Hey everyone,
So I've rewatched the film and I've read the Jennewein/Parker script, the Bennett/Runté transitional script, and the Bennett/Runté "Ghostbusters-influenced" draft. I'll be reading the la Frenais/Clement scripts this week as well, but in the meantime I've decided to offer up some commentary on what I've read so far (so as not to forget anything).
This observation I'd like to just get out of the way first: I love the fact that a cover of Roxy Music's "Love Is the Drug" was used in the film. That's really neither here nor there, but I love Brian Eno, so that inclusion definitely put a smile on my face.
As far as initial impressions go, I can see where the film lost its vision. The original script definitely laid the foundation for the major motifs and character archetypes portrayed in the film: Mario is the "reluctant hero", a cynic, and downright jerkish a fair bit of the time; Luigi is the romantic, the bohemian; Daisy (Hildy...a name which makes one wonder if she was teased as a child) is pretty much the catalyst for everything henceforth. And while the original script seems much more deeply attached to the lore and symbolism of Nintendo's Mushroom Kingdom than any of the other scripts, one can still see that some major, overarching things persist throughout the film's development: there was a drive from the beginning to embed the story in something more realistic --to make us more empathetic to the narrative's looming threat. The first script introduces the idea of another dimension running parallel to ours. It introduces the overall conflict: Koopa wants to become supreme ruler of everyone and everything --and for one reason or another needs to princess to do so.
To be honest, while I understand why the major script changes took place, I would have liked to see some of these Nintendo set pieces come to life in the film in a more literal capacity. It would have been fun to see giant Piranha Plants chomping around and Toad appearing as a sentient shroom. As much as it is unreasonable to expect the film to portray the game as it is, I feel like a more direct representation of some of these elements may have made for a more resonant film with people who had grown up playing the game. For this reason, I appreciate the initial script, although the story here is also slightly flimsy and problematic, without much of a narrative conflict that's strong enough to make people take it seriously...or as seriously as a Super Mario Bros. film can expect to be taken.
I have to admit, I'm glad that the whole chocolate-love potion thing was dropped. It was a little bit facile and silly, and it didn't allow Hildy to reach any kind of potential as a character. She really did seem like a prop, a narrative context for the Bros....actually, she may be the most accurately portrayed character in this draft, as far as the games are concerned.
Finally, without a doubt, this is the most fantastic character description I've as yet encountered: "This is Toad, a wise-cracking anthropomorphic toadstool."
Toad, above all, was awesome in this script. I only wish he had remained as surly.
Of course, the story is simple and easy to follow. The imagery is vivid and true to the original content, and the foundation for major narrative elements is set. I would almost like to see what this move would look like with today's technology (who needs story when you have CG, right??) Unfortunately, a strong story arch, which is not crucial to games but invaluable for Hollywood film, simply isn't there.
After reading both Bennett/Runté drafts, I admit I came away with a new appreciation for the screenwriting of this film. It goes without saying that there are darker, more adult streaks pervading these scripts, which I suppose helps if one is trying to appeal to teenagers. But the thing which really struck me was the political commentary and satire. The reinforcement of neo-constructivist Koopa propaganda and the conception of a dystopian, parallel Manhattan smacks of anti-Soviet and anti-totalitarian sentiment. This script was written in a very recent post-Gulf War era, and I suppose the biggest villains in recent Western history would have been Stalin...and Hitler, who I believe gets name-dropped in the revised draft. It's a clever way to steer the audience's emotions against Koopa by contextualizing his dictatorship in something most Westerners recognize as evil.
Many of the questions the film provokes are answered by these scripts (Why does Koopa need Daisy? What is this meteorite thing all about? Why is everything past Dinohattan a wasteland?) but it also suggests others (Toad suggests that the true King--the fungus--is likely coming back, but nothing comes of it. Also...what's with this whole de-evolution thing and why isn't it used more often?) All in all, these scripts are more cohesive, demonstrate vision, and conjure up some pretty interesting themes and concepts which I wonder are even appropriate in a film adaptation like this. The ending is bizarre and kind of mind-boggling (I was left wondering just what the hell had happened)...although, let's be fair, the original draft had kind of a flimsy climax/denouement as well. It seems that from the beginning, finding an adequate conclusion felt awkward and forced. It's kind of a bad sign when, from the beginning, the screenplay can't satisfyingly close the deal. To be fair, the writers did seem committed to portraying the final battle on some sort of bridge or catwalk, as an allusion to the original game. I wonder if the insistence of this, plus the increasingly convoluted and logically dubious storylines had something to do with this. It makes sense that the film ultimately went with a cliffhanger: it effectively eliminates the need for a satisfying conclusion and leaves the film open for possible sequels and franchising. The problem is that, ultimately, it felt too easy, as though it were tacked on out of exasperation.
Once again, however, we see the characterization of the surly, cynical Mario and the sensitive, romantic Luigi. At this point the "coming-of-age" element to their relationship--that they slowly come to appreciate and understand each other--is pretty much entrenched in these drafts. I also like that Big Ed, now Eddie Scarpelli, has become more of a presence in these drafts and is more instrumental in the progress of the plot. He represents the "real-world" counter-conflict for the brothers in a more explicit capacity that wasn't deeply explored in the film in a way that it probably should have been. Daisy gets more character development and plays more of a role in her own destiny, which is definitely an improvement. And Toad (and his expendable buddies), while having become less funny, is a more sympathetic character. It's just too bad he's used for some much-needed exposition and background information and then dropped for a large segment of the film.
The Deus Ex Machina of the first script (Woltan) is replaced with the abstract presence of King Karma, which I think is a more subtle choice--but lacks development in the earlier drafts. It leads me to wonder about the loose ends presented even in the earlier scripts. I imagine plot holes are common in early drafts, but each successive draft, because they all needed to be so drastically different and overhauled, presents new holes. From what I can tell, before having read everything, is that many of the narrative weaknesses, which were disguised by exposition or some other technique in the respective drafts, became more obvious in the final product because elements of all these drafts got compounded together without someone really taking the time to unify the story in a sensible way. It reminds me of Duke Nukem Forever: all of these designers and devs tried to pull this game in so many directions, without resolving some pretty major issues (be it because of a lack of finances, time or communication), that it hardly had a chance to be a really cohesive game. I feel that Super Mario Bros. The Movie suffered the same fate, which is a shame, because the original drafts demonstrate some pretty imaginative screenwriting on the part of the writing teams.
Well, that's all for now! I'll be back soon, armed with more commentary on the following scripts, my assessment of Yoshi, a pair of Air Stompers, and maybe a flamethrower or two
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-Lana
