Here's something you didn't know you needed. The Super Mario Bros. movie was met with harsh reviews and poor box office when it was released in 1993 and one could argue that it still hasn't really achieved true cult status in a "so bad, it's good" kind of way. Super Mario Bros. is a case of what would this movie look like if it was actually good? Would an extra 20 minutes turn the tide? Well, we may have the answer to that last question because fans of the film have put together an extended cut of the much-maligned video game adaptation.
An extended cut of Super Mario Bros. has existed for years as the film's directors, Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, completed this version but it was ultimately decided to release the cut we initially received in theaters. Considering the poor reception of the film, this longer cut has earned a bit of intrigue and the intrigue was so high that a devoted group of fans devoted themselves to restoring and releasing the Morton-Jankel Cut. Their hard work has finally paid off because members of the Super Mario Bros. Archive community and restorationist Garret Gilchrist have reproduced the extended cut of the film and it can be seen here in all of its glory!
The longer cut gives us multiple extended scenes as well as some entirely new sequences. There is a subplot that was cut from the original release involving Bob Hoskins' Mario and John Leguizamo's Luigi competing with a Mafia-affiliated plumbing company while other new additions include Dennis Hopper's Koopa executing a henchman by submerging him in slime. There is even a rap performed supporting characters Iggy and Spike after the film's climax that is bound to give this movie its much-deserved renaissance.
The most interesting thing about this unofficial extended cut (the film's directors are reportedly not involved) is the time that went into making this happen. The Super Mario Bros. Movie Archive Team discovered a VHS tape containing the extended rough cut of the film back in May of 2019. The quality of the VHS was extremely poor so the group recruited filmmaker Garret Gilchrist to restore the footage. Gilchrist has previous restoration experience on the unfinished and hastily released 1993 animated film The Thief and the Cobbler so he was obviously the right man for the job. You can see some of the restoration Gilchrist did in his Twitter post below!
The Super Mario Bros. movie is one of those classic troubled Hollywood endeavors that had behind-the-scenes production problems that included a belatedly reworked script. There is no guarantee that this extended cut fixes all of the film's problems but have to give fans credit for getting this out there.
Will YOU be watching the Super Mario Bros. extended cut?