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It's a-me, lore time! Join us as we break down the Mario video game history and Easter eggs that Illumination packed into the Super Mario movies! From Warp Pipes and Power-Ups to the shocking revelation about Rosalina and Peach, these films are bursting with Nintendo deep cuts. Which hidden detail blew your mind the most? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:09Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be exploring the lore and history of Mario's
00:14video game adventures as shown in Illumination's Super Mario movies.
00:18With that said, if you've yet to see both movies, beware of some spoilers ahead.
00:29Other than Luigi, Mario's family isn't really talked about in the video games.
00:34In fact, they pretty much don't exist in adaptations either.
00:42But Illumination and Nintendo wanted to ground the brothers in the real world.
00:46And so, Mario and Luigi's family appear in the first movie.
00:49Notably, before their adventure begins, their duo has dinner with their father, mother,
00:54and some other extended members.
00:56It seems Nintendo toyed around with introducing them at some point.
01:00Illumination was given unused concept art, which it adapted for the film.
01:04According to co-director Andrew Horvath, they stuck very close to Nintendo's original mother
01:08and father designs, but tweaked features of the others.
01:11Additionally, their father is voiced by Charles Martinet, the voice actor behind the plumber
01:16in the games.
01:19Number 19.
01:20Baby Bros.
01:21Luigi has long been best described as a scaredy cat.
01:24No shade though, he still gets the job done.
01:26But the Super Mario Bros. movie continues with this tradition, even having him act as the
01:30damsel in distress over Peach.
01:33While many players recognize Luigi's mansion as the inciting incident for Luigi's crippling
01:38fear and timidness, the movie shows it reaches back much further.
01:41A flashback shows baby Luigi being picked on by another child, only for his older brother
01:46to come to his defense.
01:47It plays in with Luigi's constant reliance on Mario, while also perfectly adapting their
01:52infant look into animation, which appears again in the sequel.
02:01Number 18.
02:03Power-Ups.
02:04Like the games, the movies feature an abundance of power-ups.
02:07But if you were hoping for an explanation as to where power-ups came from, you might
02:11be disappointed.
02:12Still, in the first movie, Peach does mention them before training Mario on her obstacle course.
02:16Just like in the games, question blocks simply exist for anyone to snag a helpful item from.
02:26However, we see that fire and ice flowers can also be picked in the wild.
02:30In addition to those two, we see a super mushroom, a mini mushroom, the cat suit, the tanuki suit,
02:35and of course the superstar, which is far more rare in the movie than it is in the games.
02:40Of course, the sequel includes even more, such as the frog suit, the drill mushroom, and
02:44the cloud flower.
02:51Number 17.
02:52Warp Pipes.
02:53In the original Super Mario Brothers game, Mario is already a resident of the Mushroom
02:57Kingdom.
02:58However, in every movie adaptation, he's reluctantly sucked into the strange land.
03:02In the 1986 anime film, a strange dog leads him and Luigi through a warp pipe.
03:07In the live action film, they enter the Mushroom Kingdom, sorry, Dino-Hatton, through a portal.
03:16The 2023 movie goes back to the warp pipe route, with the brothers finding the entrance
03:21underneath Brooklyn.
03:22Anyone who's played a Mario game knows pipes are constantly used to access different areas
03:26and levels.
03:27However, pipes that take you to a new world are usually well hidden.
03:30The movie doesn't state how many world-connecting pipes there are, but it's still fun to see
03:35them as the mode of transportation.
03:44Number 16.
03:46A Larger Gateway.
03:47Gateway Galaxy is a key location in the Super Mario Galaxy movie.
03:51It's a huge travel hub that sees all kinds of people pass through, even a few Pikmin.
04:01This is in pretty stark contrast to the location of the same name in the game.
04:05Gateway Galaxy is one of the earliest places Mario visits, and leads him to meeting Rosalina
04:09and the rest of the Lumas.
