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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

The super mario t.v. show and the movie crushed my spirits as a child. I have not been the same since the zelda cartoon. "well excuuuuuuse me princess"
blech.

Chestnuts roasted by zombone @ 06/24/2004 9:52 AM

Yeah! Boo-ya! In your face! Read it and weep: FIRST POST.

Chestnuts roasted by Russ @ 06/24/2004 10:02 AM

Hey, you know Large Mystery Woman? Yeah, her name in the movie was Birdo! HA HA HA HA! No, but seriously, read the previous posts before posting.

Honestly, Birdo was the best enemy in Mario Brothers history. A gender-bending, cross-dressing dinobird rawks.

Chestnuts roasted by Nachokhaki @ 06/24/2004 10:14 AM

8′ lizard warriors with tiny heads? Isn’t that a Doors song?

Chestnuts roasted by Sweetie @ 06/24/2004 10:21 AM

I wondered when you were going to review this movie!

Sadly, I’ve always strangely liked it. Maybe I just have a thing for the Princess.

Chestnuts roasted by Rosella @ 06/24/2004 10:36 AM

An X-E review for this movie was long overdue. It’s about time.

BTW the Bob-omb and Yoshi were pretty much this film’s redeeming factors for me. Only movie where a decent re-imagining of Yoshi bites a Yoshi-abusive Dennis Hopper and a Bob-omb wears Reeboks (I’m not kidding! Look closely near the end of the movie!).

Chestnuts roasted by Teirusu @ 06/24/2004 10:44 AM

I remeber the first time I watched this, I just sat there with my mouth open in a big O and tried not to cry when I realized how screwed up it was, the same face I made when I saw Masters of the Universe.

Chestnuts roasted by Brite @ 06/24/2004 10:44 AM

I just bought this DVD two weeks ago at Best Buy for $5. I stayed up late with a twelve pack of beer and decided to watch it drunk to see if it was any cooler. I passed out twenty minutes into it. My wife found me sleeping on the couch, beer in one hand, and DVD case on my chest. She didn’t care that I got drunk. She was pissed that I spent that much on such a crappy movie.

Chestnuts roasted by Hypnotix @ 06/24/2004 10:50 AM

Oh man, great article… wait. Those look like DVD caps. The Mario Movie is on DVD??

Wait! And the Wizard isn’t? What the hell?!

Toad was in the movie, too. Well, a character coincidentally named Toad was in the movie, played by punk rock’s Mojo Nixon with a bad haircut.

Chestnuts roasted by Mike Fireball @ 06/24/2004 10:53 AM

Yep, this was a DVD — a 5.99 DVD at that. If anyone wants it and is having trouble locating it at the super bargain rate, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll try to pick it up.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 06/24/2004 10:55 AM

I saw this in theatres when I was 10.

I honestly was walking out of the theatre with my friend and we were excited for the sequel. Sam theing for Mortal Kombat. But I’ve learned my lesson. The closest thing to a videogame movie I come now is when I make my Goombah tatto do a dance…..

Chestnuts roasted by Selvig @ 06/24/2004 11:06 AM

This was waaay up there on my top ten movie list when I was growing up. I bought the tape for $3 at a used video store and I wore it out by watching it so much.

Years later, I popped it in and watched it with my wife. The Mario Bros. Movie has not aged gracefully at all. I felt bad that I made her sit through the whole thing.

Chestnuts roasted by Chiablo @ 06/24/2004 11:09 AM

Well Matt, I finally recieved my "prize" from UGO and it only took 7 months! My prize was supposed to be a Samsonite backpack filled with the latest DVD’s and Video Games. Know what I got? …well…I got the Samsonite Backpack like the contest said. As for the "lastest DVD’s and Video Games" I got a spiderman video game…..freakin strategy guide, not the game, just the damn guide. Oh oh, almost forgot, they sent me a CD of Pete Yorn too! WHO IN THE HELL IS PETE YORN?! Wow, this was so worth the 7 month wait!

