Super Mario Bros: The Awfully Good 1993 Movie Unpacked

Hey Paisanos! It’s almost time for Mario and Luigi to finally hit the big screen in THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, so Awfully Good Movies is finally blowing into the cartridge after 30 years and discussing Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the original live action SUPER MARIO BROS!
In 1993, Nintendo licensed their iconic mascots out to Oscar-nominated director Roland Joffe so he could produce what would be the very first American movie to be based off a video game, only for the film’s subsequent failure to set the mood for the STREET FIGHTERs, MAX PAYNEs and several Uwe Boll movies to later come down the (green) pipe. How could they have gone wrong with Oscar nominated acting legend Bob Hoskins and rising comedian John Leguizamo as our titular plumbers who attempt to rescue Luigi’s lady love Daisy from the slimy cornrows of Dennis Hopper as our King Koopa?
Well, thanks to the married directing duo that created the cyberpunk dystopia of MAX HEADROOM, what should have been a bright and cheerful adventure became a weird and gross hybrid of MAD MAX, BLADE RUNNER, Joel Schumacher’s BATMAN movies, and maybe just the slightest hint of anything from the actual Mario games. And thanks to the constant rewrites ordered from the distributors at Disney and the egomaniacal abuse of the directors, what we get instead of a real MARIO BROS. movie is one of the most uniquely beautiful failures of 90s cinema.
From Hopper’s hammy acting as a T-rex turned tyrannical dictator of “Dino-hattan”, to Hoskins and Leguizamo sharing some genuine chemistry (and plenty of alcohol on set) with each other, it’s a movie that’s designed to be more divisive with the young Mario fanbase than the release of MARIO’S TIME MACHINE on the SNES that same year. In fact, the film’s ardent fanbase at the SMB Archive have even put together a two-hour “Morton-Jankel Cut” that will provide viewers with a little more info about what the hell is even going on, so put on your overalls and trust the fungus to talk about one of the best bad movies in Awfully Good history. HERE WE GOOOOOOO!!!
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#SuperMarioBros #AwfullyGood

[@barbiquearea]

RIP Bob Hopkins. He was one of a kind.

[@chasehedges6775]

He was great in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Such a wonderful movie and wonder actor

[@mikeyfn-a6684]

🙌🙌🙌 We were a fortunate bunch. Do kids even appreciate actors anymore? And I mean actual actors..not just the people who play actors on social media.

[@rigelb9025]

I'd say, he was kind of the one.

[@JeonardShadby505]

Also incredible in Unleashed, The Long Good Friday, Balto, Pennies from Heaven... too many to list.

[@CornishCreamtea07]

@@mikeyfn-a6684 They don't actors, just the IPs they play.

[@bradley163]

I love the story Leguizamo tells about he and Bob Hoskins during the filming of this fever dream of a film. Particularly, the fact that they both would get a little drunk before shooting a number of scenes, just so they both could get through the dialog and insanity that followed.

[@JeonardShadby505]

To be fair, I think that helps contribute to their chemistry on screen. Though I'm sure Bob didn't appreciate having Leguizamo drunkenly crushing his hand in a car door.

[@grandmufftwerkin9037]

I was there, 3000 years ago..... watching this movie in theaters, with my dad. 😂

[@03bgood]

So the current year is 4993?

[@Zeithri]

Saw this as a kid. I legit think it's a fun movie ^^ As for the outfits making it into a pg movi- YES. That's such an American thing to throw a hissy fit over. Those outfits were not that bad. And holy shit I had no idea it had a 2 hour cut, haha!

[@Vaporvice84]

I saw this flick in theaters at 9 years old and was a huge Mario fan. And ya know what? I still loved it. Watched it dozens of times as a kid. Rewatched it for the first time in 20 years fairly recently. I figured I'd finally understand why everyone hates it (after hearing nothing but negative opinions all these decades). I still love it and I still don't care how it's not true to the source material. It's still a fun ride.

