The Weekly Stuff #460 - Revisiting the Original SUPER MARIO BROS. Movie (1993)

<p>Illumination Entertainment’s <i>The Super Mario Bros. Movie </i>is opening in theaters next month, and is looking like a surprisingly faithful, entertaining adaptation of the beloved video game characters. But it’s not the first time Hollywood has tried this – thirty years ago, there was <i>Super Mario Bros., </i>a live-action adaptation starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper that wound up having almost nothing to do with the video games, bombed spectacularly at the box-office, and was weirdly dark, grotesque, and horny. It is one of the most bizarre films ever made, and has one of the most incredible, mind-boggling production histories we’ve ever seen. So on the eve of Mario returning to theaters in a more recognizable form, we thought now would be a good time to look back on the first attempt to bring the plumber to the big screen, and how this infamous cinematic trainwreck took form. </p><p>Enjoy! </p><p>Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation">https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation</a>  </p><p>Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:</p><p><a href="https://weeklystuffpodcast.com/">https://weeklystuffpodcast.com</a></p><p>Follow <i>The Weekly Stuff Wordcast </i>newsletter for regular updates and extra content! </p><p><a href="https://weeklystuff.substack.com/">https://weeklystuff.substack.com</a></p><p>Ending music by Thomas Lack <a href="https://www.thomaslack.com/">https://www.thomaslack.com/</a></p><p> </p>