When it comes to 1993's Super Mario Bros., starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper, "getting things right" has less to do about video game faithfulness and more to do with just being inventive. At the very least, the early video game adaptation is ridiculously unique, emphasis on the ridiculous. This is likely to drive away more prospective viewers than bring them in, which should help explain the film's initially dull box office returns. But it's also the type of factor that's more than likely to bring in fans of the cult film, and Super Mario Bros. certainly falls under that umbrella.
It's as pure an example as one gets of a truly misguided production. Taking an established IP, writing a lackluster script, and putting a camera in front of it isn't going to lead to a masterpiece. But, at least in the case of Super Mario Bros., it sure can lead to something compulsively watchable, if only to figure out what the filmmakers' intent even was.
The Setting Is Certainly Memorable
The decision to stray from showing the Mushroom Kingdom in its full glory was a financially sound decision for Super Mario Bros. So, why that would be replaced by Dinohattan, an equally expensive rendition of what appears to be mid-1980s Manhattan, is a true mystery.
But the true mysteries are what makes Super Mario Bros. one of American cinema's greatest curiosities. Nothing about the film really works when lined up with the games that inspired it, but it's a constant reminder that the filmmakers were really going for something here. The last thing Super Mario Bros. could be called is lazy.
At Least There's A Bob-Omb
If anything, it took so long to get a proper Super Mario Bros. animated film because the 1993 movie failed to capture the game's tone so spectacularly. Not to mention the success of the two Sonic the Hedgehog films.
But it did at least show some reverence for the IP. Specifically in the third act, when a Bob-omb plays a part in King (President, in the movie) Koopa's downfall. Unfortunately, it's also adorned with blatant Reebok product placement. To go overboard on fan service is a bit of an irritant, but it's not as bad as foregoing a franchise's staples altogether. Super Mario Bros. skews far more the latter than the former, especially in its changes to Bowser and Toad, but there are still hints of directors Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel's love for the franchise, and the Bob-omb is a particularly explosive example.
It's An Early Showcase For Fiona Shaw
Irish performer Fiona Shaw has had a wonderfully impressive career, but it took a surprisingly long time for her to be seen as the legend she is. And, well before her phenomenal roles as the vile Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter franchise or as Maarva Andor in Disney+'s Andor, there was Lena in Super Mario Bros.
Outside of small roles in My Left Foot and Three Men and a Little Lady, Super Mario Bros. was Shaw's first real introduction to American audiences. As a villainess playing second fiddle to Hopper's cold, cruel, and ambivalent President Koopa, Lena is consistently subjected to his pining over Princess Daisy. But she's right there, not that he'd notice. All of this is made apparent because Shaw is a talented actor who can acting without speaking, and even with few meaty lines she manages to make Lena feel like a three-dimensional character.
It Gives Dennis Hopper Plenty of Scenery To Chew On
2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie may have been the installment to cross $1 billion worldwide, but the 1993 entry is the only one to feature Dennis Hopper having an absolute ball. For all intents and purposes, Hopper plays Bowser, which is just a baffling thing to know is real.
But he's not Bowser the yellow fire-spewing turtle dragon so much as he's a dinosaur who has evolved to look human. It's a ridiculous plot thread, but at least it's the type of thread that allows Hopper's King Koopa to stick out a massive forked tongue. It's one of the late legend's more wild and committed performances and makes for a fine companion piece to his Howard Payne in Speed.
The Production Design is Beautiful in its Hideousness
Super Mario Bros. production designers really went for broke with the movie. To the point the filmmakers hired real strippers...for a movie produced by Disney. From the snot-covered Dinohattan to the skeleton-adorned cab cars, it's all quite impressive if just accepted on its own merits.
Even some of the CGI effects have aged well, e.g. the scene where Mario and King Koopa begin dissipating into thin air. The costumes are also outstanding, even if they don't exactly look like they fell out of Super Mario 64. That said, the less seen of King Koopa's final form, the better, even if it is comparatively impressive CGI for the year 1993.
It Has A Likable Cast
The new Mario movie may be filled with likable performers, but so too was the 1993 attempt, and that movie also benefited from diversity. The aforementioned Leguizamo, Hoskins, Shaw, and Hopper lend it more star power than it arguably deserves, but there are some other solid performances as well.
Mostly there's Samantha Mathis as Princess Daisy. In between her co-starring ventures with Christian Slater, namely Pump Up the Volume and John Woo's Broken Arrow, she teamed up with a little dinosaur audiences were meant to believe is Yoshi. He's not Yoshi, but he's a friendly little thing efficiently brought to life via practical effects. Super Mario Bros. also throws a fun Lance Henriksen cameo at the audience, and it's almost enough to make them wish for more.
The Practical Effects Are Pretty Great To This Day
If Super Mario Bros. has anything going for it even after 30 years, its practical effects. Dinohattan is littered with tiny, chowing reptiles, and while none of them look real real, they look pretty darn good. There's some clunkiness to their movements not seen in the same year's Jurassic Park, but it's negligible given the budgetary difference.
More impressive is the slew of King Koopa minions. With massive, awkward, lumbering bodies (especially during the film's nonsensical elevator dance sequence) and heads the size of an orange, they're a truly unique creation. Not really something out of the Mario IP, but unique nonetheless. Of particular note are their facial expressions, which may be a bit creepy for kids but are undoubtedly complex for the time.
Is It Really Even Trying to Be A "Good" Movie?
If viewed on its own terms, Super Mario Bros. is a bizarre narrative, but it is one that functions. There was, at least at some point, a concise vision of what the film should be.
The film's first proposed script was dramatic in nature and drastically reworked. In fact, none other than Ghostbusters' Harold Ramis was approached to direct the project (via Wired). But ultimately the filmmakers took inspiration from the dark world of Gotham seen in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman. But, as seen in the differentiation between the two films' box office returns, a grim yet well-built world isn't enough to attract viewers. Especially when it doesn't really even fit in with the IP's established tone. But, at the very least, Super Mario Bros. is one of Dennis Hopper's most chaotic movies.
It Gives Fisher Stevens A Decent Role
For an actor, it's not always about the meat on the role so much as just the role's very existence. Spotlight is spotlight and a talented performer would be foolish to pass it up. The film's Spike and Iggy Koopa (Richard Edson and Fisher Stevens, respectively) are two unbearably-written characters, but they'd be much worse without talented performers behind them.
Stevens is the type of actor who has excelled in a litany of projects, from 1981's slasher The Burning to a guest spot on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, yet hasn't really ever taken center stage. His role on Succession brought him into greater public consciousness, but really his only big leading role was in Short Circuit 2, which saw his presence bumped up from the first film's supporting capacity.
Hoskins and Leguizamo Have Real On-Screen Chemistry
It may not be in the top tier of John Leguizamo performances, but he infuses Luigi Mario with far more life than is on the page. Leguizamo is just about one of the most likable performers out there, but skeptics could be forgiven for falling into their true nature once the 1993 film's casting choices were announced.
And when pairing the young up-and-comer with a grizzled, seasoned veteran like Hoskins, it could have gotten very awkward very quickly. But the two end up being quite a good match. Thanks to the strength of the two performers, viewers may not be able to see them as blood relatives, but there's little doubt they play as brothers.