When it was released in 1993, Super Mario Bros. was the first full-length live-action film based entirely on a video game. No one knew if it would work or be successful, but there were reasons to be optimistic. After all, the Mario game franchise was already one of the world’s largest and most successful intellectual properties. But from the beginning to the release, no one could agree on what kind of movie to make. Here’s the story of why Super Mario Bros. is the strangest video game adaptation (so far).
It was the first
Mario’s character first appeared as the main character of Donkey Kongthe popular 1981 arcade game from Nintendo, then appeared in multiple games with his brother Luigi, including the console game Super Mario Bros., included for free with millions of Nintendo Entertainment Systems. Highly recognizable around the world, the two Mario brothers were not only featured on a variety of merchandise, but were also featured in a Japanese animated film in 1986 and a cartoon series that aired in the US from 1989. That show even had live action segments with the voice actors dressed as Mario and Luigi, and it premiered to strong ratings. But reviews were critical, especially of the acted parts, in what should have been a warning to those considering a movie version.
Still, a movie was inevitable. After both arcades and home consoles declined in popularity in the early 1980s, Nintendo had made video games a big business again. Hollywood wanted a slice of the action, and the Mario brothers seemed like the perfect duo to go on a movie adventure. Nintendo was willing, so someone was going to make a movie.
It struggled through development
Because it would be the first video game-based movie, there was no precedent for how Super Mario Bros. should be developed. Games at the time told simple stories, if they contained a story at all. Nintendo knew that any adaptation would be an experiment. In 1990 producer Roland Joffé convinced them that he was the man for the job, and just as importantly, let them keep the merchandising rights. Known for movies including The Killing FieldsNintendo apparently embraced its vision for a sharper look at the property that would appeal to adults.
Joffé’s production company Lightmotive immediately started looking for major talent to attach themselves to the picture, but was reportedly rejected by Michael Keaton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. It was rumored that Tom Hanks was involved for a while, but it was the classically trained Bob Hoskins, straight from the success of Who framed Roger Rabbit?, who eventually agreed to play Mario. He would later regret it a lot. A talented but young John Leguizamo would join him as Luigi.
Greg Beeman, who later became known for television hits including: JAG and smallville, was connected to directly. But at the time, his only movie had been the teen comedy License to driveand producers decided they had to go in a different direction. Joffé loved the visual style of the husband-and-wife team Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, known for commercials, music videos and the groundbreaking Maximum headroom. They agreed to direct, but wanted the film to be more like Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman or the 1990 live-action adaptation Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesboth of which had been recent hits.
It had a weird premise
Many writers worked on Super Mario Bros., and it shows (but not in a good way). What started as a fantasy adventure movie like The Wizard of Oz quickly became science fiction. New directors Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel liked the dinosaurs lately Super Mario World video game, but also wanted more action, apparently inspired by the success of die hard. Numerous versions of the script were written. Each new writing team took what had already been done and did their best to make the additions the producers and directors wanted. The Walt Disney Company agreed to distribute the film, but they also wanted changes, hoping to make it more family-friendly and suitable for children.
What eventually emerged was very different from the video game that so many knew and loved. The film started in New York City, but mostly took place in some sort of post-apocalyptic alternate dimension. Dinohattan is named for the humanoid dinosaurs that evolved there, including their leader King Koopa, played by Dennis Hopper. The film relied heavily on the Mario brothers’ plumbing profession, which was incidental to the video games. Sets had to be much darker than the colorful game levels as production design was led by David Snyder from Blade Runner fame. An important element of the games, mushrooms, were transformed into an ever-present fungus that covered almost everything. Goombas, who looked like mushrooms in the games, would instead be “decentralized” giant humans with tiny dinosaur heads!
It suffered from a chaotic set
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Nintendo had a tough deadline, so shooting had to start in the summer of 1992, although the script was never really finished. Morton and Jankel, perhaps too open to the creative input they were getting from all sides, were constantly adding and changing scenes, leaving the cast and crew scrambling. Much of the film was shot in an abandoned cement factory in hot and humid North Carolina. No doubt the protagonists felt betrayed because the project had changed so drastically and continued to evolve on set. Writers previously fired were brought back to rewrite scenes just before they were filmed.
No one seemed to be in charge. Morton and Jankel argued with each other and gave conflicting directions. The cast and crew increasingly blamed them for the chaos. Local strippers were hired to dance in a “nightclub” scene, but some shots were too explicit and had to be cut. Hoskins and Leguizamo started drinking, which may have contributed to a series of accidents and injuries. By the time filming was completed, the film was over budget but still facing a lengthy post-production phase. The directors were locked out of the editing process for a while, and the visual effects took much of the following year, though many would look dated almost immediately.
It has become a cult classic
When Super Mario Bros. finally opened in May 1993, it was a critical and commercial flop. Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs down and included it in their list of the worst movies of the year. The hugely successful Jurassic Park opened the following month, stunned the public with dinosaurs that looked real, eventually making over a billion dollars on a budget not much bigger than Mario‘s. Bob Hoskins called the film “the worst thing I ever did” in multiple interviews, criticizing it repeatedly in its final years. Dennis Hopper said it was “a nightmare” and admitted he took the job just for the money. But John Leguizamo was kinder when he looked back on the 20th anniversary in 2013 and said, in part, that he “proud of the movie afterwards.”
Super Mario Bros. has gained a cult following over the years, mainly from those who claim it’s “so bad it’s good”. Other fans genuinely enjoy the film or at least remember it nostalgically from their childhood. But Nintendo stayed away from further live-action tweaks for decades and finally released Pokémon: Detective Pikachu in 2019 a much better rated and more successful film. In January 2018, they confirmed rumors that a new Super Mario Brothers animated movie was in production.
And other studios were not deterred. Fighting games have spawned a series of movies, including: street fighter in 1994 and Mortal Kombat in 1995, and more will follow. The first mega-hit based on a game was in 2001 Lara Croft: Tomb Raideralthough the reviews were generally worse than Mario‘s. Still, there are currently dozens of video game movies in the works, showing that the genre is far from killing, Super Mario Bros. was just the beginning.