Editing Super Mario Bros. (film)

{{italic title|''Super Mario Bros.'' (film)}}

[[File:MoviePoster.jpg|thumb|right|The movie poster.]]

{{quote2|This Ain't No Game.|Film tagline}}

'''''Super Mario Bros.''''' is an American science-fiction action-adventure live-action film adaptation of and is loosely based on the [[Super Mario (series)|''Super Mario'']] series of video games, produced by {{wp|Allied Filmmakers|Lightmotive}} and released in theaters on May 28, 1993 by the now-defunct {{wp|Hollywood Pictures}} division of {{wp|Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studios}}<ref name="box office mojo">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=supermariobros.htm ''Super Mario Bros.'' on Box Office Mojo] (Accessed on November 27, 2010)</ref>. While the film draws inspiration from the games, it spins these elements into a more realistic and darker fashion. The movie was originally written as a fantasy-style film, but was gradually changed over numerous rewrites to the point where it became a sci-fi/action film. It was written by Parker Bennett, Terry Runte, and [[Ed Solomon]], and directed by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton.<ref name="Super Mario Bros. - Full cast and crew - IMBd">[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108255/fullcredits]</ref> Produced on an estimated budget of $48 million<ref name="box office mojo"/> for its high-profile cast and special effects, ''Super Mario Bros.'' was the first Hollywood film based upon a video game property.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108255/trivia Super Mario Bros. (1993) - Trivia - IMBd]</ref> It is rated PG for sci-fi action, mild language, and sensuality by the {{wp|Motion Picture Association of America}}. The movie was a {{wp|box office bomb|financial failure}} and has received generally negative reviews from critics, but it since has gained a {{wp|cult film|cult status}} in spite of, or even because of, its negative reception.

The movie involves [[Brooklyn]] plumbers and brothers Mario Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi Mario (John Leguizamo), who are struggling to get by due to their lack of money and work. They meet a girl, Daisy (Samantha Mathis), who is working on an excavation site while also trying to stop Scapelli from taking over the site for construction purposes. During this time, Luigi falls in love with Daisy, though she is soon after kidnapped by two men, Iggy (Fisher Stevens) and Spike (Richard Edson), who take her to a parallel dimension created by the meteorite impact 65 million years ago, where the dinosaurs were teleported to as soon as it struck. Here, they, like the other mammals in Earth's dimension, evolved into vicious humanoids, ruled by President Koopa (Dennis Hopper). The brothers now have to go to the other dimension in order to save Daisy and stop Koopa's plans to reunite the two dimensions so he can rule both.

In a 1989 issue of ''Los Angeles Times'', it was reported that "DIC Enterprises will produce a full-length animated feature film based on the characters from Nintendo's 'Super Mario Bros.' game" to be released in 1990.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-17/entertainment/ca-1885_1_nintendo-s-super-mario-bros-dic-enterprises-animated-series] (Accessed on June 27, 2018)</ref> Similarly, in a 1990 issue of ''TV Guide'' magazine listing some upcoming animated movies, this movie was among those listed (suggesting it was originally meant to be animated) and scheduled for release in summer of 1991.<ref>[http://www.platypuscomix.net/bored/tvguidesimpsons5.html] (Accessed on September 22, 2009)</ref> ''Super Mario Bros.'' was released on VHS later in 1993, and was later re-released on DVD in 2003. On August 15, 2010, the DVD version was re-released in memory of Dennis Hopper, who had died two months earlier.<ref>[http://www.destructoid.com/super-mario-bros-the-movie-gets-re-released-on-dvd-181462.phtml]</ref> United Kingdom film distributer Second Sight Films later re-released the movie on both DVD and Blu-ray formats, originally stated to be released on August 11, 2014<ref>[http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1786]</ref> before being delayed to November 3 due to needing to work on new extras<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/SecondSightFilms/photos/a.155124601288648.33512.154695504664891/459359157531856/?type=1&permPage=1]</ref>. A SteelBook special edition of the Blu-ray release with even more special features was released on February 13, 2017, exclusively through UK retailer {{wp|Zavvi (retailer)|Zavvi}}.<ref>Dewell, Ron (December 30, 2016). [http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/12/30/super-mario-bros-movie-getting-a-slick-re-release-on-blu-ray-with-a-steelbook-case/ Super Mario Bros movie getting a slick re-release on Blu-ray with a steelbook case]. TechnoBuffalo. Retrieved December 30, 2016.</ref> A deleted scene was discovered in 2019.<ref>SMB Movie (August 15, 2019). [https://youtube.com/watch?v=HgKCxCCjyCs Exploring the Super Mario Bros. (1993) Extended Rough Cut Pt. 1: Nobody Touches My Tools]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved October 3, 2019.</ref>

*[[Mario (film character)|Mario Mario]] &mdash; [[Bob Hoskins]]

*[[Luigi (film character)|Luigi Mario]] &mdash; [[John Leguizamo]]

*[[President Koopa|King Koopa]] &mdash; [[Dennis Hopper]]

*[[Princess Daisy (film character)|Daisy]] / [[Queen Maia]] &mdash; [[Samantha Mathis]]  

