To the shock of many, The Super Mario Bros. Movie looks like a feature-length love letter to one of the most central franchises in video games. There are so many little references packed in, but the film looks like it's doing more than just reminding fans of the past. Its unique incorporation of Super Mario Galaxy's Lumalee demonstrates a bit of creativity.
One of the most interesting challenges of turning Super Mario into a movie is determining exactly which chunks of Mr. Video Game's 42-year career will make the cut. The film seems to have pulled bits and pieces from every major outing in the plumber's on-screen career, but some are easier to miss than others.
Who is Lumalee in Super Mario?
Lumalee was first introduced in the 2007 Wii classic Super Mario Galaxy. In his first appearance, he doesn't appear to be a singular character. He's more of a subspecies of the game's Lumas. Lumalee is the game's equivalent of a shopkeeper. They pop up all over the game and offer either a green 1-Up mushroom or a Life Mushroom in exchange for 30 Star Bits. They don't really have personalities or any particular character traits, they're purely functional. When Mario agrees to the trade and selects his item, he feeds Lumalee the Star Bits, and the floating star transforms into the necessary item. Players will find most Lumalees just outside a boss fight arena, allowing Mario to cash in on all the Star Bits he found and prepare himself for a challenge.
Lumalee pops up again in Super Mario Galaxy 2, fulfilling entirely the same purpose. This time he offers the purchase of Chance Cubes, which are dice blocks that offer several potential rewards. In both games, they're one of several types of shopkeepers who sell power-ups for Star Bits. Lumalee is distinct from most other Lumas, but he seems to have a lot in common with them. Broadly speaking, Lumas are kind, friendly, and childlike. They all seek to help Mario. Most of them transform into something useful to move the game forward. Notably, at the end of the first Super Mario Galaxy, all the Lumas throw themselves into a black hole to save the universe. They come back at the end of the game and reappear in the sequel, but their sacrifice is duly noted.
There are a lot of Lumas that The Super Mario Movie could've incorporated. Lumalee is perhaps a strange choice among the options. Mario is given a friendly apricot-colored Luma to serve as his primary guide. The game's heroine Rosalina seeks guidance from Polari, the oldest of the Luma. The distinctive yellow Luma is seen as something of a default model for the species. Super Mario Galaxy 2 introduced Lubba, a plump purple Luma with the most personality of the entire species. The film didn't borrow any of those more identifiable characters. They went with the shopkeeper and gave him a new lease on life.
Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie connected to Super Mario Galaxy?
The first time that the world saw any connection between the film and the 2007 game was when McDonald's brought out their tie-in Happy Meal toys. Lumalee appeared as one of the options, creating a bridge between the two works. It's clear that there is a small connection between the film and the game, but it won't be the lion's share of the source material. Most of the film's references are firmly between the NES to N64 eras. The fact that Lumalee was seen as important enough to the film to make the Happy Meal, an honor not bestowed upon Kamek or Cranky Kong, suggests that he'll be a central figure. Lumalee's scene in the trailer is a prolonged gag in which the cyan star informs Luigi that his imprisonment is permanent. His voice is childish, and his personality is comedic. It seems more likely that Lumalee is a teaser for something to come.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the second attempt at making a film out of this property. They've got a lot of source material to work through. The countless other Lumas that the film could've pulled from suggest a world of options. One could see that choice as unusual, but it could be a deliberate attempt to save the best for later. Through Lumalee, Super Mario Galaxy is connected to the feature film, but there's been no suggestion of space travel or Rosalina so far. Lumalee could be a reoccurring comedic presence in the film. He could also just be a one-off gag that has been fully spoiled by the trailer. The upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie will be a comprehensive love letter to the legacy of the Mario franchise. Super Mario Galaxy is just one part of the tapestry, but it seems as if the film is saving much of its space stuff for later. Lumalee is a friendly shopkeeper who has finally saved up enough Star Bits to buy himself a spotlight.