[@GlitchyHalo]

Can I just say Lena is one of the funniest and most interesting characters ever She was only made to be Koopas love interest. Weird that he had one when his whole schtick is getting with Peach this time Daisy (only this time it seems for power reasons as she has the rock and is royalty) Meanwhile all this time Lena is jealous and thinks Koopa actually likes Daisy over her. “All you care about is her.” Right before this when she sends the cousins to Koopa she tells him she wants him and Koopa brushes her away thinking she meant intimacy when all he cares about is power and the future of his species Also her saying to Daisy “I like this room, don’t you? It used to be my office before I got promoted. Koopa needed me closer.” Implied they had a thing going on when she worked for him😭 And her whole thing of beating Koopa to power and getting electrocuted twice in the end is a really comedic way to go I loved her dress we see in the beginning seemed more princess/queen like then after that she went in tighter slim fitted dresses

[@Jaysin412]

I will always love this movie! I still remember how excited I was to see this in the theater when I was 9 years old! It was amazing for kids back then. Super weird character designs, but it was still awesome to see our favorite video game characters in a live action movie. You should do one on the live action street fighter movie with Jean Claude van Damme. I saw that in theater when I was a kid too! Such a great time. Edit: I made this comment before the street fighter joke. Lol

[@Serpsss]

I was a sega kid growing up but I loved the Mario Bros movie because it felt like a sega product. It had all that attitude & grittiness that sega was pushing hard at the time.

[@johnnyd3158]

This film is up there with other film adaptations based on animated media like Popeye (1980), Masters of the Universe (1987), The Flintstones (1994), and Mortal Kombat (1995) consisting of unique film adaptations that, while not spot on adaptations, are still enjoyable films that stays true to the spirit of their source material.

[@barbiquearea]

Don't forget Street Fighter, Dungeons and Dragons and practically everything Uwe Boll has put out.

[@johnnyd3158]

@@barbiquearea Well, Street Fighter (1994) and Dungeons & Dragons (2000) could at least be considered as being 'so bad it's good' type of films, while Uwe Boll's films are more 'so bad it's cringe' kind of films.

[@barbiquearea]

@JohnnyD31 Yeah and the 80s and 90s were the era of camp. So at least those other examples were more understandable. Uwe Boll however just is a just a really awful filmmaker who got to work with some popular IPs and good actors. The quality of his films have always been horrendous.

[@rigelb9025]

Yes, but I have to disagree about the Mortal Kombat movie. For example, I find that ''Quest for the Golden Dragon'' with Van Damme is truer to the spirit of Mortal Kombat than the titular film.

[@johnnyd3158]

@@rigelb9025 Well, while the film was limited in terms of being a PG-13 version of the source material, it was still an enjoyable film that at least remained true to the spirit of the games despite it’s flaws while delivering on the action and fighting that the game series was known for, something that couldn’t be replicated in its sequel, or even the 2021 film adaptation.

[@grapeshot]

Dennis Hooper chewing up the scenery like he's chewing gum.

[@JeonardShadby505]

I'LL KILL THAT PLUMBEEEEEEEEER

[@tytar1037]

It’s so bad that it’s good. Definitely hilarious.

[@t.c.v.t.]

It's just not what people expected from the source material but is a kick ass movie. The set, the costumes / makeup and practical effects with very few digital effects make it a movie made durn the principle of filmmaking before digital effects took everything over and lowered the quality and lessened the magic of films. That set is amazing.

[@10rose5red98]

I always loved this movie. Was excited when it came out. This movie got me loving John Leguizamo ❤

[@Casey3-P-O]

This was one of my favorite movies to watch as a kid. This one, the matrix, Demolition Man, Judge Dredd, and Last Action Hero were some of my favorites. My dad introduced all of them to me.

[@ChakasCave]

I knew eventually this movie would get the love it deserves. Only took 20 years.

