MarioWiki:BJAODN/In Search of Lost Brother
Welcome to the BJAODN Museum. Admission is free. Our featured piece here is In Search of Lost Brother (formerly A Plumber's Lament) by venerable sculptor Garro of Nimbus Land. No, it is clearly not just Mario covered in gold and standing perfectly still.
This page contains two revisions of an article on this "statue" from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and its Nintendo Switch remake. The first is from November 15, 2014, and the second is from January 8, 2024 and is the exact revision before its merge (other than two edits adding and modifying a {{Merge to}} template).
November 15, 2014 revision[edit]
- Mario Statue redirects here. For information about the transformation Tanooki Mario can undergo, see Statue Mario.
A Plumber's Lament is the name of a piece of art created by master sculptor Garro of Nimbus Land for the kingdom's usurper queen Valentina during the events of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. The gold-colored statue is a depiction of a seemingly ordinary, working-class male human plumber. According to Garro, the sculpture's thick mustache covers the "sad, innocent smile of a simple fool," the sideburns serve as a reminder of the plumber's "blue collar roots," and the strong, muscular legs represent the "legs of the masses." While Valentina was initially repulsed by the sculpture, after Garro's analysis of his masterpiece's proletariat symbolism, the queen-to-be lauded A Plumber's Lament, calling it a piece of "gentle beauty" and "raw power." Valentina quickly has the statue put on display by her servant Dodo next to gold sculptures made in her likeness, which were also created by Garro.
Unbeknownst to Valentina, A Plumber's Lament is actually Mario in disguise as part of a plan to infiltrate Nimbus Castle in order to restore King and Queen Nimbus to the throne and topple the regime of the false queen Valentina (who had manipulated the Nimbus population through various political schemes, setting herself up as de facto ruler of Nimbus Land). In order to expose Valentina's ruse to the greater population, King and Queen Nimbus need to be extradited from the confines of the castle. However, only those with official business with Valentina are allowed entrance to the castle by her guards, the Birdies. Therefore, Garro, Valentina's private sculptor but secretly an ally of Mario and the King and Queen's son (and true heir to the throne) Prince Mallow, devise a plan to get Mario past the guards undetected by turning him into his "latest masterpiece" A Plumber's Lament. To do so, Garro actually applies a coat of gold dust all over Mario's face and clothes in order to make him appear to be a gold sculpture. Mario, standing perfectly still in order to mimic a statue, is then delivered to Valentina along with several gold sculptures made in the image of the usurper queen, thus allowing Mario to safely and covertly infiltrate the castle.
A similar statue appears in BS Super Mario USA as an item, found three times in each level. Each one gives the player an extra life.
Another similar statue appears when the player collects 1 million coins in New Super Mario Bros. 2. It appears in the background of the revamped title screen.
- After Valentina and Dodo flee Nimbus Land, and King and Queen Nimbus (along with Prince Mallow) are restored to the throne, Garro sculpts an actual gold statue of Mario (along with statues of Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Toadstool). The sculptures are put on display in the center of Nimbus Palace for the public to enjoy.
Before deletion[edit]
- Not to be confused with Statue Mario.
- “Observe… the thick mustache… With it, I depict his kind feelings for his younger brother… And the sideburns… conveying his strength of heart. And the legs…well defined… Strong. Legs that can leap any distance in a single bound.”
- —Garro, Super Mario RPG
"In Search of Lost Brother" (originally called "A Plumber's Lament") is a piece of art created by Garro of Nimbus Land for the kingdom's queen Valentina in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and its Nintendo Switch remake. The gold-colored statue is a depiction of a plumber, which resembles Mario. According to Garro in the original version, "A Plumber's Lament"'s thick mustache covers the "sad, innocent smile of a simple fool," the sideburns symbolize the plumber's "blue collar roots," and the strong, muscular legs represent the "legs of the masses." In the Nintendo Switch remake, however, Garro says that the sculpture's thick mustache depicts "his kind feelings for his younger brother," that the sideburns convey "his strength of heart," and that the legs are well-defined and strong and "can leap any distance in a single bound"; this description, along with the new title of "In Search of Lost Brother," matches closer to the original Japanese description and title of the statue, and in turn, it references Mario's relationship with Luigi. While Valentina initially dislikes the sculpture, after Garro's analysis of his statue, she lauds "In Search of Lost Brother," calling it a piece of "gentle beauty" and "raw power." Valentina has the statue put on display by her servant Dodo next to gold sculptures of herself.
Unknown to Valentina, "In Search of Lost Brother" is actually Mario himself in disguise as part of a plan to break into Nimbus Castle to restore King Nimbus and Queen Nimbus to the throne. To expose Valentina's plot, King and Queen Nimbus need to be freed from the castle. However, only those with official business with Valentina are allowed entrance. Therefore, Garro and Mallow devise a plan to get Mario past the guards by turning him into "In Search of Lost Brother." To do so, Garro applies a coat of gold dust all over Mario to make him look like a gold sculpture. Mario, standing perfectly still to add to the effect, is then delivered to Valentina, allowing him to enter the castle. The statue's title and description were therefore made up on the spot when Garro was being interrogated by Valentina in regards of the statue, similar to when Garro was being interrogated by two Birdy guards at the castle entrance (to which Garro stated that the statue was a sculpture of Valentina's nephew, Mariotta, instead). After Valentina is removed from the throne, Garro creates true sculptures of Mario and his party to thank them for their efforts.
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 『弟をたずねて四千里』 Otōto o tazunete yonsenri |
4000 Leagues in Search of Little Brother (parody of 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother) | |
| Chinese | 『尋弟四千里』 Xún dì sìqiān lǐ |
4000 Miles in Search of Little Brother | |
| Dutch | 'Zoektocht naar een verloren broer' | In search of the lost brother | |
| French | "À la recherche du frère perdu" | In search of the lost brother | |
| German | "Auf der Suche nach dem verlorenen Bruder" | In Search of the lost Brother | |
| Italian | "Alla ricerca del fratello perduto" | In search of the lost brother | |
| Korean | 『동생 찾아 사천 리』 Dongsaeng Chaj-a Sacheon Li |
3000 Leagues in Search of Little Brother | |
| Spanish | "En busca del hermano perdido" | In search of the lost brother |
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | アラビアータ Arabiāta |
From「マルガリータ」(Marugarīta, Margarita); may also refer to arrabbiata (described as Valentina's father's mother's son's child) | |
| Chinese | 阿拉比亞塔 Ālābǐyǎtǎ |
Arrabbiata (described as the child of Valentina's father's mother's son) | |
| Dutch | Mariolo | Mariolo (described as Valentina's nephew) | |
| French (NOA) | Mariotta | Mariotta (described as Valentina's nephew) | |
| French (NOE) | Mariotina | Mariotina (described as Valentina's uncle's mother's grandson) | |
| German | Mariotto | Mariotto (described as Valentina's nephew) | |
| Italian | Mariottino | Mariottino (described as Valentina's uncle's sister's son) | |
| Korean | 아라비아타 Alabiata |
Arrabbiata (described as the child of Valentina's father's mother's son) | |
| Spanish | Mariotto | Mariotto (described as Valentina's nephew) |
- The title "In Search of Lost Brother" is a parody of the title of the novel In Search of Lost Time. Its previous title, "A Plumber's Lament," may be a reference to the poem "A Mother's Lament" by Robert Burns.
- Coincidentally, Mario's disguise as a gold statue would make him look identical to Gold Mario, a power-up introduced in New Super Mario Bros. 2 16 years after Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
