Mythology Gag / The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Being a film based on the Super Mario Bros. series, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is one big mythology gag in of itself, but it’s still fun to list the nods to the colossal cavalcade of content from the first games all the way up to the most recent.

---

Examples:

Super Mario games

• Some of Bowser's roars are provided by Kenny James, his current voice actor in the games.
• As Mario makes his final attempt to complete Peach's obstacle course, he holds his arms out to the side when running across the donut blocks, as he does in several later games when he reaches full speed. He then clears the Bullet Bills using his signature triple jump complete with identical animations: his arms held to his sides and back on the second jump, and a backflip with his arms spread on the third.
• Super Mario Bros.:
  • While Mario and Luigi jump through a sidewalk construction site, the placement of the crates and buckets is laid out exactly like the first blocks of World 1-1. This culminates in Mario sliding down a flag pole outside of a castle-shaped burger joint just like the end of the original levels, complete with the exact same sound effect used when Mario hits the flagpole. The joint itself resembles the end castle of those levels.
  • After getting lost in the underground sewers, a sign in the background reads "Level 1-2", much like said level which was the first underground level, the leitmotif of which plays as part of the music. It's also the very first level in the series with a Warp Zone, that takes you to another world via pipe, much like the one the brothers find there.
  • The large hole in the brick wall hiding the Warp Zone forms a silhouette of Mario's head sprite from this game.
  • While barring Mario and Toad from entering Peach's castle, the guard Toads sarcastically state that "the princess is in another castle". This was the dialogue of all the Toads in the original Super Mario Bros.
  • Mario is shorter than Peach, but while he has a Super Mushroom he's taller than her. This is a reference to their size dynamic in early games starting with the first Super Mario Bros., in which Peach was only taller than Mario when he was unpowered.
  • If you look closely when Mario grabs a Super Mushroom, his head enlarges before the rest of his body, just like the sprites in the game's "growth" animation.
  • The scene of Mario, Peach and Toad crossing a bridge with a mess of Cheep-Cheeps jumping over it references levels 2-3 and 7-3 from this game.
  • The "brick-breaking" sound effect is heard when Mario's kart gets destroyed by Bullet Bills.
  • The "level complete" victory theme plays when Peach completes the obstacle course and touches the flag. It is later heard in a trumpet fanfare as Mario and Peach prepare to leave for the Jungle Kingdom.
  • When Bowser invites Kamek to play on his piano with him, Bowser plays the Underground theme.
  • The iconic "Save the Princess" theme is used for Bowser's wedding with Peach. A reprise of said theme is briefly heard when Mario and Luigi get the Super Star and turn the tide of the final battle.
• Super Mario Bros. 2:
  • The antique shop is selling Magic Potions from this game.
  • When Peach completes the obstacle course, she slows her fall using her dress as a parachute, referencing her Floating Jump ability, which originated from this game.
  • In the final battle, Luigi picks up a Question Block and throws it at Bowser: exactly how you attack in the game.
  • A snippet of the Overworld theme plays in the credits.
• Super Mario Bros. 3:
  • When Bowser's floating castle attacks the Penguins' kingdom, a remix of the Airship theme from this game can be heard.
  • The "Toad House" theme can be heard when Toads are getting their coins from blocks. Above said blocks are screens with images of the treasure chest sprite seen in the Toad Houses, and the Toad House music plays through this brief scene.
  • The antique shop has a Hammer power-up on display in a glass case. 8-bit sprites of the Music Box, P-Wing and P-Switch are also being sold there.
  • A route map seen above an elevator station is based on the world maps from this game.
  • Luigi gets sent to the Dark Lands, the name of the final biome in this game — and the place where Bowser's castle is.
  • At multiple times across the movie, when the brothers run at high speeds, they stretch out their arms like they did when obtaining P-Speed in this game and Super Mario World.
  • While Mario was running away from the Toad guards, the sound when the P-meter is full can be heard. In the same scene, the sound effect when Mario slides to run the opposite direction can be heard as well.
  • A Sledge Bro appears during the party in the Koopa Kingdom.
  • Mario flies with Tanooki Suit at one point. The film's score also samples the World 1-2 overworld theme from this game when Mario first flies.
  • Bowser's piano has an inscription reading "Ludwig von Koopa". While not appearing in the movie, the namedrop acknowledges the existence of the Koopalings, at least.
