

If this kind stranger sounded familiar, it’s because he is portrayed by none other than Charles Martinet, longtime voice of Mario and Luigi in the Super Mario games. As the siblings wonder if the exaggerated Italian accents they adopted for the ad was overkill, a man playing the classic video game turns around and tells them it sounded great.

Throwing barrels – Classic Donkey Kong arcade gameĮven those individuals with a passing knowledge of video game history are probably aware of the fact that Mario got his start in the original Donkey Kong arcade game from 1981, where the red-hatted pipe-worker was simply known as “Jumpman.” Similarly, the damsel he was saving from the barrel-throwing ape was not Princess Peach, but a woman named “Pauline.”Īll of that is to say that an arcade cabinet of Donkey Kong prominently appears in the Brooklyn pizza parlor at the start of the movie when Mario and Luigi admire the low-budget commercial for their new plumbing business. 3), which is also utilized in the movie when Mario uses its powers against the Banzai Bill Bowser aims at Peach's Castle. The power-up is similar to the Raccoon Mario power-up (first introduced in 1988's Super Mario Bros. "Cape Mario" was first introduced in 1990's Super Mario World, which saw Mario utilizing a yellow cape obtained via collecting a "Cape Feather" that allows Mario (or Luigi) to fly through levels and attack enemies by spinning.

In their heavily accented commercial, we see Mario and Luigi doing the Superman pose while lying on top of stools and wearing yellow capes. Mario and his friends discovered the magic of power-ups many times throughout the film, but the least obvious of them popped up right at the start!