04:10It's an extremely small planetoid, and a more secretive place, with only a few adorable
04:15star bunnies calling it home.
04:20In comparison, the movie version is more akin to a popular airport.
04:24Number 15.
04:25Rob the Robot.
04:26One of the several cameos in the Super Mario Galaxy movie is Rob the Robot, who annoys Peach
04:31and Toad for being too slow at giving information and directions.
04:42Super Smash Bros. fans of all ages will recognize him from the fighting series, as Rob has been
04:46included in each entry since 2008's Brawl on the Wii.
04:53But his actual origins, and why his slow speed is such a good joke, may be lost on some very
04:58young viewers.
04:58Standing for Robotic Operation Buddy, Rob began as a peripheral for the NES, releasing
05:04alongside it in North America in 1985.
05:06Only two games ever used him, Gyromite and Stack Up.
05:10And yes, he really did move that slowly.
05:13Number 14.
05:14Former Work.
05:19At the beginning of the first movie, Mario and Luigi are struggling to get their business
05:24off the ground.
05:25Having just released their first commercial, they're immediately made fun of by Spike,
05:29their former employer at the Wrecking Crew construction company.
05:32It's a small but important interaction as the brothers strive to make their lives better.
05:36But it also revitalizes a forgotten Nintendo character.
05:39Spike was introduced in 1984's Wrecking Crew, a modest arcade hit that was eventually ported
05:43to NES.
05:50Here, the foreman would chase Mario and provide the player with obstacles.
05:53He appeared again in the 1998 sequel, which was only released in Japan, and, strangely,
05:59for the Super Famicom.
06:06Number 13.
06:07Bowser Jr. Boy Genius.
06:09The Super Mario Galaxy movie introduces Bowser Jr. out to rescue his papa so they can destroy
06:14the universe together.
06:18Bowser Jr. is shown to be a technological genius.
06:25And even though the movie doesn't explain how, it's perfectly in line with how he is
06:29in the video games.
06:30Across multiple appearances, Bowser Jr. is shown to be a scientific wonderkind.
06:34In the opening, he kidnaps Rosalina using Mega Leg, a gigantic mech he builds for a boss
06:39fight in the first Super Mario Galaxy.
06:46His universe-destroying weapon, the Boomsday Machine, also gets its name from another of
06:51his boss fights from the second game.
06:52Even in the Smash series, he can only fight using a variety of gadgets he assumedly built
06:57himself.
07:02Number 12.
07:03Peach's Parasol.
07:14Early on in the Super Mario Galaxy movie, Mario gives Peach a parasol for her birthday.
07:18Little does he know he's just given her one of the character's most defining items.
07:22She first used it in 1996's Super Mario RPG, and it was later included as part of her moveset
07:27in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
07:33It would then become something the princess was often seen carrying around in the main
07:36series, as well as her first standalone game, Super Princess Peach, where it's actually sentient.
07:46In the movie, the princess uses it to tremendous effect, making it a viable weapon, just like
07:51the second Smash.
07:57Number 11.
07:58The Jungle Kingdom.
07:59In the original movie, after Peach agrees to team up with Mario and Toad, the trio heads
08:03to the Jungle Kingdom to enlist the Kongs for help.
08:06However, this land is far different from the DK Island in the video games.
08:09There are only a handful of Kongs that reside on the island.
08:12Yet here, Cranky Kong rules over an entire nation, strong enough to provide an army and
08:20advanced enough to build vehicles and host actual Mario Kart races.
08:24It's interesting to see these characters in such a grand setting, considering all they
08:27normally want for are more bananas and less crocodiles.
08:30Cranky is still pretty disappointed in how dense DK is, but everything else about the
08:35Jungle Kingdom is pretty different.
08:36Enough with the showboating!
08:39Number 10.
08:39Kamek's role.
08:40Bowser has a lot of minions.
08:42Like, a lot.
08:43Yet Kamek the Magikoopa is one of a kind.