  • "The Dark Lands" theme samples the castle theme from this game.
  • After Mario dons the Tanooki suit, DK calls him a raccoon, and Luigi thinks he's some kind of bear. Back when SMB3 was released, few Westerners were familiar with Tanuki, causing similar confusion at what it was supposed to be.
• Super Mario World:
  • In a poorly-made poster for their plumbing service, Mario and Luigi try to look "super" by wearing yellow capes and "flying" (actually laying on stools) over an NYC backdrop. Cape Mario, debuting in Super Mario World, wore a yellow cape, but flew by holding it using his legs and hands; their pose more resembles World's Super Koopa enemies that flew in the same way.
  • In the "Mushroom Kingdom" clip, this game's overworld theme can be heard in the underscore.
  • The antique shop has a Dragon Coin on display in a glass case. 16-bit sprites of the Secret Keys, Yellow Switch and P-Balloon are also being sold there.
  • The kingdom map near an elevator station, as well as the map Cranky shows to Peach, is based on the game's world maps.
  • "The Dark Lands" soundtrack samples the Ghost House theme music.
  • Mario, Peach and Toad's travel montage briefly takes them through Yoshi's Island itself, with a horde of multicolored Yoshis running in the background. Conspicuously missing among those colors is the classic Green...
  • The Koopa soldiers monitor Bowser's prisoners and capture the Kong Army on Rainbow Road while riding Koopa Clown Cars, which was Bowser's vehicle in the final battle of the game.
  • When Kamek casts magic and teleports, the same sound effects as the Magikoopa attacks from this game play.
• Super Mario 64:
  • The Penguins that Bowser imprisons are based on those first seen in this game.
  • One of the locations that Mario, Peach and Toad pass through is Bob-omb Battlefield, complete with cannon and floating island. King Bob-omb is one of Bowser's wedding guests.
    • The level's accompanying theme can be heard in the underscore of the "Mushroom Kingdom" clip.
  • When Mario first sees Peach's Castle in the distance atop a hill, the castle theme from this game is sampled.
  • Mario and Toad visit Peach’s Castle via a Warp Pipe in front of the palace, a nod to the opening cutscene from this game.
  • While riding on their way to Cranky Kong, Peach can be briefly seen clinging on to Mario's face in a similar fashion to the interactive title screen where the player can stretch Mario's facial proportions.
  • During Mario and DK's fight, the former gets launched into the air, and greets Peach with a dazed voice. His specific line is "It's-a-me, Mario", a catchphrase that originated in the start screen for 64.
  • While Mario and DK take on Bowser's invasion, Mario briefly surfs on a Koopa shell like he could this game.
    • Also during this battle, Mario jumps on a mushroom and performs the Spin Jump, with the animation taken from the game and onwards.
  • At the end, the Star-powered Mario Bros. toss Bowser into the air using the iconic tail swing move.
• Super Mario Sunshine: A business next to Punch-Out Pizzeria is the Sunshine Travel Agency, with its sign written in the same font as the game's logo.
• New Super Mario Bros.:
  • The logo for Mario and Luigi's plumbing business is lifted directly from the logo of this game, minus the "New" part.
  • The "bah" sound signature to the game's soundtrack can be heard in the Mushroom Kingdom scene.
• Super Mario Galaxy:
  • Toad's backpack is similar to he one worn by Captain Toad. His theme music, introduced in this game, can be heard when Mario meets Toad for the first time.
  • When Mario sees just how many pipes he needs to navigate, the first few notes from Bowser's boss theme play.
  • A Lumalee appears as one of Bowser's prisoners. It also makes the game's Luma sound effects when he drops his pinwheel and when it appears before the credits.
  • When Super Star-powered Mario and Luigi charge at Bowser's army during the final battle, they run in the same Airplane Arms pose as they do when they utilize this game's Rainbow Star.
  • The bat enemies distinctive to the Galaxy games are directly lifted as the design of the spooky bats in this film.
  • During the Koopa Troop's victory party, one Goomba does a breakdance by spinning on its head, visually alluding to what happens in this game and its sequel after Mario does a Star Spin on a Goomba.
  • The medley played in the end credits includes the Gusty Garden Galaxy theme.
  • When Mario asks Peach where she's from, she looks up at the night sky and says there are a lot of galaxies out there.
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii:
  • The Toads guarding the entrance to Peach's castle are a yellow and blue pair, just like the playable toads featured in both here and U.
  • Kamek crossdresses as Princess Peach to help Bowser practice his proposal speech; his outfit looks identical to when he dressed as Peach in Wii to trick Mario before enlarging Bowser for the actual final fight.
• Super Mario Galaxy 2:
