Even though they got Chris Pratt to serve in the film's lead role, it's great that Nintendo is finally ready to make a new Mario Brothers movie. Since the first film tanked in the early 90s, Nintendo has been notoriously hesitant to option their properties for the Hollywood treatment. Judging by the quality of the 90s movie, can you blame them?
That isn't to say that the Super Mario Bros film from the 90s has no redeeming factors. Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper all give delightfully silly performances in the roles of Mario Mario, Luigi Mario, and King Koppa, respectively. However, the film is more interested in "improving" the source material through adaptation rather than directly translating the magic of the games to film. The practice of butchering "nerdy" or "child-friendly "properties to make them more "palatable" was common in the 90s- just look at the Street Fighter film.
Despite how campy the 90s film was, the Super Mario Bros movie toys were awesome. In the video linked above, you can watch a mullet rocking spokesman describe why Super Mario action figures are an essential addition to any respectable toy shelf.
