The Wizard

The Wizard
General information
Director(s)	Todd Holland
Writer(s)	David Chisholm
Starring	Fred Savage; Beau Bridges; Christian Slater
Composer(s)	J. Peter Robinson
Country of origin	United States of America
Original language	English
MPA:	- Parental guidance
BBFC:	- Parental guidance
CMP:	- Parental guidance
MCC:	- General
Eirin:	- Guidance
KAVI:	- All ages
FSK:	- Six years and older
Production
Editor(s)	Tom Finan
Production company	The Finnegan/Pinchuk Company; Pipeline Productions; Cinergi Pictures; Universal Pictures
Cinematography	Robert Yeoman
Runtime	100 minutes
Budget	$6 million
Distribution
Release date	December 15, 1989;
Box office	$14.3 million

The Wizard is a family film directed by Todd Holland, released by Universal Studios on December 15, 1989, that stars Luke Edwards, Fred Savage, and Jenny Lewis. The movie featured several cameos and direct references to Nintendo-related products, as well as many video games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The movie has been criticized for its excessive product placement of Nintendo material and for its heavy similarities to the film Rain Man from the previous year, but has nevertheless gained a cult following.

Super Mario references in The WizardEdit

Super Mario Bros. 3 is featured as the game played in the final event of the Video Armageddon competition at the end of the film, predating its western release on the NES. As the scene progresses, protagonist Jimmy Woods (Luke Edwards) manages to find the Magic Flute in World 1- Fortress and wins the competition by warping to World 4 (which would not actually score extra points in the game itself, implying that the competition had a different scoring system). Additionally, the emcee at the Video Armageddon announces several level names incorrectly (for instance, calling World 1-3 "World 2"). Super Mario Bros. 2 is mentioned and seen being played occasionally at earlier points in the film. Sound effects from Super Mario Bros. can be heard at a few points as well. Mario and a Sidestepper were prominently featured in the background of the film's poster artwork (which was later reused as the box art for the VHS and Blu-ray release^[9]).

GalleryEdit

Super Mario Bros. 3 being played by the title character of The Wizard.

Names in other languagesEdit

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	スウィート・ロード^[5] Suwīto Rōdo	Sweet Road
Finnish	Game Over^[6]	-
French	Vidéokid : L'Enfant génial^[10]	Videokid: The awesome kid
French	L'Enfant génial^[4]	The awesome kid	Quebec
German	Joy Stick Heroes^[7]	-
Italian	Il piccolo grande mago dei videogames^[11]	The little great videogame wizard
Korean	전자 오락의 마법사^[12] Jeonja Orakyi Mabeopssa	Electronic Videogame Wizard
Portuguese (NOA)	O Gênio do Videogame^[13]	The Videogame Genius
Russian	Волшебник^[14] Volšebnik	The wizard
Spanish (NOA)	El genio^[15]	The genius
Spanish (NOE)	El pequeño mago^[16]	The little wizard	original dub
Spanish (NOE)	El campeón del videojuego^[10]	The videogame champion	re-dub

ReferencesEdit

^ Retro 1989 The Wizard DVD Protagonizada por: Fred Savage/Beau Bridges/Christian Slater
^ https://guild-home-video.fandom.com/wiki/The_Wizard
^ The Wizard [DVD]
^ ^a ^b https://repertoire.cinema.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/film/lenfant-genial-27723/
^ ^a ^b スウィート・ロード
^ ^a ^b https://videospace.fi/release/game_over_vhs_finnkino
^ ^a ^b Joy Stick Heroes
^ The Wizard (1989) - Financial Information. The Numbers (English). Retrieved November 25, 2024. (Archived May 23, 2023, 02:57:34 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
^ https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Wizard-Blu-ray/30506/
^ ^a ^b Vidéokid : L'Enfant génial / The Wizard
^ Piccolo Grande Mago Dei Videogames (Il)
^ '레디 플레이어 원'이 영향 받았을 법한 '전자오락의 마법사'
^ O Gênio do Videogame
^ Волшебник (1989)
^ https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/el-genio/umc.cmc.5tf68q990bee823pmo87o8u57?l=es
^ [1]

Navigation

[1] Retro 1989 The Wizard DVD Protagonizada por: Fred Savage/Beau Bridges/Christian Slater

[2] ttps://guild-home-video.fandom.com/wiki/The_Wizard

[3] The Wizard [DVD]

[Quebec-4] ttps://repertoire.cinema.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/film/lenfant-genial-27723/

[Japanese-5] スウィート・ロード

[Finnish-6] ttps://videospace.fi/release/game_over_vhs_finnkino

[German-7] Joy Stick Heroes

[8] The Wizard (1989) - Financial Information. The Numbers (English). Retrieved November 25, 2024. (Archived May 23, 2023, 02:57:34 UTC via Wayback Machine.)

