Fans the world over got to see the Super Mario Bros. Movie teaser trailer today, with the biggest surprise and good sign for the film being the appearance of the perfect B-list race, the Penguins. Nintendo first announced it would be collaborating with Illumination and Universal on a Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2018 after Shigeru Miyamoto met with Illumination founder Chris Meledandri.
No doubt, many were concerned about this movie from the very first announcement. Many were particularly worried about Chris Pratt as Mario, yet it seems the initial reaction to the actual movie is, by and large, fine. It's not the greatest, it's not the worst. But where the trailer clearly shined was at the start, though it wasn't just Bowser. It was the surprise appearance of the B-list race, the Penguins.
The Penguins Steal the Spotlight in the Super Mario Bros. Movie
The world caught its first glimpse of the film Thursday, October 6, during a Nintendo Direct where fans see Bowser, King of the Koopas, leading a siege against a fortress of stubborn penguins attempting to thwart their enemies with a barrage of ineffective snowballs. When the penguin's efforts prove worthless, Bowser retaliates with a powerful breath of fire melting the penguin's ice palace which, presumably, allows his army to claim victory. The trailer then shows viewers the titular hero, played by Chris Pratt, greeted by a snarling Toad in a magical Mushroom Kingdom world before a montage of action-packed, animated fun that appears to stay faithful to the source material.
With only a limited three-minute runtime, the teaser had to pick and choose scenes carefully from the upcoming film, and the early sequence taking up more than half of the teaser just goes to show the important role these Penguins have had on Mario fans since debuting in Super Mario 64 in 1996. While the first instance of penguins in the franchise date back to Mario Pinball in 1984, it was the Mario 64 penguins that catapulted their popularity resulting in memes, and reoccurring roles in Super Mario Odyssey,Mario Party, and others.
The Penguins of Mario 64
Fans of the series' first 3D adventure, Super Mario 64, will remember the pathetic penguins from a level called Cool, Cool, Mountain where Mario is tasked with helping a mother penguin reunite with her little ones. The darkest of players, of course, could drop them off the edge - a heartless act that has made quite the indentation on meme culture memorializing the second-rate characters since. What can be said by the inclusion of these unexpected characters in the film is the creators pay attention to Super Mario culture, which is a good sign compared to most video game film adaptations.
Mario games have routinely incorporated penguins into its games since their success in Super Mario 64, but little is known about their lore or larger role in the longstanding Mushroom Kingdom battle against Bowser's force, going all the way back to nearly its inception. Other than being a good sign that the creators of the upcoming film are Mario fans themselves, ingrained in its vast culture and following, perhaps the film will finally give the Penguins the storyline they deserve.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie releases in the United States on April 7, 2023.