Super Mario Bros: The Movie!

[Herne the hunter]

I got this today purely because I can't believe how stoned the hollywood execs must've been when they were making it. Does it ever bring back memories! It is quite possibly the worst film ever made, and at the same time manages to be enjoyable if you overlook any resemblance to a certain video game franchise (which - let's face it - isn't hard since there's practically no resemblance at all).

Highlights include a 3 second, blink-and-you'll-miss-it role from Lance Henrikson as King Toadstool; Dennis Hopper in too much hair wax as "President" Koopa; a shot of the world trade centre momentarily disintegrating (thus ensuring the film will never be shown on TV now); and so many elements that bare no resemblance to the videogame that you'll laugh your socks off whilst you wonder why they even bothered using the name.

All in all, I would highly recommend this terrible, terrible film.

[EDIT] Oh, I almost forgot:





Those things behind Dennis Hopper are goombas by the way. Hahaha! And yes; that is the old Nintendo Scope rifle.

[kirkyl]

I barely remember it,i don't know if thats a good or bad thing but i'm leaning mostly towards good.

[noodle boy]

I caught that on TV late one night. That was so fucked up that it was almost watchable.

[Herne the hunter]

I'm just about to watch it again before I go to bed. I don't think it quite sunk in the first time.

[Fomorian]

I've been wanting to revisit this fiasco for some time, but I fear it might simply be too much for me to handle (I'm having a hard time even LOOKING at Dennis Hopper's hair!)

Back when I was a munchkin, I loved this movie. I loved it for the same reason I loved "Captain N", "The Wizard" or the "Super Mario Bros. Super Show", namely because it had something to do with videogames. I also remember being absolutely thrilled by the fireball guns, the mad-max style car chase, the Super Scope being used as a "devolving" weapon (I'm pretty sure this movie invented the word "devolving"), all the needless extrapolation on dinosaurs (riding the tail of the Jurassic Park comet) and the absolutely sinister use of fungi as a means to tap into the "magic mushroom" thema.

Thinking back, this movie is the most random addition of disjointed elements I have ever seen. Hey, Brooklyn plumbers that stumble on a parallel dimension where dinosaurs have evolved into human beings that lay eggs? I can dig that. Dinosaur tyrant that has constructed an evolving-devolving machine and doesn't use it on himself? Ooookay. Yoshi as a mini-trex? Wellllll. Iggy and Spike? Okay, full stop!

This movie is so amazingly random, yet has so much friggin special effects budget, it completely boggles the mind. I've seen and enjoyed plenty of bad movies in the last years, but this one strikes maybe a little too close to home.


EDIT: LARF at Bob Hoskins on that poster. He's obviously thrilled

[Renegade 2501]

I used to love watching this. It really is so absurd that it is enjoyable, but as others have said, I haven't seen it in years. I fear if I watched it again now, I might lose some love for it.

"Mario Mario and Luigi Mario. Wut, you got a problem with DAT?"

[noodle boy]

I think the Mario Mario thing is probably completely accurate. I mean, seriously, they're the Mario Bros, so, you know... yeah.

[MacCabbe]

This flick is a pearl sitting in the pantheon of absurd flicks. I absolutely adore that thing.

[Sicamon]

How the game-to-film transition converted a small cartoony mushroom with big eyes and two little feet into a friggin 8 foot tiny-headed dinosaur man, is beyond me. I need to watch this again soon. I was shitting myself with excitement when I first went to eh see this at the cinema and came out feeling like I'd just been touched against my will. The inclusion of a bob-omb was quite exciting though.

[Dempsey]

Entertained me as a kid. I barely understood what the hell was going on, though.

[Newbeing]

If they had wanted to make a mario film they should have made it animated because frankly I can't see how they could have made a live action Mario movie without it being fucked up.

I personally enjoy this movie because of its stupidity. Sure it may not come close the original source material, but how could it?

I like to think of this movie as an Adaption of the original game and in that they made a pretty enjoyable movie.

I also like how Yoshi was at least included.

[Mishra]

i personally like how yoshi was portrayed, and john leguizamo was a good luigi. bob hoskins was not such a good mario.

[Skibadee]

Hahahah I remember watching this all the time at my cousin's house. As I recall, I liked it quite a bit, and this was during my NES days, so it was just that much better. :lol:

The goombas dancing in the elevator. wtf.

