Super Mario Bros.

"This ain't no game."

1993 1h 45m EN

💀

4.5

SKIP

★4.5TMDB · 1,509

AdventureFantasyComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Mario and Luigi, plumbers from Brooklyn, find themselves in an alternate universe where evolved dinosaurs live in hi-tech squalor. They're the only hope to save our universe from invasion by the dino dictator, Koopa.

“This ain't no game.”

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Cast

Bob Hoskins
Mario Mario
John Leguizamo
Luigi Mario
Dennis Hopper
King Koopa
Samantha Mathis
Daisy
Fisher Stevens
Iggy
Richard Edson
Spike
Fiona Shaw
Lena
Dana Kaminski
Daniella

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Annabel Jankel
Writers: Terry Runte, Parker Bennett, Ed Solomon
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 44% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Annabel Jankel, shot by Dean Semler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Mark Goldblatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "This ain't no game.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Annabel Jankel directs. Dean Semler behind the camera. Alan Silvestri scores. Mark Goldblatt cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 44% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Annabel Jankel, shot by Dean Semler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mark Goldblatt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "This ain't no game.".
9IMDB entry: tt0108255 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "sibling relationship", "saving the world", "plumber", "royalty".

The technical file

Cinematography: Dean Semler
Original score: Alan Silvestri
Editing: Mark Goldblatt
Production design: David L. Snyder
Costume design: Joseph A. Porro
Makeup / hair: Jeff Goodwin
Stunt coordinator: Gary Jensen
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $48,000,000
Box office: $20,929,518
Return: 44% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Super Mario Bros. (1993)

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Annabel Jankel

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Community reviews

What people are saying

RealZero2026-04-21
★ 4/10
I finally watched the movie because I wanted to know if it was as bad as the screencaps I knew looked... Okay, I think I have to split this in two parts: How is it as a Super Mario movie? Absolutely horrible! 😅 As in...it has nothing to do with Mario except from using several character names for characters that have barely anything to do with Mario at all. And the protagonists are plumbers. So, yeah, absolutely no relation to the actual franchise. -- How was it as a movie? That's actually harder to say. For about the first half of the movie, or maybe even 2/3, I'd say the movie is, kinda, a somewhat entertaining trash movie. A little bit random chaos and silliness, similar to, for example, the live-action "Double Dragon" movie. If you ignore the "Mario Bros." part and just see it as a silly adventure movie with a dystopian parallel-dimension and an evil antagonist that wants to rule/destroy mankind, it's kinda fun in it's cheapness. The "Koopa dimension" does actually look kinda cool in a dirty, cyberpunk-ish way, I actually liked the mood in that one. Crazy designs, Mad Max-like ripped police cars, flamethrowers, these parts were random, but certainly kinda fun, I mean, sure, police chases in crazy cars, evil police wearing spiked outfits, flamethrowers and explosions? That kinda a cool thing for an action movie, right? And it also is quite funny if you just look at how completely unfitting all Mario-related things were. "WTF, THAT is Toad?!" "Hell, THAT is supposed a Goomba?!". Quite some moments that can make you laugh if you pretend it to be a really cheap fan-movie, instead of a licensed production. So, at the halfway point I thought "Okay, really bad Mario movie, but kinda entertaining action-comedy." Sadly the last third or so really loses on that one again. Any fights and action towards the end gets even more random than the movie is generally, jumping between scenes, cheap animations and basically no cohesion between happening stuff. And that, sadly, kinda kills the "kinda cool trash" vibe for me. The monster costumes are quite horrible, not only in that they look nothing like Mario-characters, but also just bad in general. Especially compared to the much older "Gremlins" movie, for example. So, yeah...not a good movie, not even ignoring the Mario part. I think it is fun to watch ONCE to laugh about how they "interpreted" the Mario franchise, though. -- But, to be fair, let me also list the good points: - The Koopa dimension looks kinda cool - Bob Hoskins does a quite good job and the dynamic with John Leguizamo is good as well. Although, or maybe because, it kinda feels like a Bud Spencer and Terence Hill relationship, somehow And, well... - Francesca P. Roberts as Big Bertha is damn sexy and I wanna dance with her, as well! -- So, yeah...not a good movie, but some good actors. Watch it once to make fun about how it's absolutely NOT a Mario Bros. movie.

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