Super Mario Bros. (1993)

Two Brooklyn plumbers, Mario and Luigi, must travel to another dimension to rescue a princess from the evil dictator King Koopa and stop him from taking over the world.

Directors:

Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton

Writers:

Parker Bennett, Terry Runte

Stars:

Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bob Hoskins	...	Mario Mario
John Leguizamo	...	Luigi Mario
Dennis Hopper	...	King Koopa
Samantha Mathis	...	Daisy
Fisher Stevens	...	Iggy
Richard Edson	...	Spike
Fiona Shaw	...	Lena
Dana Kaminski	...	Daniella
Mojo Nixon	...	Toad
Gianni Russo	...	Scapelli
Francesca P. Roberts	...	Bertha
Lance Henriksen	...	The King
Sylvia Harman	...	Old Lady
Desiree Marie Velez	...	Angelica
Andrea Powell	...	Brooklyn Girl

Storyline

Can you make a movie out of a video game? That's the question that is answered by this film. Mario Mario and Luigi Mario, two hard working plumbers find themselves in an alternate universe where evolved dinosaurs live in medium hi-tech squalor. They find themselves the only hope to save the Earth from invasion.

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Plot Keywords:

based on video game | plumber | dinosaur | parallel dimension | orphan | 

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Taglines:

Anything is possible, You just gotta believe in it....

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi action, mild language and sensuality

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 May 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Super Mario Brothers

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$42,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$20,915,465

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Filmmakers, Cinergi Pictures Entertainment, Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 90 min (Japan) 87 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Various items from the video games appear, in at least name, throughout the film. These include Bob-ombs (a deceptively tiny wind-up bomb in the film), Thwomps (Thwomp Stompers are oversize footwear), Koopahari Desert (most of the world is this desert), Yoshi (a baby T. rex), Goombas (transformed citizens), Big Bertha (the woman who steals the pendant and that Mario dance with later on), and Bullet Bills (a cartridge with a face used to power the Thwomp Stomper boots), mention of Fry Guy(a poster on the wall when the woman checks in the plumbers tool belts at the bar), and on the projector screens in the boom boom bar there is a graphic of Bowser's hideout from Super Mario World game being bounced around.

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Goofs

On the Blu-ray edition, during the sequence in which the Bob-omb is crossing the road (at around 1h 30 mins), the string pulling it across can be seen clearly.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: A long long time ago, the Earth was ruled by dinosaurs. They were big, so not a lot of people went around hassling 'em. Actually, no people went around hassling 'em cuz there weren't any people yet. Just the first tiny mammals. Basically, life was good. Then something happened: a giant meteorite struck the Earth. Goodbye dinosaurs! But what if the dinosaurs weren't all destroyed? What if the impact of that meteor created a parallel dimension where the dinosaurs continued to thrive ...

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Crazy Credits

After the closing credits, some Japanese business men ask Iggy and Spike about appearing in a video game based on the incidents in the movie.

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Alternate Versions

In the Italian release, the ending is cut so Mario and Luigi don't go back to Brooklyn.

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Connections

Spoofed in Super Mario Taken (2015)

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Soundtracks

ALMOST UNREAL
Performed by Roxette
Written by Per Gessle
Courtesy of EMI Svenska AB

User Reviews

A very dark version of the light-hearted series.

Okay, I'll avoid everyone's usual comments of why they hated this movie and such. My main gripe with this awful film is one reason: the setting. In all Mario games, from Super Mario Bros. to Mario 64 to Mario Sunshine to Mario Party to Mario Tennis to Mario Golf to Mario Kart to Mario RPG to Super Mario World, and even in the 3 cartoon shows and in Smash Bros. I might add, the settings have always been happy, light-hearted, and made the person playing feel welcome to world of the Mushroom Kingdom. However, in the motion picture, we are taken to a very cold, hi-tech, dismal metropolis. Instead of a light-hearted, happy-go-lucky, feeling, we are now facing a dark and even depressing tone. Nothing of this setting makes the viewer feel welcome to the world like the games and cartoons did, which is why this fails to capture the real spirit of Mario(and Luigi).