[@TheRealSephiroth]

30 years

[@xgray2012]

Rest in peace, Bob Hoskins (Mario Mario) and Dennis Hopper (King Koopa).🙏🙏🙏🙏💐💐💐💐

[@crankypantsmcduff]

I fell in love with John Leguizamo when this came out, I was 11/12 years old and I still remember every word. I'm sad 🤷

[@wstine79]

I assume that Land of the Dead was the Super Mario Brothers sequel. Where King Koopa operates a Fortress in the zombie infested Mushroom Kingdom while Luigi is trying to buy his way in with his souped-up Mario Kart.

[@michaelaurban4120]

I remember as a kid too, I though Lance Henriksen was George Carlin LOOOOOOOOL! But you know, it happened so fast back then, and if you weren’t paying attention . . . it’s not like you could just easily rewatch it, or go online and look it up! Ahhhhhh the 90’s, glad I got to live it!!!

[@JeonardShadby505]

Glad I got to be alive thru some of it. I honestly think that I thought it to be George Carlin at first too.

[@NottyGurlStyle]

As bad as some will say the Mario Movie of the 90s was… I wholeheartedly enjoyed it with a smile on my face. It wasn’t perfect by any means but I loved it. I love Bob Hopkins❤ he was a joy to watch here and in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The lost levels is pure hell😂 I always rage quit. I use to watch Captain Lou as Mario back in the day. Then and now I will always be a fan.

[@jamesbounds]

Hard to believe this movie is 30 years old now.

[@DOOMESDAYS]

30 years latter they remake a better one i saw this movie 6 years ago i was like what the fuck is this shit but at the same time i like how they had the 1993 movie set up but it was trash and wired an kind of funny at the same time back then i was 2 years old when that movie came out i would've got my 2.00 dollars back at the movies 30 years ago

[@markbasilejr9808]

I am and will always be Mario Bros. (1993)'s friend.

[@zipzeolocke2]

I don't care what the critics say, original super Mario brothers live action movie was a great fun adventure and I loved it and still do!

[@JerkVegas86]

I loved it!!

[@Axel.the.penguin]

“From dinosaur to Diarrhea does king koopa go bye bye”

[@JeonardShadby505]

One of my favorite sentences I've ever written for a review!

[@GR1MRACER]

You could say that Dinohattan's automobiles are electric because there is no oil but Oil was there even during the Dinosaurs.

[@jerkychew899]

An "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" reference... Impressive.

[@DrewTrox]

Nice shoutout to Rifftrax. The reason I own so many bad movies.

[@wstine79]

I'm actually seen some and locations that were used in the Super Mario Brothers movie in Wilmington, North Carolina. I find the movie more entertaining for its sheer weirdness

[@evanscott9473]

This was filmed here in Wilmington, NC. A neighborhood friend of mine as a child's mother worked on the set. TMNT was also filmed here, among other films.

[@Makman1994]

Thanks so much for making this video. This movie is one of my favourite guilty pleasures and childhood films. If you're interested, could you make a video like this for TMNT 3 (1993), another "awfully" good movie?

[@JeonardShadby505]

I actually did that one in 2016

[@j.j.q1379]

i honestly loved this movie, im always willing to sit down and watch for what it was. not what it tired to be.

[@JdeeGeekyGao]

John Leguizamo in this movie was my first actor crush as a kid XDDD My bro played it for my nieces before he showed them the OG mario games. They were confused by the game and loved the movie ahh those Gen Alpha kids. The AtLAirbender live-action is played at least once every two months and I just can't...

[@juleslund1515]

every scene brings me right back to 6 year old me in front of the TV, cheering Squeeze-Its with my little sister

[@UziMusic]

Koopas reaction to the rap song is LOL

[@TheeBeardedNoob]

Love the review but more importantly love the Street Fighter reference and Meme.....

[@brandonspain12345]

11:05 - 11:31 is hands down the best part of the video

[@UnrelatedAntonym]

Going with a dino dystopia parallel dimension, dropping the Mario Bros element, not be family and kids aimed, I imagine it could have been a greater cult classic. Its weird, what we got, but still kinda like it.