  • A Hammer Bro. being scared of what's behind the Shy Guy's mask and falling on its back during the Koopa Troop's party visually alludes to what happens when Mario uses on a Star Spin on it and its Boomerang Bro relatives.
  • Bowser is shrunken down after his defeat and abused during the ending credits similar to the game, though it's due to the Mini Mushroom, and the abuser in the movie, a Toad guard, has a more justified reason: he's taking the piano because it's past the King of the Koopas' curfew.
• Super Mario 3D Land:
  • Mario having to rescue Luigi from capture by Bowser was previously utilized in this game.
  • Dry Bones's eyes turning red during its revival and to show anger is similar to this game, as well as New Super Mario Bros. U.
  • The Super Leaf directly transforms Mario into Tanooki Mario instead of Raccoon Mario.
  • During the first half of the final battle between Mario and Bowser in Brooklyn, Bowser whips Mario with his tail, which was one of his attacks in the game.
• New Super Mario Bros. U:
  • The display of Bowser's smoldering of the Snow Kingdom and what he will do to the Mushroom Kingdom's movie version, turning them into barren lands of smoldering ash, heavily resembles what Bowser did to Peach's Castle in the game.
  • The crown-shaped decorations on the main floating platform part of the obstacle course are Super Crowns without the pink spots or eyes.
  • One of the locations Mario, Peach, and Toad visit is clearly Rock-Candy Mines, as indicated by the distinct structure of the rock spires (stacks of cubic stones with holes in them.)
• Super Mario 3D World:
  • The pink space that Mario and Luigi fly through resembles the Clear Pipe space seen in the game's first cutscene.
  • While following Toad through the village, Mario briefly runs with his elbows bent and cheeks puffed, just like in his running animation from this game.
  • The Clear Pipes in the Toads' village come from this game.
  • During Bowser's party after stealing the Super Star, the Koopas perform Fury Bowser's theme.
  • Peach's design when she grabs a Fire Flower is based on Fire Peach from this game, sans the ponytail. She would don this look in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which was released six months after this movie.
  • During his duel with Donkey Kong, Mario hits a ? block and becomes Cat Mario via a Super Bell, to DK's amusement.
  • Bowser is trapped in a bottle after being defeated just like his fate the Sprixie Princesses did to him at the end.
• Super Mario Maker:
  • The Sledge Bros' design in this movie is taken from their appearance in the Super Mario Bros style of the game.
  • Koopa Troopas riding Koopa Clown Cars in the movie references the fact that they and other enemies can ride them regardless of the game style. Likewise, during the beginning of the movie, Buzzy Beetles have Bill Blasters on top of them, which can be stacked on them regardless of the game style.
• Super Mario Odyssey:
  • During the dinner scene, in the background on the top shelf, there are ornaments of the sombrero wearing sheep of this game.
  • Toad's backpack has patches depicting Fossil Falls and Tostarena.
  • At one point, Mario, Peach, and Toad pass through a desert area featuring Tostarena's trademark upside-down floating pyramids.
  • A Crazy Cap shop can be seen while Toad is leading Mario to Peach's castle.
  • When Toad makes the two castle guards a meal, the music from the Luncheon Kingdom plays.
  • During Mario's Failure Montage on the Training Course, a Cheep Cheep whips its tail at him to make him fall into the Warp Pipe, similar to what happened when Mario captures it in the game.
  • When Mario and DK fall into the ocean, they get eaten by a Maw-Ray (aka. Eels and Unagi, in earlier games) that specifically uses the Odyssey redesign.
  • The suit Bowser wears to the wedding is the same one he wore in this game, complete with a white top hat. An earlier scene of him rehearsing his marriage proposal also shows him holding a Piranha Plant bouquet, like the one Princess Peach is seen holding while captured, and again when Bowser and Mario are vying for Peach in the ending. Likewise, Peach wears the wedding dress during the wedding ceremony, only with her usual crown instead of Tiara and her hair is down instead of in a ponytail.
  • Pauline is depicted in her suit from this game (minus the hat), and her reassuring the public during the report on the flood in Brooklyn indicates she still has her mayoral role. She also uses a lyric from Jump Up Superstar on the website when the Key to the City button is pressed (It's time to jump up in the air...).
  • A copy of The Odyssey is prominently displayed as a Visual Pun on the shelf in Mario's room.
• Super Mario Maker 2:
  • The hardhat-wearing Toads resemble the Builder Toads from this game's Story Mode.
  • A construction site has a sign with a picture of a Super Hammer on it.
  • Luigi, powered by the Super Star, uses a Dry Bones shell as a shield. This is similar to the player's ability to use a Dry Bones shell as a Goomba's shoe.

