Summary
- A dark theory suggests the mushrooms in the Mushroom Kingdom in The Super Mario Bros. Movie grow from deceased Mario bodies.
- The Mushroom Kingdom becomes a disturbing graveyard in the movie if the theory is true.
- Princess Peach’s skills are even more impressive in the film since a lot of people apparently died before her arrival.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie took viewers into the Mushroom Kingdom to meet Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy) and the Toads, but one dark theory casts a shadow over this colorful and seemingly innocent realm. Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, The Super Mario Bros. Movie went from being one of the most anticipated movies of 2023 to one of the highest-grossing films of the year, only beaten by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an origin story for the famous Italian-American brothers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), but without forgetting some of the most famous characters and settings from the video games.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie follows Mario and Luigi as they start their plumbing business in Brooklyn, until one day they are transported to an alternate world, with Luigi becoming a prisoner of Bowser (Jack Black) and Mario landing in the Mushroom Kingdom, where he meets Princess Peach. Together they gather an army to go against Bowser and company so they can rescue Luigi and save the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser’s invasion. The Mushroom Kingdom is a colorful and fun realm, but one theory gives it a dark turn, and it’s thanks to some Mario Bros. extended media.
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Super Mario Bros. Theory Claims Mushrooms Grow From Mario Corpses
A piece of Mario Bros. extended media made a disturbing reveal.
Nintendo’s Mario video game franchise has branched out to other media for decades, expanding the universe of Super Mario Bros. on TV, anime, film, comics, and a lot more. Among them is the 1996 Super Mario 64 manga, in which there’s a panel that has made way for a dark and disturbing theory when connected to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Prior to the movie’s release, said panel resurfaced on social media (via Syfy), showing mushrooms growing from the bodies of deceased Marios, those who lose their lives when they fall into the abyss, are touched enemies, or any situation that leads to Mario dying (and the player losing one life).
This makes it possible that the mushrooms seen all over Mushroom Kingdom in The Super Mario Bros. Movie are the result of corpses on the ground of the kingdom, not necessarily those of many past Marios (as in the movie there’s only one Mario). It’s worth noting, however, that it’s unclear if the Super Mario 64 manga is canon or not, as some claim that any extended media authorized by Nintendo is canon, while others believe only the video games are canon and others say anything can be canon as there’s no actual official Mario Bros. canon.
How This Theory Changes The Mushroom Kingdom In The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Mushroom Kingdom isn’t as cute and innocent as it seems.
The Mushroom Kingdom is even more fascinating in The Super Mario Bros. Movie than in the video games, as there’s a lot more attention to detail as Mario travels through it with Toad’s (Keegan-Michael Key) guidance. The Mushroom Kingdom is the home of the Toads, humanoids with mushroom-like heads, and the kingdom is packed with pipes that lead those who go into them to different points in the kingdom, all types of fun obstacles (though not that fun for Mario at first), and, of course, mushrooms of different sizes, everywhere.
The mushrooms certainly give Mushroom Kingdom a fun, cute, and even innocent look to this realm, but if the above theory is true, the mushrooms are no longer adorable. This theory turns the Mushroom Kingdom into a massive graveyard, as each mushroom is the result of a dead body (though it’s unclear if only human bodies can make mushrooms grow from them or if the Toad species and others can do so as well), making this once fun place a disturbing and sinister one.
This Theory Makes The Super Mario Bros. Movies’ Peach Even Cooler
Peach’s skills & legacy are a lot more impressive.
Before Mario arrived at the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach was the only human there and was excited to see that a new human had arrived. Peach tells Mario that she doesn’t remember her life before the Mushroom Kingdom as she ended up there when she was a baby, and the Toads happily took her in. The Toads trained Peach, and she was eventually crowned as their leader, and she even admitted to Mario that she successfully completed the obstacle course on her first attempt.
If the mushrooms grew from dead bodies, this means that a lot of people perished at Mushroom Kingdom before Peach’s arrival, and judging by her excitement when Mario arrived, no other human arrived after she did. Peach’s achievements in the Mushroom Kingdom and her skills in The Super Mario Bros. Movie are a lot more impressive when taking into account the potentially obscure origin of the mushrooms, and Mario was lucky he didn’t die when Peach was training him.
Source: Syfy.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
