All the credit here goes to Corey, one of the moderators of our forums (known there as MerrittTheFerret). He came across this amazing early draft script by locating it on a script website (imagine that). Listed simply as "Super Mario Bros," one would think it was just a script of the movie, but when he recieved it in the mail, he (and everyone else) was in for quite a shock. What he uncovered is probably one of the earliest drafts of the screenplay in existence. For ages, a "fantasy" based story had been said to have predated the Blade Runner influenced final version.
The story here is written by Tom S. Parker and Jim Jennewein, who later went on to draft screenplays for the live-action Flintstones and Richie Rich films. This gem of a screenplay gives us a glimpse of what the movie would have been like if it were a more direct, cartoonish adaptation of the games. The story follows (as one would expect) Mario and Luigi, following Hildy (that name makes you appreciate Daisy that much more, huh?) into the Mushroom Kingdom, and battling the evil King Koopa. No surprise there. The screenplay does lay the groundwork for how the characters themselves are used in future drafts of the screenplay; Mario is the reluctant hero, Luigi is the dreamer who gets the girl, etc. Toad is a major character (that seems to be a running theme in both early drafts), Goombas are three feet tall, there are Hammer Brothers, Chain Chomps, Power-Ups...okay, just read the thing.
Corey thoughtfully writes:
"The script is a burning hypothetical, a shining example of future perfect...it's the best 'what if' movie question answered, black and white on paper, clear as crystal."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Download Script
Phlibbit's Mini-Review
This is the version of the script that I acquired a while ago, via eBay, quite a bit before the "Fantasy" based script was uncovered. It's totally official, and has a Lightmotive cover and everything. This revised draft was written by Dick Clement and Ian la Frenais, British comedy writers who have worked on films such as Flushed Away and Across the Universe. It's a more detailed, hard-edged version of the movie we got. So take the SMB Movie on steroids, and that's what this script is like. Look for lots of expanded roles and ideas (and some actually not as good as the final product), and different Mario game references.