[9] ttps://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Wizard-Blu-ray/30506/

[FNAC-10] Vidéokid : L'Enfant génial / The Wizard

[11] Piccolo Grande Mago Dei Videogames (Il)

[12] '레디 플레이어 원'이 영향 받았을 법한 '전자오락의 마법사'

[13] O Gênio do Videogame

[14] Волшебник (1989)

[15] ttps://tv.apple.com/us/movie/el-genio/umc.cmc.5tf68q990bee823pmo87o8u57?l=es

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[Edit] Television series, films, and videos
Animated TV series	Saturday Supercade (1983) • Les Trésors de Super Mario (1989) • Captain N: The Game Master (1989) • The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990) • Super Mario World (1991) • Captain N & The Video Game Masters (1993) • Mario All Stars (1994) • Donkey Kong Country (1996)
Televised live action / mixed format	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989) • Mario Ice Capades (1989) • King Koopa's Kool Kartoons (1989) • Club Mario (1990) • The Super Mario Challenge (1990) • Super Mario Club (1990) • Super Mario Stadium (1993) • 64 Mario Stadium (1996) • Donkey Kong Planet (1996) • Mario School (2000)
Films	Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen! (1986) • The Wizard (1989) • Super Mario Bros. (1993) • Pixels (2015) • The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) • Untitled The Super Mario Bros. Movie follow-up (2026)
OVAs / Straight-to-video	Mario no Daibōken (1986) • Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros. (1989) (Super Mario Momotarō · Super Mario Issun-bōshi · Super Mario Shirayuki-hime) • Super Mario no Kōtsū Anzen (1989) • Super Mario no Shōbōtai (1989) • Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land (1991) • Super Mario: ABC no Uta Video (1992) • Mario Kirby Meisaku Video (1993)
Web videos	"Finding Luigi - Legend of Parkour" (2013) • "Five Games With Spooky Levels to Play in the Dark" (2014) • The Cat Mario Show (2014) • Mario Kart 8 From the Pit (2014) • "Nintendo - Winter Wonderland Levels" (2014) • "DIY With Nintendo: Boo Cookie Pops" • "Nintendo eShop - Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars Level Creation" (2015) • "Mario Myths with Mr Miyamoto" (2015) • Yoshi's Woolly World: Adventure Guide (2015) • "Celebrate Mar. 10 - Mario Day!" (2016) • "Luigi Runs the Nintendo 2DS Factory for a Day" (2016) • Mario Reads Your Letters (2017) • "Nintendo Switch Parental Controls - Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 Trailer" (2017) • Frizzy's Silly amiibo Theater (2018) • "5 Games With Spooky Levels to Play on Halloween!" (2018) • Guess That Game (2020) (Episode 1 · Episode 2 · Episode 3 · Episode 4 · Episode 6 · Episode 8) • 5-Second Focus (2020) (Ep. 1 · Ep. 2 · Ep. 4 · Ep. 7 · Ep. 8 · Ep. 9 · Ep. 10) • 60-Byō Challenge! Luigi o Sukue!! (2020) • Know Your Nintendo (2020) (Episode 1 · Episode 2 · Episode 3 · Episode 4 · Episode 6 · Episode 9 · Episode 10) • Ben & Amy (2020) • LEGO Super Mario Adventure Zone (2021) • Baddies & Battles (2022) (Ep 1 · Ep 2 · Ep 3 · Ep 4 · Compilation) • Fun Lists! Lists! Lists! (2022) (Top 10 Reasons to Play My Game! · 5 Funny Games! · 5 Characters = 5 Fun Choices · Princess Peach Power · Laugh Till You Pop · 10 Power-Ups! · Get Them Goombas! · Epic Mario Kart Takedowns Compilation · Mario Kart Items to Put Your Bro on Blast · 5 Minigames in Mario Party Superstars That Are Really Cool) • "Mario and Friends" (2022) • Meet the Characters! (2022) (Episode 1 · Episode 3 · Episode 5 · Episode 6 · Episode 7 · Episode 8 · Episode 9 · Episode 10 · Compilation 1 · Compilation 2) • Stuff on Nintendo Switch (2022) • "This Is My Nintendo Jam!" (2023) • Get to Know Mushroom Kingdom Characters (2023) • Super Mario Maker 2 Challenges! (2023) (Ep 1 · Ep 2 · Ep 3 · Ep 4) • Which Nintendo character are you (2023)