A beginner’s guide to Super Mario

Mario might be one of the most successful video games around - and the new movie is breaking box-office records - but there are still plenty of people out there who've never played one of his games. Here's everything a beginner needs to know

It's official: the new Super Mario Bros film has broken a long-established trend of lacklustre video game tie-in movies by becoming a vast success. Zooming past the $500m mark in nine days, it has smashed box office records for animated films and it's also the highest grossing film of 2023 so far.

But if you don't play games, you might be wondering what on earth is going on. How did a portly man in dungarees become a global superstar? Here is a quick recap ...