Mario Kart games

• General:
  • The Illumination Entertainment logo shows a Minion in a kart messing up the starting boost trick by accelerating on "3" instead of "2" during the starting countdown, a common mistake made by players in the games.
  • The Koopa General (also shown prominently on the main poster) is an obvious reference to the franchise's most notorious item, the Blue Shell.^note Though in the games, it's technically from a Spiny, not a Koopa. In the movie, the General transforms into the Blue Shell and attacks Mario and Donkey Kong in the same way as the games do: flying through the air, chasing whoever's in front, then rapidly spiraling upwards before divebombing its target with an explosion.
  • Rainbow Road, a constant in every game in the series, appears as a transportation route between major areas.
  • At one point, Mario pulls off a mini-turbo and drives off Rainbow Road onto another part to escape the Koopa General. One can actually do this in some versions of the track (and plenty of other tracks) to perform a shortcut.
  • When Mario, Peach, and Toad customize their karts in the Kongs' garage, the roulette makes the same sound as the series' Item Boxes.
  • During the Rainbow Road chase, Mario is seen constantly drifting back and forth to keep his speed up, a nod to the infamous "snaking" technique.
• Super Mario Kart: Surprisingly, it's the Super version of the Rainbow Road BGM that's used to punctuate its reveal.
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Bowser's Castle is seen floating near Rainbow Road, just like in this game, though it's actually hampering the good guys rather than being a background element.
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!!:
  • The Koopa General's design is based on how the Spiny Shell looked from Double Dash!! to Wii, where it had wings.
  • When Mario, Peach, and Toad first arrive at the Jungle Kingdom, they are driven to Cranky's Palace by a Kong in a flatbed kart, with Mario and Peach standing in the back and hanging onto a handlebar reminiscent of how the rear drivers would stand in this game.
  • Baby Mario and Baby Luigi appear in a flashback with their designs taken from this game (with the overalls rather than the diapers of the Yoshi's Island series).
  • After Toad's Tiny Titan is destroyed and Mario maneuvers over the Koopa General's vehicle, they hitch rides on Peach and DK's, briefly seen as a mechanic of two characters sharing the same vehicle.
  • One of the Koopa Troopas attempts to throw a Bob-omb, which first appeared as a special item for Wario and Waluigi, in addition to King Boo and Petey Piranha, before becoming an item obtainable for everyone from Mario Kart DS onwards.
• Mario Kart Wii:
  • Peach is shown wearing the biking jumpsuit that debuted in this game. She didn't have a helmet with it in-game, however.
  • The Bullet Bikes that some of the Koopa Troopas ride during the Rainbow Road ambush first appeared in this game, though they have a more sinister design with a shark smile in the movie.
  • Mario's Kart resembles the Standard Kart design from this game. Toad's kart resembles the Tiny Titan, a kart that he alongside other small weight drivers can drive.
• Mario Kart 7:
  • The various karts and bikes all have gliders as first introduced in this game.
  • When Mario, Toad, and Peach go to select their karts, the display garages have the now-franchise-standard roulette-like selection wheels, which references the wheel-like UI that players use to select their kart parts in this game and in 8.
• Mario Kart 8:
  • The countdown sound from this game is used for the Illumination Entertainment logo. The Minion's kart resembles a Gru-branded version of the Circuit Special.
  • The karts and bikes have antigravity wheels to stay on ever-changing terrain and loops.
  • Toad's Tiny Titan makes the same noise as his horn in the game.
  • The music that plays when Mario, Peach, and Toad enter the Kongs' garage is an orchestral remix of the Mario Kart 8 Main Menu music.
• Mario Kart 8: Deluxe: The sparks on the wheels of boosting karts go from blue to red to purple as featured in the Switch re-release.

