#mario commentary

YES! GOOD! I’m going to just going to analyze the whole dinner scene, because it’s one of my favorite parts of the movie. 

Mario and Luigi walk in, and immediately the whole room lights up to greet them. Despite everything that follows, one thing is clear: The Mario Brothers are happy to see their family, and the family is happy to see them. 

The whole family confirms that they watched their commercial. Everyone except their mom insists the commercial was a bad idea, but the fact that they all watched it speaks to the fact that there is no indifference regarding Mario and Luigi’s dream. They’re eager to see where this endeavor leads, even if they think it’s going to end in failure. 

The moment Mario and Luigi sit down at the table, their uncles begin laying into them like it’s open season on financially struggling plumbers. Just full blown, no-holds-barred roast mode on their nephews.

Mario is on the defensive, but he doesn’t get angry, he’s just trying to argue his side. Clearly this is typical behavior for Uncle Tony and Uncle Arthur. They’re loud, overly honest, and obnoxiously confident in their opinions. Uncle Arthur, thankfully, has his wife to keep him in check. Uncle Tony, however, who is seated next to poor Luigi, is an absolute menace.

Luigi ignores all the teasing. He is only interested in getting food, but this is not an easy task. Tony’s verbal arguments are all directed at Mario, but Luigi is the one who gets prodded and shoved around, and that makes getting dinner next to impossible.

Luigi attempts to serve himself salad, attempts to ask for a roll, attempts to eat the mushrooms being put on his plate, and at every turn he’s either pushed away or talked over. He is clearly very soft spoken compared to the other men in his family, and never quite had the strength to stand up for himself... after all, everyone means well, they just lack self awareness. It isn’t worth the fight. 

Thankfully, Luigi’s mom comes to the rescue, and puts a bowl of soup in front of her boy. She’s the queen of the caretaker role, making sure all the loose ends are tied up and that everybody eats.

But on the flip side, it’s interesting to note that once the uncles start tearing into Mario, Mario’s Dad serves him up a plate of food. He may have just been serving the person next to him because that was the polite thing to do, but I have a theory...

I think that this wasn’t the first night that Mario and his uncles went at each other. I think Mario’s Dad read the room, and figured that if Mario was going to spend dinner playing defense, he should at least remember to eat while doing so.

It also speaks volumes that Mario’s Dad doesn’t voice his disapproval until Mario asks for his opinion. Before then he avoids the subject and lets everyone else do the talking, but so long as he’s being questioned directly, he can’t help but be honest.

“I think... you’re nuts. You don’t quit a steady job for some crazy dream.” This sounds like a voice of experience. Mario’s Dad has the figure of someone who has worked physical labor for a good portion of his life (look the size of those arms). He may have had dreams of his own when he was younger, but he had a wife and kids to worry about, and family took priority. 

Speaking of family taking priority: “... and the worst part? You’re bringing your brother down with you.” That settles it. The conversation has gone from a casual roast session to dead serious. The entire room falls quiet as Mario puts down his fork and storms off. 

“What’d I say?” Everybody at the table (except the niece, she’s long since checked out) gives Mario’s Dad different versions of the look™. Uncle Tony and Uncle Arthur have the same “Jesus Christ bro, you didn’t have to go there” expression, and Luigi just looks hurt on Mario’s behalf. His Dad, however, is just confused.  

He didn’t get the gravity of what he said. His relationship with his own brothers– loudmouthed schmucks who call their own shots – is completely alien to what Luigi and Mario have. He probably knows Mario is protective of Luigi, but he doesn’t realize the depth of responsibility Mario feels for him. Anyone can see that Luigi is loyal to his brother, but Mario alone knows how loyal he is, and the implication that he’s betraying that loyalty is intensely painful. 

I doubt Uncle Arthur and Uncle Tony truly relate to Mario and Luigi’s relationship either, but they’ve probably teased Mario enough to understand one thing: bringing Luigi into it is a line you do not cross.

Conclusion:

There is a lot of love in the Mario family.

Uncle Tony and Uncle Arthur are definitely the most insufferable of the bunch, but there is no malice in their teasing. While they are brash and overbearing, it’s all in good fun, and they get visibly uncomfortable when things go too far and someone actually ends up hurt. 