[@JeonardShadby505]

It's so far apart from SUPER MARIO BROS as a game that you can't even connect the two in the first place. It's like if Matt Reeves were to make a Mario movie.

[@GlitchyHalo]

In my mind what they were going for was not a movie adaptation of Mario but a movie loosely inspired by it I think someone said that in this universe this was the origin story and the games are just retellings

[@TheProtagonistDies]

Disney put "ORGY" in Thor love and thunder and to think they had morales in the 90s psshh

[@patfer1189]

And don't forget this "kid's" movie had a soundtrack that included Megadeth and Divinyls, of "I touch myself" fame.

[@ladiorange]

Fantastic video. I actually enjoyed this movie. It wasn't made for critics, it was made for me, I was born early 80s and almost spit out my drink when you said colour me bad

[@Boxman-GG]

Loved this movie

[@rick9977015]

Hey hey, I love the Pest movie! Lol, that's awesome that it has a cult thing going. Hilarious

[@mysteriousstars122]

*Oh I liked John Leguizamo so much when I watched this movie 10 years ago* 😄🥰

[@comedian416]

I LOVE THIS MOVIE! I don't care what anyone says. Went to see it in theaters when it originally came out.

[@03bgood]

So glad you don't use bleeps, unlike 90% of the other KZbinrs!

[@casioak1683]

Ahh. Walk down the memory lane.. I still remember that 1990s Mario Bros live action kid shows.

[@notvenom1152]

4:03 😂 deek move

[@Wickedweeknd21]

Your videos are amazing Jesse

[@2shoes2socks82]

I ❤ this movie really wish it was more obtainable on streaming platforms

[@JeonardShadby505]

I mean, if RiffTrax was able to license it as a VOD, I imagine it wouldn't be impossible to hit Disney+, especially if they see how big the new MARIO will do at the box office. I honestly doubt they even own the direct rights to the movie anymore, but Lord knows.

[@abdelali9279]

21:13 this is peak cinematography 21:13 just look at those abs ohmigosh I need that in my life, but seriously how come no one has already noticed this, I bet artists will have a field day with all the attention from this character

[@LiminalMan777]

A true classic

[@barbiquearea]

Classically awful.

[@chasehedges6775]

@@barbiquearea👍👍👍

[@ryanjavierortega8513]

Never knew this existed, this channel has nostalgia…this was a video game

[@classic.cameras]

Saw this movie in the Theater. Good lord I am old.

[@rmarkley79]

I remember seeing this in a packed theater, way before assigned seating as well, such a sad day...

[@kamdan2011]

My mom, brother and I had the whole theater to ourselves. They almost didn’t play it but my mom made them so that we wouldn’t be disappointed. We had a ball!

[@jaredphillips129]

😂 my old boss from Blockbuster is an Extra in this movie. He’s got a liberty-spike mow-hawk somewhere in the background in Koopa City

[@kyliethelittlespider-mangirl94]

You finally did it! Fantastic! ❤

[@JeonardShadby505]

Thank you!!

[@susangurnoe9611]

I liked this movie, saw it in s theater and had copy on vhs from my dad. He worked in a big hotel that had ppv for movies that were in the theater. He took his vcr to work with a splicer and coaxle Cable and hit record whenever he noticed someone ordered a movie.

[@nrhtmhysml1]

Really love the soundtrack, Roxette's Almost Unreal.

[@grapeshot]

I can see the inspiration for that reality was Blade Runner

[@alienboy1322]

I never knew they made a super Mario bros film in the 90s. I'm glad I didn't know.

[@Rorginator]

I saw this when I was 8 with my brother and neighbor friend on his birthday and we were all supremely disappointed. Over the years though, this movie has kinda grown on me.

[@patfer1189]

Criticize the digital effects all you want, but the practical puppet for Yoshi was great.

[@Chicoescobar]

Me n my homeboy use to trip acid n watch this movie nd Stephen king on tape back in 2011 now everybody claim to love it!!

