We’re less than a month away from the theatrical release of The Super Mario Bros. Movieand this week the cast appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote the upcoming film in a unique and nostalgic way: by singing the Super Mario Bros. theme song. They were joined by host Fallon and musical group (and Fallon’s house band) The Roots.
If, like me, you were confused about how a group of people was supposed to sing the Mario theme song — which is completely devoid of lyrics — just think of the video as a YouTube a cappella arrangement from the early 2010s. Like all Pentatonix video The arrangement is worth the money because the arrangement features different actors playing different segments of the tune, complete with beatboxing.
Cute animations are interspersed throughout the segment. Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key and Jimmy Fallon, among others, come in and out of warp pipes alongside pixelated piranha plants. Jack Black does some very compelling scatters. The performers, each shown in their own colorful rectangular background, sing segments while slapping a small koopa shell back and forth. Even Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri are in attendance (although Miyamoto gets the final notes)!
It’s a little reminder of an earlier era of YouTube, where things were simpler and a cappella was king. Think of it like Nick Pitera.One Man Disney MovieMedley style YouTube video except it’s about the cast The Super Mario Bros. Movie hums one of the most iconic video game themes of all time.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Premieres in theaters April 5.