08:46In the movie, the evil little wizard is the villain's right-hand turtle, using his magic
08:50to benefit King Koopa.
08:52Behold, the King of the Koopas!
08:59Their relationship and why Kamek is so devoted to Bowser is never explored, but it is in the
09:04games.
09:05In Yoshi's Island, Kamek tries to kidnap the brothers as babies as he foresaw how problematic
09:09they'd be in Bowser's future.
09:11Although the villain was also only a baby, Kamek believed in the Koopa cause.
09:15Additionally, there's a scene in which the two roleplay, with Kamek being dressed as Peach.
09:20This calls back to a slightly less disturbing scene in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, in which he
09:24tricks you into thinking you've defeated Bowser.
09:32Number 9.
09:33A Special Yoshi.
09:37Easy.
09:42The first movie gives several nods to Yoshi, the kindly dino pal who helps Mario on multiple
09:47adventures.
09:48As Peach, Mario, and Toad head to the Jungle Kingdom, we see a herd of Yoshi running next
09:52to a river.
09:53Notably, none of them are the standard green color of the main Yoshi from the games, first
09:58introduced in Super Mario World.
10:05However, a post-credits scene teases the green variant, showing an egg about to hatch.
10:09As we know, this Yoshi appears in the Super Mario Galaxy movie.
10:13Showing a herd of different Yoshi subtly made this one stand out as special, since he's
10:17the only green one.
10:18And it was an interesting visual cue to differentiate this dino as the one who helps Mario and Luigi.
10:30Number 8.
10:32Yoshi's Island.
10:33As soon as Bowser Jr. used a super scope to turn Mario and Luigi into babies, we knew we
10:37were in for a treat with Yoshi.
10:46After the encounter causes the teen to crash on a nearby planet, Yoshi must protect the
10:50babies, and Toad, from a raging T-Rex.
10:53While this is a clear reference to the T-Rex from Super Mario Odyssey, it's also a nice
10:57nod to Yoshi's Island on Super Nintendo.
10:59The prequel shows how Yoshi and his kind met the Mario brothers, with them carrying baby
11:03Mario across the land to reunite him with baby Luigi.
11:14Number 7.
11:15The Odyssey.
11:16While it is called the Super Mario Galaxy movie, there's a fair bit of Odyssey representation
11:20in the sequel as well.
11:21In addition to the T-Rex in the movie's version of the Cascade Kingdom, the Sand Kingdom is
11:26shown very early, where Mario and Luigi meet Yoshi.
11:36Peach and Toad's segment at the Gateway Galaxy brings the Metro Kingdom to mind, especially
11:40since an instrumental cover of Jump Up Superstar can be heard in the background at the casino.
11:54Although the ruined kingdom isn't shown, the dragon boss fight is referenced in the movie's
11:59climax, when Bowser Jr. uses his paintbrush to bring it to life.
12:08We just hope there are enough kingdoms and references left if they ever decide to make an Odyssey movie.
12:13Number 6.
12:14The Other King.
12:15Speaking of the casino scene, it's here where Peach and Toad come face to face with King
12:19Wart, a minor antagonist voiced by Luis Guzman.
12:30Although Bowser is usually the villain in the games, Wart plays the big bad in the North American version
12:34of Super Mario Bros. 2.
12:36The game was famously a reskinned version of a Japanese-only game, Yume Kojo Doki Doki Panic.
12:41As such, Wart hasn't made many notable appearances since.
12:50Along with him in the movie scene is Mouser, a boss from the same game, and Birdo, who debuted
12:55in that game as a mini-boss, but has since become a popular side character in spin-offs.
13:00Number 5.
13:00Level Design.
13:01Both movies feature segments that replicate levels and segments from the original games.
13:06One of its coolest comes during the climax of the Super Mario Galaxy movie.
13:18As Mario impeach storm Bowser Jr.'s layer, he uses a monitor to set off a series of traps
13:23and obstacles they have to make it through.