Luigi seems to take after his mother; kind, nonconfrontational, and happily invested in a supporting role. While his Mom cares for and assists the family, Luigi cares for and assists his brother, both emotionally and in his business ventures.

I just generally think DK's hilarious.

He's the best fighter in his kingdom to the point that he's hailed as a celebrity, and yet he is so fantastically bitter about the fact that he got his ass kicked by a tiny inexperienced man in overalls. Which, frankly, is his own darn fault for being too self confident to use powerups during the fight.

Meanwhile Mario's just... existing. He doesn't even care much that he beat DK, to him it was merely a stepping stone to reach his brother. Mario is just like "good game" and goes out of his way to be nothing but nice, while the entire time the gorilla is FUMING. He desperately wants round two.

I also like the fact that they didn't really bond over any deep conversation or their shared daddy issues, but instead reached a mutual understanding by fighting a common enemy. It gives me hope that Mario and DK will maintain a frenemy vibe in the future, because the way they rub each other the wrong way is so legitimately funny.

On a side note... I also like how friendly DK was to Luigi after first meeting him? Like that accidentally-aggressive elbow nudge when Bowser got put into the jar.

The whole “Luigi is jealous and tired of living in Mario’s shadow” has no leg to stand on when it comes to this movie.

In fact, Luigi is actively the one singing praises towards Mario, he knows that his brother dreams big and has a big heart, he knows his brother is amazing and he loves him for that.

Does he have low self esteem? Absolutely. But there is absolutely not a single bit of jealousy/envy towards Mario, Luigi loves and adores him far too much to ever be jealous and angry at Mario, someone who means the absolute world to him.

Oh don't you get me started.

Too late, I’ve gotten started. YOU ARE SO RIGHT. The movie did to theories that Luigi's “bitter and jealous” what it did to theories that Mario’s an antisocial asshat.

There are two things I can point to that are to blame for the theories that Luigi is bitter and jealous:

The description of his Negative Zone final smash from Super Smash Bros. Brawl:

"Luigi's final smash. As exotic music plays, he performs a dance befitting a sorcerous incantation. A barrier envelopes him, negatively impacting all in his area. Random effects include getting launched, sleeping, moving in slow motion, tripping, fainting, and losing attack power. This technique is a reflection of the dark side he embraced in his brother's shadow."

2. His characterization in Paper Mario

But there’s like… almost 40 years of games to glean from. You can literally pick and choose whatever you want to form any sort of theory (like a certain internet man did when arguing that Mario is an animal abusing sociopath). But 99% of the games show about as much evidence that Luigi is bitter as they do that Mario is a bad person– none at all. Quite the opposite, in fact.

As for Paper Mario, it's the only time Luigi is directly characterized as envious... NOT jealous. He still loves his brother and sees him as worthy of the praise he gets, but he feels bad being stuck at home, and desperately wants to be brought along for the adventure– to have his opportunity in the limelight. But Paper Mario is kind of its own thing, established to be a separate universe from the mainline Mario games. In the Super Mario Brothers RPGs– which delve deeper into the bros character while remaining more aligned with the classic "canon"– the dynamic is quite the opposite! Mario dives headfirst into danger while Luigi desperately avoids it unless there is no other choice. In Super Mario Brothers Superstar Saga he tries his darndest to not be taken along for the adventure, confident that his brother can handle the task.

But one consistent across the Mario games is Luigi being the underdog of all underdogs; unlucky and clumsy, the butt of the joke, and constantly undermined. Naturally this causes people to get defensive of him– get angry for him, and project their feelings onto the character himself.

But tHEN WE HAVE THE MOVIE!!!!

Nintendo is given a chance to craft Mario and Luigi into fully fleshed-out characters with motivations and backstories, not just plucky videogame personalities for people to project themselves into, and boy oh BOY did they knock it out of the park.

