Video game movies have long had a reputation of being low quality, and in many ways, that reputation started with the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie. Super Mario Bros. was a disaster by all accounts, universally panned by critics and bombing at the box office. The movie was so bad that it caused Nintendo to give up on licensing its IP to Hollywood for decades, and now it's been torn apart in the latest Pitch Meeting video from Screen Rant. [editor's note - Screen Rant is a sister site of Game Rant]
The new Pitch Meeting video mainly points out how the Super Mario Bros. movie really had nothing to do with the source material. It used names like Mario, Luigi, Daisy, and Bowser, but failed to create characters that were anything like their video game counterparts. It also was much darker in tone than the Super Mario Bros. video game series, with Mario even threatening to kill someone at one point in the movie.
Though the film was widely panned for its narrative and absurdity, it did get some recognition back in the day for its visual effects. However, its visuals weren't good enough to propel it to a stronger box office performance or avoid finding itself on many lists of worst movies of 1993.
The 1993 Super Mario Bros. live-action movie may have caused Nintendo to swear off Hollywood for decades, but it looks like the Big N is finally bringing Mario back to the big screen. Nintendo is partnering with Illumination Entertainment to create an animated Super Mario movie that is set to debut in 2022. Nintendo is helping fund the movie itself and will own the rights to the finished product, so it has much more creative control than it did with the 1993 movie.
Nintendo is leveraging the Super Mario IP in other ways as well. For example, Universal Studios is adding Super Mario-themed areas to its parks, which should prove to be a huge attraction for guests.
Considering the popularity of the Super Mario IP, it makes sense for Nintendo to utilize it outside of video games. However, fans can rest assured that Nintendo will still release high-quality Mario games like Super Mario Odyssey on a consistent basis. In fact, it's quite likely that a new Super Mario game will launch before the animated movie hits theaters in 2022, though that remains to be seen.
Super Mario Bros. premiered in theaters in 1993.