Mario watches a princess jump out of his TV and fall in love in real time. That's the entire movie's emotional engine, and it commits to the absurdity without winking at the camera. The 1986 anime takes the setup seriously enough that when Koopa drags her back through the screen, Mario's desperation to follow her actually lands, even though he's a grocery store owner chasing a video game princess into another dimension. The animation moves like someone who understood the games but had never played them, which gives the whole thing an off-kilter charm that can't be faked. This is what happens when a studio decides the Mario mythos deserves genuine stakes instead of a wink to the audience.

Mario and Luigi run a grocery store until one night, while Mario is absorbed in his Famicom game, Princess Peach bursts out of the television begging for help. Mario falls for her at once and swears to protect her, but Koopa soon emerges from the screen and hauls her back inside. Peach leaves behind a small brooch, which Luigi identifies as a prized jewel from the Country of Treasure. When a little dog-like creature called Kibidango wanders into the shop and snatches it, an enraged Mario gives chase with Luigi, following him into the Mushroom Kingdom. The 1986 feature film mixes action, adventure, comedy and fantasy as the pair set out to rescue Peach from Koopa.