Super Mario Bros – The Movie: all the best video game quotes

The film dedicated to Super Mario Bros. has shattered every box office record (for an animation work) within just one week of programming. Obviously, however, much of its success is due to the great love of millions of fans for the original video game, which is mentioned and referred to very often in the film adaptation.

The animated adaptation of Super Mario Brosborn from the collaboration between Illumination, Nintendo and Universal, grossed 400 million dollars in its first week of release, shattering all records and marking the best debut in the history of animated cinema.

Chris MeledandriCEO of Illumination, e Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Super Mario Bros game, have underlined how their goal was to emulate the experience of the game as much as possible, trying to return the same satisfaction and the same fun that is felt pad in hand. To do so, therefore, it was necessary to mention the video game itself in several places. Here are the best “easter eggs” you can find in the film.

Jumpman and Charles Martinet

In one of the opening scenes of the film, Charles Martinet, historic Mario voice actor in video games since 1991, appears in a cameo in the role of an Italian gentleman named Giuseppe. We see him while he is busy playing an arcade cabinet called “Jumpman”, which was just what it was called (within the game Donkey Kong) the Nintendo plumber before acquiring the Mario name.

Luigi’s ringtone

When Luigi gets a call for his first job, longtime Nintendo fans can easily recognize the chosen ringtone, which is none other than the GameCube startup sound. The reference is not accidental, since Luigi’s first solo spin-off, that is Luigi’s Mansionwas one of the first titles available for the console when it was released in 2001.

The Punch-Out pizzeria

The Super Mario movie is full of references to Nintendo’s retro games and perhaps one of the most niche references is to the boxing series Punch Outwhich gives its name to the Brooklyn pizzeria where Mario used to work (his former employer, by the way, is none other than Foreman Spikeopponent of Mario and Luigi in Wrecking Crew of 1985).

Pauline

In the original arcade game Donkey Kong, our favorite plumber had to save a girl from the clutches of an out of control gorilla. But that girl was not the blonde Princess Peach that we all know, but the brunette Pauline, completely disappeared from the saga until the 2017 chapter (Super Mario Odyssey) in which he reappeared as mayor of New Donk City. In the film, she is seen on TV in an interview about the flooding in Brooklyn.

The many worlds of games

Mario travels to several worlds in the new film, and video game fans should recognize many of them. There are the more obvious ones, like Donkey Kong’s Jungle Kingdom, Mario Kart’s Rainbow Track and fiery Bowser’s Castle. And then there are quick forays into an underwater world full of fish Cheep Cheep and squid blooperswhich resembles the second world of the game Super Mario Bros. And still in the grassy and cannon-filled plains Bob-omb’s Mario 64 and in the sandy and desert town of Tostarena di Super Mario Odyssey.

The shortcut on the Rainbow Trail

As anyone who has played even a minute of Mario Kart knows, the Rainbow Road is the most treacherous course in the entire series. Mario, Donkey Kong and their gang jump on some karts and tackle the multicolored track also in the film, where we find one of the shortcuts in the game, used only by the most expert to improve their time and overtake their opponents.

The original music from Super Mario Bros

In a now cult scene halfway through the film, Bowser tries his hand at the titled piano ballad Peaches (officially eligible for Best Original Song at the 2024 Oscars). After that Kamek interrupts his performance, Bowser asks the Magikoopa to play with him: the two begin to improvise on the famous Underground Theme of Super Mario Bros. This is one of many moments where the film directly references the iconic original music composed by Koji Kondo.