13:24Essentially, it's like he's the designer of one of those ultra-challenging Super Mario Maker courses.
13:30And anyone who's played those notoriously difficult creations will likely get flashbacks
13:34of getting torched by a million fire bars.
13:42Additionally, towards the end of the movie when the group begins rebuilding Peach's castle,
13:46Rosalina is shown wearing Mario's signature yellow hardhat from those games.
13:57Number 4.
13:58Star Fox.
13:59It came as a big surprise to learn Fox McCloud would be joining the Super Mario Galaxy movie.
14:03But not only does it nail his characterization, it comes with a ton of references to his own universe
14:08that longtime fans will pick up on.
14:10Ah, Fox McCloud!
14:13Leader of the legendary Star Fox Team!
14:17Like the movie, Fox does come from the Lylat System, where he protects the innocent as the leader of a
14:22team
14:22of fighter pilots known as Star Fox.
14:24There was a lot of detail put into the character.
14:26His love of doing barrel rolls is a nod to an iconic line in Star Fox 64.
14:31Do a barrel roll!
14:33And his subtle jab at Slippy Toad references the hatred many players have for the character in the same game,
14:39who constantly needed help with enemies.
14:41It also reminded viewers of Fox's world, before Nintendo announced an upcoming remake of Star Fox 64 for the Switch
14:482.
14:48Atmospheric entry complete!
14:50Extend the wings!
14:51Number 3.
14:52The Next Princess.
14:54Mario, do you have feelings for the princess?
14:57What?
14:59Throughout the Super Mario Galaxy movie, Luigi encourages Mario to tell Peach about his true feelings.
15:04And he excitedly hopes she'll have a friend for him.
15:07She is going to say yes, and then you're gonna ask her if she has a friend for me!
15:13Many longtime fans picked up on this being a nod to Princess Daisy, who made her debut in 1989's Super
15:19Mario Land,
15:20and is often seen as one of Peach's closest friends.
15:23Luigi and Daisy have actually been romantically linked for years now,
15:26with their relationship even being more romantic than Mario and Peach's,
15:29who have never actually been confirmed to be an item.
15:32Since Daisy appears in a post-credits scene, it seems Luigi won't have to wait long to find love.
15:39Number 2.
15:41Bowser Jr.'s Paintbrush.
15:42Although Bowser Jr. has a variety of gadgets and weapons at his disposal in the Super Mario Galaxy movie,
15:47his favorite item is his giant paintbrush.
15:54With it, he brings his paintings to life so that they can fight for him and makes himself more powerful.
16:00In Super Mario Sunshine, the character's debut, he also uses a giant paintbrush to cause mayhem throughout Isle Delfino.
16:06In that game, this paintbrush was created by Professor E. Gadd, whose symbol also appears on a mug held by
16:12comic at the beginning of the movie.
16:13More importantly, E. Gadd also designed the vacuum cleaner Luigi uses to suck up ghosts.
16:18So, Luigi's Mansion movie when?
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16:47Number 1. From Theory to Canon.
16:50During the development of Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo considered making Rosalina related to Peach, hence their similar designs.
16:56Those plans were dropped before the game's release, though that didn't stop passionate fans from theorizing.
17:04Popularized by MadPat of the game theorists, many believed Peach to be Rosalina's mother.
17:08However, the movie went in a different direction.
17:11It's explained that Rosalina is actually Peach's sister.
17:14Her story begins many years ago, when she lived on a small planet with her sister, Rosalina.
17:23She only sent her to the Mushroom Kingdom to keep her safe from a mysterious force hunting them for their
17:28power.
17:28Interestingly, the Switch 2 version of Super Mario Galaxy 2 received an update following the movie's release, seemingly confirming their
17:35relationship in the game canon as well.
17:49What's some lore from the series you'd like to see explored in a future movie?
17:52Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.
17:54See you next time.
17:54Bye-bye.
17:54Bye-bye.
17:54Bye-bye.
17:55Bye-bye.
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