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Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach (1986)
Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach (1986) poster
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Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach (1986)

スーパーマリオブラザーズ ピーチ姫救出大作戦!

Animation, Comedy, Fantasy • 1h 1m

Director: Masami Hata

Cast: Toru Furuya, Yu Mizushima, Mami Yamase, Akiko Wada, Yuriko Yamamoto, Kohei Miyauchi, Shigeru Chiba, Hiroko Emori, Hiroko Maruyama, Kazue Komiya, Tetsuo Mizutori, Masaharu Sato, Keaton Yamada, Masami Kikuchi, Joji Yanami, Junko Hori

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IMDbThe Movie Database (TMDB)

Best English-friendly & video release

4K restored scan of 16mm theatrical print

Only Unofficial Sources
Video notes:

Fansubs are included with the 4K scan

Updated 3 days ago


Best audio release

1986 VAP rental Hi-Fi VHS

Audio capture of the Hi-Fi VHS included with the 4K scan


About the film

When Princess Peach is kidnapped by the monster King Koopa, Mario and his brother Luigi journey to the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue her.

Alternative Titles
Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!, Super Mario Bros Anime

More Animation on Blu-ray

Directors: Chris Appelhans & Maggie Kang

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

"Sing-Along Edition" not included on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray, only available on Netflix Streaming

Director: Masaaki Yuasa

Best English-Friendly & Video:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Japan Aniplex Blu-ray is severely lowpassed, which is not an issue on the US release

Director: Mamoru Oshii

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Bandai JP 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

All 4K releases are sourced from the same mediocre transfer provided by Bandai, with various amounts of tweaks. Japanese disc presents it with the least tinkering.

The best attempt at improving it comes from the German/French releases from KSM/All the Anime, both of which use the same master with HDR regrading (original grade is SDR in HDR container), tasteful regraining and sharpening, in an attempt to breathe some life into the middling transfer, making for an arguably more pleasing viewing experience.

All earlier releases are from an even worse transfer, with significant black crush, with the exception of a Japanese TV airing, which doesn't suffer from that issue, but instead is heavily sharpened and suffers from poor encoding.

Comparisons: JPN UHD, USA UHD, FRA/GER UHD, ITA UHD (tonemapped), JPN UHD, USA UHD, FRA/GER UHD, ITA UHD, ESP UHD (PQ), All 1080p BDs, HDTV, HDTV filtered

Audio Notes:

Original matrixed stereo mix: Bandai JP 4K Blu-ray
Most discs include this track with comparable fidelity (which is excellent).

Dolby Atmos remix: Lionsgate US 4K / All the Anime FR 4K
6.1 remix (from Ghost in the Shell 2.0): KSM DE 4K / All the Anime FR 4K

All tracks on the Lionsgate US 4K replace the original ending song with the one heard on the English dub. As the Atmos track on the FR 4K is just a port, it also has this song replaced.

Additional Info:

Japanese 4K includes English dub and subtitles.
French/German 4Ks are not English friendly, with no dub or subtitles.
French disc includes the Atmos track, but the German disc does not.

TV series

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK Anime Ltd. Blu-ray

Video Notes:

UK has reportedly better compression than the US Viz Media

TV series

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK Anime Ltd. Blu-ray

Video Notes:

UK has reportedly better compression than the US Viz Media

Director: Simon Wells

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Dolby Stereo: THX Certified Laserdisc

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

2026 Japan Studio Ghibli (remastered) Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

France 4K Blu-ray announced

Video Notes:

Remastered Blu-ray only included as a pack-in with the 4K Blu-ray. Includes English subtitles and a dub, which the 4K Blu-ray does not.

Best Audio:

Japan Studio Ghibli 4K Blu-ray

UK StudioCanal Blu-ray for the English dub

Audio Notes:

4K Blu-ray includes the original 5.1 mix in its unaltered form, all other releases after the LaserDisc, as well as the remastered Blu-ray, had its dynamic range lowered.

For the English dub, the UK StudioCanal Blu-ray is the least limited mix.

Additional Info:

US Disney Blu-ray has dubtitles. US GKIDS Blu-ray and Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray releases (both 2013, box set, and RM4K) have proper English subtitle translations.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2014 Japan "Hayao Miyazaki Collection" Studio Ghibli Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Japan Studio Ghibli 4K Blu-ray announced for a November 25, 2026 release

Best Audio:

Japanese audio: 2014 Japan "Hayao Miyazaki Collection" Studio Ghibli Blu-ray/US GKIDS Blu-ray

English dub (Disney): 1998 US Disney VHS has better sounding vocals despite altered music and sound effects, the US Disney LaserDisc has limited audio, and 2003 DVD is a fake 5.1 upmix

Releases from 2010 onward have the original music and sound effects, but distorted vocals

English dub (Streamline): 1996 Japan remastered LaserDisc, available in Ghibli Ga Ippai Collection boxset

Additional Info:

2012 US Disney Blu-ray has dubtitles. US GKIDS Blu-ray has bonuses that are absent on the US Disney Blu-ray

Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Original: 35mm scans or Disney LaserDisc (1.33:1 open matte)

Restored: Disney Limited Issue DVD (1.33:1 open matte)

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Later Disney DVDs and Blu-ray are altered

Best Audio:

35mm scans or Disney LaserDisc

Director: Martin Rosen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

2002 R2 WB DVD

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· last reviewed 3 days ago

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