Long before the catastrophic live adaptation of 1993 and the animated film which has just been released, Nintendo’s favorite mascot had already been the subject of an animated adaptation, released in theaters in Japan in 1986. A real rarity .
Maria. A character who has become so famous, transgenerational, known to everyone, even by non-players, that he has rightly entered the world of pop culture through the front door.
Created by the great Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka first on an arcade terminal in 1983, its first adventures on the NES console in 1985 were a date in the history of video game culture.
To date, the Mario license is one of the few to be able on its own to be a ssystem seller, that is, able to sell the console. In Super Mario Bros.the player controlled Mario there and traveled through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to save Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser, the antagonist of Mario.
If the title will subsequently give rise to many sequels and derivatives, Super Mario Bros. imposed an authentic model of LevelDesign absolutely brilliant repeated many times since, simple but not simplistic gameplay, horizontal scrolling, bosses and sub-bosses, secret areas… Until the cult musical theme, composed by Koji Kondo. In short: (Super) Mario is quite simply a monument of video games.
An animated theatrical version in 1986
You may have seen its live adaptation released in 1993 and carried by the tandem Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo, one of the very first adaptations of a video game license on the big screen. Colossal flop in theaters, the film also left deep scars at Nintendo. Traumatized, the Japanese firm never again produced a live film adapted from one of its licenses.
If the mustachioed plumber has just made an absolutely sensational return to the screens, achieving the best start at the International Box Office for an animated film, you may not be aware that the first (mis)adventures of the hero were already the subject of an adaptation in the form of an anime, in 1986. An important year by the way, because Super Mario 2 hit consoles in Japan in June.
Nintendo decided to capitalize on the huge success of its mascot by teaming up with a company called Grouper Productions, director Masami Hata and screenwriter Hideo Takayashiki., to go out in the room Super Mario Bros. : Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! In English : Super Mario Bros. : The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!which will be released in theaters in Japan on July 20, 1986.
Unseen for years, a group of fans decided to restore it in 4k, from a 16mm copy, which the band explains is probably the only remaining copy of the work. A long-term job, which took them months. The result is indeed impressive.
The problem is that this restoration does not seem to have been done with the blessing of Nintendo, which we know to be particularly touchy about its licenses… Hats off to you in any case for the work done.