Super Mario Bros. is not fondly remembered by The Super Mario Bros. Movie star Seth Rogen. Starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as plumber brothers Mario and Luigi, the critically-maligned 1993 adaptation of the Nintendo video game series was the first-ever feature-length live-action film based on a video game — and 30 years later, Super Mario Bros. is still cited among the worst game-to-movie adaptations of all time. The film was a flop with audiences and critics, grossing just under $39 million worldwide. It’s a disappointment that Seth Rogen, who voices Donkey Kong in Illumination’s new animated Super Mario Bros. Movie, remembers decades later.
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“WhenI was 11, I saw the original Mario Bros. movie and I was so excited.But it’s one of the worst films ever made,” Rogen told Variety. “I was so disappointed. Ithink it made me realize that movies, like, could be bad. That neveroccurred to me until that moment.”
“It really bummed me out,” he continued. “It’s nice to vindicate thatmoment. It’s nice to know that 11-year-olds out there, that they won’t bedisappointed in the same way that I was.”
The Super Mario Bros. Movie scored just a 54% approval from critics on Rotten Tomatoes but is playing better with audiences: 96% of verified moviegoers gave the new animated movie a thumbs up. Rogen’s comments come after Leguizamo, who played Luigi Mario in the 1993 live-action movie, criticized Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario and slammed the animated movie for lacking the “groundbreaking color-blind casting in the original.”
“No, I will not be watching Super Mario Bros. They could haveincluded a Latin character like I… I was groundbreaking and theystopped the groundbreaking,” the Colombia-born actor told TMZ. ” They messed up the inclusion. Theydis-included.”
Along with Pratt as Mario and Rogen as Donkey Kong, The Super Mario Bros. Movie cast includes Charlie Day as the voice of Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, and Jack Black as the villain Bowser. The movie is now playing in theaters.
