50 Easter Eggs, References & Major Cameos Explained

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is absolutely packed with exciting Easter eggs, references to classic Nintendo games, and some very exciting cameos and character debuts. A visual feast for longtime fans of the Super Mario franchise and beyond, there’s a lot of ground to cover.

While it’s doubtful anyone could catch absolutely everything on a first viewing of the new Nintendo movie sequel, we think we did a pretty good job, so here are 50 of the biggest and coolest Easter eggs, references, and more in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

All The Easter Eggs, Cameos, and References We Caught In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Comet Observatory — The home of Princess Rosalina and her Lumas, the Comet Observatory acts as the main hub to all the different galaxy levels in the original Super Mario Galaxy game from Nintendo. Likewise, the Observatory’s design in the movie is directly inspired by the game version.

Storytime With Princess Rosalina — Sharing stories about Princess Peach and the Mario Brothers with her children in the new movie, Princess Rosalina also reads from a large book in the Super Mario Galaxy game. However, the stories were her own origins and how Rosalina ended up traveling the cosmos caring for the Lumas.

Megaleg — Bower Jr.’s robotic Megaleg is one of the first bosses Mario fights in the Super Mario Galaxy game.

E. Gadd Mug — Kamek’s coffee mug appears to have the logo of Professor E. Gadd, who first appeared in the first Luigi’s Mansion game. Perhaps this could be a subtle tease for the long-hoped-for Luigi spin-off movie?

Classic Luma Sounds — Expressing concern for their captured mother, the noises made by the Lumas are the actual sounds from the original Nintendo games.

The Inverted Pyramid — The Inverted Pyramid is a major location in Super Mario Odyssey’s Sand Kingdom.

Yoshi Eats A Dog — During Yoshi’s hilarious Brooklyn adventure, the green dinosaur voiced by Donald Glover is seen eating the same dog that clashed with Mario and Luigi in 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

The Original Donkey Kong Game — Yoshi’s time in Brooklyn also features Donkey Kong in a brief cameo (though unfortunately no voice lines from Seth Rogen), recreating the original 1981 Donkey Kong game (Mario’s first ever appearance).

Bowser Jr.’s Paintbrush — Bowser Jr’s primary weapon is his paintbrush, which first made its video game debut in Super Mario Sunshine.

8-Bit Bowser Piñata — During Princess Peach’s birthday party in the Mushroom Kingdom, a group of Toads can be seen hitting a piñata of 8-bit Bowser, inspired by his first ever appearance in the 1985 Super Mario Bros game for the NES.

Princess Peach’s Parasol — Mario’s gift to Princess Peach is her classic pink parasol, best known for being a primary weapon used in the Super Smash Bros. games (though it first debuted in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars).

Tasty Star Bits — The multicolored glowing pieces of starlight that start falling are called “star bits”. Originating in the original Super Mario Galaxy game, star bits are the Lumas’ food, which are collected and fed to trigger various Luma transformations.

Luma Transformation Into A Launch Star — Case in point, the Luma sent to find Princess Peach transforms into a Launch Star when she decides to go save Princess Rosalina, sending her and Toad into the cosmos just like in the original Nintendo game.

Classic Mario Game Map Montage — Taking care of the Mushroom Kingdom while Peach is gone, Mario and Luigi use the throne room’s interactive map to monitor things, resulting in a fun montage mixing 3D and 2D side scrolling animation. Likewise, the map itself is also inspired by level selection maps in various Super Mario games.

Bowser Singing Original Theme Melody — Coming up the stairs of his mini-castle to talk with the Mario Brothers, the melody Bowser is singing while “sipping the soup” and “trimming his bonsai bush” is one of the very first Bowser boss themes.

Bowser Jr. Abducts Peach’s Entire Castle — Using his massive flying saucer to abduct Princess Peach’s entire castle and take it into space, this is exactly how the first Super Mario Galaxy game begins.

Koopa Clown Car — Bowser Jr. repeatedly drives his smiling Koopa Clown Car, which first debuted in Super Mario World.

Star Bunnies & Gearmos — The Super Mario Galaxy Movie features both Star Bunnies and robotic Gearmos in the background of more than a few sequences, with both first appearing in the original Galaxy game.

Level 1-2 — Investigating the inner-workings of the Gateway Galaxy, Princess Peach and Toad follow Ukiki into a darker corridor, and the side of the wall is labeled “Level 1-2”. In the original Super Mario Bros. game for the NES, Level 1-2 was similarly darker. The movie also features the same music during the sequence.

Spike — Amid all the various Koopas and foes we’ve seen before, Spike can be seen in the background of a few shots when Princess Peach and Toad discover their secret hangout in the Gateway Galaxy.

N64 Logo — One of the buildings in the background features a hologram of the N64 logo at the top.

The Gateway Galaxy Casino and Music — The casino Peach and Toad discover is heavily inspired by Super Mario Odyssey, including the music that plays in the background.

Classic Super Mario Boss Trio – Wart, Birdo, and Mouser all make their movie debuts in the casino, the three of them all being classic Super Mario bosses. Voiced by Luis Guzman, Wart first debuted in Super Mario Bros. 2 in the US, but also made an appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. While Birdo and Mouser don’t have voice lines, they also made their game debuts in Super Mario Bros. 2.

