You win some, you lose some, and sadly, Dennis Hopper and his co-stars really lost one on Super Mario Bros. Some might consider it one of the best ’90s movies, but that’s far from the consensus, even from Hopper’s own family.
During an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Hopper explained the review his son gave. “My six-year-old son at the time, he said, ‘Dad, I think you’re probably a pretty good actor, but why did you play that terrible guy King Koopa’,” Hopper recalls. “I said, well Henry, I did that so you could have shoes, and he says, ‘Dad I don’t need shoes that bad’.”
Ouch. Super Mario Bros might not be the best movie in Hopper’s filmography, but that’s a serious burn. No doubt the acclaimed thriller movie star considered what his children might think about his projects after that.
A victim of many ills, Super Mario Bros had several writers and directors attached before it got off the ground in the early ’90s. John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins played the titular brothers, plumbers who’re transported to the Mushroom Kingdom, while Hopper played the movie villain, and Samantha Mathis played Princess Peach.
Nowadays, of course, people are more likely to think of the new movie, The Super Mario Bros Movie, as a slightly better adaptation of the source material. The animated movie has been a smash hit, to the point that we’re just waiting for the Super Mario movie 2 release date. Alas, we doubt Jack Black got any shtick for his depiction of Bowser, from fans or family.
Check out our best anime movies and best video game movies lists for more creative filmmaking.