*[[Iggy (film character)|Iggy]] &mdash; Fisher Stevens

*[[Spike (film character)|Spike]] &mdash; Richard Edson

*[[Lena]] &mdash; [[Fiona Shaw]]  

*[[Daniella]] &mdash; Dana Kaminksi

*[[Toad (film character)|Toad]] &mdash; [[Mojo Nixon]]

*[[Anthony Scapelli|Scapelli]] &mdash; Gianni Russo

*[[Big Bertha (film character)|Bertha]] &mdash; Francesca Roberts

*[[King (film character)|The King]] &mdash; Lance Henriksen

*Old Lady &mdash; Sylvia Harman

*Angelica &mdash; Desireé Marie Velez

*Brooklyn Girls &mdash; Andrea Powell, Heather Pendergast, Melanie Salvatore

*[[Goomba (film species)|Goomba]] Toad &mdash; John Fifer

*Sgt. Simon &mdash; Don Lake

*Hat Check Girl &mdash; Terry Finn

*Goombas &mdash; Thomas Merdis, Michael Harding, Michael Lynch, Scott Mactavish, Wallace Merck

*Nuns &mdash; Mona B. Fierro, Karen Brigman, Christi Work, Joy Rees, Lucy Alpaugh

*T.V. Announcer &mdash; Robert Raiford

*Reporter #1 &mdash; Harry Murphy

*Reporter #2 &mdash; Patt Noday

*Scapelli Bodyguards &mdash; Robert Lee Edwards, Ronald Lou Edwards

*Pizza Delivery Boy &mdash; Matthew Zachary Hopkins

*Egon &mdash; Robert Faulkner Priester

*James &mdash; Preston Lane

*Japanese Businessman #1 &mdash; Jim Asaki

*Japanese Businessman #2 &mdash; Matt Nikko

*DEVO Controller &mdash; Kevin West

*DEVO Technician &mdash; Jeffrey Pillars

*Creature Voices &mdash; Frank Welker

*Narrator &mdash; Dan Castellaneta

In the present day, [[Mario (film character)|Mario Mario]] and [[Luigi (film character)|Luigi Mario]] are at their home and business, [[Mario Brothers Plumbing|Mario Brothers Plumbing Services]]. Luigi lies on the couch, watching a television program in which the host introduces the concept of other dimensions as Mario receives a call in the other room for a job. As the brothers hastily prepare to leave, Mario complains that Luigi has spent money on the New York Post despite their lack of money. Luigi protests that it has the article on the missing Brooklyn girls, which doesn't satisfy Mario.

The two set off in their van, still arguing over their lack of money. Luigi takes a "shortcut" through an alleyway instead of Mario's directions, much to the latter's chargin. The Mario brothers arrive at the Café only to see that Scapelli Construction, their corporate rivals, have beaten them to it.

Mario enters a nearby store for bottles of water to cool the radiator down, just as Daisy approaches the pay phone. She paces about, waiting for Luigi to finish checking their messages. Enamored, he wordlessly hands her the phone. Mario emerges and questions Luigi for an jobs. Luigi comes up empty-handed, and his brother walks toward the van. Luigi eventually follows and asks Mario if he thought Daisy was attractive. Mario pressures his younger brother to talk to her, and upon finishing her call, she approaches Luigi to thank him. He awkwardly offers her a ride, leaving Mario to "translate" his message for him. She looks about and sees Iggy and Spike in their car, and, thinking them thugs of Scappelli's, accepts their offer and goes back to the dig site. Once there, Luigi asks her out for dinner later that evening, which she agrees to.

At the excavation site, Daisy and Luigi finally arrive, and she tells him about how Scapelli himself showed up earlier, and that she was calling her university for extra money that they wouldn't give. Daisy then leads Luigi into an underground sewer-like area, and shows him various dinosaur fossils lined on the floor, one of which has opposable thumbs and looks to her as if "...it was a monster, trying to be a human being," unaware that it was her mother. The two move in to kiss, but are interrupted by the sound of water spraying and the sight of two of Scapelli plumbers fleeing, after having broken a set of pipes in an effort to flood the site. Luigi and Daisy run back to Mario's apartment to get help in repairing the damage. Mario and Luigi then set to work.

The brothers soon regain consciousness and frantically follow the sound of Daisy's voice, utilizing Mario's knowledge of pipe echoes to guide them through the cave. They finally come to a ledge over a steep drop, a river having formed from the flooding, across from which Daisy's voice seems to come though the solid rock wall. As they stand there, Daisy's face appears through the rock and Luigi tries to jump for her, but is held back by Mario. Daisy leans herself though the rock again and Luigi attempts to grab her, but only succeeds in taking her necklace. With her necklace in his hand, Luigi looks back at the rock; Mario commenting that it was impossible. With a feeling, Luigi kisses Mario's forehead in goodbye and leaps straight through the solid rock. Mario then slips and falls through himself, transporting through a psychedelic landscape before disintegrating and reassembling on the other side in a large chamber.

[[File:DinohattenTwo.jpg|thumb|right|The city of Dinohatten.]]

