Movies Did you enjoy the Super Mario Bros Movie as a kid?

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

There's no denying that the Super Mario Brothers movie was a gargantuan mess that pretty much poisoned the well for (and almost killed off) the entire videogame movie adaptation genre when it was on its early infancy.

The reasons for this are well documented and not really worth going over as per the scope of this thread, but I'll say that they included the classic 'cocktail' of movie-making shenanigans: creative differences, corporate meddling, and a generous amount of tomfoolery to boot.

Yes, it was a complete wreck by both action and omission.

However, the thing to not lose sight of is that most of us watched this thing as kids just wanting to see their favorite videogame heroes on the big screen and weren't privy to - nor gave a damn about - all that crap that guaranteed a stillborn product.

So, let me ask you: as a kid, did you genuinely enjoy this thing for what it was?

I can't say I have.

I caught it on TV some time in the early nineties, when it was already about a quarter of the way in and my reaction went from utter excitement to stone-cold indifference dizzyingly fast.

I distinctly remember my dad calling me and my sister up from the backyard as we were playing a game of basketball on the rusted hoop and enjoying one of those perfect, endless summer days that can only exist in childhood just to come see this titanic thing on TV, because he knew that SMB was our whole lives and the center of our shared universe at the time.

My sister gave up and fucked off back to the patio about fifteen minutes later (that should have been a red flag) and the movie completely lost me by the time Big Bertha showed up — I just couldn't take it anymore and admitting that felt wrong somehow.

I haven't seen it since.

Did you enjoy it as a kid? Tell me if you came around and enjoyed it for what it was as an adult, too.

 

[Jeff]

I have and I hated it. While the climax was good, the rest was pure garbage. Nothing like the games, and it has to be part of the dark and gritty theme that the Mario series is not known for.

 

[celestialempire]

Yes and I enjoy it now too!

 

[Morgan Katarn]

Yes and no I liked it but I was disappointed as hell it was nothing like the games what so ever. Even today I think it´s an okey movies if I don´t think of as a mario movie.

Honestly I like super Mario super shows live action parts much more.

 

[DanCalibur]

I enjoyed it as a kid but then again I also enjoyed eating dirt

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Yes and I enjoy it now too!

I'm glad to hear it!

What do you like about it?

 

[Potapota]

I feel like I saw it as a kid but pushed it deep inside some dark hole in my mind and barricaded the door. It seems strangely familiar but I have no recollection of ever actually watching it. The whole thing feels like some fever dream I had after playing too much super mario before going to bed.
What a weird movie.

 

[BrawlMan]

Yes. It and Double Dragon, but I realized around the age of 9 how shitty these films are. Double Dragon even more so. I really don't watch either anymore in decades. Outside of some clips on YouTube.

 

[Frickinfrik]

No, I refuse to watch unfaithful slop.

 

[JustLooking456]

Best movie ever made.

 

[Deleted member 14682]

It's shit on routinely, but as a movie goes. It's excellent. Well acted, well shot, excellent effects, and good action scenes.

 

[Rocket2049]

i thought it was fine, my mom loves that movie! the dancing goombas makes her laugh
now i wanna watch it again just to see if nostalgia blinded me

not the WORST game to movie adaptation i've seen though
the double dragon movie SUCKED and almost nothing like the games

 

[random0nonsense]

I enjoyed it back then and I enjoy it now. Of course, I do tend to watch the Rifftrax release of The Super Mario Bros. movie these days; regardless, I consider it a stupid and baffling train-wreck of a movie that is enjoyable for being the disaster it is.

It's not a Mario movie, but it is a special kind of disaster.

 

[SecretStrategist]

As a child, I loved watching it over and over again with no problem and although it does have its faults, I'll still gladly watch it once more if given the chance and opportunity to do so.

 

[zombie100379]

its on my list , heard plenty of bad things about it , but what if you don't think about the games at all ? is it alright as a weird cult sci fi movie ?

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

its on my list , heard plenty of bad things about it , but what if you don't think about the games at all ? is it alright as a weird cult sci fi movie ?

It does have its moments.

As someone else already said, it's pretty well-made from a technical standpoint — it's just painfully obvious that it spun out of control and should have dropped the license.

 

[Iraito]

I was disappointed but in a way i was kinda ok, i still had in mind the live action sessions of the cartoon so in a way it was still oddly related to the game at the time.

 

[diet_orange]

The work print is apparently much better if you can find it. Also the ending was originally going to be Mario and Luigi telling their story to some foreign video game developers who'd later skew the truth and turn it into Super Mario Bros, which is genius in it's own right

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

The work print is apparently much better if you can find it. Also the ending was originally going to be Mario and Luigi telling their story to some foreign video game developers who'd later skew the truth and turn it into Super Mario Bros, which is genius in it's own right

That would have been INCREDIBLE!

... But also a complete slap in the face for Nintendo, whom probably weren't all-too-pleased with that.

 

[random0nonsense]

It does have its moments.

As someone else already said, it's pretty well-made from a technical standpoint — it's just painfully obvious that it spun out of control and should have dropped the license.

It's also painfully obvious that the license was only to garner attention and they knew nothing of the games. Goombas are lizards, Big Bertha is a busty bouncer and not a fish, and fireballs are flamethrowers. Most of the cast did it as an obligation or a paycheck.

 

[diet_orange]

Also, one of my favorite parts about the film was the little radio drama that came with a pretty fucking rad 3D poster

 

[sandogma sandogma]

I saw it theaters as a kid. My hype was through the roof! Might have been the first time I was introduced to such disappointment.
Literally less than a month later Jurassic Park came out to theaters. The whiplash I experienced in terms of the difference in quality between those two movies almost broke my neck!

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

I saw it theaters as a kid. My hype was through the roof! Might have been the first time I was introduced to such disappointment.
Literally less than a month later Jurassic Park came out to theaters. The whiplash I experienced in terms of the difference in quality between those two movies almost broke my neck!

I can imagine! I watched Back To The Future immediately afterwards and I was like... 'DAAAAAAAAAMNNNNNN!'.

 

[Rocket2049]

my mom said it was one of the happiest she'd seen me as a kid when I saw it in theaters
watched it again this weekend "it's so bad it's good" is all i can say LOL

 

[sandogma sandogma]

To those who may be unaware, there is an unofficial sequel to this movie written by the original writers of the film as a web comic.

Comics – Super Mario Bros. 2: The Sequel Comic

www.smbthecomic.com