While Mario is still a headstrong hero with a never-say-die attitude and a heart of gold, everything he does is for his brother. Mario has insecurities about feeling small and wants to prove himself to his father, but in the end his love for Luigi is his main motivator. Mario can handle being threatened, made fun of, and told he’s crazy, but if you want to truly hurt him, tell him his actions are hurting his brother. Try hurting Luigi directly, and Mario will tear you a new one.

In return, everything Luigi does is for Mario! Lu’s not the willful ball of determination and gusto that his brother is– he has always been nervous, softhearted, and sensitive, which is why he lets his brother lead the way. Luigi’s not living in Mario’s shadow, he’s thriving off of his confidence! He recognizes Mario as his best friend and greatest source of strength, and will follow him absolutely anywhere.

There is no sense of Mario being treated like the beloved star of the show while Luigi gets the short end of the stick. They are both downtrodden, both learning, and both dependent on each other. It's not just Super Mario, it's the Super Mario Brothers, who equally inspire each other to be the best version of themselves.

I always thought he grabbed him by the wrist but he actually took the time to place his hand in Luigi’s, I don’t know why but I find that very wholesome in a way I can’t really describe.

It's because grabbing him by the wrist can be interpreted as forceful and demanding, whereas grabbing him by the hand indicates a sense of partnership and comradery! Out of the two brothers, Mario is the impulsive go-getter, but at the same time he respects Luigi's agency. He doesn't boss him around, he just forges ahead while knowing that Luigi will be there to help him out every step of the way, simply because that's how it's always been.

Despite Luigi's natural nervousness, they're partners, and they've always been partners. Mario knows how Lu works, understands his limitations, but still holds a high amount of respect for him despite being in something of a leadership role. Many see Luigi as an easy target to steamroll over, while Mario goes out of his way to raise his sibling up and treat him as an equal... because he is. Though people on the outset may not recognize it, Mario needs Luigi as much as Luigi needs Mario, plain and simple.

Honestly, I can not WAIT for the inevitable introduction of Wario and Waluigi in the cinematic Mario universe. I can not WAIT for Mario and Luigi to attempt to wrap their heads around these two hypercompetitive scammers declaring themselves their rivals.

When Mario and Luigi approach the location of the burst pipe, Mario is taking large confident strides through the flood, looking stern and determined. Luigi, on the other hand, appears anxious, nervously clutching at the strap of the tool bag as he surveys the unfolding chaos before him.

The whole emergency department is all-hands-on-deck, but despite the scope of his problem Mario is completely confident. This is destiny after all!

“Ha ha, they’re not even looking in the right place!” When Mario says this, Luigi looks at him and smiles. He has full faith in his brother, but when Mario turns his back on the work crew and heads toward a nearby manhole, Luigi becomes confused.

His confusion grows when Mario lifts the manhole cover and creates a swirling whirlpool into the sewer system. Luigi glances rapidly back and forth between his brother and the vortex, desperately hoping that Mario isn’t thinking what he thinks he’s thinking…

“You are not seriously considering–” Mario doesn’t even let him finish the sentence. His attention is fixed, he is brimming with confidence and excitement– They’re finally going to prove themselves! They’re going to be heroes! They’re going to save Brooklyn! He hands off the crowbar and leaps into the manhole, much to Luigi’s distress.

“Mario!” Luigi sounds completely exasperated. Nonetheless, after some anxious fidgeting to work up his courage, he holds his nose and leaps in, yelling in fear the whole way down.

Gonna take a moment to admire Luigi’s guts here. They’re plumbers, but it seems like most of Luigi’s experience is in residential plumbing, not commercial plumbing. If my sibling pulled a stunt like this, I would’ve just contacted the surrounding work crew, explained the situation, and asked for someone actually trained in sewer maintenance to follow my sibling underground and make sure they didn’t kill themselves, but Luigi my man... he is ride or die… he knows Mario has a plan, and has complete faith in him.

At the same time, Mario knows Luigi well enough to know he wouldn’t be far behind. When Luigi lands in the sewers Mario’s looking over his shoulder, waiting for him. Once his brother arrives Mario forges ahead, pointing to their destination: “We’ve got to get to that pressure valve!”