Other Mario games

• Mario Bros.:
  • During the newscast of the Brooklyn street flood, there's a newsflash mentioning crabs lurking in the sewer pipes, alluding to the enemy Sidesteppers that Mario and Luigi had to deal with in the game.
  • At one point, Luigi cries out, "Mario, where are you?", which may or may not be a reference to the game's infamous 1984 commercial.
• Dr. Mario: "Fever" is among the tracks orchestrated in the ending credits medley.
• Paper Mario 64:
  • Bowser's Castle is a floating fortress similar to this game, though it's not underneath Peach's Castle this time.
  • The Koopa band members during Bowser's celebration party wear the angular shades seen by the enemy Koopas in this game.
  • Toad greets another Toad by the name of Chanterelle, whom shares a name with this game's Pop Diva. Both Chanterelles even have the same purple color.
• Luigi's Mansion (Series):
  • Luigi's Mansion:
    • A few notes of the main theme play as part of "The Dark Lands" soundtrack.
    • When Luigi arrives in the Dark Lands, he spends a good few moments looking around with his flashlight and calling Mario’s name. This is a direct reference to his default state throughout the series, including the same nervous-shoulder-hunch pose and the cries for Mario provided by the games' Holler Button. The scene even takes place in a dark forest at night, just like the opening cutscene in the first game.
    • King Boo is a guest at Bowser's wedding, although he lacks the design features specific to the game (instead appearing more similar to his Super Mario Sunshine counterpart).
  • Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon:
    • At the beginning of the movie, Mario and Luigi are hired to fix a leaky faucet, but the homeowner's dog harasses them after Luigi breaks his toy. This is a direct reference to Luigi's run-ins with the Polterpup, with the only difference being that the dog acts out of malice. After Mario and Luigi save Brooklyn, the dog salutes Luigi, which he acknowledges.
    • When Luigi is first going around the Dark Lands, some beats from King Boo's boss theme play before a bit of the main Luigi's Mansion theme.
  • Luigi's Mansion 3:
    • Luigi's character poster has him lighting his face up with a flashlight and looking terrified, similar to how he does on the cover for this game.
    • When the Mario Brothers' van breaks down on their way to their first job, Mario decides to go on-foot, demonstrating his parkour skills, with Luigi reluctantly following, similar to Mario rushing to the top of the hotel to fight King Boo, long jumping and wall jumping his way up, with an encumbered Luigi following, in the endgame.
    • Although Mario and Luigi swinging Bowser by his tail and throwing him is a reference to Super Mario 64, the fact that the both of them had to do it is similar to how some ghost enemies, including King Boo himself, necessitated Gooigi working in tandem with Luigi to be slammed.
• Mario Party:
  • Mario Party: Wario's Battle Canyon is rearranged in the song "Blue Shelled," as confirmed by composer Brian Tyler himself.
  • Mario Party 7: When Mario is traversing the Mushroom Kingdom with Toad so he can get to Peach's Castle, the two eventually come across multiple Warp Pipes that has each one warping a person to a specific location, referencing the duel minigame Warp Pipe Dreams^note Albeit here, for a better visual storytelling, all the warp pipes are shown to be in multiple colors as opposed to only being red or blue. Mario initially going through them in circles is also what Toadsworth from said game also warns about in the minigame advice section.
  • Mario Party 9: The Koopa Clown Cars have robotic claws to abduct Cranky Kong and the Kong Army, which Bowser Jr.'s Junior Clown Car had in this game.
• Mario & Luigi:
  • Powered by the Super Star, Mario and Luigi perform several acrobatic moves and choreographed attacks in a manner that’s extremely reminiscent of their Bros Moves.
  • Despite popular belief, characters almost never actually eat the series' iconic mushrooms in order to reap their benefits, instead absorbing them on contact like all other power-ups. The Mario and Luigi games represented the only exception to this rule prior to the film, in which Mario's displeasure at needing to constantly hork them down is a running gag.
  • Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: When Mario and Luigi hold hands as they spin through the Warp Zone, it resembles the advanced variant of their "Swing Bros" attack. This is also the only point in the movie where, for a few frames, you can see that Luigi is wearing the fan-favored red-and-white-striped socks that this game introduced. Likewise, Toad does the usual variant of the Swing Bros Bros Attack on a Biddybud.
  • Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: Peach's appearance in a flashback resembles her appearance first seen in the game, complete with pacifier.
  • Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story:
    • Upon meeting Mario and learning of his intention to go after Bowser, she warns him that Bowser could "eat him for breakfast" without even noticing due to how small Mario is, which brings to mind what happens to not only Mario but also Luigi, Peach herself, and a host of other Mushroom Castle residents in this game.
    • Bowser punches open a block from the decimated Penguin castle to obtain the Super Star, which was his method to obtain items in this game. In addition, he punches Mario, just like what he could do to various enemies, including Fawful and his Eviler Counterpart, Dark Bowser.
  • Mario & Luigi: Dream Team: Kamek dressing up as Peach is a direct reference to Kamek dressing up as her in the game as well, except this time, he decides to not keep his hat on.
  • Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam:
    • Bowser rallies his Minions with a speech and Kamek by his side just like in the game, though he thankfully doesn't have to worry about his Paper self wanting a piece of the action.
    • Luigi freaks out over a flock of bats from the Galaxy games flying at him from a tree in a dark location, just like he did with the Paper Swoops in Gloomy Woods.
    • Bowser orders Peach's Castle and the whole Mushroom Kingdom to be destroyed out of retaliation, though it's Peach rejecting his wedding rather than payback for his son being hurt.
• Mario Tennis: In a Funny Background Event during Bowser's party, a Shy Guy takes off his mask and terrifies several members of the Koopa Troop with his maskless face. In Power Tennis, Shy Guy spooks Luigi when his mask falls off and he sees his maskless face during his trophy animation.
  • Earlier, during the scene where the brothers greet their family; there is a picture frame of a young Mario wearing his tennis outfit from Aces.
• Yoshi's Island DS: The second stinger features a Green Yoshi egg hatching, like the ending of this game.
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker: Toad carries a heavy backpack that hampers his ability to jump as well as the others (he's seen having to be lifted up by Peach during the Travel Montage) and the game's main theme is used as his Leitmotif a few times.
• Paper Mario: Color Splash:
  • During the Koopa Troop's victory party, 2 Hammer Bros. are seen juggling their hammers near the crowd of Koopa Troopas, referencing the game's Juggler Bros. enemies.
  • Just like in this game, a Banzai Bill is treated as a Fantastic Nuke that destroys nearly everything around it, though this one (thankfully) doesn't leave Black Paint in its wake.

