A Brooklyn plumber named Mario travels through the Mushroom Kingdom with a princess named Peach and an anthropomorphic mushroom named Toad to find Mario's brother, Luigi, and to save the world from a ruthless fire-breathing Koopa named Bowser.
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Fred Armisen's grumpy old ape Cranky Kong isn't just some random elder statesman of the Kong family. According to Mario lore, he's actually the very same Donkey Kong that squared off against Jumpman in the 1981 arcade game, just decades older and a lot crankier about it.
Donkey Kong's big entrance in the movie is scored to the DK Rap, the gloriously cheesy theme song from Donkey Kong 64 that's become a meme in its own right over the years. Oddly enough, the song's original composer Grant Kirkhope didn't get a credit for it in the film.
During Bowser's rock concert scene, keep an eye on the band, because some of the Koopalings are up there performing. It's a nice touch given that in the English localisation of the games, several Koopalings are actually named after real musicians, including Iggy after Iggy Pop and Ludwig after Beethoven.
When Bowser finally gets his wedding scene, the tuxedo he's wearing is lifted straight from Super Mario Odyssey, where players could dress him up in his own wedding outfit during the Bowser's Kingdom segment. Fitting, really, considering how obsessed the guy is with marrying Peach across the games.
Bowser's wedding is packed with familiar faces if you look past the main cast. King Boo from Luigi's Mansion, King Bob-omb from Super Mario 64, and Petey Piranha from Super Mario Sunshine all show up in the crowd, three villains who probably shouldn't be on speaking terms with each other.
Stick around for the credits and you'll hear the Gusty Garden Galaxy theme from Super Mario Galaxy playing over the top, widely considered one of the best pieces of music Nintendo has ever put in a Mario game, so it's a genuinely lovely way to send the audience off.
The version of Donkey Kong you see swinging around in the movie is his first real design update since 1994. The filmmakers blended his classic, chunkier 1981 arcade look with the more modern proportions he's had since Donkey Kong Country to land somewhere in between.
The directors were keen for Peach to feel like an actual ruler rather than someone waiting to be saved, and pulled a lot of that energy from her portrayal in Super Mario 3D World. Anya Taylor-Joy apparently leaned all the way into the role too, spending time playing through the games to get a feel for the character before recording.
Early in production, Chris Pratt tried out a voice for Mario that leaned much harder into a New Jersey accent. It ended up sounding so close to Tony Soprano that the directors had him dial it back and blend it more with the Italian-American, Brooklyn-flavoured voice that made it into the finished film.
Chris Pratt wasn't the only one who had to dial back his voice work. Charlie Day originally recorded Luigi sounding a lot closer to a Goodfellas wiseguy before the directors steered him towards the softer, more anxious tone that ended up defining the character in the movie.
