Ranker Spotlight: Mario

Since the release of Mario Bros. in 1983, Nintendo’s Mario the plumber character has been introduced to every generation of gamer. Through franchises like Mario Kart and Mario Party, as well as new platform games like Mario Odyssey, Nintendo has created a rich canon that features a cast of supporting characters like Mario’s brother Luigi, nemesis Bowser, and romantic interest Princess Peach. In the 40 years since his creation, Mario has starred in dozens of games, a TV show, and now, with the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, two films.

Nintendo’s fictional universe has become so sprawling and gone on for so long that, like the Japanese-born Italian plumber’s nationality, the source of Mario’s appeal to the greater viewing public has become somewhat muddled. What is it about Mario that keeps gamers and non-gamers alike interested in his story? Do people really identify with Mario, or are characters like Donkey Kong, Wario, and Yoshi the real draw? Is his sustained influence the result of nostalgia, or is there a younger generation of fans moved by more recent Nintendo games?

As Mario makes his second big-screen debut, we’re taking a look at the fictional plumber’s fan base to see just how popular the character is, how that popularity is translating into a positive reception for the new movie, what other video games and characters devotees of the iconic platform games love, and more.

How Mario Ranks on Ranker

Tennis star. Soccer player. Race car driver. 8-bit knight errant. Mario has worked in plenty of professions over the last four decades, but the skill he’s most associated with in the eyes of Ranker voters is a lot more basic than you might expect: It’s jumping.

Mario is #1 on our list of The Best Jumping Characters In Gaming History (3K votes), defeating fellow video game vaulter Sonic the Hedgehog by a margin of over 60 votes. But just because he’s known for his vertical leap doesn’t mean Mario’s speed isn’t coveted, too — he’s #3 on our list of the 15 Best Mario Kart Characters (530 votes). That’s a strong ranking for a character who, in Mario Kart as well as in other Nintendo games, is best known for bringing a balance of different skills to the competition.

Is Mario the main attraction for fans of the world of Super Mario? Our list of The Best Characters In The Super Mario Universe (289K votes) would suggest otherwise: the current holder of the list’s #1 spot is Mario baddie Bowser. Mario is down at #4 behind Bowser, Yoshi, and his brother Luigi. Our fans also favor Bowser and Luigi in a battle royale scenario, putting Bowser at #1 again and Luigi at #5 on the list of Every Smash Ultimate Character, Ranked (110K votes), both ahead of Mario at #10.

But while Mario isn’t always people’s pick as a playable character, no one else from his universe has the same symbolic power. That’s why the mustachioed hero is #9 on our Most Memorable Advertising Mascots Of All Time list (63K votes), beating out Ronald McDonald, Mr. Peanut, and the GEICO gecko. Finally, Mario is #25 on Cartoon Characters You Totally Want To Get A Beer With (15K votes), a list on which Luigi and Bowser can’t even claim to feature.

How Will The Super Mario Bros. Movie Stack Up to the Games?

Video games have long been a source of inspiration in Hollywood, but in recent years, the trend has really picked up again. Paramount+’s adaptation of Halo, HBO’s mega-hit The Last of Us, and two Sonic the Hedgehog movies have all paved the way for Universal Studios’ new Mario film, which stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, and Charlie Day. In the past, we’ve found that film and TV adaptations have a spotty record, though in some cases, like that of Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), these revamps do match or exceed the reception of the games they’re based on. Will Mario Bros. get a similarly positive response from viewers?

Super Mario Bros. has been in theaters just two weeks as of the writing of this blog post, but it’s so far off to a strong start, with 54% of all votes cast for it indicating positive sentiment. Votes cast since the movie’s release on April 5 are even more positive, making up 62% of the total. If this trend continues, the show’s overall sentiment score should begin to quickly increase.

As it stands, however, how does this 54% positive sentiment with Ranker voters compare to the sentiment surrounding the Mario games? There have been so many Mario games in the last 40 years that it’s a tough question to answer — we tried to provide a well-rounded response by looking at sentiment scores for the Top 5 Best Mario Games Of All Time (80K votes).

1. Super Mario World — 69% positive sentiment

2. Super Mario 64 — 64% positive sentiment

3. Super Mario Galaxy — 65% positive sentiment

4. Super Mario Bros. 3 — 66% positive sentiment

5. Mario Odyssey — 46% positive sentiment

As you can see, besides the surprisingly low-rated Mario Odyssey, all these classic games are viewed more positively by our readers than the most recent film adaptation — though there is more than plenty of time for that to change. On the other hand, The Super Mario Bros. Movie already enjoys a stronger reputation among our readers than the last Hollywood treatment of Mario’s story, the similarly titled Super Mario Bros. (1993). Only 44% of those who voted on the Bob Hoskins-led movie had a positive opinion about it, while the 1989 TV show The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! boasts an improved, but still inferior, 51% sentiment score.

What Do Mario’s Fans Love?

Hundreds of thousands of votes have been cast for Mario on some of Ranker’s most popular superhero and film character lists. What and who else do those fans vote for? Ranker Insights can tell us more about the likes and dislikes of those who love the Nintendo platformer, and therefore, the people most likely to check out The Super Mario Bros. Movie. 

Other Characters

Luigi is the character most likely to be beloved by Mario fans, as fans of one character are 7X more likely to also love the other. Coming in second is Mario’s competitor from Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog, who’s 6X more likely to be a favorite of Mario fans. But beyond the world of video games, those who love the Nintendo hero have a taste for notably darker characters. Among them are Sherlock Holmes and Batman, both brooding crime-solvers whom Mario fans are 2X more likely to love, though they also include notably less serious figures like The Simpsons’ Krusty the Clown.

Games

It’s obvious that those who love Mario are going to favor his games, but which of the dozens of video games are his fans most likely to love? Their top choice seems to be the original 1983 NES game Super Mario Bros., which they’re 6X more likely to love, followed by the 1996 classic Super Mario 64, which they’re 5X more likely to love. They prefer Mario Kart 64 and Mario Party to the popular melee game Super Smash Bros., confirming our suspicion that those who love the franchise’s protagonist prefer racing and mini-games to the all-out brawls that Bowser seems to excel at. Besides arcade classics like Pac-Man and Duck Hunt, there are no games outside the world of Nintendo that fans of Mario are statistically more likely to enjoy, suggesting there’s a lot of brand loyalty in the audience fostered by the Japanese gaming giant.

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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