“Mama Mia” I’m glad Luigi got at least one patented ‘Mama Mia’ in the film. I don’t know if this is just me… but he sounds kinda like Danny Wells’ Luigi from the Super Mario Brothers Super Show in his delivery. I wonder if that was intentional.

Unfortunately, their only immediate path to the valve is a long slender pipe, and without thought or hesitation Mario takes hold of it and begins shuffling across toward his target. Luigi– actually taking a moment to think this through– looks down and assesses the situation. The sewage pit below is vast and deadly. If they fell, it would be potentially fatal. And yet, he follows anyway.

Okay, look. If I had enough faith in any of my siblings to follow them down a flooded manhole, this is where my sense of self-preservation would’ve fully kicked in. Mario didn’t even ask for Luigi to follow him across the pipe, Luigi didn’t even know if his tools were required complete this task! but he still keeps close behind his brother. “Luigi’s a coward.” Nah man, he just has a basic sense of self preservation and wears his heart on his sleeve, but at the end of the day that guy has proven he has serious guts, even before his big climactic stunt with the manhole cover at the end of the film.

It’s interesting to see Mario and Luigi’s different ways of traversing the pipe: Mario climbs across with smooth, efficient strides, one hand over the other. Luigi is slower, gripping and scooting his whole body along in spurts– it looks awkward, but it prioritizes maintaining firm grip, which is probably for the best since he still has the heavy load of tools hanging off of him.

Mario grabs the valve and tries to turn it, but ends up just popping it off like a loose-fitting lego piece. I don’t know wtf this accomplished. Who knows if what Mario did “Saved Brooklyn” or just broke things more, but long story short that pipe could not hold Mario and Luigi’s weight, and the two end up being flung through a (thankfully crumbling) brick wall below them.

L: “I knew saving Brooklyn was a bad idea…” M: “… C’mon.” Mario, despite being the second one to regain his senses, is the first one on his feet, and after surveying his surroundings his first goal is to help his brother up. Luigi, once standing, checks himself over to ensure he didn’t break damage anything in the fall. Mario, on the other hand, has had his attention stolen away by the large underground pipework he has accidentally stumbled upon. He is enamored, his adventurous nature sparking despite his recent brush with danger.

Luigi eventually comes around to a shared curiosity. Both brothers walk to the edge of a platform, looking over at the massive hidden pipe network below. Luigi carefully kicks a pebble over the edge, gauging just how deep it goes. Mario looks at his brother, and nods his head toward the nearby stairwell, silently asking him if he wants to go deeper.

Luigi apparently agrees. All throughout their descent he makes no argument about going home, nor does he make any further mention of how dangerous their recent escapade was… he simply trails behind his brother and looks around, just as taken by the discovery as his sibling.

For most of the journey, Luigi lets Mario lead the way. There is only one time where he allows himself to get sidetracked… he glances off into one outward-facing tunnel, echoing with a strange whooshing sound.

OKAY... I want to take a moment to discuss the change from the original concept art:

It seems like the warp pipe was at one point going to be this big shiny mystical thing that screamed “I lead to a magical world.”

Look at the way Luigi is putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder. It looks like Mario was going to test his luck again… once more forging ahead despite Luigi’s worries, inevitably getting them both isekaid. But as much as I find the concept visually interesting, I sort of like what they went with instead. We’ve seen enough to understand the dynamic: Mario has the “let’s-a-go” attitude, while Luigi is cautious, but has enough faith in his brother to follow him into perilous situations. But in the movie, Luigi… careful as he is… just happened to pause and look into one of the many hundreds of surrounding pipes... one that didn’t even look all that important or unusual. Though it was Mario’s brashness that brought them there, it was Luigi’s luck that sealed the deal. The inciting incident was a group effort– a combination of Mario’s zeal and Luigi’s uncanny ability to attract trouble.

The moment Mario and Luigi are distracted from each other, Luigi gets sucked away like a dust bunny in a vacuum commercial. Mario only hears a light clatter of a falling tool, but his radar immediately goes off. He turns around, and sure enough... his brother’s gone.