Circling around a giant meteorite embedded into the floor, Luigi and Mario chase after Daisy and her kidnappers, who claim to be taking her back to where she belongs. The brothers burst out of the tunnel, through a metallic door, and emerge into a crowded, noisy, fungus-covered street in the city of [[Dinohattan]]. Pushing through the crowds, they stop dead in their tracks and look around, taking in their surroundings. Suddenly, they see Iggy, Spike, and Daisy on the street below. The kidnappers pull a screaming Daisy into a cab. A cop then arrives and pulls the brothers away for creating an "incident." They fall through a railing, and fall onto the streets below. They then decide to take in their surroundings before taking the next step. As they are walking away from an area in the city, a hidden [[Goomba (film species)|Goomba]] peers from the shadows.

Meanwhile, two Goombas drag Daisy to a prison room in Koopa's Tower. Daniella and four other women are also inside. The two share a joyful reunion, with Daniella explaining that Koopa is looking for a princess, but took the wrong girls. Elsewhere, Mario, Luigi, and Toad arrive at the police station. The two brothers are "de-fungused", then placed in a prison resembling a chicken coop. Toad is placed above Mario and Luigi, who are sharing a cell. Playing his harmonica, Toad sings about the brothers being from another dimension. Luigi then asks what he meant by that. The musician clarifies by explaining that, according to history, the impact of a meteorite divided their universes into two parallel dimensions. He goes on to explain that he believes that the fungus infesting the city was their old [[King (film character)|king]], who was [[De-evolution|de-evolved]] by Koopa and is now seeking revenge.

[[File:Devo Chamber.png|thumb|right|The Devo Chamber.]]

Koopa casually walks into a large chamber with an elaborate throne-machine, in which Toad is strapped into. He insults Koopa while saying the King has returned and is all around them. Unfazed, Koopa orders the machine to be activated and Toad de-evolved. Toad transforms into a Goomba, and Koopa explains that evolution is an upward process, while ''de''-evolution is the opposite. Using this process, he can create a strong, loyal, and, most importantly, stupid subject. In anger, Luigi tries to attack Koopa but is held back by Mario. Mario asks him what he evolved from, to which Koopa replies that his ancestor was the ''Tyrannosaurus rex''. He then threatens to de-evolve them if they don't tell him where the meteorite shard is. Instead, the brothers shove Koopa into the de-evolution chair and take out his men. Luigi then sets the machine to the Jurassic period and the pair push the chair into the de-evolution device before running off. However, their speeding up of the process causes it to end prematurely. Koopa's eye briefly fluctuates to a reptilian-slit before returning to normal.

Pursued by Goombas, Mario and Luigi flee. They hide behind a support and Luigi notices that the fungus appears to be offering them a [[Bob-omb]]. Mario pulls him away before he can take it, though, and the two escape using a zipline-like contraption. Two Goombas attempt to blast them with their [[Flame Gun]]s, but fail to hit them. The brothers then enter the police garage, where they steal a police car. Although Mario struggles to turn it on, Luigi successfully operates the computer as a result of playing video games, and they drive off with two other police cars in pursuit. After a short chase, Mario tricks the officers into crashing into each other, killing the police officers. The two brothers celebrate their victory and enter a tunnel leading to the [[Koopahari Desert]]. The computer warns them that the tunnel is unfinished, but the car leaves the city's power grid and powers down before they can brake. The car propels out of the tunnel and nearly crashes into the rocks below but is caught by the fungus, allowing them to climb out and escape into the desert.

[[File:SMBMovieDesertFungus.png|thumb|right|Mario and Luigi are saved by the fungus.]]

Meanwhile, Iggy bids farewell to a nervous Spike, who is locked into the de-evolution machine. On Koopa's signal, the machine is flipped from "de-evolve" to "evolve," resulting in a more intelligent Spike. Two nearby workers pull Spike from the chair and force in Iggy, who is unaware he is also going to be evolved. The two cousins, now intelligent, are ordered by Koopa to retrieve Mario and Luigi and the meteorite shard from the desert, or be personally killed.

Daisy prepares to meet Koopa, now wearing a purple dress that belonged to her mother. Lena then enters the room and tells Daisy more about her mother, telling her that she took Daisy to the other dimension before she was "born," then died. Daisy asks if her father is alive, but she doesn't reveal anything. Lena then states that Koopa thinks she is the only one with the ability to merge the dimensions, and that she isn't ready to let her efforts go to waste.

Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi wander in the desert lost, arguing over who is to blame for their situation. At his tower, Koopa discusses the Goomba's [[Devolution Gun]] training with the police chief until Lena enters, announcing Daisy is ready. Daisy waits nervously in another room lit with candles and a fire, where she meets [[Yoshi (film character)|Yoshi]], a dinosaur resembling a {{wp|Velociraptor|velociraptor}} walking about the room, chained by its neck. He curiously observes Daisy, who is initially frightened, then fascinated. Koopa, who had walked in seconds earlier, then surprises her by speaking and confirming that Yoshi truly is a dinosaur. He remains calm, introducing himself as ruler of this dimension. He ignores Daisy's demands about the whereabouts of her father, instead flirting while confirming that Daisy also descended from the dinosaurs. Koopa's face then begins to show lizard-like features again, which scares Daisy. She runs from Koopa and into Toad, whom Koopa instructs to take her away, before kicking Yoshi in the face for licking his leg.