Donkey Kong games

• Donkey Kong:
  • Fittingly, as Donkey Kong was the first game to feature Mario as a playable character, DK is the first opponent Mario faces in an actual fight.
  • The arena that Mario and DK fight in has red girders like the ones from the original arcade game. DK is seen frequently throwing barrels, which is his only form of attack in the first level.
  • One of the cheering Kongs in the stands is carrying a hand-knit banner with Cranky's 8-bit sprite on it.
  • The Kong guards all carry hammers as their main weapons, with the hammers looking similar to the ones in the game.
  • When DK grabs a Fire Flower, the sound effect accompanying his transformation is the same one for when Mario hits a barrel or fireball with the hammer.
  • The Punch-Out Pizzeria at the beginning has a Donkey Kong arcade machine, but rebranded as Jump Man as a reference to Mario's original name and Kong himself is replaced by a yeti. It's even played by a patron named Giuseppe, who wears the same red overalls/blue shirt combo Mario had during that time and is also voiced by Charles Martinet.
  • When Mario defeats Donkey Kong and stops him from falling, the game's opening theme plays.
• Donkey Kong Junior:
  • This version of Donkey Kong is Cranky Kong's son which goes off the iteration of the lore where DK is DK Junior grown up.
  • One of the Kongs watching the fight is wearing a white tank-top that resembles Junior's.
• Donkey Kong Country:
  • Cranky Kong appears as the ruler of Kong Island. Numerous Kongs also make background cameos, including Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Funky Kong, Kiddy Kong, and Swanky Kong.
  • The music that plays upon first approaching the gates to the Kong Kingdom is a slow, dramatic remix of DK Island Swing.
  • DK can roll attack like the Country series.
  • While there are no helper animals present, the jeep that the gatekeeping Kong rides has a car logo resembling Rambi the rhinoceros.
• Donkey Kong 64:
  • DK is introduced to the tune of the DK Rap, albeit with most of the lyrics omitted due to most of the DK crew not being formally introduced.
  • Chunky Kong appears in the stadium, cheering on the battle on the same row of seats as Diddy Kong.
• Donkey Kong Country Returns:
  • During their battle, Mario tries to grab a Fire Flower, only for DK to extinguish it by blowing on it. Donkey Kong Country Returns similarly allowed DK to put out fires by blowing on them.
  • DK and Mario escape from the Maw-Ray by using one of DK's kart's missiles as a Rocket Barrel, which first appeared in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, but was reworked to function differently in this game. It resembles the "Returns" version, with DK and Mario hanging on top of the rocket and it rising and falling with horizontal thrust.
  • The hut where Mario and DK recover after their match is exactly the same as the game's version of DK's home.