Chestnuts roasted by Bizzar @ 06/24/2004 11:52 AM

Ugh, that sucks Biz.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 06/24/2004 11:56 AM

Whoo-Hah! One of my favorite moments is how the cabs never stop for anybody, even having skeletons (Dry Bones?) on the grills, but everyone panics when they see the tiny little Bob-ombs. And the fact that Frank Black from Millenium plays the king at the end of the movie. Goom Goom, Akalakka Goom!
The Jean-Claude Street Fighter sucks! Buy or rent the Anime instead.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 06/24/2004 11:59 AM

Yeah, I thought so too, I’m a bit bitter.

Chestnuts roasted by Bizzar @ 06/24/2004 12:00 PM

Yeah, with the build for that last Bob-omb, I was expecting the explosion to end all explosions. But it just kinda knocked Koopa into a basket. Everyone was acting like it was an atom bomb. Oh well, at least it’s the most adorable bomb I’ve seen.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 06/24/2004 12:00 PM

>>>>USELESS MOVIE NOTE!< <<<

In the scene where you see under the bob-omb, Where it’s on the grate, you can clearly make out the bottem of it’s "foot" has a piece of a nike logo on it, as it’s made from a shoebox most likely (not kidding) pause, and squint. You’ll see it.

>>>>USELESS MOVIE NOTE<<<<

Chestnuts roasted by Joe @ 06/24/2004 12:06 PM

…….wtf did it do to my post…

please delete that above, Anyways…

In the scene where you can see under the bob-omb where it’s on a grate and you can see it’s feet, pause, and look close, It has a piece of a nike logo on the bottem of it’s foot. I swear to god I remember seeing this, The bob omb’s feet are made out of shoebox cardboard.

Chestnuts roasted by Joe @ 06/24/2004 12:08 PM

I don’t care what anyone says. I love this movie and will always love it. When it came out in theaters in 93 I saw it like 4 times. The one thing I really like and still like is them damn police cars. THERE SO COOL! I wish they made a toy of them. I watch that damn police car chase over and over whenever I watch my DVD copy. Also if any of you don’t know they’re are action figures of some of the characters from the Mario Brothers movie. Look on ebay they might have em there.

Chestnuts roasted by Mike @ 06/24/2004 1:09 PM

I did see this in the theater. And it’s the elevator scene that made it for me. I enjoyed it… not in the way one enjoys a really good movie, but in the way one enjoys a really bad movie, therefore making it "good". It was entertaining, at least.

Chestnuts roasted by Orin @ 06/24/2004 1:25 PM

Heh, the B’s in the Bullet Bill’s sign are little Bullet Bills. Also, I acn’t beleive no one realised that the King as a pile of slime was a reference to all that crap the kings were turned into in SMB3.

Also, the Japanese made their own Mario movie in ’86. Not much is known about it other than the actors, that it was approx. 60 minutes, and it was animated. Still, it would be neat for someone to try to find it and get a review up. Don’t worry, the Japanese got a translation of our movie, too.

"Trust the Fungus."

Chestnuts roasted by Eric @ 06/24/2004 1:40 PM

Matt, if you like Dennis Hopper, review Neil Young’s HUMAN HIGHWAY.

THE epitome of B-Grade Cult Film.

Only the most devoted of fans of the stars in the movie or of cult classic films know of its existence: Help Out and REVIEW the movie! (hell, half.com has it for like $5 right now…)

Chestnuts roasted by Orgg @ 06/24/2004 1:52 PM

Wow Matt, I never realized how much variety the Mushroom Kingdom had for various lifestyles. Are my eyes fooling me, or does that big red neon sign in your Mushroom Kingdom pic read "Rawbar Gay?"

Chestnuts roasted by Hypnotix @ 06/24/2004 1:55 PM

I happened to see the movie, well actually I was forced to watch it because I had to take my 4 year old cusion to the worse movie from hell!!!

Chestnuts roasted by lava master @ 06/24/2004 2:02 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.