Take a trip back in time, to a world where Nintendo was far less protective of its intellectual properties and the Super Mario Bros. were bursting with personality. Super Mario Bros.: The Great Rescue of Princess Peach is a Japanese anime film from 1986 that is currently in the process of being restored in 4K by a small team, and you can watch one of their work in progress builds right now.
As part of an ongoing project, a YouTuber named Carnivol has spent at least three years and roughly $20,000 restoring the film that chronicles the Super Mario Bros.' first animated adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom, which was also the first animated movie based on a video game. Carnivol details their journey in the description of their YouTube page for the film and explains how the entire process began with two VHS copies of the film they acquired in the early 2000s.
According to Carnivol, the film still has a long way to go to meet their standards, and they've teamed up with FemboyFilms to complete the project. Considering the age of the film and how much work they've already invested, the current upload is very far along and will be an entertaining watch for any fan of the Super Mario Bros. The film is a romp through a far less developed Mushroom Kingdom than most of us have ever seen, but still features so many familiar characters, jingles, and items that viewers will know exactly where the film takes place.
The film begins with a late-night gaming session, where the titular plumber is playing a Famicom game when, seemingly out of nowhere, Princess Peach appears on his TV as she fights off a group of Koopa Paratroopas, Spinies, and other famous Super Mario Bros. enemies. Princess Peach flies through Mario's television screen, followed by a whirlwind of enemies and Bowser, who kidnaps the princess and takes her back inside the TV. The next day, as Mario finds himself enamored with the princess while staring at the magic necklace she left behind, a small blue dog appears in the Super Mario Bros.' grocery store. Mario and Luigi rush after the dog and follow it into a warp pipe that transports them to the Mushroom Kingdom.
The Great Rescue of Princess Peach is filled with many goofy and delightful scenes, from surreal travel montages set to rock music, to a fantasy dance sequence starring the titular plumber and Princess Peach, to Mario's final battle with Bowser, where he grabs and spins Bowser by the tail and launches him into the distance, a move gamers wouldn't see in-game until Super Mario 64 in 1996. The film is a fascinating piece of animation and Nintendo history, and it's a shame it has never seen an international release.
Carnivol has done a stellar job restoring the film so far. Although their work is not yet complete, The Great Rescue of Princess Peach is entertaining to watch on its own, but gamers and fans of the Super Mario Bros. will enjoy seeing what Nintendo was thinking all the way back when the Mushroom Kingdom was still a new and untamed frontier. One can only hope Illumination will bring some magic to the Mushroom Kingdom when their upcoming Super Mario Bros. film releases.
The Super Mario Bros. film is expected to release in theaters in 2022.
Source: Carnivol/YouTube