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 | super mario | parallel dimension | 

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Taglines:

This Ain't No Game, It's A Live-Action Thrill Ride!

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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

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Daisy is using the panel in the room with her father as a fungus, the noise that boots it up is the iconic sound for getting a 1-up in Mario games.

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Goofs

The lump of fungus seen in the final scenes that transforms into the King is much bigger than previously seen.

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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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Connections

Referenced in Brows Held High: Vinyl (2012)

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Soundtracks

BREAKPOINT
Performed by Megadeth
Written by Dave Mustaine, Dave Ellefson, and Nick Menza
Courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Too harsh, by far

Yes, this no classic, but it's not that bad. And yes it bears no resemblance to the video games that inspired it except for the jumpsuits that look like the heroes overalls, but it's not bad.

Mario & Luigi (Bob Hoskins & John Leguizamo) are the two down on their luck brother plumbers who get involved with a college student named Daisy (Samantha Mathis) who turns out to be a princess from an alternate dimension. Once transported there themselves, they must fight the evil King Koopa (Dennis Hopper) and save their world from being merged with Koopa's and the human race from being turned into monkeys.

It may be hard to believe that John Leguizamo is Bob Hoskins brother, but the two have good chemistry and John has a convincing Brooklyn accent (although Tom Selleck would have been a more convincing Luigi in some respects). Bob reprises his gruff detective persona from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" to great effect. Samantha Mathis is cute as the princess and manages to feel less shallow than most heroines in these situations. Dennis Hopper hams it up as the film's villain. Lots of gags and good natured humor, and a beautiful song from Roxette, "Almost Unreal". Worth a rental.