Heartwarming / The Super Mario Bros. Movie

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

"Nothing can hurt us as long as we're together."

Heartwarming moments in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

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General

• Mario and Luigi's relationship as brothers is the emotional core of the movie. The former's quest in the film isn't to beat Bowser necessarily but primarily to save his brother. That's why he takes on every challenge he faces. Whenever they show how much they love each other, they have their own way to do so: Luigi always says positive things about Mario and praises him all the time, always following him wherever he goes despite not always agreeing with his reckless decisions, and he also tends to affectionately make fun of him, like when he taps on his brother's belly, while Mario showcases it by taking on every single challenge without ever backing down to finally reunite with him and appreciates when he reassures him in his moments of doubt.
  • Early in the movie, when Mario and Luigi take a shortcut through the construction area, Mario is jumping all over the place, climbing fences and travesting obstacles, while Luigi struggles more while carrying their tools... and Mario, without even commenting on it and acting as if it's second nature, makes sure to give his less athletic brother a way through; he opens doors for him, sets up ladders for him to climb, and pushes down planks that he can run across instead of jumping a large gap. Even when their first day on the job ends in a disaster because of an accidental mistake from Luigi ^note  He accidentally steps on a bone and breaks it, causing the client's dog to sabotage their work and attempt to maul them as a grudge for the destroyed bone, which results in the bathroom getting destroyed, a negative review and an awful first impression of the bros from the public as a result, Mario is never mad at him, nor does he blame him for what happened. He treats the incident as if it was just a bump in the road and that everything will end up better next time.
  • Meanwhile, Luigi's best (and funniest) moment has to be when he's in Bowser's clutches and being interrogated for information about Mario. While he predictably cracks and lapses from Suspiciously Specific Denial to spilling his guts almost immediately, it spills to the tune of calling Mario "the best guy in the world" and assuring Bowser that he has very good reason to fear Mario as a romantic rival, because whoever Princess Peach is, any princess with good taste would find him attractive. While this obviously makes their situation a lot worse, it says so much about Luigi that he can't take a break from wholeheartedly hyping up his brother even while literally being tortured.
  • In a flashback, we even see Baby Mario fending off a bully picking on Baby Luigi, showing they’ve always been there for each other ever since they were little.
• Mario's relationship with Peach appears to be more balanced and grounded compared to the decades depicting her as the Damsel in Distress and him as the hero rescuing her (though she also has helped him as a fellow heroine multiple times, and even swapped rescue roles with him once). Furthermore, her Action Girl status means Mario's interest in Peach makes him an Amazon Chaser. In general, they have a lot of moments where their chemistry grows, encapsulating several moments over many years that their original game counterparts had in different games in one movie, to the point where they were flirting at certain points in the movie as they bond, giving each other emotional support and even holding hands after Peach and Mario crash her forced wedding to Bowser. Even though their romantic relationship is left up in the air at the end of the film, their Ship Tease moments already laid seeds out for them to eventually develop it in the future. At the very least, they end the film having developed a mutual budding romantic interest in each other, with Peach liking Mario far more than she will ever like Bowser. A Tumblr user's description says it best:
  "The fact that Peach's attraction and endearment towards Mario seems to hinge on seeing him getting up again and again despite everything, just flat out refuse to give up, is EVERYTHING to me, I am not even joking. For years I've seen people insist, very much along the same lines as Bowser, that it's the WINNING that she likes about him, that it's his big heroic gestures that impress her enough to give him the time of the day, ignoring the fact that if this were the case, she would be shallow enough to be impressed and taken with Bowser's sheer power. She sees him during his lows and THAT'S what she likes about him."
  • There's something adorable to be said about Peach nicknaming Mario "Mustache".
  • Peach assuring Mario that they'll rescue Luigi from Bowser. The look on Mario's face says it all; her words mean the whole world to him. It was because of this he started to develop an interest in wanting to learn more about Peach herself.
  • Peach telling Mario after his win against Donkey Kong that his refusal to give up even in the face of all odds is a great trait to have, essentially telling to embrace who he is. Considering how Mario was told all of his life that his refusal to give up is a bad thing, Peach's words again mean the world to him.
  • This Youtube video tells everything you need to know about their relationship in this movie.
• The fact that Donkey Kong not only appears but this time he and Mario are on the same side; the fact promotional materials show them having the fight just makes them a case of Fire-Forged Friendship.
• In his own morbid, warped, and twisted way, Bowser seems to genuinely love and adore Princess Toadstool. He finds her to be absolutely beautiful and so “very cool” — he even angrily declares to Mario in their final fight that Mario has ruined the best day of [Bowser’s] life by crashing his and Peach’s wedding. Moreover, he even sings a love ballad (“Peaches”) twice in the movie asserting his infinite love for the Princess... Too bad his way of expressing love involves destroying kingdoms, looting them, and threatening to destroy everything Peach loves just to force her to marry him, and when she finally rejects him at the wedding, he does not hesitate to kill her along with everyone else. And ironically, it’s his obsessive love for Peach that leads to his downfall.
• The mere inclusion of subtle nods to the infamous ‘90s film is quite touching in itself. While that version may not have been an accurate adaptation of the games, it’s still a big part of the Mario brand’s legacy that hasn’t been forgotten.

