for Superman, Batman and TMNT and give it a CGI/Live action realistic 2000 look. cause this movie wasn’t made right.

Chestnuts roasted by gregory Mazurkiewicz @ 05/27/2007 12:57 PM

God I love this film, I don’t care how many of the game’s elements are in it. It features a fat plumber and a skinny plumber who are brothers of Italian origins and it has Bob-ombs, therefore it is Mario enough for me. Bob Hoskins is god.

Chestnuts roasted by ThinkTank @ 07/10/2007 6:46 PM

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2004 at 6:41 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.