Nintendo's Super Mario character, the running and jumping pudgy plumber in blue overalls and a red hat, turns 30 years old on September 13, Sunday. The iconic character has appeared in video games and other mediums including licensed merchandise, comics, and TV shows. Besides being adapted into the mainstream film "Super Mario Bros." (1993), the character also inspired two spin-off adult movies starring porn star Ron Jeremy: "Super Hornio Brothers" and Super "Hornio Brothers 2." Nintendo reportedly bought the licensing rights to protect its brand.
Super Mario has appeared in a copious number of game titles. They include Super Mario Bros. (1985), Super Mario World (1990), Super Mario 64 (1996), and Super Mario Maker (2015), according to Stuff.
The storyline of the pornos features the adventures of Squeegie (Ron Jeremy) and Ornio. They try to save the Princess Perlina from the evil King Pooper.
The two pornographic movies were released at approximately the same time as the official Super Mario Bros. movie. It started Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi.
"Super Mario Bros." was a commercial and critical bomb. It earned about $22 million on a $48 million budget. Meanwhile, only 16 percent of the professional critics on the Rotten Tomatoes film review aggregator gave it positive marks.
After the Mario movie tanked, Nintendo allegedly became careful about licensing its products. Thus, it purchased the rights of "Super Hornio Brothers" and "Super Hornio Brothers 2."
Ron Jeremy's personal website explains why the two porn flicks are now nearly impossible to find. Nintendo bought the movies' rights to stop their distribution.
The Japanese company was willing to take bold steps to protect its brand, including images that slightly resembled characters or locations in its video game worlds. Thus, it bought and buried Super Hornio Bros.
However, recently "Something Awful" editor dug up a copy of "Super Hornio Brothers 2." After Zack Parsons watched and rated the film, he gave it a super-low overall score of -33, according to Mashable.
Copies of the first Super Hornio Bros. film have yet to be uncovered. However, many gamers are jointly hoping that one day it will be, regardless of its artistic merit.
Nintendo's Mario franchise is the all-time best-selling one in video game history. It has sold over 500 million units.
This video shows an ultra-challenging Super Mario Maker level: