Michael Jelenic
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Super Mario Bros. (1993)
Directed by Rocky Morton
influenced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026), The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Themes Visuals
…with “Super Mario Bros.” (1993) and “Street Fighter” (1994) being the most infamously recognized…
Unlike the widely reviled (and later cult-reclaimed) live-action Super Mario Bros. of the early 1990s, Illumination’s Mario cartoons are like a Nintendo style guide brought to life.
Even though Nintendo was, understandably, nervous to license this particular character after the live-action "Super Mario Bros." bombed harder than one of the original game's Bob-ombs in 1993, we're now living in an age where Mario movies, based on the long-running game franchise about plumber brothers Mario and Luigi, are actually profitable.
The first "Mario" movie, a 1993 live-action take on the 1985 Nintendo game, was colossally awful.
Unlike, say, the much revered 1993 “Super Mario Bros.” live action adaptation where Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo gallivanted their way through a cyberpunk rendition of Nintendo’s priceless intellectual property.
Let me paint you a picture: It’s May 1993 and Walt Disney, via distributor Buena Vista Pictures, is about to release a film co-written by Ed Solomon ( Men in Black / Bill & Ted franchise), starring Bob Hoskins ( Who Framed Roger Rabbit? ), John Leguizamo ( Violent Night ), Dennis Hopper ( Blue Velvet ), Samantha Mathis ( Broken Arrow ), and Fiona Shaw ( Andor ), based on the best-selling video game by Nintendo Co., Ltd., Super Mario Bros. .
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 had real weight in its storytelling while being epic, fan-service-heavy, and genuinely funny.
…my daughter, who literally said, “Finally!” at the post-credit scene to Sonic the Hedgehog 3…
Y además creo que la escena post créditos (¡quédense hasta el final!) no solo alude a una secuela, sino que hace referencia a “Godzilla” de 1997.
He sounds like a grown man channeling a child from a '90s Nickelodeon cartoon (think Invader Zim), and it works for his adorable character model.
…even “Invader Zim” makes its alien conqueror a villain…
Jurassic Park (1993)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
influenced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Themes
…their riff on the “Jurassic Park” franchise was delightful…
"Jurassic Park" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" both got shout-outs in moments I won't spoil here…
Zootopia (2016)
Directed by Byron Howard
influenced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Dialogue Characters
…one of the most successful gags in the movie is essentially a reskin of the famous Sloth DMV sequence in “Zootopia.”
…there’s a straight rip-off of the sloth from Zootopia where all the characters get annoyed waiting for plot information from someone who speaks very slowly…
…we are only weeks/months removed from the critically acclaimed releases of both Pixar's Hoppers and Walt Disney Animation's Zootopia 2…
READ MORE: A Brutally Honest Kids Review of Zootopia 2…
Blade Runner (1982)
Directed by Ridley Scott
influenced The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Visuals Themes
There’s even a little nod to the 1993 film with a pair of characters travelling through a weird little digital wall and arriving in a clearly Blade Runner-inspired world on the other side.
The result was a nightmarish, snot-covered Blade Runner riff starring Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper – yet in hindsight, the movie feels closer to a fascinating folly than an outright failure, a demented sci-fi yarn that is baffling but not entirely without merit.
Además, los escenarios los diseñó el mismo que hizo el arte en “Blade Runner” (1982).
It’ll be such a hit that “Project Hail Mary, the current box-office big kahuna, will surely topple.
…it’s a shame this comes out so soon after Project Hail Mary, a moving, emotional, relatable hand-crafted masterpiece compared to this shrill visual din…
Minions (2015)
Directed by Kyle Balda
influenced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Themes Visuals Characters
You could argue that the same madcap pace powers the child-centric _Minion_s movies, and that’s true — but they are, crucially, often very funny.
Illumination’s animation is probably better here than in the Minions movies, but even that isn’t a 1:1 comparison.
They’re not Minions.
…nor those MINIONS…
That’s why 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, from Illumination (the team behind Minions), felt like such a pleasant surprise- it got enough right to honor something many of us hold close.
When it comes to Illumination’s work, I enjoy the early Despicable Me and Minions films but dislike the most recent handful of those…
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
Directed by Simon West
influenced The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Visuals
Nothing about “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is game-changing, but it’ll be difficult for fans to ignore the entertainment value – in the same way that “The Lego Movie” or “Tomb Raider” or “Mortal Kombat” (and countless more) presented and visualized iconic imagery during introductions to famous worlds, missions, personas, and interactions.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
influenced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Visuals
I wasn’t expecting a kid-friendly “Super Mario’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,”…
Street Fighter (1994)
Directed by Steven E. de Souza
influenced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026), The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Themes
…with “Super Mario Bros.” (1993) and “Street Fighter” (1994) being the most infamously recognized…
That’s a lesson learned again and again and again, with movies like Street Fighter , Hitman , and Max Payne consistently drawing the lowest of critical approval ratings and the steepest of box office drop-offs.
Peach and Toad kicking ass in the casino feels closer to The Matrix sequels than a kids movie.
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Directed by Lana Wachowski
influenced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Visuals
…an acrobatic Peach take on a horde of identical Super Mario Bros. 2 enemies in an homage to The Matrix Reloaded’s Smith clone fight scene…
…even Peppa Pig and Paddington bend the knee to royalty…
War of the Worlds (2005)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
influenced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Visuals
…the aesthetics of her attackers is a mix of “War of the Worlds” tripod legged machine that talks…
…that’s basically the same principle as the woeful Friedberg and Seltzer parody movies (Epic Movie, Date Movie and so on), and those moments are similarly laugh-free here.
Silent Hill (2006)
Directed by Christophe Gans
influenced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Themes
…we saw the likes of Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Resident Evil” series and “Silent Hill,” both based on franchises that already possessed rich lore and depth…
…that’s basically the same principle as the woeful Friedberg and Seltzer parody movies (Epic Movie, Date Movie and so on), and those moments are similarly laugh-free here.