Promotional Material

Official Trailer

• Mario's big fight with Donkey Kong may have been embarrassingly one-sided, but when Mario enters the arena, you can hear the spectators cheering him on.
• Bowser has Luigi captured and held hostage, pulling at a hair on his mustache while having a claw close to Luigi's throat as he demands to know Mario's identity and whereabouts. Luigi may have given a Suspiciously Specific Denial, but he refuses to rat out his big brother to this menacing brute.
• The brothers are falling out of control in one of the warp pipes, and Luigi calls out for Mario in panic, who immediately rushes to him and grabs his hand, showing that these two brothers have a close bond. The scene is shown more detailedly during an interview with Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, with Mario giving Luigi a reassuring smile and telling him that they are going to be okay as long as they are together, with Luigi calming down and smiling back at him, though their dialogue is hard to hear because their actors' voices are covering the rest of the scene.
  • The brothers even give each other a fist bump as they're about to head off for a plumbing job in one scene.

Games Show Awards 2022 Trailer

• As Toad tells the other Toads to get out of the way and let him and Mario pass because "[Luigi] is going to die imminently", Mario first stops in shock and then looks at Toad annoyed with a look that says, "Excuse me, what?! You can't say things like that about my little bro! He may be all alone in danger!" for saying such a thing with such insensitivity and nonchalance, with Toad immediately reassuring him that Luigi will be fine. Since he ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom after he and Luigi got separated, he just wants to reunite with his brother, who, at this point, is in a dangerous situation at Bowser's mercy.
• When a Toad drops one of their coins, Mario picks it up and hands it back to them, and then smiles and tips his hat to them as he leaves. Just goes to show how Mario is still the Nice Guy we all know and love.

Super Mario Bros. Plumbing Commercial (and website)

• The trailer shows that the Mario Bros. are on equal levels in their plumbing business, showing how much they love each other.
• Just hearing ''The Mario Rap'' throughout the entire commercial was a dream come true for '90s fans.
• In the live chat feature that was added to promote the film's physical release, one of the questions you can ask is "Do you guys ever fight?", to which you'll get the reply of "Nope, they don't call us the dream team for nothing." Whether it's an exaggeration or not, it's very sweet that they'd put that on the record.
  • In the same chat, you can ask for fun facts about each brother, both of which will refer the other as his best friend. This seems to be something that the film's supplementary material is keen on emphasizing, as the official summary on the physical release also introduces them as "brothers and best friends".

Final Trailer

• Two moments in a row: When Mario says he'll do anything for his brother, and Peach assures him that they will find him.
• Mario and DK are shown working together to fight off Koopas in the Mushroom Kingdom, showing that despite starting out as rivals, they'll become Fire-Forged Friends throughout the course of the movie.
  Mario: You wanna do this?
  DK: This is fun!

