Well, after a little bit of thinking, I think there's some more things about the Mario anime movie that I could go over. This post might be a bit spoilerific, though, but I do want to go over certain things that happen in the movie that I think are worth mentioning, and offering my opinions on them. It's quite fascinating to see just how much this movie has influenced the series of games as a whole, though (like the flying airship or throwing the Koopa King by his tail that I had mentioned in my last post), so that's part of the reason I want to go over some of these things again. The other reason is because there's a LOT of oddities, as well. Things that just don't make a whole lot of sense. All but one, however, can be explained. The one that can't, I'll admit, is perhaps the only flaw I can find in the movie, outside of the aforementioned (in my previous blog post) product placement... which now that I think about it occurred twice in the movie, as opposed to the one instance I was thinking about. Anywho, I'll now go over all of these things individually. Also, in case you were wondering, I use the Japanese names for characters because of the fact that the movie that I'm discussing was never localized.
FEMALE KINOPIO
Now this one's a bit of a strange one, but I imagine it's not strange at all to a 1986 theater audience. Kinopio (or Toad, as he's known as in America) is a servant of Princess Peach, in the games. Though... it's really only because of the game we know as "Super Mario Bros. 2" (and the game that is known as "Super Mario USA" in Japan) that Kinopio has come to be seen as a single character a lot of the time. Truthfully, though, in SMB1, it wasn't a single character. It was seven different characters who were all captured by the Koopa (and they weren't even known as "Toad" in the U.S. back then, either, but as "Mushroom Retainers", just for the record). Add in the fact that nothing was really specified about them (and that includes their sex), and really, it's not all that strange that all the Kinopio that appear in this movie are female. Kinopio wasn't an established character yet, afterall... and besides, even in modern times we do have Kinopiko (known as Toadette here in the West).
JUGEM'S WEATHER CONTROL
This I actually found to be a rather interesting addition (not so much change, imo, but addition). Jugem (known in America as Lakitu... which somehow sounds even more foreign to me than Jugem, honestly)
is a turtle that rides around in a cloud and throws Paipo (Spiny Eggs) that seem to hatch into Togezo (Spinies). What's interesting is that in this movie, Paipo need to be watered (which Jugem provides through the use of rain) and then exposed to sunlight (which Jugem also provides) much like seeds, before they turn into Togezo. Now, I don't have access to a Japanese SMB1 instruction manual, unfortunately, so I don't know if any information would be given there about whether or not Paipo actually hatch into Togezo, but I always assumed it as such. However, thinking back on it, they turn into Togezo as soon as they touch the ground, in SMB1, so perhaps that, combined with the fact that they have an entirely different name, means that they're actually transforming and not hatching. Maybe Paipo aren't really eggs, afterall? Some food for thought. Whatever the case, it's interesting that Jugem's cloud has weather control. There was control over rain, over sunlight, over the temperature (since it could cause snowfall), and it even seemed to have an affect over the
different seasons. I think it would have been pretty cool to carry some of that over to the games... but wait! They sorta did! Kaminari Jugem (Thunder Lakitu) from Yoshi's Island can throw balls of electric force that sets the ground ablaze, and shares the same ring of drums as the Jugem in this movie has to control thunder and lightning (a trait that's a reference to Raijin, the God of Thunder in Japanese mythology). Though, that's not the only thing that this movie may have inspired when it comes to Jugem. Afterall, another thing that happens in this movie is that Mario is able to take control of Jugem's cloud, much like how it was done later on in Super Mario World. Granted, in this movie the cloud split in two, rather than Mario just taking over the cloud after kicking Jugem out, but it's the same principle.
