Thirty years ago, the very first cinematic adaptation of a video game hit theaters. “Super Mario Bros.” based on the 1985 Nintendo game created by Shigeru Miyamoto didn’t exactly bring the game to life as much as it extrapolated a nightmarish cyberpunk world from its characters. “Max Headroom” directors Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel were tapped to direct, with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo suiting up in the red and green as Mario and Luigi, the plumbers from Brooklyn.
The production was plagued by power struggles, with distributor Disney attempting an 11th hour swerve into something more kid-friendly than the edgy “‘Blade Runner’ for teens” vibe Morton and Jankel brought. Largely considered to be an unmitigated disaster at the time, the film is now a cult classic. But the “Mario” video games are more popular now than ever, and Nintendo must have felt they had some unfinished business. Hence, a new, animated, family-friendly version of the movie, courtesy of “Minions” production company Illumination Entertainment.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” garnered controversy upon announcement of its voice cast, with Chris Pratt due to voice the rotund, mustachioed plumber and the internet preemptively cringing at his potential delivery of Mario’s catchphrase, “It’s-a me, Mario!” Thankfully, the movie gets that out of the way almost immediately, thanks to a VHS-style TV ad for Mario and Luigi’s plumbing business where they affect exaggerated Italian accents. It’s a gambit that allows Pratt and Charlie Day, voicing Luigi, to quickly drop the act. But their vocal performances are so unremarkable that it could have been anyone at all.