Miscellaneous

• This poster◊ of Mario and Luigi in Brooklyn. A McDonalds toy reveals that the van has an illustration of Luigi on the other side. This makes it clear that there are no feelings of superiority or inferiority between the brothers; they love each other as both family and business partners.
• On March 10th (Mario Day), the casts of both this movie and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon performed an acapella rendition of the classic Mario theme. At the very end of the video, Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri join them - Mario and Luigi join Miyamoto while Meledandri has the Minions. It’s a testament to how Nintendo and Illumination worked together to make the project possible.

TV Spots

• In one, Toad reveals that he considers Mario to be his best friend. While the feelings aren't exactly mutual on the latter's part, it's sweet that Toad already sees Mario as such despite not having known him that long.
• Some TV Spots show Mario looking softly at Princess Peach in the fire flower scenes, making one wonder if this is the moment he starts to fall in love with her.
• One of them shows Mario explaining how he and Luigi usually stick together. As he does so, he mentions that he and Luigi have never been apart this long, looking sad and very worried about him, and Peach, knowing how much he misses his brother, reassures him that they'll save him.
• Another shows Toad's Kart getting destroyed as he falls to his doom, but Peach saves him.

Movie

• The first scene of the Bros is them watching their commercial at a local pizzeria, their arms draped over each other’s shoulders. Once it finishes, they turn to each other, proud of their commercial even though it was poorly made and praising each other’s performance.
• As Spike antagonizes Mario and Luigi for quitting his business, he calls Luigi an idiot and throws a piece of scrumpled up paper in his eye, but Mario catches it before it hits him and says to his former boss that if he insults his brother again and doesn't leave him alone, he will regret it.
• Who is the only person who gave the Mario Brothers a five-star review in their website? Their mother, who has nothing but positive things to say about her sons.
  • Luigi being a proud Momma's Boy as he shows the review of his mother. It's clear that his relationship with his mother is one of the few things that he is proud about.
  • Later on, during dinner, she keeps singing her praises about her sons and, unlike the rest of the family, never criticizes their business decisions or them leaving Spike’s employment to create their own business.
    • Furthermore, the brothers’ aunt is shown to be supportive of them, because when her husband makes a joke at their expense about the commercial winning an Oscar for the worst actors, she Dope Slaps him in response.
• The Mario Brothers narrowly saving Francis from falling to his death out of a high bathroom window — that he accidentally jumped out of while trying to attack them — by quick use of a sink plunger and a Human Ladder. Sure, that same dog put a monkey wrench in the brothers' career over a particularly petty slight, but they still put their own lives at risk to make sure he was okay.
• Granted, it's at Mario's expense, but Luigi doesn't have a status as The Unfavorite with their father. Part of the reason why their father disapproves of his sons starting their own business with no backup plan is because he believes that Mario is dragging Luigi down with him. After years of living in his brother's shadow in the games, it's kind of sweet that Luigi is acknowledged by his father more in the movie.
  • After Mario storms off from the dinner table, Luigi follows him into the Bros.’s room in order to comfort him and bring him the plate of pasta he left behind, reassuring him that it's not true that he's dragging him in his messes.
    Luigi: You’re not bringing me down. You know what? What do they know, huh?
    • If you notice the plate Luigi brings his brother, the pasta has no mushroom, since he knows that Mario doesn't like mushrooms. And earlier, Mario started to dump the mushrooms in his pasta on Luigi’s plate after he offered to take them.
  • The fact that everyone in the family, even their uncles Tony and Arthur, the latter of whom had to be reprimanded by Aunt Marie for his comments, are visibly annoyed at Papa Mario for being too harsh on Mario specifically, especially when they all give him a Disapproving Look when he ends up hurting Mario's feelings in a very insensitive way, even though that wasn't his intention. This shows that there is still a lot of love and support in the family even if they do have a laugh at a member’s expense.
