Few movies hit the level of infamy as 1993’s Super Mario Bros–heck, even one of the movie’s directors thinks it’s not very good. Though the film featured powerhouse actors such as Dennis Hopper as King Koopa, and Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the titular Mario Bros, the movie crashed and burned at the box office. After a nearly three-decade absence from the big screen, the Super Mario Bros. franchise finally gets another shot with the Illumination animated reboot. One of the film’s talented voice cast members Seth Rogen recently shared his thoughts on the notorious 1993 film adaptation, calling it “one of the worst films ever made.”
Seth Rogen did not mince words when it came to his personal dissatisfaction with the original video game movie based on the beloved mushroom-chomping plumber. Rogen spoke with Variety at the premiere of his upcoming video game adaptation, also based on the popular game franchise, and recalled his disappointment when he first watched the live-action movie as a child. The An American Pickle actor told the publication:
When I was 11, I saw the original Mario Bros. movie and I was so excited. But it’s one of the worst films ever made. I was so disappointed. I think it made me realize that movies, like, could be bad. That never occurred to me until that moment.
It makes total sense that eleven year-old Rogen was disappointed with the first Mario Bros outing. The '90s video game flick ditched the playful color scheme and childlike aspects of the treasured video games kids had come to enjoy for a dingy fungi-covered post-apocalyptic landscape that feels more at home in a Blade Runner movie than a video game adaptation aimed at kids. It must have been incredibly jarring for die-hard fans of the franchise to see the direction the filmmaking couple Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel had taken the property.
Rogen, who voices Donkey Kong in the forthcoming Nintendo flick, believes that his new film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, will provide a more satisfying experience for fans of the franchise. Rogen continued:
It’s nice to vindicate that moment. It’s nice to know that 11-year-olds out there won’t be disappointed in the same way that I was.
Although the 90s adaptation was not well-received by critics or most audiences, it did make history by being the first live-action movie based on a video game to be released in theaters in the United States. It also boasted an impressive score from Oscar-nominated composer Alan Silvestri and was the first movie to use Autodesk Flame, a CGI software that has since become an industry-standard in digital effects.
The movie makers of the OG Mario adaptation also made the somewhat groundbreaking decision to hire John Leguizamo, an American actor with Columbian ancestry, as one of the leads, which was not the norm for big Hollywood movies. Leguizamo, who starred as Luigi opposite Bob Hoskins’ Mario in 1993’s live-action Super Mario Bros. movie, recently criticized the cast for Illumiation’s family flick for not including Latinx actors. While the live-action predecessor Mario movie has plenty of problems, as Leguizamo pointed out, not having any Latinx leads was not one of them.
Regardless of its reception and Seth Rogen’s personal experience, the Super Mario Bros. (1993) movie remains a unique and memorable entry in the history of video game adaptations. The animated reboot The Super Mario Bros. Movie hit theaters on April 5th, and based on Rogen’s comments and early reviews of the movie, fans of the franchise can expect a vastly different and more faithful movie-going experience than the 1993 film adaptation, which should make longtime fans of the video games very happy.
Check out our 2023 movie release schedule to see what else is coming soon.