[[File:YoshiTSMBM.jpg|thumb|right|Yoshi chained to the floor.]]

At Koopa's Tower, Daisy is looking out the window, but turns her attention to Yoshi when she sees him trying to bite his chain in two, and offers the dinosaur sympathy. Back in the desert, the Marios, along with Iggy and Spike, notice a garbage truck, which is unloading the trash in the middle of the desert. They knock out the garbage men, hijack the truck, and drive back into the city.

At the Boom Boom Bar, Mario and Luigi don Spike's ex-wife's dance clothes to fit into the dance club. Once inside, Mario and Luigi attempt to locate Big Bertha. Iggy and Spike head to the bar, ordering drinks as a toast to Koopa's downfall. Mario finds and confronts Big Bertha, attempting to seduce her, but resulting with a punch in the face. Mario then walks over to her again, trying reverse psychology this time, and Big Bertha demands he dance with her, during which he attempts to snatch Daisy's necklace back. He finally does so, just as the song ends, but Lena and a squad of Goombas arrive after having been tipped off by the coat check. Mario and Luigi attempt escape, but lose the necklace, saved from falling into a floor vent by Lena, in the process before being aided by Big Bertha. She lends them each a pair of Thwomp Stompers, instructing them on their use. They then escape through the roof, and, while they are moving, Luigi notices that the fungus is once again trying to give them a Bob-omb. The brothers then continue running from Goombas, only to be cornered on a catwalk by cops, but escape by jumping into the back of a moving garbage truck. Mario complains that it is impossible for them to enter the tower, but Luigi insists that nothing is impossible, only improbable.

Back at Koopa's tower, the president enters a chamber filled with a type of fungus, a portion of which retreats into a larger section when Koopa enters. He then engages in small-talk with the fungus, eventually leading to him stating that, once the dimensions are merged, all of its rebellion is going to have been in vain.

The garbage truck then dumps its load, Mario and Luigi included, outside Koopa's tower. Entering, they observe the badly-maintained heating pipes that serve the tower. Under Mario's instruction, Luigi begins blocking off all of the valves. An alarm is set off, forcing them to leave quickly. As they head for the elevator, Mario stops at a locker, opens it, and pulls out two mechanics' uniforms (which look like the clothes worn by their counterparts from the games). As the two celebrate in the elevator, the door opens and two Goombas enter. They manage to hide behind the oblivious Goombas, and as the elevator continues upwards, more and more Goombas enter, all unaware of the Marios.

Back in the elevator, Luigi gets an idea from the elevator music. Gently rocking each of the Goombas individually, he begins making the Goombas dance, distracting them. At the top of the tower, Toad enters the chamber Daisy is held in, offering her some dinner, though she replies that she is a vegetarian, and requests some steamed vegetables. Lena then enters the chamber. Daisy asks her if she would help her escape, though Lena replies by pulling a knife in an attempt to kill her, her reason being that, "everyone deserves what they've earned." Yoshi uses his long tongue to pull Lena over, allowing Daisy to escape through the open door. However, Lena then stabs Yoshi and chases after her.

In the hall, Daisy runs into Toad, carrying her plate of steamed vegetables, and runs away from him before encountering two Goombas escorting Iggy and Spike for execution. They beg for her help as the Goombas pull out their Flame Guns and ignite Toad. Iggy, Spike, and Daisy escape, though she takes the fire extinguisher off the wall and puts out Toad. As the trio continue their escape, Iggy and Spike claim that they were her most loyal supporters, having been with her father since his de-evolution. They take her to Devo 4, the chamber in which her father, as a fungal mass, is kept and leave her alone to take it all in.

The police chief presents the meteorite shard to Koopa, who orders Lena's release and begins rallying the Goombas. At the barracks, several Goombas blow the door open with their Flame Guns, but are greeted by an empty room. They realize that the women had escaped with Mario by riding on a mattress down the frozen pipe, and they do the same in pursuit. Mario and the girls then duck under some icicles, which one of the Goombas hits, knocking him off the mattress. The chase continues until Mario leaves a wrench in a hole, causing the Goombas's mattress to flip over and its passengers to fly off. Mario and the girls then notice the exit of the air vent, with the two Goombas still following them, one on top of the other. The remaining mattress and its passengers fly out of the shaft, while the Goombas stop short. Their crash landing distracts Koopa and allows Luigi and Daisy to join Mario's side.

Koopa approaches them wielding a Flame Gun, declaring that he has won and Earth's humans are soon about to de-evolve. Several announcements then come through his communicator, distracting him. This allows Luigi to grab a Thwomp Stomper's fuel cartridge from a broken shop display and hand it to Mario. Mario inserts it into a Stomper from the shop, then activates the device. It flies into Koopa and knocks him into an empty vat located over the street. However, Koopa quickly recovers and starts to fire his Flame Gun. Using some fungus, Mario swings onto the vat, climbs up it, and begins fighting Koopa, hitting him from above and causing Koopa to drop the meteorite shard, which he held in his mouth, to the ground below. Lena catches it, but falls off the ledge and onto some electrical wiring. However, Mario tricks Koopa into believing he has the shard, and he is attacked. Lena then runs off to the meteorite chamber to merge the dimensions. Luigi, Daisy, and the other girls run after her, hoping to stop her while Mario and Koopa continue to fight, Koopa being unaware that Lena has the shard.