    • The fact that Tony and Arthur mock their commercial (which was admittedly very poor quality and laughable) and the gimmick of their outfits (which again admittedly is a silly idea and not appropriate for a job like plumbing) but give their brother a look when he talks down Mario's dream would seem to suggest that while they'll certainly have laughs at their nephews' expense when it comes to bad taste in outfits and commercials they still support his dream to run their own plumbing business and believe in Mario on that front, and that they were unimpressed when he accused him of being irresponsible by bringing up Luigi, looking like "Jeez, bro, don't you think you're going a little overboard?". This also shows that while they do make fun of Mario and Luigi a lot, they agree with the fact that this would be taking it a bit too far.
• Whilst going through the portal from Brooklyn to the different kingdoms, in the midst of the chaos, Mario holds on tightly to Luigi and assures his frightened brother as long as they're together, nothing can hurt them. This is the crux of the "Mario Brothers Movie": their relationship is a close one, and the only way they know they'll be okay is to get back together.
  Mario: It's all gonna be okay!
  Luigi: How is this gonna be okay?!
  Mario: I'm tellin' you, nothing can hurt us as long as we're together!
  • Generally, rescuing his brother is Mario's driving motive for going through his journey and braving through beatdowns and horrors that most would not be willing to face.
• Toad arrives to help Mario out, leading him to the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario basically went down a rabbit hole and had no guide, so this friendly Toad helping him get adjusted is sweet.
  Toad: Come on, Mario! Our big adventure begins now!
• While it does come after an admittedly funny scene of Peach flipping him onto his back, once she realizes Mario is human, just like she is, she is extremely excited to see someone of her own species for the first time she can most likely remember.
  • Before she flips Mario onto his back, she sees Mario come running towards her, and the moment they lock eyes, they are instantly awed at each other, and everything slows down. This feels like a Love at First Sight moment between them.
• Luigi gets a few while being interrogated by Bowser:
  • When the Koopa King asks if Luigi knows who Mario is, he at first denies it, trying to avoid giving this clearly-murderous maniac any info about his brother that he doesn't have to. When he does eventually cave, he describes him thus:
    Luigi: He's my brother Mario, and he's the best guy in the world!
  • Bowser then wants to know if princesses find Mario attractive, and Luigi nervously blurts out "They do if they have good taste!". He sure holds his brother in the highest regard, and it also shows that, despite not even knowing who Peach is, he will support her and Mario getting together if they're interested. In a way, it might also be a minor sass comment against Bowser as if he's saying "You, trying to get together with her? I'm sure that if she will have to choose between you and my brother, she'll choose him!" to Bowser's face, all while he is still torturing him.
• Peach is legitimately enjoying herself as she runs through the Mushroom Kingdom's training gauntlet, capped off with the classic "level complete" tune.
• During the training montage, when Mario pukes up the hated power-shroom, Peach gently pats his back. Although it's Played for Laughs, she's at least showing sympathy where he needs it.
• Peach letting it be known that everyone gets it wrong on their first try on the obstacle course, speaking out to every player who initially struggled at "Super Mario" that losing isn't the end, and learning from one's mistakes does pay off. Sure, it's momentarily mitigated when Mario has it pegged that Peach got it right on her first try, but in her defense, she grew up in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario admits it makes him feel a little better.
  • Before a random metal Piranha Plant stops him at the last second, Peach and Mario lock eyes with each other as he nears the flag after mastering the other obstacles, with Peach looking particularly starry-eyed at Mario, and the latter shooting a confident, almost flirty smirk at her.
  • In spite of Mario failing to complete the course, Peach still allows him to come. Why? Because she saw that, in spite of how much he kept failing, he also kept getting back up, telling Mario that's a great trait to have, especially after he defeated Donkey Kong in their fight, despite the ape dominating him for the majority of it. Mario, who has been told all his life by his father that his refusal to give up is a bad thing, is clearly touched by Peach's words.
    Peach: That was incredible! He kept beating you senseless and you just kept getting back up?! You just don't know when to quit!
    Mario: Huh. I never thought of that as a good thing.
    Peach: It's a great thing!
    Mario: (touched) Thanks.
• In a twisted way, Kamek acting as Bowser's wingman. Despite his advice often being flat-out wrong or terrible, it's clear he's trying his best for his King's happiness from his point of view.