METTO NOT BEING FIREPROOF
Now this is where we get to the one glaring flaw in the entire movie. The only thing that has no explanation whatsoever. Before I get into this, though, I do want to point out two things that people might have pondered about. The first is that Mario being HUGE when using the Super Mushroom isn't that strange when you consider that
back then, Super Mario was NOT the standard size of Mario and Luigi that it is now. I could probably write an entire blog post on that alone, though, so I won't go into it anymore than just saying that during the time this movie was made, a Super Mushroom really did turn you "SUPER", though it seems to have that same effect in the Smash Bros. series. That brings me to the next thing I wanted to point out. Fire Mario doesn't have a white and red color palette change in this movie, but rather still looks the same. Now, this can still be explained as the color palette change being purely an aesthetic change in the game... a gameplay mechanic, as it were, to help you know whether or not you have that power. And just like with the Super Mushroom, I really could write an entire blog post about the Fire Flower, as well. But, I digress about those two. They can be explained. What CAN'T be explained is Mario defeating a Metto (Buzzy Beetle) with a fireball! Really... I have no explanation for this. It really shouldn't be possible, as that was the main defining feature of them in the game. It's because of this that I actually do consider this to be a flaw in the movie... though a minor one, as it only happens in a brief segment that's part of a larger montage.
ARE PATAPATAS BIRDS OR TURTLES?!
Okay... maybe I don't have an explanation for this beyond the fact that it's a world of fantasy, but somehow I still don't really think of it so much a flaw as just an oddity. I might consider it a flaw if Patapata (Koopa Paratroopas) had outright been changed or referred to as birds, but instead, what we have is a Patapata with a nest and children that are birds... so it's not so much that they're calling Patapata birds, but that they're saying that a turtle is a mother to a bunch of birds. So, ya, it's not really a flaw; it's just... weird. But I think it's perfectly reasonable, since this movie (and the world it takes place in) has an air of fantasy to it. So, it works. And one thing I like about the Koopa clan in this movie is that they do seem to be almost entirely made up of turtles (which is how I think it should be, anyway). But I will admit that I do find it strange (however, very interesting) that there's some added variety to the Nokonoko (Koopa Troopas) by making some of them have spiked shells just like their beloved King.
KIBIDANGO
Not a whole lot to say here, but I think it's worth mentioning that Kibidango, the dog that follows Mario and Luigi around on their quest during the majority of the film, may very well be the inspiration (at least as far as design goes) for the Super Mario World enemy known as Hana-chan (Wiggler), despite the difference in species (one being a dog and the other being a caterpillar).
Well, that's all I really have to say, I suppose. I think I've pretty much gone over everything I can that has to do with this movie. Hopefully, this post has been enlightening and/or entertaining. And now I can go off and rest, after having exhausted pretty much everything I can think to say about this movie. XD
Now this one's a bit of a strange one, but I imagine it's not strange at all to a 1986 theater audience. Kinopio (or Toad, as he's known as in America) is a servant of Princess Peach, in the games. Though... it's really only because of the game we know as "Super Mario Bros. 2" (and the game that is known as "Super Mario USA" in Japan) that Kinopio has come to be seen as a single character a lot of the time. Truthfully, though, in SMB1, it wasn't a single character. It was seven different characters who were all captured by the Koopa (and they weren't even known as "Toad" in the U.S. back then, either, but as "Mushroom Retainers", just for the record). Add in the fact that nothing was really specified about them (and that includes their sex), and really, it's not all that strange that all the Kinopio that appear in this movie are female. Kinopio wasn't an established character yet, afterall... and besides, even in modern times we do have Kinopiko (known as Toadette here in the West).
different seasons. I think it would have been pretty cool to carry some of that over to the games... but wait! They sorta did! Kaminari Jugem (Thunder Lakitu) from Yoshi's Island can throw balls of electric force that sets the ground ablaze, and shares the same ring of drums as the Jugem in this movie has to control thunder and lightning (a trait that's a reference to Raijin, the God of Thunder in Japanese mythology). Though, that's not the only thing that this movie may have inspired when it comes to Jugem. Afterall, another thing that happens in this movie is that Mario is able to take control of Jugem's cloud, much like how it was done later on in Super Mario World. Granted, in this movie the cloud split in two, rather than Mario just taking over the cloud after kicking Jugem out, but it's the same principle.
Not a whole lot to say here, but I think it's worth mentioning that Kibidango, the dog that follows Mario and Luigi around on their quest during the majority of the film, may very well be the inspiration (at least as far as design goes) for the Super Mario World enemy known as Hana-chan (Wiggler), despite the difference in species (one being a dog and the other being a caterpillar).
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