In Brooklyn, Daniella and the other women warn those at the dig site about the coming invasion. Daniella then notes that the World Trade Center has merged with Koopa's tower. Scapelli is there, yet believes the whole thing is a hoax for publicity. Mario, Koopa, and his legion of Goombas appear next as Koopa attempts unsuccessfully to hit Mario with his Flame Gun, which is broken again. Casting it aside, Koopa takes a devolution gun from a Goomba and fires it at Mario, who dodges, allowing the beam to instead hit Scapelli, de-evolving him into an ape. Koopa then turns to de-evolve Mario, but the latter pulls out the mushroom Luigi grabbed and uses it to absorb the beam. The mushroom becomes larger and larger, eventually to the point where Mario uses it to knock the ray gun out of Koopa's hands. Meanwhile, Luigi and Daisy manage to remove the shard from the meteor, causing the two dimensions to separate once more.

Meanwhile, the Bob-omb Mario dropped earlier is walking around the lower section of the city. A citizen driving a car notices it and stops the car, trying and succeeding in not hitting the Bob-omb. Up on the catwalk, Toad gives Luigi and Daisy each a de-evolution gun. Koopa orders his Goombas to de-evolve Mario, but Toad distracts them with his harmonica. They begin dancing as they did in the elevator. As Luigi and Daisy pass, Big Bertha throws Luigi a pair of Thwomp Stompers. Koopa, enraged at both the failure of his plans and the Goombas' failure to comply to his orders, angrily calls them "stupid" and punches them down dominoes-style. As the Bob-omb continues its trek, Koopa turns his attention to Luigi, who flies on over by using the Thwomp Stompers. Koopa fires at him using his Flame Gun, but misses, allowing Luigi to land next to his brother and hand him a devolution gun. As the Bob-omb walks below Koopa, the brothers begin de-evolving him into a fierce, dinosaur-like form. The Bob-omb then finally reaches Koopa, exploding from beneath him, causing him to shoot into the air and land in the empty vat. Mario, Luigi, and the city's inhabitants watch the container in silence. Suddenly, Koopa, having been de-evolved into a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'', emerges with a roar. After initially panicking, the brothers aim the guns and fire once more, further de-evolving Koopa into a glob of primeval slime. Immediately, all of Dinohattan cheers at the defeat of their dictator.

Stepping onto Luigi's stompers, the brothers wave and flash a victory sign to the crowd as they jump over to Daisy, who embraces them. Meanwhile in Devo 4, Daisy's father is restored to his former self.

Three weeks later, Daniella has now moved into the brothers' apartment and is preparing dinner for them. Just as Luigi stands up to join them, ''Our Miraculous World'' comes on with the host discussing the Mario brothers, whom he calls the "Super Mario Brothers.", having saved both Earth and Dinohattan. Someone knocks on the door, Mario stating that it is open, and it bursts open to reveal Daisy, wearing torn military clothes and wielding a Flame Gun, asking Mario and Luigi for help. The two strap on their tool belts, prepared to leave.

In a post-credits scene, two Japanese businessmen comment to someone that they have a proposal: to make a video game based on their many adventures; they are then asked for the game's name. The camera pans to reveal Iggy and Spike, who suggest "''Iggy's World''" and "''The Indomitable Spike''," respectively, but then agree upon "''The Super Koopa Cousins''."

[[File:Bob Hoskins.jpg|frame|right|Bob Hoskins, who played Mario in the film, expressed a distaste for his role.]]

:''For a list of elements cut during the film's production, see [[List of Super Mario Bros. deleted scenes|here]].''

{{quote2|'''Overall, what’s your abiding memory from working on this movie?'''”<br>“Humiliation.|Director Rocky Morton, in a [http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/11/interview_rocky_morton_on_the_chaos_of_directing_the_super_mario_bros_movie 2014 interview with Nintendo Life].}}

Film producer {{wp|Roland Joffé}} visited [[Nintendo]] of America’s headquarters in 1991, and pitched his concept for a ''Super Mario Bros.'' film to then-president {{wp|Minoru Arakawa}}, after the idea was originally decided upon during a script meeting at Lightmotive Studios. Nintendo had already received several offers for a ''Super Mario'' movie, but Arakawa was interested by Joffé’s pitch, and the producer later flew to Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto to present his pitch directly to [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]].<ref name="Wired">[http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/generation-xbox-super-mario-movie Why the Super Mario Movie Sucked]</ref> Joffé pitched the film as a prequel to the game<ref name="Grantland">[http://grantland.com/features/the-strange-case-super-mario-bros-movie/ Hollywood Archaeology: The Super Mario Bros. Movie]</ref>, described by him in his pitch as "'a food chain game — it tells us we’re all just somebody else’s dinner.'"<ref name="Wired"/> Nintendo later agreed to sell Joffé and {{wp|Jake Eberts}} the rights to produce a ''Super Mario Bros.'' film for $2 million<ref name="Wired"></ref>, while Nintendo would retain merchandising rights<ref name="Game Informer">[https://web.archive.org/web/20130603124313/https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/05/28/mario-s-film-folly-the-true-story-behind-hollywood-s-biggest-gaming-blunder.aspx?PostPageIndex=2 Game Informer: Mario’s Film Folly: The True Story Behind Hollywood’s Biggest Gaming Blunder]</ref>. Other than imposing a deadline on production<ref name="Game Informer"/>, Nintendo exerted little creative control over the project; Joffé would later speculate that Nintendo was mostly interested in seeing if a big-budget movie would have any impact on the ''Mario'' brand<ref name="Wired"></ref>.

