The second trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie has arrived, and unlike the brief teaser that we saw in October, this trailer is jam-packed with enough details, references and Easter eggs to sink an airship.
Strap on your helmets and find your nearest Kart or Motorbike, it’s time to break down all of the plot details, and deep-cut references that we found in the new Super Mario Bros. movie Trailer.
Mario Enters the Arena
The trailer starts with a shot of Mario nervously walking out into a crowded arena as the soundtrack references the iconic theme of World 1-1 from the Super Mario Bros. NES Game.
As the crowd chants Mario’s name, we’re reminded of this famous Super Mario Bros 3 commercial, featuring a crowd of Mario Fans so large that they can be seen from space.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Mario and Donkey Kong are standing on a bright-red girder, and in this shot you can see other details, such as a blue ladder, barrels and tires suspended in the air, and more red platforms directly below them. This all emulates the exact level layouts you would see in the original Donkey Kong arcade game where Mario and Donkey Kong made their first appearances.
The Cranky Kong Cameo
Peach and Cranky Kong are here too, making their first appearances in the trailer, and Cranky Kong seems to be presiding over the contest as some sort of ruler or monarch. Perhaps this is a world that is somewhat removed from Princess Peach’s castle and is under Kong rule instead?
More Arena Easter Eggs
There are other references in this arena as well, which point to it being owned by the Kongs, such as the carved bananas in the stands and the audience being filled predominately with more Kongs. Of course, it’s not just DK infrastructure represented in this arena. Mario’s iconic yellow blocks and brick blocks are visible in the background as well. None of these blocks have question marks on them, so Mario probably won’t receive any power-ups in this particular fight.
Super Smash Bros.
This movie looks like it's going to be filled with elements that include a slew of Mario games, and as Mario and Donkey Kong run toward each other, we are reminded of the start of a Super Smash Bros. match. When Mario jumps into the air to hit Donkey Kong, it even looks like his forward air attack from Smash Bros. too.
Speaking of Donkey Kong, Shigeru Miyamoto pointed out Donkey Kong’s new design during the Movie Trailer Direct, stating that this is Donkey Kong’s first redesign since he was made into a 3D model for Donkey Kong Country on the SNES. He has been changed to “give him a more comical personality and design reminiscent of the original character,” which is yet another reference to the original Donkey Kong arcade game.
Bowser Meets Luigi
In this new scene, we’re reintroduced to Jack Black’s Bowser. We also get a much better look at Luigi, who is suspended in mid-air (presumably by Kamek) as Bowser pushes him for more information about his brother.
Bowser's Koopa Army
This cinematic flying shot over Bowser’s army shows much more than just the Koopas we saw in the last trailer. We were able to find Red and Green Koopatroopas and Parakoopatroopas, Goombas, Bob-Ombs, Piranha Plants, Shy Guys, potentially Hammer Bros or their larger Sledge Bro Counterparts, and also the Batlike creatures called Swoops. You can also see a couple of Red Spiny’s and the blue-shelled Buzzy Beetles.
Charlie Day's Luigi Voice
As Bowser pulls on Luigi’s mustache, torturing him for information on Mario, we get to hear Charlie Day’s performance of the much more nervous Mario Brother for the first time.
Mario Bros. Plumbing
While Luigi talks, we see a few brief shots of Mario and Luigi working together as plumbers for their day job, in what seem to be scenes from the beginning of the movie, or potentially flashbacks.
A Mario 64 Cameo
As we move to the interior of Peach’s Castle, you can see that behind Peach is the same stained glass window from Super Mario 64, which can be seen out the front of Peach’s Castle in the game.
The World Map
The Toads here are all gathered around a table showing the different worlds of the Mario universe. We have the Mushroom Kingdom at the bottom, a Sand World on the left edge, a kingdom featuring stone ruins in the center (perhaps this could be the world of the Kongs?), a grassy world on the lower right with mountains reminiscent of Yoshi’s Island for SNES, and… is that two Lava Worlds for Bowser?
You’ll notice that while there have been a lot of shots of an ice world in the trailers, it doesn’t seem to be on the map. Well actually, it is. If you look at this second fiery island on the right, it has icy edges. This shot clearly takes place after Bowser conquers the Ice world of the Penguins, and the map reflects the Ice World's destruction.
More Mushroom Kingdom Cameos
In this shot of Peach and Toad walking toward the camera, we can see multiple references. To start with, the paintings on the wall seem to be of other Toads and the Castle that they are standing in, but we were still reminded of Super Mario 64’s magic paintings. Princess Peach is also wearing a suit similar to what she wears when riding Motorbikes in Mario Kart.