Unless you've been living under a mushroom, you've probably heard the news that there's a new Super Mario film coming out – and the trailer dropped last night. As expected, much of the online discourse surrounds Chris Pratt's decidedly un-Italian voice. But fans have other concerns too.
On the whole, the animation for The Super Mario Bros. Movie looks pretty great – the colours are vibrant, the faces expressive and everything looks like a heightened yet faithful version of the game universe. Except for, apparently, Mario's arse. (Looking for inspiration? Check out our ultimate guide to character design.)
When the first poster for The Super Mario Bros. Movie dropped this week, fans noticed that the famously portly plumber was looking a little, er, less cheeky than normal. As Polygon puts it, "Mario’s got absolutely nothing going on in those overalls of his."
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Tragically, Mario still has no butt. #SuperMarioBrosMovie pic.twitter.com/JquOen9ElUOctober 6, 2022
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i am okay with pratt but i am upset they took mario's ass away from usOctober 7, 2022
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I love how movie Mario's lack of ass is trending. People really want a piece of that plumber booty. pic.twitter.com/QniYCIJcWtOctober 7, 2022
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Some fans have even taken things into their own hands, putting their Photoshop prowess to noble use by reimagining a more anatomically acceptable depiction of Mario's derrière. Could a Sonic-style redesign be on the cards here?
(Image credit: @arvalis on Twitter)
While you might think there are bigger issues in the world, Twitter is decidedly unhappy about butt-gate. Mario's lack of buns has been described as a "war crime," "mortally offensive," and "the worst thing that's ever happened, ever". Let's just hope people can put the whole thing behind them soon.
Still, history has taught us that any tweak to a beloved character design is guaranteed to get people riled up. From Minnie Mouse to the Green M&M, plenty of new looks have drawn the internet's ire over the last few months. If you want to experience Mario in his less, er, flat form, take a look at today's best Nintendo Switch deals below.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.