Joffé initially met with {{wp|Harold Ramis}} to direct the film, who took the meeting as a fan of the ''Super Mario Bros.'' game, but he declined the offer.<ref>Kohler, Chris (June 17, 2009). [http://www.wired.com/2009/06/harold-ramis-passed-on-mario-movie/ Harold Ramis Glad He Turned Down Mario Movie]. Wired. Retrieved January 2, 2016.</ref> Joffé then chose {{wp|Greg Beeman}} to be the director, but, after losing faith in him, replaced him with duo {{wp|Rocky Morton}} and {{wp|Annabel Jankel}}, best known for ''{{wp|Max Headroom}}''<ref name="Grantland"/>. Morton hated the script they were sent after reading it, but saw potential in the concept, and thought of the idea of the dinosaurs living in a parallel universe rather than going extinct, which Mario and Luigi happen to discover<ref name="scifinow">Poppy-Jay Palmer (June 7, 2016). [http://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/super-mario-bros-director-rocky-morton-it-was-a-harrowing-experience/ Super Mario Bros.’s Rocky Morton: ‘It was a harrowing experience’]. SciFiNow. Retrieved June 11, 2016.</ref>.

{{wp|Dustin Hoffman}}, looking to impress his kids, was the first to offer to play the role of Mario, but was let down by Bill White, who handled Nintendo of America's promotions at the time, as Nintendo wanted {{wp|Danny DeVito}} to direct and play Mario.<ref name="Grantland"/> However, DeVito wanted to read the script before signing on<ref name="times-news">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6CAaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZiQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6519,1876640&dq=super+mario+bros+film+production&hl=en Mario: The Movie]. ''Times-News'' (January 11, 1991). Retrieved January 1, 2018.</ref>, and ultimately declined in order to focus on his movie ''{{wp|Hoffa}}''.<ref name="Grantland"/> {{wp|Tom Hanks}} later agreed to play lead role for $5 million, which the studio decided was too much, and instead chose Bob Hoskins to be Mario, believing he would be more profitable<ref name="Grantland"/><ref name="Game Informer"/>. {{wp|Arnold Schwarzenegger}} and {{wp|Michael Keaton}} were both offered to play King Koopa but turned the role down<ref name="Game Informer"/>.

A treatment for the script was done by {{wp|Barry Morrow}}, but was turned down as it was seen as too dramatic. The job was then handed to Jim Jennewein and Tom S. Parker, who wrote a light-hearted fantasy tale comparatively closer to the source material. However, after the departure of Greg Beeman, the script went through multiple rewrites and revisions, each adding increasingly "darker" content and science-fiction elements<ref name="SMBArchive">[http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/preproduction/script.htm SMBArchive: Scipts]</ref>. Both the new directing team and Roland Joffé wanted a more adult-oriented production, justifying this direction by stating that ''Super Mario Bros.'' appealed to many demographics besides children<ref name="Wired"></ref>. A satirical, ''{{wp|Mad Max}}''-inspired script impressed the directors<ref name="Nintendo Life">Meli, Jowi.[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/11/interview_rocky_morton_on_the_chaos_of_directing_the_super_mario_bros_movie Interview: Rocky Morton On The Chaos Of Directing The Super Mario Bros. Movie], ''Nintendo Life''. November 3, 2014 (retrieved November 3, 2014)</ref> and actors [[Bob Hoskins]], [[Dennis Hopper]], and [[Fiona Shaw]]<ref name="SMBArchive"></ref>, but was revised after receiving concerns from the studio that the film was straying too far from the family-friendly license. {{wp|Ed Solomon}}, one of the writers for ''{{wp|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure}}'', was brought in to make further revisions, and despite production being well underway the directors were forbidden from working with him<ref name="Game Informer"/>. Director Rocky Morton has since defended the film's more dark direction and departure from the games, stating his intention for the movie was that it would be the "real story", while the ''Super Mario Bros.'' game was an unfaithful retelling after the Japanese had heard the story<ref name="Nintendo Life"/><ref name="scifinow"/>.

 

A featurette of the development of the film was also made, called ''[[The Making of... Super Mario Bros.]]''. It describes in detail the production of the movie, with behind-the-scenes interviews with much of the key cast and production staff. A book about the film's production was released the same year titled ''From Microchips to Moviestars: The Making of Super Mario Bros.''

