You don't know anything about Goombas. Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
1993 saw the release of "Super Mario Bros," the first major movie adaptation of a videogame.
A new movie "Super Mario Bros." starring Chris Pratt and Mario is expected to be released in 2022.
It is amazing to see the original film for the first-time in many decades.
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As a 36-year old and avid gamer, I was able to see the original Super Mario Bros. movie in 1993. In literal decades, I haven’t sat down and watched it in its entirety.
Nintendo
Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo was launched in 1990 and is the most current "Super Mario" title.
The story of Mario Mario and Luigi Mario, two plumber brothers, is what you need to know if you haven't seen it before. These aren't the same Mario brothers that you remember from the video games.
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
Bob Hoskins does not say "It's a me, Mario!" at any point in the film.
They live in an early 1990s Brooklyn, where there were many Italian-American red sauce restaurants.
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
Yes, Mario's girlfriend is serenaded by a violin and an accordion player. Mario and his girlfriend go on an early date with Luigi, Princess Daisy and a double date.
They also own the "Mario Bros. Plumbing Service. Plumbing Service
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
The film's central plot points are the brothers' plumbing skills, which enable them to overcome conflict repeatedly.
Super Mario Bros. focuses less on Mario and more on Luigi's growing relationship with Daisy.
Samantha Mathis plays Daisy. Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
Notably, Princess Daisy is the princess in Super Mario Land for the Nintendo Game Boy.
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The main idea of "Super Mario Bros." is that a meteorite struck Brooklyn 65 million years ago, but instead of vaporizing dinosaurs, it caused a dimensional gap.
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
This is the first glimpse of the alternate dimension that Mario and Luigi visit in "Super Mario Bros." It's a cyberpunk version, sort of Mario-themed, of Manhattan's Greenwich Village.
Earth is located on one side of this rift, where humans descend from apes. The other side is where Mario & Luigi end up, a world that is unsurprisingly ruled over by President Koopa (played by Dennis Hopper).
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
Contrary to reality, in which human connection with our ape ancestors can be tenuous, the Koopa world's connection is much closer to dinosaurs. Dennis Hopper is even seen standing like a dinosaur throughout the film, his arms crossed.
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
Naturally, there are dinosaurs in the film.
You may be wondering about the connection between the dinosaur stuff and Super Mario Bros. It is possible that the movie's theme was inspired by Super Mario Bros.'s most recent game, "Super Mario World", for the Super Nintendo.
SNES
"Super Mario World" was Super Mario's first game to feature Yoshi (an important inhabitant of Dinosaur Land).
Rocky Morton, one of the film's directors, said that he knew the game "Super Mario World" and knew that one of its areas was Dino World. "So, we thought it would be a wonderful place to go in." Fans call the alternate dimension of the film "Dinohattan."
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
There are very few references to the game series throughout the film's world, including the "Thwomp Stompers" scene.
The film attempts to incorporate references to video games, and the dinosaur theme is stretched to absurd places. Goombas are a humanoid dinosaur creature that has been de-evolved.
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
Yoshi, the beloved, adorable, little green creature that everyone loves, looks like it was taken from "Jurassic Park".
This dinosaur is a replica of the one in "Jurassic Park". It was released in the same year. Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
The movie's relationships to the games are the most important issues, but the rest of the movie is a mess. The movie's dialog and plot logic is a mess, with many scenes feeling disconnected.
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
What is the purpose of Mario and Luigi wearing these overalls?
It's the fact that "Super Mario Bros." looks so chaotic that it makes it so fun to watch. You'll be able to understand why the movie is so confusing.
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
Because of his harmonica, you can easily tell this Goomba apart. Before he became a Goomba, his original name was Toad. He was a street musician who sang about President Koopa's ineptitude. Yes, it is indeed a reference to Toad from the video game series.
Do you have elaborate dance routines? Yes. Yes. Yes. Is the main weapon of the bad guy a modified version the Super Scope light-gun peripheral for the Super Nintendo You bet! It's something I cannot recommend enough.
Buena Vista Pictures/Disney
Mario and several Brooklyn women ride a mattress down the pipe while a mattress of Goombas follows close behind. Notice the woman still clutching her cigarette.
The film is not available on streaming. It's only available on Blu-ray and DVD. The Internet Archive has a fan-made "director’s cut" of this film that is available for free. It contains more scenes than the theatrical release.
You can purchase the DVD version for $4 if you really want to own the film. Amazon
Internet Archive has the "director's cutting" of the film. This is not the official director's cutting, but a fan-made version of the film using found footage.
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