New Super Mario Movie Features Callback to a 1986 Anime

There is no denying the power of Mario right now. If you have not been paying attention, you may have missed the video game icon's return to theaters. Nintendo and Illumination brought Mario to life in a new movie this month that has broken records left and right. And now, fans have spotted a clever anime Easter egg from the new movie!

After all, Mario has quite a history behind him, and part of it involves the anime industry. Back in 1986, the team at Nintendo decided to give Mario his first-ever go on film, and fans were left with Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach. The isekai title was a popular film but barely stayed afloat over the years as fans forgot all about it. However, the Mario anime resurfaced in recent years, and Nintendo honored Mario's film roots by referring to his anime in Super Mario Bros' new film.

Are these two scenes a reference to the beginning of the 1986 film!!??? pic.twitter.com/LgYjfXRtp8

— Nintendo Fanboy (@nintendofan2023) April 8, 2023

As you can see above, the homage is very simple. The new Mario movie features a shot of its hero playing a classic game console in profile from their bed. They are interrupted when Luigi comes into the dark room with a plate of goodies in hand, so Mario decides to drop his game for the moment.

This same scene happened beat for beat in the 1986 Mario anime as you can find above. Some of the scenery and outfits are different in Illumination's film, but the overall situation is nigh identical. And honestly, maybe the new Mario movie should have put Luigi in his pajamas just for the fun of it!

If you are not familiar with Mario's old-school anime, you can find the entire thing on YouTube as it was remastered in 4K a few years back. The original movie debuted in 1986, just a year after the now-iconic Super Mario Bros game was released. Nintendo produced the feature alongside Grouper Productions and Shochiku-Fuji Company. Its story follows a man named Mario as he plays a game late at night when he meets Princess Peach. Surrounded by enemies, she tries to escape and ends up exiting the television to meet Mario in the real world before Peach is sucked back to her homeland. Mario and his brother Luigi are then pulled into the game in a bid to save Peach themselves. And of course, their adventures go sideways time after time!

Have you ever checked out Mario's old-school anime? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.