Super Mario Bros. Screening Under Investigation For Indecent Image
For kids watching the extremely successful The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the only nudity they can expect to see is Donkey Kong wearing nothing but a tie and a smile. However, kids attending a screening in Northern Ireland got a little bit more than they bargained for last Friday. According to the BBC, a group of primary school students who were set to watch the movie in Waterside Theatre were shown an “image of a partially undressed woman” — and now both the theatre and local police are trying to figure out what happened.
A showing of The Super Mario Bros. Movie in Northern Ireland accidentally included a salacious image of a woman.
The PG-rated The Super Mario Bros. Movie has so far been the top-grossing movie of 2023 and the most successful video game movie ever created. Longtime Mario fans brought their kids along to see the family-friendly matchup between the titular Italian plumber and his nemesis Bowser as they fight for the fate of the Mushroom Kingdom. However, it’s unlikely that parents would be flocking to have their kids watch the film if the content kids saw in Northern Ireland were the norm.
According to the report, the children were attending The Super Mario Bros. Movie screening at the Waterside Theatre and Arts Centre as part of a summer event. The image of the woman appeared for several seconds before being removed. No parents were present at the event when the image appeared onscreen, but the theatre informed parents about the incident immediately afterward.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently the biggest hit of the year with a box office of over a billion dollars.
The theatre has publicly apologized for the incident, calling it an “unfortunate but serious event” on their Facebook page. The vague Facebook post does not clarify what happened, and comments beneath the post have been disabled. The theatre has not provided any other comment about the incident, saying that their cooperation with authorities prevents them from saying anything more about the event.
Staff later informed the Police Service of Northern Ireland about the incident. The report doesn’t make it clear exactly how undressed the woman was when she was shown to the young Super Mario fans or whether any laws were broken. The PSNI is currently investigating and has asked anyone with information to contact police.
As with most well-publicized incidents involving children, local politicians are doing their best to attach themselves to the headlines. Irish assembly member Gary Middleton has called for an investigation to figure out how it happened and what equipment was used to show the children the indecent image.
Derry and Strabane District Council member Sean Moony also commented on the incident, calling the interruption of the Super Mario film “concerning.”
Irish politicians have become involved in the incident involving The Super Mario Bros Movie, calling for an investigation into what happened.
The incident has not deterred the popularity of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which continues to break worldwide box office records. The worldwide gross currently sits at over $1.3 billion.
While The Super Mario Bros. Movie is still in theaters in Northern Ireland, its theatrical run in the United States has ended. However, those still wanting to watch the film can rent or buy it on-demand on Prime Video, Apple TV, Redbox., Vudu. The movie is also available on Blu-Ray and DVD.
