From the very start, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has had a lot of things Nintendo’s failed 1993 did not, and that includes Doneky Kong played by Seth Rogen, whose experience with Mario made him remember some movies really deserve devastatingly negative reviews.
The original Super Mario Bros. film was a groundbreaking event when it premiered, albeit for all the wrong reasons as its massive failure backtracked many potential video game adaptations for years, yet none more so than Nintendo’s. Luckily, it seems like 2023 Mario is ready to correct the past as, despite conflicting early reception for the movie, Illumination’s take on Nintendo’s world is at least off to the races with gamers.
Rogen himself remembers his own experience watching Super Mario Bros. when he was just 11, calling it “one of the worst films ever made. I was so disappointed,” so no far-fetched opinions from him on the matter when discussing it with Variety. In fact, for the star “it made me realize that movies, like, could be bad. That never occurred to me until that moment,” though in his opinion newer generations won’t have to deal with seeing Mario ruined right before their eyes as he’s joined Nintendo “to vindicate that moment.”
Funnily enough, Rogen was recently quoted expressing his frustation with movie critics and how negative reviews can harm actors, filmmakers and producers, summing it up as “a very personal rejection,” in direct reference to his own experience with The Green Hornet. Nowadays, while the original Mario movie has gained small cult following, the consensus is still that most who have seen it tend to hate it, including some of the people involved in making it.
Fast-forward 30 years later and it appears that Nintendo second let’s-a-go with Mario is doing just as bad with critics, although for many others Super Mario Bros. might just be that perfect light-hearted family movie for the weekend. Early box office projections for the Mario movie are even calling for a great theatrical run that could outclass this year's biggest earner, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
For someone whose childhood was marked by a lesser Mario, voicing DK sure must have felt a like a dream come true. It things go well and the Super Mario Bros. movie's post-credits means anything, then maybe Seth Rogen can hope to get his own Donkey Kong spinoff.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie currently available in theaters.
Source: Variety