The Super Mario Bros. Movie: All The References & Easter Eggs In The 2023 Film

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is out now in the US and most parts of the world, but it’s only coming out in Malaysia on 20th April. It’s worth the wait especially if you’re a big Nintendo gaming fan; here’s our review.

As such, you can expect a heckaton of Nintendo-filled homages, references, easter eggs, and callbacks in the film. Here’s a list of them so far; we’ll add more if we missed anything. We’ll be going into spoiler territory here as some of these references pop up in the second half of the movie, so here’s your warning.

Super Mario Bros 90s cartoon show rap (1989 cartoon series)

https://www.tiktok.com/@kakuchopurei/video/7199452252464041243

This song from the 1989 cartoon -which stars Captain Lou Albano and Danny Wells as Mario & Luigi- appeared in a commercial advertising the Super Mario Bros plumbing service. The film version added a bit more talking points from Mario (Chris Pratt) using a more exaggerated Italian accent.

The Mario Brothers also wear yellow capes similar to the powerup in Super Mario World.

Also, the woman in the commercial is voiced by Jeannie Elias, who voiced Princess Toadstool/Peach in the 1989 cartoon.

 

Spike (Wrecking Crew)

Spike appears as Mario and Luigi’s ex-employer. At the start of the movie, he chastises them for being losers and for leaving him to start a separate plumbing business.

 

Punch-Out Pizza (Punch-Out)

The pizza place Mario and Luigi hang out in is a tribute to the classic NES/SNES/arcade/Wii title Punch-Out. The walls feature portraits of Mr Sandman, Glass Joe, and a number of other boxers from the game.

The pizza place also has a JumpMan arcade machine, which is a nod to Mario’s original moniker Jumpman.

 

GameCube Jingle (GameCube)

Luigi’s ringtone for his mobile phone is the GameCube startup jingle.

 

Duck (Duck Hunt)

In the same Punch-Out pizzeria, you can spot the duck from Duck Hunt framed as a picture in the restaurant backdrop.

There’s even a restaurant called Chausee a Canard that can be spotted in the background during a scene where Mario & Luigi head out to the city to stop a citywide leak.

 

Charles Martinet (Super Mario 64 & more)

The OG video game voice of Mario since Super Mario 64 onward plays the role of Mario’s dad in Brooklyn. He berates his son over his choice of going solo.

 

Kid Icarus Game (Kid Icarus)

Mario is seen playing the Kid Icarus NES title in his room while he’s down in the dumps early on in the film.

 

Nintendo’s Baseball, Kung Fu

Mario’s room has posters of NES’ Baseball and Kung Fu.

 

Pauline (Donkey Kong, Super Mario Odyssey)

Just like in Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline is the mayor of Brooklyn in the Super Mario Bros. Movie. She is seen on a TV news broadcast asking the citizens of Brooklyn to calm down as a huge sewer leak is troubling the city at the start of the film.

 

Ludwig Von Koopa (Super Mario Bros 3)

Well, it’s not the Koopaling from SMB3. Rather, it’s the name of the piano that Bowser uses to sing about Princess Peach and how he’s in love with her (see video above). Yes, you will believe those giant hands of his can play the piano really well.

 

Seth Rogen Laugh (Most Seth Rogen Films)

Yes, Seth Rogen does his infamous “huh, huh, huh” laugh in a couple of instances in the Super Mario Bros. Movie when playing Donkey Kong: once during the fight in the Jungle Kingdom with Mario, and the other on Rainbow Road when he tries to love-tap Mario’s kart.

 

Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Chunky Kong, DK Rap Song (Donkey Kong Country series, Donkey Kong 64)

At the start of the Jungle Kingdom arena fight between Mario and Donkey Kong, the DK Rap song plays as entrance music for the latter. Cranky Kong asks the entire arena to pipe down; at this bit, you see a quick cut of Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Chunky Kong sitting front row of the arena. So yeah, they’re canon to this Illumination Nintendo movie universe.

 

Baby Mario & Baby Luigi (Yoshi’s Island, Mario Kart Series, Mario Superstar Series)

You get to see the Baby versions of Mario and Luigi in a flashback when Luigi is stuck in Bowser’s prison, reminiscing about Mario being there for him when he gets bullied.

 

Baby Peach (Mario Kart Series, Mario Superstar RPG series)

Anya Taylor-Joy’s Princess Peach even gets her own quick flashback. Apparently she found herself in the Mushroom Kingdom when she was a baby and was adopted by the Toads.

 

Blue Shell (Mario Kart Series)

Yes, the iconic first-place kart killer with the explosion is in this film. During the show’s Rainbow Road combat sequence, a blue-shelled Koopa with a big vehicle gives chase to Mario, but ends up getting destroyed. He emerged unscathed and goes harakiri, transforming into the infamous Blue Shell and chases our heroes down.

King Bob-Omb & King Boo (Mario Titles)

Both Mario big-sized enemies appeared as guests for Princess Peach and Bowser’s wedding.

 

Balloon Fighter (Balloon Fight)

When Mario takes the same warp pipe back to Brooklyn after leading a giant Bullet Bill into it, he falls on the road. When the camera cuts to the view of the city, there’s a 24-hour car wash billboard sign with Balloon Fighter from Balloon Fight as the mascot.

 

Disk-Kun Computer Shop (Diskun)

The Famicom Disk System mascot gets a quick mention; it’s the name of the computer shop in Brooklyn seen during the final boss fight between Mario and Bowser in the city.

 

Yoshi In Post-Credits Scene

The first half of the movie isn’t the only place where you see wild Yoshis running around. The film’s post-credits scene shows us a familiar white egg with green spots in the sewers of Brooklyn post-Bowser battle. The egg hatches, and then it cuts to black, accompanies by the trademark Yoshi soundclip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUMmA3jweXM