The Super Mario Bros. Movie Super Bowl Spot Is A Throwback To A Forgotten '80s Adaptation

The 2023 Super Bowl is really, really nerdy. Not the players (although maybe? Who's to say) but the commercials, which include trailer spots for "The Flash" and "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts." Not to be outdone by DC or Hasbro, however, Nintendo decided to show off their first collaboration with Illumination, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." 

We've seen a few trailers for Mario Jumpman Mario's latest cinematic adventure before, but this particular trailer tried something a little different. Instead of showing off the voice cast, which includes household names like Chris Pratt and Jack Black, the "Super Mario" Super Bowl spot shows off a niche corner of the titular character's silly history. How niche? Well, do you remember a hybrid live-action and animated series from 1989 called "The Super Mario Bros Super Show!"?  No? That's okay — we're about to ingrain it in your memory forever. 

(You're welcome in advance, by the way.)

In 1989, Viacom Enterprises (read: Paramount) released "The Super Mario Bros Super Show!," a series which received 65 episodes. Now, it's going to feel like we're pranking you, but everything you're about to read is 100 percent true: "Super Show!" features live-action segments in which Mario (Lou Albano) and his brother, Luigi (Danny Wells), run their own plumbing business. If that sounds like a sitcom, well, you're not far off. We'll come back to this in a second.

"Super Show!" also features animated segments, in which Mario and Luigi are transported to the Mushroom Kingdom via a busted bath drain. Once there, the series more accurately resembles the video games. In the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi must fight alongside Princess Toadstool (Jeannie Elias) to thwart the wicked King Koopa (Harvey Atkin) — aka Princess Peach and Bowser respectively. Here, "Super Show!" is less of a sitcom and more of a standard animated serial. It's all villains and heroes and flavor-of-the-week plots that usually wrap up before the episode ends. Typical Saturday morning stuff. 

You should also know that "The Super Mario Bros Super Show!" featured animated segments based on one of Nintendo's other massive video game franchises, "The Legend of Zelda." (That's not really relevant, it's just cool a cool thing to note.) The live-action bits include a hilariously hokey intro theme in which Albano and Wells groove to a rap beat while a disembodied voice proclaims "Evil Koopa and his Troopas are up to misbehavin'. They kidnapped the princess, Mushroom Land needs savin'." 

With bars like that, how could Nintendo not bring them back for a new coat of paint?

The Super Bowl spot for "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" is about 30 seconds long, so it's only about half the length of the "Super Mario Bros Super Show!" theme song, but it manages to cram the source materials' entire essence into that brief runtime. In reference to the live-action portions of "Super Show!," the Super Bowl ad showcases Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) starring in their own plumbing commercial. 

Also, the music the brothers are using? It's the first verse of the "Super Show!" theme! It's definitely a different artist, but it's word for word the same track: 

"We're the Mario Brothers, and plumbing's our game. We're not like the others who get all the fame. If your sink is in trouble, you can call us on the double. We're faster than the others, you'll be hooked on the Brothers!"

It's not exactly subtle ... but it's kind of brilliant. Nintendo dug into Mario's public history to squeeze out that little extra bit of nostalgia. As if the world's most famous plumber needed the boost. Ah well, at least we have a "new" song stuck in our heads! Oh, one last heads up: The number and the website provided in the "Super Mario Bros. Movie" Super Bowl ad work. 

"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" is set to release April 7, 2023.