At release, ''Super Mario Bros.'' received mostly mixed reviews from critics that praised the acting, set design and special effects while criticizing the writing and directing. The film currently maintains an average review score of 23% on {{wp|Rotten Tomatoes}}, with 31 out of 40 reviews being negative, their consensus stating that, "Despite flashy sets and special effects, Super Mario Bros. is too light on story and substance to be anything more than a novelty."<ref>[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/super_mario_bros/ ''Super Mario Bros.''] on Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 31, 2016.</ref> Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, on their program ''{{wp|Siskel & Ebert At the Movies}}'', gave the film two thumbs down; while they praised the film for its special effects work, their complaints were mostly about the indecision of the movie being aimed for children or adults. The film also made their list of the worst movies of 1993. The film is estimated to have grossed $20,915,465 domestically, under half of the estimated $48 million budget.<ref name="box office mojo"/>

Bob Hoskins was particularly praised for his performance as Mario. Dennis Hopper's performance was praised as well, causing him to land villainous roles for more successful films. John Leguizamo's and Samantha Mathis's performances helped kick them off into more successful productions. The film was also nominated for two {{wp|Saturn Awards}}, one being for Best Costume and the other for Best Make-up.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070816030140/http://theenvelope.latimes.com:80/extras/lostmind/year/1993/1993sat.htm Past Winners Database]. ''The Los Angeles Times''. Archived on August 16, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2018.</ref> The film was shortlisted for the category of Best Visual Effects at the {{wp|66th Academy Awards}}, but did not make the final nomination.<ref>Mavity, W. (January 22, 2017). [https://www.nextbestpicture.com/latest/a-history-of-visual-effects-shortlists-bake-offs A History Of Visual Effects Shortlists & Bake-Offs]. ''Next Best Picture''. Retrieved August 25, 2020.</ref>

In a 2007 interview with ''The Guardian'', Bob Hoskins stated that ''Super Mario Bros.'' was "the worst thing I ever did"<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/aug/03/2 The Guardian: The Method? Living it out? Cobblers!]</ref>, and was especially critical of the directors, whom he thought of as arrogant<ref>[http://www.angelfire.com/celeb/bobhoskins/interviews/sansebastian.html Transcript of an interview held at the San Sebastian Film Festival]</ref>. In a later interview with ''The Guardian'', Hoskins answered with the film when asked, "What is the worst job you've done?", "What has been your biggest disappointment?", and, "If you could edit your past, what would you change?"<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/18/bob-hoskins-interview-neverland Q&A: Bob Hoskins]. ''The Guardian'' (June 17, 2011). Retrieved January 1, 2018.</ref> [[Dennis Hopper]], when asked about his time on set, echoed Hoskins's statement, and stated that he did not like working on ''Super Mario Bros.'', despite enjoying his time on ''{{wp|Waterworld}}'', a film notorious for its troubled production<ref>[http://www.avclub.com/article/random-roles-dennis-hopper-2549 AV Club: Random Roles: Dennis Hopper]</ref>. John Leguizamo also expressed a dislike of his role, writing in his 2006 autobiography ''Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas, And All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends: My Life'', "Oh man [''Super Mario Bros.''] sucks. And I suck in it." Both Leguizamo and Hoskins have also mentioned that they were constantly drunk during filming to make the experience easier on themselves; this included a scene in which Leguizamo drove a vehicle<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve26GpPDTgY The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Gaming Historian]</ref>. However, Leguizamo would reflect on the film more positively when recording a 20th anniversary message<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5S0v_lrGlg John Leguizamo's Super Mario Bros. 20th Anniversary Message]</ref>. The opinions of various background staff on the overall production were also more positive<ref>[http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/specials/interviews/5_AndreaPowell_9-16-10.html Interview with Andrea Powell]</ref><ref>[http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/specials/interviews/4_MarkM_MikeH_8-31-10.html Interview with Mark Jeffrey Miller]</ref>. Director Rocky Morton has also said that the movie's production was "a harrowing experience", but that he is proud that the film is still remembered and discussed among fans.<ref name="scifinow"/>

Mario's creator, [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], stated, "[In] the end, it was a very fun project that they put a lot of effort into," but also said, "The one thing that I still have some regrets about is that the movie may have tried to get a little too close to what the ''Mario Bros.'' video games were. And in that sense, it became a movie that was about a video game, rather than being an entertaining movie in and of itself."<ref>Kuchera, Ben (November 29, 2007). [http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2007/11/miyamoto-remebers-the-trouble-mario-bros-movie/ Miyamoto Remembers the troubled Mario Bros. movie.] ''ArsTechnica''. Retrieved November 6, 2014.</ref>

In a 2017 interview, [[Reggie Fils-Aimé]], discussing Nintendo's recent collaborations and partnerships, stated that the film "left a really bad taste in the mouth of our developers," commenting that Nintendo's lack of creative control over the project was what resulted in its failure,<ref>Rosenberg, Adam (October 30, 2017). [http://mashable.com/2017/10/30/nintendo-reggie-fils-aime-interview-super-mario/#w59IWSyrYgqo How Nintendo bounced back from the awful 'Super Mario' movie]. Mashable. Retrieved January 1, 2018.</ref> a sentiment that [[Illumination]] founder {{wp|Chris Meledandri|Chris Meledandri}} agreed with in a 2018 ''Variety'' news article.<ref>Lang, B. (November 6, 2018). [https://variety.com/2018/film/news/super-mario-bros-animated-movie-illumination-1203021006/ Inside Illumination’s Plans for Animated ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Movie]. ''Variety''. Retrieved November 7, 2018.</ref>