“Luigi?” No response. He looks into the pipe where Luigi last stood. He climbs up into it, getting a little more anxious. “Weegie, are you in there?” The silence is getting to him. On the ground he sees a wrench. He picks it up and examines it, and recognizes it as the one from the tool kit Luigi was carrying... ... and Luigi is shown to be very careful about not losing any of their tools.

Mario calls his brother’s name again, this time louder and a bit more urgently. “Luigi!”

Suddenly, the wrench is sucked from his grip. Mario’s whole body shakes as he feels himself being pulled forward. Frightened, he stretches out his arms and legs, trying to maintain balance or find something to hold on to, but it’s no use. He is flung forward, head over heels, through the barrier of his own world into the open in-between dimension of glimmering pathways and glowing pipes.

 When he regains his bearings, Mario’s terror turns into awe as he is overcome by the strange beauty of his surroundings.

Then he hears Luigi’s yelps of terror, and all of the magic is immediately replaced by worry. In the flow of the warp pipe Mario has found his balance, but Luigi is spiraling in every sense of the word, spinning around wildly just ahead.

M: “Luigi!” L: “Mario!” Mario wastes no time getting to his brother. He dives forward, arms outstretched to clasp Luigi’s hands, giving him some sort of center of gravity as they both hold tight to each other and spin in circles. Mario puts all his focus into calming Luigi down.

M: “It’s all going to be okay!” L: “HOW IS THIS GOING TO BE OKAY!?” M: “I’m telling you, nothing can hurt us as long as we’re together!” You can tell by the look on Mario’s face that he believes every word. His confidence is infectious, and as usual Luigi can’t help but believe him. After all, he’s trusted him this far, and though they’ve had some bumps in the road things have always turned out in the end. They have each other’s backs. Wherever this leads, that’s all that matters.

He smiles just as a darkness overtakes him. Luigi realizes something is wrong for a split second before he is violently yanked backwards, ripped out of his brother’s grip, and dragged unwillingly down a separate path. Both of them look terrified as they scramble fruitlessly to try and grab onto each other again. Luigi is once more out of balance, whirling about with redoubled fear as he falls into the most threatening looking warp pipe possible.

Mario panics. He tries to turn around... swim back, fight the current, get to his brother somehow! But it is all futile. There is no undoing what has just happened.

Shout out to @multicolour-ink​ and @chloecherrysip​ for use of their gifs: X X

First of all, I’d like to point out how ecstatic Luigi gets the moment they get their first call. I know that some suspect that Mario dragged Luigi into the plumbing business (i.e. that “you’re bringing your brother down with you” line from their dad), but it seems to me that this is fully both Mario and Luigi’s dream.

Look at him! He is shaking with joy. He absolutely can not contain himself. He throws his recently-cracked phone in order to grab his brother by the shoulders and shake him before excitedly pulling him into a hug. His heart is all in on this company.

With their first job on the horizon Mario and Luigi race out of the restaurant, climb into their van, and start the engine. Unfortunately, it looks like the money that might have gone into keeping their vehicle in working condition went into that TV commercial. The van sputters for a moment before the engine dies completely.

One thing I noticed is that when they get in the van Luigi has his seatbelt on, while Mario doesn’t. Mario is too focused on his goal to remember the details, while Luigi continuously has safety on the mind. Makes me wonder how many times Luigi has had to remind his brother to buckle up halfway down the road.

Mario tries a second time to get the engine to start to no avail. Luigi begins to panic, fidgeting nervously in his seat. “Oh no, we’re gonna be late.”

“No we are not!” Mario picks up the bag of tools and shoves them into Luigi’s arms before opening his door and bolting out. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“Hey! Wait up!” Luigi races after his brother, who forges on full speed ahead. Mario leaps over and dives through every obstacle in his way with little regard for anything other than his destination, but while his eyes remain on the road ahead he calls back to his brother, making sure he’s keeping up and knows which way to go: “This way!” “C’mon Lu, step on it!”

Luigi has trouble right off the bat. Rounding a corner he almost bumps into a business man crossing the street, and is so distracted by the near miss that he crashes into the garbage can Mario recently leapfrogged over, disturbing the cat rummaging around inside. Luigi’s successive collision draws the cat’s attention, and just his luck the kitty takes one look at him and decides he’s gotta die. (Jeeze, what is it with Luigi and animals? They must get stressed out by his anxiety or something.)

