Mama Mario

Mama Mario
Mama Mario (right) in The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Full name	Mama Mia Mario
Species	Human
First appearance	Super Mario Issun-bōshi (1989)
Latest appearance	The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Latest portrayal	Jessica DiCicco (English, 2023)

“Well, I thought it was incredible. It belongs in a movie theater.”

—Mama Mario, The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Mama Mario (referred to as Mama and Mama Mia by her children, maiden name Rigassi) is the mother of Mario and Luigi and a recurring minor character in the Super Mario franchise and its spin-offs, particularly in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, where she is referenced throughout the television series' run and makes two appearances in the live-action segments.

A version of Mario's mother makes her first appearance in Super Mario Issun-bōshi. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! was responsible for the expansion of the character, being the first and, for much of the franchise's history, only source that showed her face or explored her personality, developing her as a strict parental figure who ultimately cared very much for her children. Though Mario and Luigi fear her temper and punishments on the show, both boys return their mother's love. Mama Mario's connection to Mario and Luigi's father is unclear, but the two are shown to live with each other in all of Papa's appearances, and the fact that Mama has a maiden name implies that she is or was married.

Mama Mario's appearance is relatively inconsistent across the series: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! portrays her as a portly, masculine woman, while the Nintendo Comics System shows her as a dainty, blonde-haired, young woman. She also appears in The Super Mario Bros. Movie living in Brooklyn along with Papa Mario and other members of Mario's family.

History

Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.

Mario's mother in Super Mario Issun-bōshi

Super Mario Issun-bōshi, a retelling of the Japanese fairy tale Issun-bōshi featuring characters from the Super Mario series, marked the first appearance of the character. Though she did not speak, Mama and/or Papa's hands were visible during the montage of their son's young life and her feet, in slippers, were visible when Mario attempted to convince her to let him travel alone. Throughout Mama's remaining appearances, Mario and Luigi continued to refer to her as "Mama." Another tradition established by the original video animation was the concealment of Mama's face, which has continued throughout all Super Mario media with only one exception. In the story, when a shooting star flew over Mario's parents' house, Mario was miraculously born. However, he was small enough to fit in the palm of his father's hand, even after he grew older. His parents hesitated in letting their boy travel alone, but after much convincing they allowed him to leave.

DIC cartoons

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

"All Steamed Up"

"All Steamed Up" marks the first reference to Mario and Luigi's mother outside of Japan. When Luigi first sees Mario shrunken down to a very small size, he laments over what he would tell their mother.

"Mama Mia Mario"

Mama Mario, played by Lou Albano, scolds Luigi for not opening the door.

Eight live-action segments later, the character makes her first live-action appearance in "Mama Mia Mario," where she and Mario are both played by Lou Albano. The episode's plot is written in such a way that the faces of the two characters never appeared together on screen, allowing Albano to play both characters without the aid of editing. For Mama, the actor speaks in a high, raspy voice, wears a scowl, hunches forward, and when he walks, takes small steps and leans left and right in time with his steps. Near the end of the episode, Mama appears behind a door, talking to the visible Mario. Her arms and hands are briefly shown. During this scene, an unidentified person plays Mama, although Lou still provides the voice.

When Mama Mario calls Mario Brothers Plumbing, Luigi picks up the telephone. He attempts to protest and explain Mama's complaints as her voice grew increasingly higher. Listening into the call, Mario first suspects that the caller is complaining about the water heater that blew up the week before. After agreeing to let Mama come over, Luigi hangs up and tells Mario that it is worse: Mama is coming to visit. The two decide to clean up the apartment and lay out leafy vegetables in an attempt to hide their bachelor lifestyle.

Upon arrival, Mama rings the doorbell and orders her boys to open the door, lest she "breaks [their] heads!" Quickly, Mario finishes the cleaning by taking a garbage can full of pizza boxes into the next room as Luigi goes to answer the door. Immediately, Mama hits Luigi on the head with her purse and lectures him on answering the door timely and listening to her. The scene ends for a commercial break as Mama continues her tirade.

