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:

This Ain't No Game!

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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 Japan

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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,532,623, 31 May 1993, Wide Release

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

During a chase scene, Bob Hoskins broke his finger when the van's door slammed on his hand. For the rest of the film, Hoskins is wearing a cast that was painted pink to look like a hand.

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Goofs

When the Bob-omb blows up under Koopa's legs, he flies into the air, and is shown shortly after falling straight down. But in the shot just after, he falls at an almost 45 degree angle into the suspended bucket.

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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

During the first portion of the opening credits, the theme music from the "Super Mario Bros." video game can be heard.

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Alternate Versions

In 2015, Discovery Family aired the film. Some scenes were edited/omitted because of time and content.

• After Mario throws Luigi the water bottle, there's a wide shot of NYC that's been removed.
• There's a commercial break, so the establishing NYC night shot before the Bella Napoli dinner scene is gone.
• In the flooded construction site, Iggy and Spike's conversation after "What percent is that?" is cut out.
• It cuts to Mario asking for Luigi's hand, cutting out the fun bit with him fixing the leak with multiple tools.
• preparing some fried Tweeter on a bun.
• After Big Bertha steals the rock, her Thwomp Stomper escape is missing the landing in the central walkway before stomping off again.
• In the worst cut so far, Toad's entire monologue about parallel dimensions is gone.
• Koopa: "Goomba." Toad's "Ahhh" response is gone.
• Koopa: "Your de-evolution will be a living nightmare if you don't tell me where that meteorite piece is" is cut.
• The prison escape sequences with cheering inmates is chopped down quite a bit.
• Police Chase alteration--the shots on and around Luigi's: "Hey Mario, you're going the wrong way!" are gone.
• Koopa: "Do you know what I love about mud?" lines are cut.
• Iggy/Spike wanting to formulate their own strategy, "tete-a-tete, inner circle" lines are cut.
• The wide shot of Dinohattan is gone, as well as the following Daisy/Yoshi scene.
• Mario/Luigi using the Snifit masks to sneak past security is gone. It cuts straight to the Boom Boom Bar after the fight scene.
• Mario "acquiring" the crystal from Bertha is trimmed down, likely to make it less risqué.
• Mario and Luigi's "impossible" conversation in the Sludge Gulper is gone.
• Koopa's scene with Daisy's father is cut short for a commercial, and it picks back up after it's over with Mario & Luigi.
• Lena's "If not with you, then on my own" conversation with Koopa is cut, making her storyline pretty confusing afterwards.
• The scene where Luigi begins to make the Goombas dance is cut in half.
• The dancing Goombas being interrupted by their higher-ranking officer is trimmed down.
• In another painful cut, Luigi's "Luigi Mario, you got a problem with that?" line has been removed.
• Mario's "come and get it, ruffle-head" scene is cut so they can only show one shot of the Bob-Omb falling through the foundation.
• After the merge back to Dinohattan, you won't see the Bob-Omb and the clown shoes guy.
• The "Super Mario Bros." logo is missing from the end of the film.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Most Unfaithful Movie Adaptations (2015)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

I don't understand why so many people don't like this film!

Why does this film have such a low rating? Sure it may not be along the storylines of the Super Mario Bros. game for the NES back in '85, but in my opinion, it has to be one of the best films I have ever seen. Some noticeable changes are in this film, such as that the princess' name is Daisy, and she's being held in a tower instead of a castle. There's plenty of fungus and mushrooms around, but I think that the storyline is actually improved from the game, because if it were exactly like the game, it would be just running round, bashing blocks, grabbing coins and eating mushrooms all the way, which would eventually just become boring. This film has variety, like in a real world, there are phone boxes, houses, restaurants, and much more than just pipes, flags and castles. It just also happens that my favourite actor, Bob Hoskins, has the main role as Mario, which makes this film more appealing and exciting. There are also things from the Mario games in the film such as Bob-Ombs (licensed by Reebok, mysteriously), and Goomba Shoes that are powered by Bullet Bills. So to top it off, this has to be one of the best films ever made, and one of my all-time favourites.