The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is here and, based on the initial reports, it's already off to a strong start. One imagines that some fans might want to keep the Mario Bros. love going after seeing the movie by playing one of the Mario games or possibly watching one of the other adaptations, but maybe steer clear of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, because it’s rough. Maybe rewatching the original Super Mario Bros. movie would be less painful after seeing fans slam an AI restoration of the '80s cartoon.
Screenshots have recently gone viral on Facebook and Reddit showing what is, according to reports, an “HD” version of the 1989 animated/live action hybrid. However, it appears that the HD upscaling was handled by AI, and the work is pretty terrible, with characters barely recognizable and even the title of the show unreadable. Check it out.
When I first saw these shots, I thought it was some sort of joke. This is why a lot of people have issues with AI being used in television.
It’s hard not to see this as absolutely horrendous, and I’m more than a little shocked these were released in a state like this. The screenshots were apparently captured on MeTV, and while one commenter claims the show can also be found on Prime Video and Tubi, the version you can watch on Tubi appears to be the original. Responses on social media to this travesty are appropriately harsh. Comments include…
- I'm fascinated by this. When the show first premiered it wasn't great....it was a miracle it was even made in the time we had. I appreciate the concern about it's quality now. - Dan Riba
- As if the original show wasn’t sloppy enough . Although now the title card is so restored than it reads “The SUPLE Mario Bros. Super Show”, so I guess it technically can be considered a different production altogether. - Andrés Alberto Sanhueza Matamala
- Yeeeesh!! I'll never understand why we need animation in "4k" or whatever HD quality they claim. It's lines and paint. It doesn't need this "treatment". - JJ Jeff
- If they decide to run the 1993 Super Mario Bros movie through an "AI upscaler" and end up yassifying Bob Hoskins, we riot. - NewsCards
- Yeah, that's the latest trend... taking old shows that were recorded on video or not worth the layout to properly restore and remaster, and running them through shitty AI to "enhance" them so they can be advertised as being "HD". - ElectricPeterTork
As one of the comments points out, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show was never exactly the height of quality animation. It was a syndicated kids' cartoon show that pushed out 65 episodes quickly, and obviously, as cheaply as possible. Television animation is known for pushing quantity over quality. This was especially true of '80s cartoons. Honestly, compared to the AI work, the original cartoon looks award-worthy.
Whatever value AI may have as a way to actually do anything, it clearly still requires humans to do some work to fix all of its mistakes. Maybe using AI to upscale a cartoon show and then fix its errors is still faster than a human doing all the work, but it’s going to require people in the process, either way.