[Sicamon]

Yeah they made the GIANT FUCKING LIZARDMEN goombas comedy characters by the end of it. I also vaguely remember some kind of mattress-based ice slide sequence. Fucking random.

This is toad:



This is also toad:



spot the difference!

[Fomorian]

That's a picture of him after he was devolved. Toad was the musician that got kuffed along with the Mario Brothers for singing against Koopa. I remember him having a nice twirly cap that somewhat ressembled a mushroom... maybe...

[Sicamon]

Still looks shit all like a little mushroom guy!

[Skibadee]

I just don't think the movie should have been made to begin with. It's very difficult to translate SMB to a film - the universe is just far too juvenile.

Did you know there was an animated series based solely off of SMB3? Saw it the other day at my local DVD shop. Seemed downright outrageous, and might have bought the series if it weren't grossly overpriced.

[Sicamon]

Yeah I watched a few of those back in the day. But they were on at a point in the mornin that even a 9 year old didnt want to see. There were about 3 different cartoons of mario, inc the hideous one with the fat guy dressed up as mario sitcom bits at the start, oh the fucking horror. The super mario 3 one was very faithful to the game*, thats about all I remember.
Also worth mentioning from the film is the fact that bob-ombs wearing reeboks. Fuck yeah!

*unlike the bastard sonic cartoon...

[noodle boy]

Man, I hated the sonic cartoon. The mario one was the shit.

[VashGta3Style]

Hah, i liked this movie when I was little and the sonic and mario cartoons, especially the one where it had the 2 guys dressed up. It was just so dumb and goofy, hell id still watch all of them if i had them or they came on tv.

The movie is interesting and entertaining but yeah it definately is well different.

[Miss Lucifer]

SMB is one of my favourite films EVER.

Ah, the bit with the goombas in the lift, and the big momma who worked in the club....

[Maelstrom]

I actually bought this one on DVD years ago when I saw it for around $5.

I pretty much have nothing specific to add to this thread, other the repeating idea of the movie being so damn absurd it ends up being quite entertaining.

[Fomorian]

Also: Pump-powered jumping boots = teh win.

[Herne the hunter]

Originally Posted by Skibadee

Did you know there was an animated series based solely off of SMB3? Saw it the other day at my local DVD shop. Seemed downright outrageous, and might have bought the series if it weren't grossly overpriced.

There've been three animated series AFAIK. There was the Super Mario Bros super show (with the sitcom bits) which seemed to be based mostly around SMB 2 with Koopa instead of Wart; the SMB 3 cartoon (which I've never actually seen), and the Super Mario World cartoon, which was actually pretty good if I recall.

Originally Posted by Uruhara

There were about 3 different cartoons of mario, inc the hideous one with the fat guy dressed up as mario sitcom bits at the start, oh the fucking horror.

You've brought this on yourself:

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[noodle boy]

They were all the bastard offspring of Captain N however. God Captain N was terrible.

[Major John Hicks]

Man, watching that video Herne's posted is making me want to go to Best Buy and buy the dvd sets.

Anyway, as Fom pointed out, the jump boots were awesome. The movie is one of those few video game adaptations that are so terrible it's actually bearable to watch.

[Derek237]

Leave it to Hollywood to cast a Brit and an Hispanic as two Italian brothers.

[Herne the hunter]

Actually I thought Hoskins played the part pretty well. He was a lousy Mario, but his accent was very convincing, unlike most Brits who try to play Americans. Same goes for Leguizamo. He was a terrible choice for Luigi, but his acting on the whole was likeable, although I don't think I've ever seen him in a film where he didn't completely pwn everyone else. IMO he really should get more recognition. He was the only thing worth watching in Spawn and Land of the Dead.

[Dempsey]

Originally Posted by Herne the hunter

He was the only thing worth watching in Spawn and Land of the Dead.

I personally think he's a bit of cock but I will agree here. Especially for Spawn.


The problem with the Mario character in this movie is that he was forced to be the straight man, as opposed to Luigi's optimistic naive personality.
I would have liked to see a movie with just Mario, but shorter, higher-pitched voice and more jolly.

Itsa me, Mario!

[Herne the hunter]

I never really liked the italian accent with Mario. I guess it's because I used to watch the cartoons so much as a kid where he was depicted as being Italian-American and having a brooklyn accent. When I first heard him talk in-game on M64 it just didn't seem right somehow.

I reckon this guy shoulda played him, but it probably woulda been a conflict of interests what with him idolising Wario n' all...