Sûpâ Mario burazâzu: Pîchi-hime kyushutsu dai sakusen!

Well, I honestly didn't know this existed to begin with. Obviously because of it only airing in Japan, but also because I didn't think they'd actually make an anime movie based on Super Mario Bros. But when I did find out and saw it, I was pleasantly surprised. While it's weird and strange, it's honestly pretty enjoyable with nice animation which looks a lot like the games, humorous (but weird) moments, and a decent plot (despite the rushed and out-of-nowhere ending). Overall, I think this movie is still pretty enjoyable. Definitely more enjoyable than the later 1993 movie. If you like anime and Mario, then this film is for you.

While the 1993 Mario Bros movie has garnered a cult fanbase and the upcoming Illumination movie has drawn polarizing feedback, another Mario movie remains in obscurity. Released in 1986, one year after the original Super Mario Bros NES game, Nintendo and Shochiku presented a feature length Japanese animated movie entitled Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach. Despite never having an official international release outside of the internet, the film has often been regarded as a personal favorite in the Mario community. So being the first ever movie based on a video game, how does it hold up today?

The main story centers on Mario and Luigi, who embark on an alternate dimensional quest to save Princess Peach from the villainous King Koopa. As cliche as that premise sounds, it's all that is needed for an adventure like this, since the original video game was a straightforward rescue journey to save a hostage princess. Similarly to the original game as well, the obstacles that Mario and Luigi face along their journey range from frightening monsters to surrealistic landscapes, commonplace in all sorts of hero journeys. The film opts for a more lighthearted comedic tone to fit with the video game's upbeat gameplay, even in lieu of the occasional dramatic obstacle or scary opponent. It does work in its favor for the most part, although some scenes do drag to the point of losing focus from the main plot. The film is usually at its most emotionally resonative whenever it revolves around Mario mourning over Peach, and even those moments are often leftover for the brother's crazy foes and chapters along their way. It's a good thing the story feels like a video game, if not for detracting reasons.

In terms of other notable qualities, the animation direction of Masami Hata goes in a more cartoony format reminiscent of 40s Western cartoons, which also works for the comedic hijinks that ensue on Mario and Luigi's quest. This direction also suits Luigi's hammy persona that contrasts with his greed, not unlike many of the original Looney Tunes shorts. Perhaps the most creative of all visual spectacle in the film would have to be the many worlds throughout our hero's journey, varying in dynamic colors, set pieces and imaginative landscapes. The animators, layout artists and background painters managed to bring creatures from the original game into animation by distinguishing their appearances just enough to work on their own. As for the voice cast, they manage to bring their own spin to the characters through emotive performances, especially Akiko Wada as the diluted King Koopa. It's still bizarre that this never had a proper English release, because one would imagine the game's huge popularity would have made that inevitable. That being said, subtitles never hurt.

As a film adaptation of the original Mario Bros game, this feature works just enough on its own for what it's going for. It might not work as an introduction to newcomers due to its heavily specific plotline, but for Mario fans, it's a solid tribute to the games with just enough wacky obstacles and fun animation to go around. I would recommend this with a grain of salt due to its limited availability and general appeal remaining amongst a niche audience. Thanks to a lot of hard work from fans and historians, the film could get even more attention than ever before.

The very first Japanimation of the Super Mario Bros. hits the big screen!!! This short, 60-minute movie was released to theaters on July 20, 1986 in Japan. The title, translated as "Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach" pretty much outlines the plot. This film was never released outside of Japan, and therefore has no English translation or subtitles. It is by now out-of-print and extremely difficult to find. In the opening segment, Mario and Luigi (Luigi's color scheme is different, the first and only time this is shown) are employees at a grocery. Mario is seen holding an emerald necklace, which we are lead to believe belongs to Princess Peach. (The Princess' name in Japan was always Peach, later changed to Toadstool while the games were being marketed in the U.S.) While he and Luigi discuss the value of this gem, some weird little creature walks in and steals the necklace. Mario and Luigi are seen giving chase until getting sucked into a Warp Zone. Once they arrive in the Time Warp they encounter the Mushroom Hermit, who tells them that Princess Peach has been captured by King Bowser Koopa. The rest of the movie shows the Bros. on their journey to save the Princess. One of the highlights is when Mario is asleep and Luigi looks for food before being tricked by two goombas into eating wild mushrooms. These of course turn out to be poisonous mushrooms, causing Luigi to become hysterical. Another incident is where Mario is asleep again and dreams about Princess Peach and him dancing together.The music that plays in the background is simply called "I Love You", the remaining lyrics sung in Japanese by Princess Peach, voiced by Mami Yamase. All in all, the movie is quite tastefully done. It is full of laughs as well as romance. The scenes of Mario and the Princess together are very touching. I have only seen a few clips of this movie on a website. I highly recommend it to be viewed by all Mario fans. This is a truly revolutionary piece of Mario history!!!!

"Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach" is a children-oriented anime film made in 1986. It was directed by Masami Hata who also made stuff like "Ringing Bell" and "The Legend of Sirius".

However, this film is pretty hard to find. It was only released in Japan at the time it was made. It has not been released in the US at once, making this anime ultra-rare.

Short about the beginning: The film begins with Mario playing some video game, until the beautiful Princess Peach suddenly pops out of the TV, only to be kidnapped by Bowser in front of Mario's eyes. So it's later up to the Mario brothers to save her.

The film stays very true to the Mushroom Kingdom (Princess Peach's famous home-place), as well as the iconic save-the-princess-plot. The popular enemies like Goombas (Kuribo) and Lakitu (Jugem) are also portrayed well. The only things which bugged me a little bit is the fact Luigi is wearing yellow, not green as he usually does. The characters generally are much better drawn than they were in the US cartoon version made by DIC. And Princess Peach is just so CUTE in this film, compared to how she was in the later cartoon series as Princess Toadstool. These are the reasons for me saying this anime being a lot better than the US cartoon series "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!" made by DIC three years later.

It was also interesting to know that Mami Yamase, who voiced as Princess Peach, also sung the touching closing song "I Love You".

As I said first in this review, this film is pretty hard to find as it was only released in Japan in 1986. Even in its homeland Japan this anime is a hard find. If you ever get to find this film, then you are lucky. ;-)

English: Such a cute movie! I remember the first time I heard about this is was in a Princess Peach evolution video then I saw it again on a clip and I'm surprised my dad hasn't heard of this because he basically was born during Mario's timeline but every time I see this I'm like "This is so cute!" And I can't watch it in the English dub because it's just not my childhood, my childhood is the Japanese one with the English Subtitles, It's such a cute movie!