Mario and Luigi — the high-jumping, Koopa-stomping, mustache-sporting duo known as the Super Mario Bros. — are legends (the biggest legends) in the video game world. But while these brotherly plumbers have dominated video games for 30 years now, they have found themselves in the toilet when it comes to the world of film.
Witness the cinematic abomination that was the "Super Mario Bros." movie of 1993. Despite a cast that featured Dennis Hopper, Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo, the sci-fi fantasy film was a disaster and is, to this day, held up as perhaps the most atrocious example of a video game being adapted for the big-screen. (Need a reminder? Here, watch the trailer.)
But now, a group of Super Mario fans are giving the Super Mario Bros. a new cinematic lease on life — with the help of Kickstarter and YouTube.
Beat Down Boogie, a group of indie filmmakers and video game enthusiasts, is in the midst of making an episodically-delivered movie called "Mario Warfare." And it's Mario and Luigi like you've never seen them before.
Think "Super Mario Bros." meets "Call of Duty" meets "The Matrix" meets "Black Hawk Down." Yes, it's Mario and Luigi for action film buffs and first-person shooter fans.
Using crowdfunding site Kickstarter to help pay for the film project, the team has already sailed past its goal of raising $20,000. With seven days left on the fundraising campaign, they have pulled in almost $26,000 and have now released the first two episodes of the film.
The film's story is familiar ... sort of:
Bowser's airships rain destruction on the Mushroom Kingdom. The King is missing, presumed dead. The Princess is on the run. A couple plumbers answer the call of duty and sign up to fight. Now Mario, Luigi (and a team of old school video game characters) are thrown into the gritty new world of first person shooters like COD and Battlefield.
Get ready for blazing guns, some pretty impressive stunts and some good laughs as you watch the first two episodes of "Mario Warfare" right here:
-- Via Kotaku
Winda Benedetti writes about video games for NBC News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things on Twitter here @WindaBenedetti and you can follow her on Google+. Meanwhile, be sure to check out the IN-GAME FACEBOOK PAGE to discuss the day's gaming news and reviews.