“A fucking nightmare”: before being a hit at the box office, Super Mario had a first film hated in the world

While Super Mario Bros, the movies was a real hit at the box office, to the point of breaking a series of records, let’s go back to the first film released by Nintendo in 1993, which is far from having received the same reception…

Mario Bros is one of Nintendo’s oldest, most popular, and most iconic games. Inevitably, when such a license is adapted on the big screen, expectations are high. Chris Pratt, known for his role as Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, was chosen to double the little plumber. After his casting was extremely criticized, he was bound to be worried about incurring even more ire from viewers after the release of Super Mario Bros in theaters. “There was a lot of backlash, people talking about the casting. And I was like, ‘I hope (the movie) is good.’ Then it was. It was such a relief. I was as nervous as everyone else that it was going to screw up and I was grateful that it didn’t.” he revealed to ET. It must be said that Mario Bros in the cinema has a liability, and not the most glorious: the first film released in 1993 was a real failure.

The film Super Mario marked the end of the careers of filmmakers Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton

In 1993, Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton unveiled a live-action version of Super Mario Broswith Bob Hoskins and John Leguizama as Mario and Luigi. If box office admissions were few, reviews were published in droves. For the plumber’s interpreter, interviewed in 2007 by the Guardiansit was the worst project of his life: “Worst thing I’ve ever done? Super Mario Bros. This whole experience was a nightmare. With a couple directing whose arrogance was mistaken for talent. (…) A f**king nightmare . F*cking morons.” After the failure of Super Mario Bros., showrunners Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton have been cast aside in Hollywood. So, what are the causes of this failure?

Why live action Super Mario was a failure

Several factors may justify the failure of live-action Super Mario Bros. The fault still lies largely with the producers who, two weeks before the start of filming, had the script completely rewritten without Rocky Morton being authorized to discuss it with the writers. Inevitably, at the time of filming, there was chaos between the various members of the production. At the same time, Rocky Morton described this film as a “oddness that did not correspond with what Hollywood was doing at the time”. “It was the end of our careers” he concluded after he and Annabel Jankel were fired from the CAA (Creative Artists Agency).

Article written in collaboration with 6Medias