• Peach's origin story: her first memory was arriving in the Mushroom Kingdom and being Happily Adopted by the collective citizens when they found her. What follows is a Good-Times Montage of them raising her, training her, and eventually crowning her as their Princess.
  • In the flashback, Peach is clearly terrified when she comes out of the warp pipe, but when one of the Toads who finds her approaches her, she put her pacifier in his mouth and then hugs him, clearly knowing she can trust him.
  • The location of the pipe, buried in a cliff in the mushroom forest, suggests it's exactly the same pipe as Mario arrived from.
  • Even with that, there's something moving about how Peach has grown up seeing the Mushroom People as her people.
  • As Mario and Peach share a Held Gaze, Toad sets the mood by playing his flute.
    • A subtle detail, but as Peach and Mario break from their Held Gaze to look at the stars together, both show nervousness in their own way; Peach taps her fingers while compressing her lips, and Mario puts his hands behind his back while rocking on his heels. If their body language doesn't tell you of their growing feelings for each other, nothing will.
    • In a Deleted Scene, Mario kindly offers to take Peach around Brooklyn and show her around after they defeat Bowser, which prompts Peach to turn to him with a warm smile.
• While in captivity, Luigi briefly looks back on a childhood memory where a bully picked on him on the playground, only for Mario to stand up to the bully. After he chases the bully off, he turns to Luigi to give him a reassuring smile. This establishes why Luigi looks up to Mario.
  • Unto itself, seeing Baby Mario and Baby Luigi is not only nostalgic but also adorable!
  • Also, in the earlier flashback, Baby Peach also appears.
• When Luigi is first thrown into the dungeon and freaked out by both his surroundings and Lumalee, the Penguin King takes a moment to assure Luigi that he doesn't have to listen to Lumalee's insane ramblings.
• It's also used to taunt Mario, but Cranky's justification for allowing power-ups in the battle is because he wants the fight to last more than five seconds. For all the flack he can give his son, Cranky genuinely seems to believe DK would not only win, but win easily.
• When Donkey Kong first enters the arena, who is the spectator that has to be pretty much directly told to stop cheering? Diddy Kong, DK's original Player Two from the Donkey Kong Country games. And he's sitting with his Player Two, even if Dixie is exasperated at his antics. Just seeing the Breakout Characters of the Donkey Kong franchise being acknowledged is heartwarming on its own.
• When Mario beats Donkey Kong fair and square, the spectators - all of whom are Kongs - wholeheartedly cheer him on, while Peach and Mario share another Held Gaze, her face basically saying, "I'm so proud of you, Mario!"
• After taking the final blow from Mario, Donkey Kong is about to fall down the arena, but Mario pulls him by the tie so that he falls towards him instead of falling off in the water, showing how noble and how much of a good sport he is. Too bad that DK is bitter over the loss though.
• Mario and Peach's rather flirty conversation on Rainbow Road is just plain adorable. When Mario first lands on Rainbow Road, Peach asks him if they have anything like it in the human world. Mario says no and then also comments that in his world, turtles are usually pets and not evil monsters. When Peach scoffs at this, Mario offers to get her one if she ever comes to Brooklyn, causing her to smile and giggle, and to tell him flirtatiously that maybe she will come visit Brooklyn.
  Peach: Is there anything like this in your world?
  Mario: (chuckles) No. We don't drive on rainbows.
  Peach: What are you going to tell me next? That turtles aren't evil?
  Mario: No, no. They're usually pets.
  Peach: No way!
  Mario: Yeah. Come to Brooklyn and I'll buy you a turtle!
  Peach: (giggles) Maybe I will!
  • A small but equally adorable detail: at the beginning of their conversation, Mario and Peach keep breaking eye contact to glance at the road since they are driving. But the more they get into the conversation, the less they do it.
  • When Bowser ends up shrunk to a size of a real turtle and trapped in a glass jar, Mario and Peach have another flirty exchange. This is also their last exchange in the film, but it leaves open the possibility of them developing a romance in the future.
    Mario: See? Told ya I get ya a pet turtle.
    Peach: (giggles) Not bad, mustache.
• Toad sticking up for Mario after DK mocks him for (supposedly) flirting with Peach. Another example of how highly he already thinks of the plumber despite knowing him for a few days at most, as well as showing how supportive he is of Mario and Peach getting together. Also, note that Peach doesn't seem to deny Toad's words about a princess going out with Mario.