Luigi continues to run into every possible obstacle while struggling to get the angry cat off his head, but Lordy he’s trying his best.

He accidentally knocks groceries out of a woman’s arms... but an interesting detail is that he manages to catch the grocery bag mid-air. Luigi’s clumsy and unlucky, but at the same time he’s got some decent reflexes.

Of course, catching the bag doesn’t stop its contents from spilling out onto the sidewalk. He tries to do the gentlemanly thing and pick them up– but being still in crisis he gets his wires crossed. He haphazardly shoves half the apples back into the bag, throws the malicious furball in for good measure, and hands it off to the nearest person with a friendly little “here ya’ go!” before running off.

Luigi finally catches up with Mario when he encounters an obstacle big enough to give him pause: a construction site that closed off the entire road. But Mario steels himself, regathers his determination, and barrels ahead once more before Luigi can catch his breath.

“Oh Mario, what are ya’ doin’!?” Luigi sounds desperate, practically pleading with his brother to hold his horses, but he follows nonetheless, and this time– given the more dangerous terrain– Mario is making sure things are a little easier for him. Mario opens the gates for Luigi, brings down a ladder, throws a wooden plank over a gap... little things to help him get through.

(Side note: I like how in this gif ⬆️ Luigi pauses a bit, trying to figure out whether or not he should apologize to the construction worker on his brother’s behalf before he just continues ahead out of fear of getting left behind.)

 But at the same time, there are obstacles that Mario is able to avoid that Luigi can’t help but stumble into. While Mario swings along chains and runs across metal beams overhead, Luigi once again fumbles his way into everything and everyone. Again, he’s trying his best to be polite all the while, apologizing to the victims of his clumsiness and gently tiptoeing through the recently-laid wet cement in an attempt to minimize the damage.

Finally they reach the end, and Mario is still calling after his brother. “C’mon Luigi, pump those legs!”

Luigi stumbles on, visibly panting. As he exits the construction site he attempts one last little formality on the way out by closing the gate behind him. “I’m trying... I’m trying! I’ve got bad knees!”

Conclusion:

We're going to get into some headcanon territory, so be prepared!

This commercial definitely has the vibe of two guys who said “let’s make a commercial!” but had no experience in film.

I'm calling it now: Mario wrote the script and Luigi wrote the jingle.

It starts out pretty professional looking during the song, with the moving shots and camera zooms. In the middle it gets a little messy with the overuse of green screens and the powerpoint-style scene transitions. By the end of the commercial it's all hard cuts and static shots that linger a little too long. You can see the already-limited budget run out before your very eyes.

Speaking of, it feels like they filmed the final few scenes in one take, especially that actress who flubbed the cue-card reading. 

"It seems like the only thing that you haven't drained... is my bank account. ???" Oh, c'mon lady, that is a fantastic line.

The fake accents? The little yellow superhero capes? The terrible puns? I get the commercial is intentionally silly... but boy does it feel like something that was written at 2 a.m by the power of black coffee and foolhardy ambition.

Mario is quite the showman! Especially if he did these scenes in one take! He’s got great energy, good body language, and an enthusiasm in his line delivery that shines through the goofy accent. He doesn’t look uncomfortable, he’s chewing the scenery like a champ!

When Luigi has a script to follow, or when he’s doing something in tandem with his brother, he looks good! But whenever he’s directed to stand in the background without anything specific to do he’s so awkward.

He slips and nearly falls over when leaning against the van, and whenever he doesn’t know what to do with his body his go-to move is to just nod in agreement. He nods in agreement like... 3 times in one 35 second commercial. 

I don’t think the hug at the end was part of the script given the way Luigi glances over at his brother, but he looks pleasantly surprised. His face immediately lights up as Mario finishes out the commercial by holding him in a side hug. 10/10, I'd hire them to destroy my house.

And as the camera zooms out, Mario and Luigi are seen embracing each other proudly while watching the TV.  They're so darned happy with themselves. Absolute dorks.