Jump to content

Draft:Cultural impact of the Mario franchise

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Comment: Before this draft can be submitted, all sections must have at least one paragraph and at least one or two citations. SleepDeprivedGinger (talk) 10:35, 5 July 2024 (UTC)
"Avendia Super Mario Bros"[a], a street in Zaragoza, Spain named after the Super Mario Bros. video game.[1]

Since its inception with the Donkey Kong arcade game in 1981, Nintendo's Mario franchise has had a significant impact on popular culture and has become a household name.[2] Spanning several video games, television series and theatrical films[3] as well as many spin-offs and lines of merchandise, the Mario universe, its content and its characters, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Bowser among others have all been ingrained into popular culture in many different ways.

Arts

[edit]

Film and music

[edit]

The 2023 film adaptation, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, aside from breaking several box-office records[4] such as becoming the highest-grossing animated film of 2023, would become popular on social media via the song "Peaches" performed by Jack Black.[5] The main theme from Super Mario Bros. titled the "Ground Theme"[6] is also incredibly popular, becoming both one the most recognisable video game songs of all time and the first song from a video game to be selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the U.S. Library of Congress.[7][4]

Impact on video games

[edit]

Donkey Kong, the first video game to feature Mario, is considered one of the first platformers to have an on-going story, and would help cement Nintendo as a household name in the video game industry.[8] Super Mario Bros., which featured horizontal scrolling and smoother methods of controlling Mario compared to its predecessors, would later become an archetype for the genre.

According to Yuji Naka, the gameplay of Sonic the Hedgehog was inspired by Super Mario Bros., having admired the simple mechanics in complex environments and wondered why the game's levels couldn't be finished faster.[citation needed]

Fandom

[edit]

Fan restorations

[edit]

In 2007, a website known as Super Mario Bros.: The Movie Archive was founded by Ryan Hoss as a way of preserving several elements of the 1993 box office bomb Super Mario Bros., which gained a cult following several years after its release.[9] In 2021, the fan organization restored an unreleased extended cut of the film dubbed the "Morton Jankel Cut", which extended the film's runtime from 104 minutes to 125 minutes.[10][11]

Web series

[edit]
Main article: List of unofficial Mario media § Videos and series

Several web series featuring Mario characters and other elements have been created and hosted on websites such as Newgrounds and YouTube. One notable example is Super Mario Bros. Z, a sprite animated web series created by Mark Haynes and originally hosted on Newgrounds. The series was formerly animated using Adobe Flash and combined elements from the Mario franchise with that of Sonic the Hedgehog and Dragon Ball Z.[12][13] Another example is SMG4, a machinima parody series created in 2011 by Luke Lerdwichagul and hosted on YouTube. The series features Mario characters alongside several original characters partaking in parodic and comedic scenarios.[14]

Fan games

[edit]
Main article: List of unofficial Mario media § Video games

Non-profit fan games have been produced by many fans of the Mario series, with notable examples including browser games such as Super Mario Bros. Crossover[15] and Super Mario War,[16] as well as ROM hacks such as Kaizo Mario World.[17]

Cosplay

[edit]
Nintendo cosplayers at the 2018 New York Comic Con, most of whom cosplaying Mario characters.

Characters from the Mario franchise have commonly been used for cosplaying, both by children at Halloween[18] and by adults at gaming conventions.[19][20][21] In 2024, 46-year-old Lincolnshire man Simon Killen competed in that year's London Marathon cosplaying as Mario and set a world record for being the fastest runner dressed as a video game character.[22]

Video games

[edit]

While Mario is mainly a video game franchise, many achievements that took place in such games have been made by fans. For instance, in 2008, an annual charity fundraiser known as the Mario Marathon, in which members play through numerous Super Mario games, was created to raise money for Child's Play Charity.[23]

In 2016, a community project known as Team 0% was created to complete every user-created level[b] in the 2015 Wii U game Super Mario Maker and its 2019 Nintendo Switch sequel Super Mario Maker 2.[24] The project reached its first goal when every course in Super Mario Maker was completed on April 5, 2024, two days before the game's servers were permanantly closed alongside Nintendo Network.[25]

Other

[edit]
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe donning Mario's cap at the 2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[26]

In 2002, visual artist Cory Arcangel hacked an original copy of Super Mario Bros. to create Super Mario Clouds, a piece of multi-channel video installation artwork where all of the game's assets are removed except for a leftward-scrolling sky.[27] The art piece is currently on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art.[28]

A series of social media accounts known as Supper Mario Broth was created in 2012 that shares blogs on several uncommon trivia about Mario media relating to topics such as sprites,[29] models,[30] among others. Ash Parrish, writing for The Verge, described Supper Mario Broth as "one of the most wholesome Mario blogs on the internet" and "a celebrated institution in the broader Nintendo community".[31]

Mario Day[c] is a national holiday celebrated annually on March 10.[32][33] Its name was originally coined by fans in 2014[34] in which fans would celebrate the day on social media using the hashtag "#Mar10".[35] Nintendo would respond to this the year after when they began to embrace the event by celebrating it themselves,[36] with the first official mentions of Mario Day being in a tweet from the X (formerly Twitter) accounts of both Nintendo of America and Nintendo UK.[37][38] as well as in a YouTube video titled "Celebrate Mar. 10 - Mario Day!" uploaded onto the official Nintendo of America YouTube channel on March 10, 2016.[36] Nintendo would continue to host events on each Mario Day, such as partnering with the Starlight Children's Foundation to provide new gowns for children to wear, resulting in over 2,000 donations.[39]

The quote "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!", spoken by Toad in Super Mario Bros., has become a popular and iconic phrase, being referenced several times in both subsequent Mario media.[40]