Princess Peach Goes Full Smash Bros. — During the fight with the horde of Ninjis in the casino, Peach attacks with a turnip, calling back to one of her signature moves in the Super Smash Bros. games.

Honeyhive Galaxy & Queen Bee — After the Mushroom Kingdom castle falls, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Bowser find themselves in the Honeyhive Galaxy and encounter Queen Bee (voiced by Issa Rae), both of whom first debuted in the first Super Mario Galaxy game.

Space Junk Galaxy — It’s also revealed that Bowser Jr. has created his very own Bowser Planet in the Space Junk Galaxy, another galaxy adapted straight from the original Galaxy game.

Bowser Jr’s Stuffed Animals — During the flashback to Bowser Jr.’s childhood with his father, the younger Koopa is in his bed surrounded by various stuffed animals of what looks to be bosses from the Super Mario Galaxy game, including the fiery octopus known as King Kaliente.

R.O.B. — R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) makes his movie debut as the Gateway Galaxy’s primary information assistant, originally an accessory with 1985’s NES, who has since become a beloved playable character in Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart.

Ship Made Of Joycons — One of the ships taking off and leaving the Gateway Galaxy appears to have two Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons as part of its design.

Pikmin — The small plantlike creatures known as Pikmin from the Nintendo games of the same name make a literal mini-cameo in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, shown boarding a small rocket in the Gateway Galaxy.

Enter Fox McCloud/Star Fox — Voiced by Glenn Powell, Fox McCloud from Nintendo’s Star Fox games also makes his movie debut, and he actually becomes a supporting character for the rest of the movie, acting as a Han Solo-type pilot for the other characters.

Team Star Fox Backstory — Complete with a unique 2D animation style, Fox confirms he’s been stranded in his universe ever since his Arwing’s warp drive was damaged, confirming the existence of Team Star Fox including Peppy Hare, Falco Lombardi, and Slippy Toad back home in the Lylat System.

“A Friend For Me” — Princess Daisy is referenced when Luigi encourages Mario to ask Peach on a date, so he can then ask her if she has a friend.

SNES Controller — An SNES controller can be seen in the background of the Gateway Galaxy’s hangar bay with other cargo when Mario first meets Star Fox.

Bowser Jr’s Smash Bros Arsenal & Super Scope — Amid several weapons from the Super Smash Bros games, Bowser pulls out a gun to turn Mario and Luigi into babies. The gun in question looks like the Super Scope, another classic SNES accessory.

T. Rex & Prehistoric World — Both the major T. Rex and the prehistoric world, the main cast crash on hail from the Super Mario Odyssey game.

Yoshi & The Super Mario Babies — Yoshi carrying the Mario babies on his back while running from the T. Rex is a direct callback to the classic Yoshi’s Island game.

Princess Peach Twist Connects To OG Galaxy Game Plans — The reveal that Princess Peach is Rosalina’s younger sister is a major change from the Mario games’ established lore, though it was actually the original plan during the development of the first Super Mario Galaxy game before those plans changed, explaining why the Princesses look so similar.

“Team Star Fox Is Ready” — Wearing vests just like McCloud’s, the Lumas help Fox fly the Comet Observatory while music from Nintendo’s Star Fox games plays.

“Do A Barrel Roll!” — One of the Lumas tells Fox to do a barrel roll, a nod to the classic meme inspired by the copious amount of times players are told to do so by Team Star Fox in the games.

Peach & Mario vs Bowser Jr.’s Security System — Bowser Jr. throwing everything he has at Mario and Peach looks to be heavily inspired by Super Mario Builder, especially when the sequence transitions to video game side scrolling.

Final Boss Fight Bridge Axe — Taking on Bowser and his son on a bridge overlooking lava, Mario is also armed with an axe, inspired by classic Final boss fights with the Bowsers from various Super Mario games.

“Feel My Fury!” — This line from Bowser was likely inspired by the Nintendo game title Bowser’s Fury.

Dry Bowser — After falling into the lava, Bowser’s alternate Dry Bowser form makes its movie debut in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Mr. Game & Watch — Using Bowser Jr’s paintbrush, Luigi creates none other than Mr. Game and Watch, one of the first playable Nintendo characters ever (and another beloved Super Smash Bros. combatant).

Bowser Jr’s Dragon — The dragon created by Bowser Jr. is inspired by the same design seen in Super Mario Odyssey.

Flying Mario Power-Up — While multiple power-ups are used in the final battle, the Red Star granting Mario the power to fly comes directly from the first Super Mario Galaxy game.

Cape Mario — Super Mario World’s feather and cape are featured as well during the scene where Princess Peach’s castle is rebuilt.

Warden Lumalee — The blue Luma from 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie returns as the Bowsers warden in the mid-credits, still cute and darkly morbid as ever.

Princess Daisy Makes Her Movie Debut — The end credits scene sees Princess Daisy stopping Ukiki from stealing another traveler’s belongings in the Gateway Galaxy, making her movie debut while also paying off Luigi’s tease earlier in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Daisy will likely play a key role in future Super Mario movies and/or spin-offs.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now playing in theaters from Illumination and Nintendo.