The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Nintendo gave permission to use ‘treasured characters’.

Last Updated on 04/29/2023 by てんしょく飯

The first appearance of Mario and Luigi’s family in The Super Mario Brothers Movie was a surprise, but it was revealed that the characters were actually based on a fantastic old sketch that is a Nintendo “treasure”. Mario’s family appeared in the film.

Why did Mario’s family make their “first appearance” in the film?

In The Super Mario Brothers Movie, there is a scene in which Mario and Luigi’s father, mother, uncle, aunt, niece and grandfather all gather together for a large family meal. This is the first time Mario’s family has officially appeared in the film, and it has become a major talking point among fans.

The film’s director, Aaron Horvath, told Polygon that the dinner scene featuring Mario’s family was essential to the film’s storyline. Mario and Luigi have been enigmatic in the video games, with their private lives never revealed, but the film’s portrayal of their human family members makes them more realistic characters.

While it is common for film adaptations of original content to create their own settings that are far removed from the source material and are unpopular with fans, director Horvath explains, “We had to be a little creative to make people believe that Mario was a real person with real life and real problems. So they (Nintendo) were totally on board with us creating this family for Mario,” revealing that the new character was a challenge that was aligned with Nintendo.

Nintendo had been warming to the idea of a “visionary sketch” for many years.

Director Hovas said of the appearance of Mario’s father and mother in the film, “We were able to show them a precious sketch that was drawn many years ago on Nintendo’s side, but had been sealed until now. Mario’s father in this film is almost an exact replica of that design”, and revealed that he had received permission from Nintendo to use the ‘treasured character’. As for the rest of the family, Mario’s mother was also slightly altered, but the result was “very close to the original design”.

From a different perspective, the film visualises ‘phantom characters’ that Nintendo had lost the opportunity to portray until now. The secret behind the convincing quality of the film, which is so highly regarded even by old fans of the original game series, has been revealed once again.