10 Incredible Fan Films That Totally Succeeded Where Hollywood Failed

4. Super Mario Indie Film

There's some debate as to where the notion of adapting video games for cinema originated, but for most people their first experience was with 1993's Super Mario Bros film. It promised to be dark, it promised to be gritty, but in the end it was a critical and financial disaster. Allegedly hamstrung by not being able to find a middle-ground between the game's mythology and a story that would work for cinema audiences, it completely shelved any future plans Nintendo had for live-action adaptations of their properties - something they've still yet to reconsider.

However Austin-based filmmaker Joe Nicolosi managed, with only $400, to show exactly how a Mario film could work. Created as a short for SXSW, the indie Mario Bros gives us a hefty dose of reality, but combines it beautifully with the bright and fun vibrancy of the game's characters. Depicting Mario as a jaded and lovesick plumber, the story starts with him learning that his princess (figuratively speaking) is going out with some creep called Koopa. The solution? Take some mushrooms and jump on his head, obviously.

Although only 2 minutes long, the idea here is so rich and well thought out that it's a crime against both films and movies that it hasn't been realised as feature-length film yet. Where's a Kickstarter when you need one?