• When the Koopa General destroys a kart Mario hijacked from a Koopa in an attempt to crush him to death, Mario sees Donkey Kong behind the Koopa General and jumps towards his kart, which DK allows him to get on. While they haven't become Fire-Forged Friends yet, Mario shows that he trusts DK and the latter is willing to save him from a dangerous situation, despite being sore about his loss to him in their fight.
• When both are trapped in the stomach of Maw-Ray, Mario and DK bond over their shared issues with their fathers' approval; despite their mutual bickering continuing later on, it becomes clear that this is where Mario and DK bury the hatchet regarding their outright dislike of each other. And Mario also saved his life right before that when he was about to drown, which actually made him grateful. Even after they get out of the Maw-Ray using the remaining missile of Donkey Kong's kart as a Rocket Barrel (with DK declaring them even), he still teases Mario, but it's not in the same way, sounding more playful and mischievous instead of being cocky or insensitive.
  • Their exchange before they charge at the Koopa army at the Mushroom Kingdom shows the Fire-Forged Friends they've become.
    Mario: (determined smile) You wanna do this?
    Donkey Kong: (nods with his own determined smile) Yes, I do!
• When Peach is ordering the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom to flee while she buys them some time, she tries to tell Toad the same, but Toad simply reiterates what he said earlier about not letting anyone hurt her. Peach, for her part, smiles and agrees to let him come.
  Peach: Go with the others!
  Toad: I said I won't let anyone hurt you.
  • Before she orders the Toads to evacuate, she not only mentions that they lost the Kong army, but also that Mario is gone. Although it's a sad moment, the fact that Peach mentioned Mario shows how much the plumber has grown on her.
• When Mario and Luigi reunite. All of it. After Peach tricks Bowser at their wedding and uses an Ice Flower, thus giving Donkey Kong enough time to come rescue the prisoners, Luigi nearly falls in the lava and is rescued by Mario in his Tanooki Suit just in time. After they safely land on the ground, an overjoyed Mario holds his little brother in a big bro hug. The fact that Mario is still in his Tanooki Suit makes this heartwarming reunion even more touching. After all the bros have been through, they are finally together again.
  • As Mario tells Luigi once again that as long as they're together, everything will be OK, he sounds like he has waited his whole life to reunite with him and see that he's safe and sound, as his voice breaks halfway through, and he also has watery eyes as he holds him in his arms, like he's about to cry from how overjoyed he is. The scene is even more engaging by the series of affectionate gestures from Mario to Luigi: first, he has his hands on his chest almost like his heart is pounding wildly, he hugs him tight, then he cups his head in his hands as if he wants to make sure if this is all real, if he's alright, he rubs his forehead into his and finally gives him a second hug even bigger than the first one, lifting him off the ground in the process. It's just a small detail that only lasts about five to ten seconds long, but it highlights the emotions of the scene even more.
    Mario: Lu!
    Luigi: MARIO?! HA HA HA!! (Mario hugs him tightly)
    Mario: I told ya! See? (his voice breaking from sheer joy) As long as we're together, everything is gonna be okay!
  • Luigi then playfully makes fun of Mario for how he looks like a bear and looks as though he's about to laugh as he says so. In response, Mario smiles at him and wags his tanooki tail. It's like they tease each other like this all the time as a way to show their brotherly love to each other.
    Luigi: Mario, why do you look like a bear? What is this?
• As Bowser starts to break free from the ice, Peach is seen happily reuniting with Mario, affectionately tussling his Tanooki suit which generates a laugh between the two of them and just before he destroys the ice completely, Mario and Peach can be seen holding hands! Looks like Bowser's attempts of getting rid of Mario, therefore ridding himself of competition for Peach's affections ended up deepening the bond between Mario and Peach, which will someday blossom into full romance. As a wise old turtle from a certain animated kung fu movie starring Jack Black once said, "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it."
  • Also while Mario and Peach were holding hands, Donkey Kong is shown to be smiling at them in the background, making this clear that he does support them getting together after all.
• When Bowser launches the Bomber Bill to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach and everyone else all look in despair as there's no way to stop it, except Mario, still having his Tanooki suit on, takes the initiative to try and succeeds in guiding the Bomber Bill away. He already saved Luigi, so he achieved his goal, but now he truly is on a quest to save the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time.
