7/17/91 Screenplay Mini-Review
I tore through this thing when I got my copy in the mail. I love the ideas these guys had for this movie; it really is what one would have pictured at the time for a Super Mario Bros. film. From Koopa to the Goombas, Hammer Brothers, Thwomps, all of the powers and dungeons and game references (like the princess being in another castle--priceless!), the script does a quite amazing job of making the story a good adventure without making it seem like a bunch of strung together video game references. I think it could've totally worked as a film and likely would have been generally regarded as a decently fun, family film. At the very least, the target audience would have found it more appealing. Even though I really like this, I don't think I would trade it for the incredibly misunderstood and intriguing film that we did get. And although it's not a perfect script (it has some of the same problems that the final film does in some parts, mostly involving the princess, whose name is 'Hildy' for some reason...what an odd choice), it really does have a heart. The script gets an 'A' in my book, and is definitely worth a read.
--Ryan Hoss