If you thought The Super Mario Bros. Movie would leave any Mario pop-culture reference unreferenced, you better think again. A new ad for Nintendo and Illumination’s animated adaptation of the bros. confirms that anything and everything Mario-adjacent can be mined for jokes, including the rap — “The Mario Rap” — from 1989’s Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s resurrection of “The Mario Rap” comes in the form of what appears to be an in-film commercial for the Super Mario Bros. plumbing service, presented as a local TV spot. Mario and Luigi save a damsel in distress whose sink is overflowing, and display the breadth of their service coverage area: both Brooklyn AND Queens.
Look closely at the map and you’ll see a few additional references, including local landmarks like:
- Punch Out, a reference to ... uh, Punch-Out!!
- Link Street, getting a little bit of The Legend of Zelda in here
- Hanfuda Ave. (sic) and 1889th St., references to Nintendo’s original business of manufacturing hanafuda cards and 1889, the year Nintendo was founded
- Ecto Hill and Ghost City, possibly the location of Luigi’s haunted mansion in the film
- Mushroom Planet, the desert planet home of Mushroom people from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode “Star Koopa”
The spot ends with a website (SMBplumbing.com) that convincingly conveys Super Mario Bros. Plumbing as a local business, and a phone number (929-55-MARIO) that gives callers a lengthy listen to Charlie Day as Luigi. You can also text it!
In addition to Day, The Super Mario Bros. Movie stars Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike. The movie is written by Matthew Fogel (Minions: The Rise of Gru) and co-directed by Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!) and Aaron Horvath (Teen Titans Go! To the Movies).
The Super Mario Bros. Movie hit movie theaters on April 7.
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