How Many Super Mario Movies Are There?

There are probably thousands, even millions, of Super Mario fans worldwide. The exact number? We’ll never know. But the thing is, this game franchise has been keeping many people busy jumping, smashing blocks, and saving Princess Peach for decades. With such a huge fanbase like this, it’s not surprising to see these movie adaptations — after all, we’re all here for it. To answer the question, there are currently three Super Mario movies: Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! (1986), Super Mario Bros. (1993), and The Super Mario Bros (2023).

Most of them can be watched on select streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and others. Let’s talk about these three films and why you should watch them if you haven’t yet.

1. Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! (1986)

Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! is one of the first Super Mario movies ever made. It’s about Mario and Luigi getting pulled into the Mushroom Kingdom after Peach literally jumps out of their TV as she begs for help. With King Koopa causing chaos and forcing Peach into marriage, Mario and Luigi start an adventure to find 3 power-ups to stop him.

The movie received mixed reviews at the time, and even years after (due to new Super Mario fans watching this older movie). We wouldn’t want to spoil the movie for you. But to give you an idea, many people loved the movie but hated the ending. Yes, hate. So it’s for you to find out if you’ll feel the same way.

It’s a relatively old movie, so you can watch it on different platforms like YouTube and traditional TV services like DIRECTV. It is usually aired every now and then.

2. Super Mario Bros. (1993)

A lot of people wrote this movie off when it first came out, but over the years, it’s gained a bit of a cult following. To be honest, when you watch it for the first time, it can be a bit weird. There’s really no other way to put it. So to give you an idea, it’s like this. Instead of Bowser, we get King Koopa as a slimy dictator. And instead of Princess Peach, we get Daisy. But somehow… it works.  On top of that, Bob Hoskins as Mario is definitely a gem. It’s not a “good” Mario movie in the traditional sense, but it’s an entertaining one.

This is also an old Super Mario movie, but it can still be watched on select streaming services, as well as aired on traditional TV services like Planet DISH. You just have to check the schedule to make sure. Just manage your expectations as many people were disappointed in this movie, but still, to each their own.

3. The Super Mario Bros (2023)

Alright, let’s be real. This movie was always going to be a hit no matter what because it’s Mario! However, the story is… just fine. Mario and Luigi get sucked into another world, Bowser wants to marry or destroy Peach, and there’s a big adventure to stop him. That’s it. No deep character development, no big emotional moments. The movie could’ve focused more on building the relationship between Mario and Luigi. However, it’s understandable because kids were the market of the franchise. It’s just that you might walk away feeling like they could’ve done a little more.

The Bottom Line

For Mario fans, we know that movie adaptations can be tricky when it comes to this game. However, most of them are great attempts – it’s just that there is still a lot of room for improvement. Hopefully, soon, we’ll get the best Super Mario movie that both kids and adults will love. If you haven’t watched these movies, give them a try and let us know what you think!