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!colspan="3" style="font-size:120%; text-align:center; background-color:silver;"|Reviews

|''"It's not enough to say the script, by another tag-team of writers, including Parker Bennett, Terry Runte ("Mystery Date") and Ed Solomon (the "Bill & Ted" movies), is obvious, the wisecracks flat or the characters--except for a few brief Brooklyn scenes at the beginning--thin as a razor and not as engaging. The level of inspiration here can be clued by the name of the dinosaur alternate world's Manhattan--it's called "Dinohattan." Does it make sense to make movies from video games? (Should Pac-Man be dangled in front of Danny DeVito?) Of course it does: commercial sense. Given the massive international popularity of the four Nintendo Mario Bros. games, this movie is virtually "pre-sold." But a built-in audience should be a challenge as well as a reassurance. On the non-technical level, "The Super Mario Bros." (MPAA-rated PG) dodges the challenge, drowns in the reassurance. The movie knocks your eyes out, at the same time it dulls the mind's eye. Ultimately, it's one more stop in the arcade, beckoning, waiting to soak up time and money."''

|'''Siskel:''' ''"It is ''[''a complete waste of time and money'']'', and I think you know the timing would have been right with this explosion in infotech (or whatever you want to call it, the computers and all that); kids are very sophisticated now, and if you could mirror that in some way, you could be a big bonanza. This film doesn't even try."''<br>'''Ebert:''' ''"What this movie shows is that it's a lot harder to make a high-tech movie like this than you would think, and when you see ones maybe that still have problems with, like, Batman Returns, it's so much better than this; that you would admire it more when you see something like this."''

!colspan="3" style="font-size:120%; text-align:center; background-color:silver;"|Aggregators

|colspan=2|{{nowrap|Score}}

|colspan=2|[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/super_mario_bros 23%]<br>''"Despite flashy sets and special effects, Super Mario Bros. is too light on story and substance to be anything more than a novelty."''

==Sequel webcomic==

A webcomic sequel, written by Steven Applebaum and Ryan Hoss and illustrated by Eryk Donovan, is currently being written and published under the name ''Super Mario Bros. 2''<ref>[http://smbthecomic.com/about/]</ref>. The film's surviving original writer, Parker Bennett, helped outline the webcomic's storyline, making it canonical to the film and finally revealing what would have been a sequel film<ref>[http://smbthecomic.com/about/faq/ Super Mario Bros 2's FAQ page]</ref>. The comic is loosely based on the American ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', directly following the end of the original film, and features Mario and Luigi trying to stop the game's villain [[Wart]] from taking over the parallel world. It can be read [http://smbthecomic.com/ here].

Though the story is only loosely inspired by the games, the movie includes many in-jokes and references relating to the games. Some can only be caught in a frame-by-frame viewing, such as the presence of Shigeru Miyamoto in the crowd. The following is a list of some of these references:

[[File:SnifitsMovie.jpg|thumb|right|The Snifits featured in the film.]]

**Ironically, his localized name, King Bowser, was utilized with the previous ruler that he deposed and de-evolved into fungus.

*Dinohattan being infested with the [[King (film character)|King]]'s fungus is referred to derisively as a "[[Mushroom Kingdom]]" by President Koopa.

*The junkyard workers are referred to as [[Snifit]]s with a vague resemblance, while a group known as the "[[Fungus Unit]]" resemble Snifits and (debatably) [[Shy Guy]]s.

*Several neon signs displayed in shots of the city read names of Mario characters/enemies. These include "Thwomp", "Bullet Bill's", "[[Hammer Bro]]s. tattoos", and "[[Ostro]]". When Daisy is first captured, she is forced into a taxi advertising the brand of a drink known as "[[Wiggler]]".

*The King's transformation back into human form at the end of the film is a reference to the end of each world in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' where the king of that world changes back into his normal form after the defeat of a [[Koopaling]]s.

==Subsequent ''Mario'' film==

On November 14, 2017, ''{{wp|The Wall Street Journal}}'' reported that a subsequent movie based on the ''Mario'' franchise was being planned by {{wp|Universal Pictures}} and [[Illumination]].

 

On February 1, 2018, Nintendo officially confirmed that Illumination will be developing an animated ''Mario'' film, co-produced by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] and {{wp|Chris Meledandri|Chris Meledandri}}, aiming for a purported 2022 release.

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|Rom=Super frații Mario<ref>[https://www.cinemagia.ro/filme/super-mario-bros-printesa-daisy-1995/ Super frații Mario]. ''CineMagia''. Retrieved May 4, 2020.</ref>

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*[http://www.smbmovie.com/ ''Super Mario Bros.'' The Movie Archive]

*[http://imdb.com/title/tt0108255/ ''Super Mario Bros.'' on IMDB]

*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXbIYfAIgos "Super Koopa Cousins" Post-Credits Scene]

*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5S0v_lrGlg John Leguizamo's ''Super Mario Bros''. 20th Anniversary Message]

 

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