The Mario Movie Merch Machine: Then & Now
The sibling plumbers are coming back to the silver screen
Critically, the upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie has a 100% chance of faring better than 1993’s live-action goof-fest. (Even if that first movie had some fun character and set design, in hindsight!) These 2023 trailers, especially the most recent one below, have garnered a positivity on social media unseen since the earlier days of the MCU:
If you’ve walked by any toy shelves this month (especially after the MAR10 holiday), you’ve also seen the return of the big Mario movie merchandise machine: action figures, playsets, accessories, and apparel among the options. Mario’s toy footprint has already ramped up in recent years with Hot Wheels tie-ins for Mario Kart, a popular interactive LEGO line, and a broader line of figures and sets based on the games. Expect a larger presence with this wave and the multiple others sure to follow.
This post isn’t meant to compare and contrast the output of the 1993 and 2023 films: This new movie is much more of a direct extension of the games, after all, and that first one was more of a, uh, creative reimagining. What we’re really showing here is just how good Nintendo has gotten at merchandising in the past three decades. It’s easy to forget that in 1993, there were also more than 100 fewer video games based on the character out in the world.
Take just the action figures, for instance: ERTL is mostly known for its collectible replicas of agricultural machinery (yep), but in the early 1990s, they also produced figures and vehicles for the likes of Garfield, Thomas the Tank Engine, and the first Super Mario Bros. movie. Their relatively decent molds reflect toylines like that of the Terminator franchise and professional wrestling.
Thirty years later, JAKKS Pacific holds the keys to Mario's toylines, including the one for this new film. The 5-inch figures below are among the initial offerings for the new movie:
Naturally, the films inclusion of Mario Kart vehicles and courses means those will be in tow for Jakks, as well. Illumination’s loyalty to the look and feel of the game’s universe gives the chance for Jakks to easily integrate these new toys among the old, even if the sizes vary.
Our favorite of the new toyline, though, should be no surprise to readers who enjoyed our recent look back at (and call for a resurrection of) the Mighty Max micro-playsets. The Super Mario Bros. Movie has a few micro-playset with teensy characters exploring hidden worlds. Micro-playsets and Mario are an obvious marriage when considering the latter’s shrinking and expanding levels. We’re particularly fond of the Van Playset, which neatly folds, in a la a Transformer, and is ideal for kids taking their tiny adventures on the road.
By 1993, Nintendo was already a giant, but their initial relationship with ERTL shows just how green they were in the arenas in which they hadn’t already forged a footprint. Super Mario Bros: The Movie Archive, an independent yet comprehensive website, does a wonderful job of cataloging the merchandise of the first film, from trading cards to lunchboxes (and basically everything else you’d want to know about that film).
After a deep dive into the merchandising of both films, we have determined that there is one way in which the old film beats the new movie. Simply, Illumination’s animated movie doesn’t have an iconic George Clinton song. For the uninitiated, let me introduce you to this tune from Clinton, who for the purposes of the movie, performs under the name George Clinton & The Goombas here:
That’s pretty hard to beat, but we’ll reserve our full judgment for the arrival of The Super Mario Bros. Movie April 5.