The 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie is returning to cinemas, god help us

This is not a drill, we repeat, this is not a drill: the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film is coming back to cinemas!

Some of you might be too young to remember this, but back in 1993 a Super Mario film was released; it was the first feature-length movie based on a game, and to say it epically flopped is an understatement.

Watch Mario as intended in The Super Mario Bros. Movie - not as he once was.

For the uninitiated, don’t go thinking this is anything like The Super Mario Bros. Movie that surpassed $1 billion at the box office. The 90s film is as far from that as you can possibly imagine – Nintendo probably wishes they could wipe it from memory.

Crunchyroll reported that the 4K remaster is in celebration of the movie’s 30th anniversary. Since its release 30 years ago, Super Mario Bros. has become a cult classic, not because it’s amazing but because it’s so bad it’s good. Bob Hoskins, best known from Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook, starred alongside John Leguizamo, seen in Romeo + Juliet and John Wick, as the well known plumbers. No matter your feelings on these two actors, they could not save the film from the swathe of negative reviews. Hell, even the cast thought the film was a dud.

Yet, somewhere along the line, a classic was created. One that sees Mario and Luigi travel to a parallel universe inhabited by humanoid dinosaurs, inspired by the events that unfolded in Shogakukan’s Monthly Corocoro Comic.

The story sounds weird, but it gets even weirder when you’re watching it unfold on the screen. It feels like a fever dream.

Despite the chaos of the narrative, people can’t help but keep coming back for more, and so the news that a 4K version is going to hit cinemas will undoubtedly spark joy. Sadly, there’s one small, niggling catch: the film’s only showing in Japan.

Okay, I said it was a small catch, but it’s actually a big deal. If you’re a massive fan of the film and believe it to be the height of cinema, firstly, you’re wrong, and secondly, you’ll need a ticket to Japan.

Personally, if I was going to dig this film out and watch it again, seeing it on the small screen would be more than enough. But some people like to be slapped in the face with bad movies, so who are we to judge?

The 1993 Super Mario Bros. film will be released in Japanese cinemas from 15 September.