A place for those who "Trust the Fungus"

On Friday night, I made an offhand comment about an episode of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" computer-generated animated series, comparing the lizard-like Trandoshan enemies in the "Padawan Lost" to the Goombas from Super Mario Bros. The Movie. I was just being a smart aleck and getting a little irritable about having to wait for the next episode of Thundercats.

Truth be told, the Trandoshans don't look that much like the de-evolved citizens of Dinohattan, as the Goombas still looked more human (and real) than the computer-generated Star Wars characters. I guess the Super Mario Bros. The Movie was the first thing on my mind when it came to bulky lizard-people without exaggerated "snouts" and "tails." (There's also Killer Croc, who does look more like those guys, at least in some incarnation.)

Since my error was public, I thought I'd better make my apology public, too, and since I've given up my Web sites I've decided to apologize in the best way I know how, on a forum, for everyone to laugh at. So I'm sorry I made a stupid comment on Twitter. It will not be the last time I make a stupid comment, but I won't malign the movie by comparing it to a Star Wars televised series that's doomed to never have anything of importance happen in it.

Well, that was awkward...Maybe I should give a testimonial...or something.

Let me just say I am no big fan of Super Mario Bros. The Movie. I am no big hater of the movie either. I don't think this movie was bad, certainly not as as the critics made it out to sound, even though it did have its flaws. I have to admit, since there was a mayoral race in my city the same year this movie came out, I couldn't help but draw parallels to the Vote Koopa signs to the local primary race...and this was long before I was able to vote. What Super Mario Bros. The Movie was, though, was memorable. I haven't seen it in years, but there are plenty of parts of this movie which stuck out in my mind. The merging of dimensions. The animation beginning with narration. The woman pushing an egg in a stroller when Mario and Luigi first crossed over. The magic restoration of the King (I never understood what was up with that. "POOF" he was normal again. Huh?) Unfortunately, since I haven't seen it in a while, so these are more "moments" rather than a whole movie. And I suppose the Goombas were part of that.

Now I'm curious. Did you all get a traffic boost after the series premiere of True Blood? I just hope Shaw's Marnie does not get the rather harsh, quick end that Lena did...that still remains a moment that stuck out to me.

Welcome to the board! I think you'll find by looking through this website that there's a lot more interesting stuff about the making of the movie than you ever thought. It's quite a fascinating look into the world of film-making and the process of writing a movie. You should check out the original "Fantasy Script" which can be found under the scripts section on the main website-- I'm sure that would be much more appealing to someone who didn't entirely care for the sci-fi aspect in a "Mario" movie.

No need to apologize! We we're simply curious about which aliens in the show you were referring to. The Goombas were so uniquely designed and built that it's always surprising to hear someone compare some other species to them.

Nangbaby wrote:Let me just say I am no big fan of Super Mario Bros. The Movie. I am no big hater of the movie either. I don't think this movie was bad, certainly not as as the critics made it out to sound, even though it did have its flaws. I have to admit, since there was a mayoral race in my city the same year this movie came out, I couldn't help but draw parallels to the Vote Koopa signs to the local primary race...and this was long before I was able to vote. What Super Mario Bros. The Movie was, though, was memorable.

I have to say, I always enjoy it when someone who's not a particular fan of the movie joins. We appreciate outside opinions. As long as you have an open mind about the film and what it was trying to accomplish, we'll respect what you feel.

Nangbaby wrote:Now I'm curious. Did you all get a traffic boost after the series premiere of True Blood? I just hope Shaw's Marnie does not get the rather harsh, quick end that Lena did...that still remains a moment that stuck out to me.

Now that's an interesting question. Do you know when the episode in which she appeared aired? I can ask Phlibbit to check the site numbers to see if there was a spike or not!

Serum wrote:Welcome to the board! I think you'll find by looking through this website that there's a lot more interesting stuff about the making of the movie than you ever thought. It's quite a fascinating look into the world of film-making and the process of writing a movie. You should check out the original "Fantasy Script" which can be found under the scripts section on the main website-- I'm sure that would be much more appealing to someone who didn't entirely care for the sci-fi aspect in a "Mario" movie.

Thanks for letting me know about the features. I'd like to clarify it was not the sci-fi aspects of Super Mario Bros. that bothered me about this movie. I liked them even if the atmosphere was different from the magical nature of the games and the cartoons.

Redstar wrote:No need to apologize! We we're simply curious about which aliens in the show you were referring to. The Goombas were so uniquely designed and built that it's always surprising to hear someone compare some other species to them.

Hey, the Goombas were unique in appearance and concept.

Redstar wrote:I have to say, I always enjoy it when someone who's not a particular fan of the movie joins. We appreciate outside opinions. As long as you have an open mind about the film and what it was trying to accomplish, we'll respect what you feel.

True, it's been a while (years) since I've seen the movie. I got an idea of what it was trying to accomplish from watching it, and I think that was one of it faults -- it tried to do too much and didn't settle on a proper tone. It was not only an adaptation, but showcased an adult, dystopic, atmosphere with some really intense scenes (characters strapped to a chair in the Devolution room, for instance) peppered with cartoonish, cliched kiddie moments. To be fair, a lot of other movies of the early 90's shared this, but it came across as disjointed.

Redstar wrote:Now that's an interesting question. Do you know when the episode in which she appeared aired? I can ask Phlibbit to check the site numbers to see if there was a spike or not!

Fiona Shaw has been playing the main antagonist (Marnie) on True Blood since the season started at the end of June. The show only airs for two more Sundays, this upcoming Sunday and the Sunday after that.