[@SuperFlashDriver]

This is why I do think that live action can be done again, but not just stay true to the source, but make it unique. However, my interpretation would have been more closer towards the 1986 adaptation that was ONLY released in Japan and never saw worldwide release. And remember, that film was before this 1993 and 2023 film combined. Keep in mind, a ton of 80s 90s films did predict 9/11, and that terrorist attack was planned as far back as the 1970s. And yeah, you'll never see the World Trade Center ever destroyed again after 9/11.

[@garinhash]

i loved this movie and still do, i know that actors had a rough time making this movie which saddens me, but i still want a set of Thwomp Stomper boots.

[@GlitchyHalo]

The closest thing ig is moon shoes lol

[@jessetorres8738]

"How is Mario my father & also my brother?"

[@barbiquearea]

Mario and his mother are from Alabama 😂

[@johnnyd3158]

It seemed pretty clear in the film that Mario took over in taking care of Luigi at some point after their parents died, likely when they were younger, kinda like with Nani and Lilo from Lilo and Stitch. In addition, the film seemed to possibly imply that Luigi was adopted by Mario's family since it would probably explain why Luigi looks latino while Mario looks italian.

[@GlitchyHalo]

@@johnnyd3158the joke was when casting people mostly cast Italians as latinos so they wanted to do the opposite

[@pablum90x511]

The official, unofficial, sequel comic is pretty cool and does wrap up some things. Too bad it never got finished.

[@JeonardShadby505]

Aww, I was wondering why there wasn't more info available on that comic. But hey, better to have tried than not try at all.

[@CaptainCat101]

It's a stupid movie, but I'm a sucker for stupid movies. And being about Super Mario Bros, I adore the movie and always will

[@AK33M]

I just looked at the movie as if Mario and Luigi were in our world. In more than just appearance.

[@meekermoo752]

got a quick question some of your awfully good movies like lady terminator and tarzan are missing . i was trying to show it to some friends but their not there. help?

[@ProxxRoxx]

A Fever Dream that somehow transformed into a Movie.

[@beans301]

the biggest complaint of movies like this is folks have a hard time suspending belief and just enjoying the moment. i dont watch all of my movies for them to make sense. it's for relief from the daily bullshit.

[@79jask]

I absolutely LOVE this movie!!

[@cu_ri_o]

man, super mario bros. and nothing but trouble were childhood favorites of mine. my brother and I watched them way too many times, and we didn't care that the movie had almost nothing in common with the game 😅

[@andrewblanchard2398]

I saw this and TMNT 3 in theaters

[@1991punkrocker]

I kind of like the movie I watched it when I was little around the 2000s it’s kind of cheesy, but I found it entertaining going to watch new one with my daughter

[@Morgil27]

In the case of Iggy and Spike, I always felt the writers just pulled two random names from the games. Same with all the signs with enemy names on them.

[@GlitchyHalo]

Also I know they are cousins of Koopa but they also call each other cousins so are they brothers or cousins to each other lol

[@jasontheauralnaut7268]

Same comment as I made to the Brandon Tenold video 'this movie needs no fixin, cause Toad is Mojo Nixon!'

[@GlitchyHalo]

Also the Anti Koopa song was all improvised and I think he got an award for it

[@Elmooo8283]

I'm a gen z teen and I watched the movie when I was 7 or 9, I loved the movie and still do, despite it being bad it was still very funny.

[@BNTmodels]

4:05 you got the two mixed up; John HAS aged, but Bob has NOT... because dead men don't age... (too soon?)

[@lonedesertfox]

Dudes…. I as a kid…. Had a thing about that big Bertha lady! Lmao! I never wanted a yellow suit so much in my life!