Other Media

• The cartoon depictions of Mario and Luigi on their plumbing van are drawn in Yoichi Kotabe's art style. The image of Mario specifically looks like his classic "jumping with one fist raised" pose featured in this art◊, only he's holding a plunger in the raised hand.
• Donkey Kong says "It's on like Donkey Kong!" before his fight with Mario, a popular phrase that Nintendo had trademarked years prior for Donkey Kong Country Returns.
• Super Mario Adventures
  • Mario's line "Mushroom Kingdom, here we come!" from the trailers is pulled straight from the comic itself.
  • The Koopa Troopas are designed similarly to their depiction in the comic.
• The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!:
  • The commercial for Super Mario Bros. Plumbing uses the first verse of the "Plumber's Rap", with the soundtrack including a cover version of the whole song.
  • Uncle Tony, who was only mentioned in the live-action segment "Glasnuts," finally makes an appearance. He is voiced by Rino Romano. They even retain his only known character trait - that he's a glutton who tends to take more than his fair share of the family's food.
  • Just like in the episode "Plummers Academy", Mario gets the idea to prove his and Luigi's worth as plumbers by fixing a massive leak in downtown Brooklyn after being belittled by their former boss. The only difference is the bros were far more successful in the show.
  • The scene where Mario enters the Mushroom Kingdom via a warp pipe brings to mind how Mario and Luigi came to said kingdom in the opening of the show's animated segments. They literally "Found the secret Warp Zone while workin' on the drain".
  • The climax involves Peach being forced to marry Bowser after he threatens the lives of the Toads, which follows the plot of the episode "Do You Princess Toadstool Take this Koopa...?".
  • The voice of Kamek in the movie is a classic Peter Lorre impression similar to the voice of Mouser, who was The Dragon to Bowser/King Koopa in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.
  • The episode of "Mario and Joliet" has Princess Toadstool notice that Joliet's bridal bouquet was made of Fire Flowers, helping her, her fiancé Romano, and the heroes escape from Koopa's dungeon. The same thing happens in the film except this time, there is an Ice Flower in the bouquet.
• The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3:
  • Toad helps a prisoner of Bowser fight back with a power-up he smuggled in via a normal everyday object just like in the episode "Super Koopa", though it's an Ice Flower in the wedding bouquet for Peach.
  • Mario throwing a Sledge Bro at its fellow Koopa Troop comrades while invincible from the Super Star's power is similar to the episode "Tag Team Trouble".
• Super Mario Bros. (1993):
  • During the commercial, there's a take of Mario holding up a wrench and Luigi a plunger, similar to the 1993 film's poster where they're holding the same respective tools.
  • Foreman Spike's harassment of the brothers is similar to the behavior of their business rival Anthony Scapelli from the 1993 film. Fans of the original movie have sometimes speculated that Scapelli actually is Spike, so this could also be a nod to that interpretation.
  • The Bros.' van breaking down on the way to a job happens almost exactly like it does in the 1993 film, but instead of fixing it with a water bottle, the Bros. simply ditch it to do some platforming.
  • The portal to the Mushroom Kingdom is found when the brothers are fixing a leak in the sewers underneath Brooklyn, although the location is actually in the sewers, not in a cave like in the 1993 film. The initial stretch of sewer is almost the same as in the '93 movie as well, with the only major change being that the valve they need to fix is on a platform over a pit.
  • While warping to the Mushroom Kingdom through the warp pipe network, the flagellating effect on the brothers' voices is very similar to the effect from this film when Daisy is heard through the portal after being kidnapped.
  • Peach's backstory is basically a reversed version of Daisy's; both involve ending up in another world as a baby, but instead of being a native princess sent to the human world, Peach entered the Mushroom Kingdom from somewhere unspecified before eventually being crowned their princess.
  • The climax of the film is remarkably similar to where Mario and President Koopa are warped into Brooklyn, though in this version, Mario and Bowser actually duke it. In the 1993 film, Mario takes on Koopa by himself and is nearly defeated until Luigi returns (having been preoccupied trying to retrieve the meteorite piece) at the last minute and backs him up. In this film, the same thing pretty much happens. Luigi comes out of hiding and blocks Bowser's fire-breath attack with a manhole cover, allowing he and Mario to get the Super Star and take down Bowser as a team.
• Early in the film, Mario is in his room playing on an NES, with the shot framing him in a way that's very similar to the beginning of The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach!. The scene is even interrupted by Luigi coming in to bring him a plate of food, similar to the film where he does the same with tea.
• In addition to the aforementioned Kong cameos, a slightly-redesigned Eddie the Mean Old Yeti from the Donkey Kong Country cartoon shows up as part of the Kong army in Peach's character poster.
• Mario and Donkey Kong get swallowed alive by a Maw-Ray, just like in the Mario no Bōken Land manga's adaptation of Super Mario 64, though Mario doesn't use a sword to escape it.

