In this section of our Colossus Movie Guide for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, we answer questions you have about the movie. If you’re curious about plot explanations, meanings, themes, lessons, motifs, symbols, or just confused by something, ask and we’ll do our best to answer.
Cast
- Mario – Chris Pratt
- Luigi – Charlie Day
- Princess Peach – Anya Taylor-Joy
- Toad – Keegan-Michael Key
- Donkey Kong – Seth Rogen
- Cranky Kong – Fred Armisen
- Bowser – Jack Black
- Written by – Matthew Fogel
- Directed by – Aaron Horvath | Michael Jelenic
The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Questions and Answers
Who is Spike?
In movies that have a normal world and a fantastic world, it’s a trope to have parallels between characters, especially the villain. A famous example is The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Almira Gulch being the real equivalent of the Wicked Witch. The movie even plays the same music for both characters. For Super Mario Bros., Spike isn’t as big or bad or outrageous as Bowser. But they have similarly large statures and are both bullies that want to give the brothers a hard time. So there are visual and narrative parallels. Bowser becomes the hyperbolic version of what Spike represented in the real world. And by defeating him, the brothers win Spike’s respect.
As for the origin of the character. It’s a bit of a weird one. So Mario first appeared in Donkey Kong in 1981. It’s a huge hit. Nintendo then gave “Jumpman” a self-titled spin-off series. Mario Bros. dropped in 1983. Our red-hatted hero succeeded again. Leaning into their new mascot, Nintendo released an arcade game called Vs. Wrecking Crew where you play as Mario and/or Luigi and try to demolish stuff as enemies attack you. An NES version soon followed, title shortened to Wrecking Crew, and featured a new antagonist: Foreman Spike.
Spike doesn’t appear as a character FOR A LONG TIME. There was a Game Boy Color golf game only released in Japan. A brief visual appearance in a Wario-centric Nintendo 3DS game. And that it’s. His appearance in the film is a deep cut. And the initial parallel to Bowser is a nice touch that gives the character a bit of dimensionality.
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