Super Mario Brothers

MOVIE REVIEW OF SUPER MARIO BROTHERS (1993) PG

Cast
Director	annabel jankel, rocky morton, dean semler	Runtime: 1hr. 44min. (104min.)
mario mario	.....	bob hoskins
luigi mario	.....	john leguizamo
king koopa	.....	dennis hopper
princess daisy	.....	samamtha mathes
iggy	.....	fisher stevens
spike	.....	richard edson
lena	.....	fiona shaw
daniella	.....	dana kaminski
toad	.....	mojo nixon
scapelli	.....	gianni russo
bertha	.....	francesca p. roberts
the king	.....	lance henriksen
old lady	.....	desiree marie velez
brooklyn girl#1	.....	andrea powell
brooklyn girl#2	.....	heather pendergast
brooklyn girl#3	.....	melanie salvatore
goomba toad	.....	john fifer
sergeant simon	.....	don lake
TV announcer	.....	robert d. raiford
scapelli bodyguard#1	.....	robert lee edwards
scapelli bodyguard#2	.....	ronald lou edwards
narrator	.....	dan castellanetta

PLOT SUMMARY

In its most quantum essence, the plot of this movie is the same as its namesake's video game: Mario and Luigi (Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo respectively) are on a quest to save the Princess (Samamtha Mathes) from the evil King Koopa (Dennis Hopper...go figure). Only in the movie version, we start out in Brooklyn, New York, and The Princess doesn't know she is a princess.

King Koopa lives in an alternate dimension where cold-blooded creatures dominate. He has everyone bowing to him ever since he got rid of their king and created his devolution machine which turns any mammal back into their primitive, pre-neanderthal form. Enter, the Goombas.

Koopa and his wife, Lena (Fiona Shaw) are after a small piece of meteorite that fell to Earth 65 million years ago (explained further in the short prologue), Insertion of this tiny rock into the rest of the meteorite will merge the two dimensions and supposedly bring Koopa into power over both worlds.

Princess Daisy holds this crucial piece of rock. She finds and slips through the inter-dimensional portal beneath the city. By now, Luigi has fallen in love with her and literally pursues her to the other dimension. Mario follows, they discover Koopa's plan, and the adventure begins.

TECH INSPECTION

Other than Koopa himself, the Goombas are virtually the only villains from the original video game. There is also a small but significant cameo by B-bomb.

The flameball throwers are there, but in the hands of the Koopa Klan, not the Mario Brothers. They have only their trusty toolbelts.

I was disappointed that there were not more connections, such as characters, to the game. I understand using Princess Daisy (from Super Mario Land) instead of Princess Toadstool for the contemporary Brooklyn aspect. However, more video game characters would have made the movie more fun. Among those MIA are: Spiney, Koopas and Para-Koopas, Piranaha Plant, Hammer Brothers, Latkitu (the cloud villain), Buzzy Beetle, Blooper, Cheep Cheep, and Bullet Bill (although his name is on a sign hanging outside one of the dives).

One of the major components of the game, the gold coins, are only mentioned briefly, and never become a dominant part of the storyline.

Those particulars are mainly what brought my final rating of this movie down to 8 meows. Overall, however, I found this movie to be a fun one for the entire family, fans and non-fans of the game alike.

QUOTES
Finally, don't run out early. There's a funny post-credits scene, if you're willing to wait for the following dialogue:

• Well, I must say we have a very exciting proposal ~ Japanese businessman #1
  A video game based on your many adventures ~ Japanese businessman #2
  What would you call it? ~ Japanese businessman #1
  Iggy's World ~ Spike
  The Indomitable Spike ~ Iggy
  The Supa' Koopa Cousins! ~ Spike & Iggy

Here is my personal rating of this movie. This rating is out of ten meows.
⁸ /₁₀

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