How Old Is Mario In The Super Mario Bros. Movie & Is He Older In The 1993 Film?

In early 2023, Universal Pictures, Illumination, Nintendo, and directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic brought the "Super Mario Bros." franchise back to theaters via "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." The film sees Mario (Chris Pratt) caught up in a massive conflict between the Mushroom Kingdom and the evil Bowser (Jack Black) as he tries to reunite with his brother, Luigi (Charlie Day). Despite his thick mustache and the fact that the Mario character is well over 40 years old at this point, during the events of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," he's only around 25 years old.

Given that the animated Mario still lives with his extended family yet has launched a plumbing business with Luigi, it makes sense to make him a young adult. Meanwhile, the abysmally-received 1993 "Super Mario Bros." film takes a much different approach to Mario and his age. With the late Bob Hoskins — who regretted filming the video game adaptation — in the red cap and blue overalls, the live-action movie's take on Mario is somewhere in his late 40s. On the other hand, John Leguizamo's Luigi is much closer to the mid-20s range in the feature.

So, which of these two Mario adaptations is closer to the age of their video game inspiration? Here's what we know about that Mario's age.

For the most part, Mario has retained the same overall look since his first video game appearances. He's short, stocky, and dons a big, bushy mustache, giving the impression that he could be anywhere from his mid-20s to his early-40s. In a 2005 interview, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto claimed that Mario is between 24 and 25, seemingly putting any debate on the matter to rest (via The Independent). However, four years before Miyamoto supposedly set the record straight on Mario's age, 2001's "Super Smash Bros. Melee" made a claim about it. 

According to an in-game trophy, Mario is actually 26 years old, which isn't a huge leap, but it is outside of Miyamoto's given range. With all of this in mind, it is a bit odd that aged-up actors such as Captain Lou Albano — the live-action Mario actor from 1989's "Super Mario Bros. Super Show!" — and the aforementioned Bob Hoskins were selected to play him. Then again, as the years have gone on, it does seem that the video game Mario has lost some of his aged features and taken on much younger ones, so perhaps his modern self being in his 20s isn't too much of a stretch.

At the end of the day, does Mario's true age really matter? Not really, but it is something interesting to examine, especially from adaptation to adaptation.