The Wizard

 is a family film directed by Todd Holland, released by 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. Due to this, the movie has been criticized for being a giant commercial for Nintendo’s then-upcoming game, but has nevertheless gained a cult following.

Mario references in The Wizard
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. As the scene progresses, protagonist Jimmy Woods (Luke Edwards) manages to find the Magic Flute in the 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 level 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 was 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 ).