The Bros' Website

The business website for Super Mario Bros. Plumbing has many:

• Mario's "jumping towards the camera" pose in the "About Us" section is a recreation of this art from Yoichi Kotabe.
• There's a negative review from Foreman Spike, who mentions they used to work for him, as depicted in the game.
• Another review is from someone named "dunnadunnadunna", obviously an onomatopoeia of the "Underground Theme".
• Another review is from a user named "anothercaserole", a pun on Your Princess Is in Another Castle!.
• Another review comments on the "amazing looking water". This is more of an Ascended Meme, as it references a Miiverse user named "MARIO WiiU", whose comments solely praised the water effects in Wii U games.
• Another review is from "jump.man," a nod to the name Mario went by in some versions of Donkey Kong before he was given an actual name.
• Clicking on the wrench icon causes it to play the GameCube start-up jingle.
• Clicking on the "Certified Super!" icon causes it to play the power-up jingle.
• Clicking on the "As Seen on TV" icon causes it to play the "3...2...1...GO!" jingle from Mario Kart 8.
• If you call the number on the website, Luigi will pick up and start advertising. He mentions that they'll even clean mansions. At the end of the commercial, he also makes a faux-surprise face that heavily resembles the face he makes on the box art.
• When the site was updated following the release of the final trailer, it added a service area map of Brooklyn and Queens. Clicking the latter plays music and sound effects from the original Donkey Kong arcade game, while clicking on the former plays Kid Icarus (1986).
• Before the service area map page opens, a special Captcha appears to check if the user is a bot or not. Upon completion, the site plays the jingle that plays when you run into an Item Box in Mario Kart. One of the Captchas shows a sign displaying the word "sunshine" in the same font from that game's title.
• A memo from Mayor Pauline states that she would be running a festival. She then states that it would be "barrels of fun".
• The "20 questions" in the live chat tells us more about the brothers, most of which contains references:
  • "What does the key to the city unlock?" We assume a cool secret door but we haven't found it yet.
  • The eighth question makes a reference to a Nintendo Gamecube tech demo, Super Mario 128 stating that they wish there could be 128 Marios answering the calls.
  • The ninth question states that Mario grows his mustache by doing face stretches.
  • The eleventh question states that the brothers have serviced 64 clients.
  • The eighteenth question states what the brothers do for fun; Mario likes to throw parties, while Luigi likes to vacuum.
  • The nineteenth question has them denying that they fight and call themselves the dream team.

---