[@GlitchyHalo]

Me who was a freak for koopa for some reason lmao ans when I rewatched it recently I completely forgot about the scene where he tries to seduce daisy 😭 One time at a field after I first watched it I found a little piece of hooked metal tied to a small piece of string and I carried it around pretending it was the meteorite piece

[@abdelali9279]

Í really like this movie, is like one of those fever dreams because not many people knew about this, I saw a rerun at a local TV channel that didn't care what they show at what time so that's so I first watched the uncut version of Robocop on a saturday afternot at just 10, but yeah it was until KZbin became more popular that some people came out talking about the movie that some of my friends finally got to watch for the first time, but it seems this movie still flew under many others radar, for example when I showed my sister clips of this movie days before the new animated movie came out she told she's never heard of this live action movie and so many others, no wonder this movie is now a succes in Amazon as many either want to relieve or just show others what happens when you mix Super Mario Bros. with Cyberpunk 2077, I mean not only the cyberpunk setting, but also both the Mario movie and CP77 were known for their production hell as well.

[@thecunninlynguist]

It's not that bad of a movie and I was kinda hoping we'd get a sequel with the teaser they had at the end. Plus the BYS antics was crazy

[@mikesilva3868]

Yes it is 😂

[@allnamesaretakenful]

It really is awful. My dad took me and my little sister to see it. We left the theater and looked at each other like wtf was that garbage.

[@Morgil27]

If you take a shot every time this video says to, you still probably won't be as drunk as Hopkins and Leguizamo were while filming the movie.

[@djtenzen]

This movie rules and reminds me of home, Baltimore city. Lol

[@ultraslang]

There used to be a fan made upload of the film on KZbin, with added videogame sound effects and a few other changes, wish it was still up or I could find it.

[@Woozlewuzzleable]

John Leguizamo is as Italian as they come.

[@barbiquearea]

I always pegged him as Latino.

[@TheArtistV1]

I always gave this movie slack because it was the first video game movie ever! It had room for error, I like it for what it is! I have seen the directors cut and that is better!

[@GarethAlan81]

This guy should narrate all the JoBlo videos.

[@thomsboys77]

“I used to play King Lear” lmao

[@xedalpha1]

I'm just waiting on the UHD blu ray now.

[@jasongallagher5464]

In their defense, they did the whole fungus thing a long time before The Last of Us did so 🤷‍♂️

[@eliocosmos]

I saw this in theaters and I remember they gave us 3D glasses (those old red and blue paper ones) to watch some scenes in the movie.

[@russellbarhight8866]

I loved this movie as a kid seeing it now man what was i thinking.... it's nostalgic but I think thats it....😅

[@jarg8]

Love this movie to pieces. While it is terrible from a certain angle, time has been kind to it due to its absurdity. There's nothing quite like it and I never expected to enjoy it so much upon rewatch but it's truly one of a kind. PS if you're going to edit in so much footage, maybe don't make it twice as loud as your voice...

[@Mayor_Of_Eureka17]

11:06 Jesse goes completely insane. Hahaahahhaahah

[@KadeemG61]

Man, it’s been 30 years since I originally hated the Super Mario Bros. release to theaters, but I turned things around flipped the script years later since buying the film on DVD, I loved the movie. Whether you love and hate video game movies (even though the fact that the bologna film critics haven’t even played the Mario games) over the last 30 years, some made lots of money (Resident Evil 1-6, Uncharted, Mortal Kombat) others sucked balls (MK: Annihilation, Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li, Hitman: Agent 47) and some were guilty pleasures (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Street Fighter 1994, Warcraft), while others like Uwe Boil have been in directors jail ever since. Right now, video game documentaries are also a thing. Go to any streaming service and find what documentary is your favorite. My favorite happens to be Atari: Game Over considering its been 40 years of hell since the gaming industry was sunk into the video game market crash after Atari’s “E.T.” named it as the worst video game ever.

[@Morgil27]

And here I thought I was the only one who thought _Walk the Dinosaur_ originated with this movie.

[@leecroft7311]

I freaking love this movie.

[@bekindrewindgeorgeprice8593]

The visual effects in this film feel like rejected special effects for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer but was never used or the Shy Guys are like Doctor Doom from the infamous Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four.

[@brooklynswaterboy5329]

I love this guy