• As Mario sits in pain in his Despair Event Horizon during the Brooklyn fight with Bowser, the broken TV glitches and plays bits of the Mario Bros. Plumbing commercial from earlier, the audio looping to when Mario says "Save Brooklyn", and then a part where Mario is standing proudly with his beloved brother in front of the camera. This gives him the motivation to walk back out there and finish the fight, with the help of his brother and his new friends. He even finally utters his iconic catchphrase for the first time in the movie.
  Mario: Let's-a go.
  • Before Bowser is about to kill Donkey Kong for defending Mario, Mario confronts him and orders him to leave Donkey Kong alone, which speaks volumes about how despite their bickering, they end up growing to care about each other.
  • When Bowser angrily complains how Mario doesn't know when to quit, Mario simply laughs it off and says that he's been told that before, clearly remembering his earlier conversation with Peach and how her compliment on his determination likely contributed to him gaining his Heroic Second Wind, all of which causes Peach to smile in response.
• Towards the climax, Luigi uses a manhole cover to shield Mario from Bowser's fire breath, ultimately repaying him for all the times he protected his younger brother. Not only does it give Mario enough time to get to the Super Star, but Luigi's intervention saves his life.
  Mario: [stunned] ...Lu?
  Luigi: Nothing can hurt us as long as we're together.
  • Immediately after, the manhole cover starts to bend and glow red-hot from the flames. Luigi won't be able to hold it much longer... but then he sees Mario reaching out his hand with a nod, inviting him to join in on using the Super Star. Naturally, he accepts, allowing Mario to pull him towards it at the last second. This act doesn't just end up being how Mario returns the favor his little bro did for him; it's also his way of silently saying, "You're right. So let's win this together."
    • For that matter, the mere sight of Luigi getting the Super Star and stomping, punching and jumping his way through Bowser’s Minions alongside his brother. After everything he’s been through, it’s incredibly satisfying to see him fight for the freedom of both Earth and the Mushroom Kingdom.
• Luigi demonstrates his true heroism via his unhesitating rescue of Foreman Spike, the same Foreman Spike who has been an asshole to Luigi in particular for the whole movie. And he doesn't even rub it in Spike's face—he simply beats up Bowser's goons, greets him with a cheerful "Oh hey Spike!" and then zooms off to join Mario in stopping Bowser. That's a good guy.
  • And it doesn't go unrewarded either; Spike averts the Ungrateful Bastard trope and wholeheartedly leads the cheer for him and Mario after they save Brooklyn.
• The brothers' parents witness their two sons fight the fire-breathing monster and his goons, cheering them on all the way and reacting in horror when they get eaten by a Piranha Plant, only to cheer again when they destroy it from the inside thanks to the Super Star's invincibility power.
  Papa Mario: [in disbelieving joy] Mamma mia!
• Right as Peach walks toward the defeated Bowser to force-feed him a mini-Mushroom, she gently pats Mario on the shoulder. It's those tiny, little moments between them that make their growing chemistry all worthwhile.
• When Bowser gets shrunk by the blue mushroom, Donkey Kong, while laughing at Bowser getting the blue mushroom, shows Luigi how power-ups work with a playful nudge to his shoulder. It's a small but adorable moment.
• Peach and Luigi's first exchange with each other shows the Fire-Forged Friends they became after the climactic battle.
  Peach: Luigi, you were so brave.
  Luigi: Oh, heh, thanks. Yeah, that's kinda my thing.
• After the brothers save Brooklyn, the Bros' grouchy ex-boss Spike (who earlier bullied them) cheers them on and calls them “the Super Mario Brothers”, and Francis the dog (who attacked them for breaking his toy) trades mutual nods of respect with Luigi.
  Spike: Let's hear it for the SUPER MARIO BROTHERS!!
  Papa Mario: These are my boys!
  • The Bros.' parents are beyond overjoyed to witness their heroic acts, and the father openly states how proud he is of his eldest son, giving him the approval that he lacked over the course of the movie, something that Mario doesn't even expect.
    Mama Mario: Oh, my boys! My heroes!
    Papa Mario: WAHOOOOOO! Mario, you were amazing!
    Mario: (surprised) Thanks, dad.
  • Having been praised by his own dad, DK was so touched by Mario being praised by his dad that he piles Mario, Luigi, their family, Peach, and Toad into a big back-breaking hug. Furthermore, the rest of their family can be seen in the crowd cheering for them as well.

