The long-awaited Super Mario Bros. Movie is full of Yoshi Easter eggs and references, as many of us have witnessed.
We kind of expected this. Each trailer provided us a taste of what was to come, but nothing could have prepared us for the overwhelming bombardment of allusions to Nintendo’s past that would come our way every second.
We chose some of our movie favorites and broke them down. This is not a complete list of references, but some of the tiny nuances that made us grin.
This one will include Mario Movie details, so if you want to avoid spoilers, turn away now and come back after you have a list of your favorites.
Let’s descend into the Easter egg world…
Punch-Out Pizza
The film opens at Brooklyn’s Punch-Out Pizzeria, named after Nintendo’s 1987 NES game Punch-Out!!
Punch Out Pizzeria sets the tone for the 92-minute runtime’s references. The eatery has many adorable features. Foreman Spike first appears here, but let’s examine closer.
Pictures
The diner’s walls are lined with framed photos of Doc Louis, Little Mac, Glass Joe, and others from the NES game. Wii-like photos.
Arcade Donkey Kong
An arcade cabinet in the diner’s back corner appears to be playing Donkey Kong, but DK has been replaced by a giant yeti-like creature and the name has been changed to “Jump Man” (Mario’s original title).
The musician? His “wahoo!” is undoubtedly familiar.
GameCube ringtone, Mii caller ID
In a late TV spot before the film’s premiere, we liked that Luigi’s phone’s ringtone is the GameCube’s start-up melody. Moreover, the caller ID uses a Mii icon.
World 1-1 in Brooklyn
Mario and Luigi rush to a nearby apartment after their vehicle breaks down to get to a job on time. The game’s side-scrolling camera position is used when cutting through a construction site. Nice touch.
The layout of various things (yellow paint cans, wooden crates, air conditioning units, etc.) matches that of equivalent objects (brick and item boxes) from Super Mario Bros.
Slide down Burger Castle’s flagpole to finish.
An apartment of riches
Mario and Luigi’s first plumbing work in New York’s residence has many references.
Galaxy Book
In the owner’s sitting area, one of them reads a book called “Galaxy” with a spherical planet on the front.
Pikmin statue
This scene features a glass Pikmin statue on the right. The movie’s Pikmin reference isn’t surprising since Miyamoto loves them.
Mario’s bedroom
Mario’s bedroom references Punch-Out Diner. It is.
NES
Mario plays Kid Icarus on a stand-mounted NES in front of his TV. It’s easy to see, but it’s funny to watch Mario playing a game on a console he owns.
Arwing
The TV has a Star Fox Arwing statue.
Blue Falcon
Mario’s room is full of posters from Nintendo’s past. The F-Zero poster depicting Captain Falcon’s Blue Falcon is a favorite.
Duckhunt Sign
Mario and Luigi pass a French restaurant with a Duck Hunt sign while fixing a Brooklyn leak. “Chasse au Canard” is French for duck hunting.
Underground Music
The “denum, denum, denum” underground theme when the Mario brothers first went underground in Brooklyn made us smile. Lovely and subtle.
Another connection to Super Mario Bros.’ initial underground level is the sewer’s name, 1-2.
Luigi’s Mansion
When Luigi is tossed into the badlands, Brian Tyler uses the Luigi’s Mansion theme as a tiny motif, which surprises us. Luigi briefly glimpses it while torching through the dark woodland.
Mushroom Kingdom
Another crowded place—fitting for the Mario video game universe! We saw the Mushroom Kingdom in the trailers, but a few scenes stood out throughout the film.
Toad Home
The Mushroom Kingdom coin bank’s melody sounds like Super Mario Bros. 3’s Toad Mansion.
Toadette
The pigtailed mushroom appears briefly on a Mushroom Kingdom poster. Toadette is the marching band drummer on a blue plaque while Mario walks through Toads.
Antique shop
The antique store has Wrecking Crew hammers, Super Mario World Dragon Coins, and Super Mario 3D World Super Bells. One of our favorites is a little Toad inquiring if an ancient game cartridge works, only to be told “sure, but you have to blow into it” by the shopkeeper. Toad, we’re all there…
Mad Cap
Super Mario Odyssey’s Crazy Cap store briefly appears on a busy Mushroom Kingdom street. They may accept both currencies.
Kong’s Bongos by Diddy
We knew Diddy Kong would be in this one from “computer enhance” zooming in on the teasers and posters. He plays bongos at Donkey Kong’s huge fight, but we didn’t expect it!
Cranky Kong’s Super Mario World Map
We visit Cranky Kong’s home to plan how to ambush Bowser and his Koopas, and his map design attracted our interest. Its style and layout resemble Super Mario World’s.
The Mushroom Kingdom appears to have only one cartographer…
Ludwig Koopa Piano
Ludwig Von Koopa built Bowser’s piano. We assume the oldest Koopaling enjoys woodworking—good it’s to have a hobby.
Drifting
Mario drifts left and right on Rainbow Road to avoid Blue Shells and turn steep bends. Like Mario Kart, his tires spark blue, yellow, and red when he drifts.
Polar Bear Sign
We revisit Brooklyn’s references for the last battle. One of the shops we mentioned earlier advertises its ice cream or ice with an Ice Climber polar bear.
The polar bear appears in Mario’s bedroom poster earlier in the film, but the sign was a delightful, easily missed scene we loved spotting.
Disk-Kun Shop
The “Disk-Kun Shop” in Brooklyn uses the small guy above as its emblem. Diskun, the Japanese Famicom Disk System mascot, appeared in manuals and various games.
Luck Cards Poster
Alright, we found the last one in the Brooklyn conflict. After the fight, a poster for “Luck Cards” appears in the backdrop, and we think we saw Hanafuda on it. The crew then deals with Bowser. It’s a subtle homage to Nintendo’s card-making past.
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