It’s a big day for Mario Mario. It’s literally his day—March 10, a.k.a. Mar10—his new movie just got a cool trailer, and Nintendo has decided that the best way to celebrate that is to steal his shoes and put them in the plumber’s ancestral home of New York. Of course, io9 was there to take a look!
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The line to get into Nintendo’s New York City store in Rockefeller plaza this morning—which otherwise wasn’t open until midday, unless you were there for The Boots—was considerable. Are people really that crazy for Mario’s feet? Perhaps.
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The Boots’ arrival in-store was heralded by this hilariously-worded poster, which gives off extremely strong Gabbo vibes.
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But behold! Boots. They’re so big. Why are they so big? Are they to scale? Is Mario actually a giant even before he gets into the Mushroom Kingdom? Are they boots post-Super-Mushroom-embiggening? Endless questions, and only boots.
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Mario’s boots were suspended above another, arguably more iconic piece of imagery from the games: the humble question block. It’s arguably much more iconic than the boots. Why didn’t Nintendo tell people the question block would be here?
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Nintendo and Illumination worked with Red Wing Shoes to bring the model of Mario’s boots from the movie to real life—including their mushroom-based insoles.
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They’re pretty nice, if plain, boots. Note the Super Mario Bros. Movie logo on the inside, though. Nice touch, although I feel like Mario wouldn’t be branding his shoes like that if these really are his boots. We’re being lied to.
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Bam. Now you know.
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People were indeed excited to see Mario’s boots. Or maybe to just get into the Nintendo store early. Either way, the boots were there.
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It might be Mario’s day, but he can’t have all the attention. Both Wario and Waluigi were watching the boots from afar, courtesy of this very well-positioned merch.
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Boots aside, Nintendo also pulled up a replica of Mario and Luigi’s work van from the movie outside for people to get pictures with.
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That classic font, that classic art ripped right from the games... I would indeed trust these plumbers with any plumbing concerns. Or an invasion of koopalings.
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Mario and Luigi are committed to the bit.
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Okay, maybe it was the free swag that got people lining up rather than Mario’s boots. Anyone who went in to see the boots also walked away with a free poster and a magnet.
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Naturally, the poster was double-sided to accommodate the brothers. Mario is on one side, ready for action...
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...and Luigi on the other, being captured by Shy Guys. Poor guy.
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The Magnet might be the cutest thing of all though, given that it actually takes the form of Mario and Luigi’s business card.
You’ll be able to see more of Mario’s boots, and presumably every other part of him, when The Super Mario Bros. Movie hits theaters on April 5.
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Source: Gizmodo