    Donkey Kong: Aw, bring it in!

  • It's not just the Mario brothers who are celebrated as heroes of Brooklyn. Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong are also celebrated as heroes of Brooklyn too! They were surprised to be sure, but happy about the recognition nonetheless. It's clear that regardless of who and what they are, they saved Brooklyn alongside the Mario brothers.
  • Similarly, Cranky finally approving of DK as well, after helping save him from the lava, and possibly because he's just so happy his son is alive, happily asking his son to do his pec dance which he had earlier showed embarrassment for. When Donkey Kong actually says that he'll do it later as there are more important matters to settle, Cranky nods with a happy smile, proud of his son for taking responsibility.
    Cranky Kong: Ya did good, kid! Make your pecs dance! You deserve it!
    Donkey Kong: No time now! Definitely later!
• The movie overall ending on the note that the Mario Brothers are waking up to another beautiful work day, revealing they now live in the Mushroom Kingdom, with a warp pipe presumably straight to Brooklyn so they can continue to run their plumbing business and keep in touch with their families.
  • It's also sweet how The Toads warmly greet the Brothers, as if they have been living at the Kingdom for their entire lives.
• One of the final scenes is of the Lumalee cheerily saying the movie's over, then seemingly going into an existential spiral. ...Before sincerely adding "Makes you wanna play saxophone" and does so playing the "Super Mario" theme for old time's sake. Notably the only time the Lumalee says anything that genuinely ends on an uplifting note.
  Lumalee: Now that's a happy ending. ...Or is it? Because everything's over now. And all that's left is you and the infinite void...
  (Beat)
  ...Kinda makes you wanna play saxaphone, huh?? (starts playing the Super Mario Bros 1 Main Theme)
• The ending credits contain a very special dedication, right under Nintendo President: Shuntaro Furukawa...
  Former Nintendo President: Satoru Iwata
• The mid-credit scene is a reprise of “Peaches”. It begins with Bowser listing people who got in the way of his conquest (both to marry Peach and destroy the Mushroom Kingdom). Mario and Donkey Kong are naturally included…but so is Luigi. For fans of the man in green, it’s incredibly satisfying to see Bowser know him and his name from the get-go. Especially after years of the running gag where Luigi was depicted as unimportant compared to Mario. Those days are gone.
• The last shot for the movie is a familiar spotted egg hatching in the corner of the Brooklyn sewers. Then as the scene slam cuts to black, we hear one last thing...
  "Yoshi!"

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