An AI phenomenon known as the "Waluigi effect", which is when a large language model such as a chatbot produces an often-hostile output opposite of its designed intent, was named after the Mario series character Waluigi.[41]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ English: "Super Mario Bros Avenue"
  2. ^ Referred to in-game as "courses".
  3. ^ Also known as Mar10 Day or National Mario Day.[32]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Spanish neighborhood unveils 'Super Mario' street". CNN. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  2. ^ Haider, Arwa (23 March 2023). "Super Mario Bros: The ultimate video game icon". BBC. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  3. ^ Turi, Jon (19 September 2015). "30 years of Super Mario in pop culture". Engadget. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b Petrovich, Erik (13 April 2023). "Mario And Nintendo Just Made Music History". SVG. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  5. ^ "How Jack Black Changed Super Mario Bros. Movie's "Peaches" Song For The Better". Screen Rant. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  6. ^ Masahiro Sakurai (January 23, 2008). "Super Mario Bros.: Ground Theme". Smash Bros. Dojo!!. Nintendo, HAL Laboratory, Inc. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  7. ^ Cay O'Dell (2 August 2023). "From the National Recording Registry: "Super Mario" (1985)". Library of Congress. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Gaming's most important evolutions". GamesRadar. October 8, 2010. p. 3. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  9. ^ King, Darryn (7 April 2023). "In 1993 'Super Mario Bros.' Bombed; in 2023, It's a Hit With a New Generation". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  10. ^ Han, Karen (9 June 2021). "An Interview With the Man Who Spent Countless Hours Restoring the Super Mario Bros. Movie". Slate. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  11. ^ Murphy, J. Kim (1 June 2021). "Super Mario Bros. Movie Fans Release Extended Cut With 20 Minutes of New Footage". IGN. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  12. ^ Stephenson, Cassidy (2023-01-17). "Sonic the Hedgehog Fans Flip Over the Comic's Perfect Super Mario Bros. Z Reference". CBR. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  13. ^ Fisher, David (2016-01-10). ""Super Mario Bros Z" creator returns with revival of fan-favorite sprite cartoon". GameSkinny. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  14. ^ Asarch, Steven (2022-01-26). "The trippiest gamer on YouTube reveals the one line he'll never cross". Inverse. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  15. ^ McWhertor, Michael (2013-07-31). "Super Mario Bros. Crossover gets massive 'Special' update". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  16. ^ Klappenbach, Michael (2015-08-17). "Top 6 Super Mario Bros Games for the PC". Lifewire. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  17. ^ Hill, Kyle (2014-02-20). "The Many-Worlds Hypothesis And The Hardest Super Mario Level". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  18. ^ "Here are the top selling and most searched Halloween costumes of 2023". CBC. 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  19. ^ "PAX East 2024 Brings Boston Gamers Together". WBZ NewsRadio 1030. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  20. ^ Hutchings, Kristy (2024-01-05). "Cosplayers descend on Long Beach for annual Animé Los Angeles convention". Press Telegram. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  21. ^ Mercante, Alyssa (2023-10-17). "Our Fave Cosplay From New York Comic Con 2023". Kotaku. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  22. ^ "Lincolnshire man sets marathon record dressed as Mario". BBC. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Mario Marathon Raises More than $10,000 [Updated]". Kotaku.com. 29 June 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  24. ^ Plant, Logan (2024-03-18). "Inside the Multi-Year Quest to Finish Every Single Mario Maker Level Before the Servers Close for Good". IGN. Archived from the original on 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  25. ^ Doolan, Liam (April 5, 2024). "Super Mario Maker Community Clears 'Trimming The Herbs' Just Days Before Wii U Online Shutdown". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  26. ^ "Why Japanese PM Shinzo Abe was dressed as Super Mario in Rio". The Guardian. August 22, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  27. ^ Partin, Will (3 September 2015). "Super Mario: How a Tiny Italian Plumber Became Gaming's Most Iconic Character". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  28. ^ "Cory Arcangel | Super Mario Clouds". Whitney Museum of American Art. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  29. ^ Klepek, Patrick (September 17, 2018). "Meet the Meticulous Fan Behind the Internet's Most Meticulous Mario Blog". Vice. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  30. ^ Serin, Kaan (October 18, 2024). "After running a Super Mario Bros archive for 12 years, one dedicated historian was about to quit forever if it wasn't for the help of 4,000 fans: "You have saved my life"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  31. ^ Parrish, Ash (October 18, 2024). "Fans come to the rescue of popular Mario content creator". The Verge. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  32. ^ a b "March 10th is MAR10 Day! | News | Nintendo". Nintendo. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  33. ^ "NATIONAL MARIO DAY - March 10 - National Day Calendar". National Day Calendar. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  34. ^ "Weirdness: 10th March is Mario Day, Apparently". Nintendo Life. Thomas Whitehead. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  35. ^ Arroyo, David (2023-03-10). "Mario Day: where does it come from and why is it celebrated on March 10?". Meristation. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  36. ^ a b "Celebrate Mar. 10 - Mario Day!". YouTube. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  37. ^ "Nintendo of America". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  38. ^ "NintendoUK". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  39. ^ "Nintendo celebrates MAR10 Day by bringing smiles to people of all ages - Nintendo Official Site". Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2018-03-15. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  40. ^ Sullivan, Meghan. "Top 100 Unforgettable Video Game Moments: "The princess is in another castle."". IGN. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  41. ^ Bove, Tristan (May 27, 2023). "Will A.I. go rogue like Waluigi from Mario Bros., or become the personal assistant that Bill Gates says will make us all rich?". Fortune. Retrieved January 14, 2024.

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.
Categories:
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Cultural_impact_of_the_Mario_franchise&oldid=1252035398"