After the cartoon segment, Mama stands over Luigi as he scrubs the apartment floor and instructs him to tell Mario to see her after he finishes washing the street, because she had more work for him to do. Luigi responds with a gentle, "Yes, Mama." His mother interjects, ordering him to shut up and not talk back. Mario rings the doorbell and, through the door, tells Mama that he had washed all the steps on Flatbush Avenue. She refuses to let him come back in until he has washed the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan, and then commands that Luigi, still scrubbing the floor, to stop being lazy and help his brother.

When Mama steps out of the room, Mario walks back in and confides in Luigi that, though he loves Mama, he cannot take any more of her and wishes that she would leave. Luigi agrees, but asserts that their mother is much better than Aunt Luigeena. Overhearing their conversation, or at least the sound of their voices, Mama, from the other room, yells at them to keep working.

As the prelude to scenes from The Legend of Zelda, Mario and Luigi discuss how Mama had instructed them to show the scenes and that they will be right back afterward provided Mama allows it. They also note that The Legend of Zelda is her favorite television show.

Secretly, Luigi calls Mama over the phone and tells her that she had won the lottery. She falls for the trick and prepares to leave, saying goodbye and hitting Mario over the head with her purse, knocking his hat off. When Mario asks why she hit him, she responds, "Just in case." Shortly after, Aunt Luigeena arrives and rings the doorbell. The brothers hesitate in answering, fearing that Mama had realized the truth.

"Super Plant"

When Mama Mario leaves her basil bush in the care of her boys, Mario and Luigi are horrified to realize that it is dying in "Super Plant." Answering the brothers' hopes for a miracle, Dr. Toby arrives and gave them a pack of his experimental Super Plant Growth Formula. Mario adds too much formula to the soil, and the plant grows into a monster. However, with more help from Dr. Toby, the plant returns to its normal size. Luigi notes that the plant is once again healthy, and that Mama will be happy.

"Fake Bro"

During the events of "Fake Bro," a conman attempts to trick Mario and Luigi into selling Mario Brothers Plumbing by telling them that he is their long-lost brother, Pietro. When the brothers question why they had never heard of him before, he claims that he had brought such shame to Mama Mario that he ran away from home before they were old enough to remember him. Even the sound of his name would bring grief to Mama. Luigi quizzes Pietro with some family trivia, including Mama's maiden name. The latter answers all the questions correctly, answering that Mama's maiden name is Rigassi. Still suspicious of Pietro's identity, Luigi claims that he will call Mama, but in reality he is about to test the conman's intentions. As a result of the test, Pietro admits that he had simply researched the brothers and made up the story about Mama.

"Little Marios"

Mama Mario affectionately pinches Mario's cheek in "Little Marios."

"Little Marios" features a flashback to when Mario and Luigi were still young children. Again, she is voiced by Lou Albano, but because Mama is only on-screen in scenes where Mario also is, another person plays Mama, carefully keeping their face off camera and making exaggerated hand gestures. Mama, overhearing them arguing over the outcome of their race through the house, scolds them and grounds Mario because, as the oldest, she argued, he should know better. Shaking, Mario whines that she had already grounded him five times that week. Mama instead decides to punish him by forcing him to peel the garlic for the next five days, a punishment that Mario complains would make him smell so bad that no one, not even himself, would want to play with him.

Mario is so upset that he decided to run away. Mama and Luigi enjoy their time without Mario, eating popcorn. She notes that, without Mario to share with, she and Luigi could eat much more popcorn. When Mario returns, he asks Mama if she missed him. She replies, "No!" and goes on to say that she does not miss his yelling, his fights with Luigi, and his room being a mess, but that, ultimately, she does miss him. Upon this, Mario's face lights up. Mama hits him across the face with her purse "just in case" he deserves it, and then affectionately pinches his cheek as Mario's face of shock turns into a smile.

"Gorilla My Dreams"

Mario and Luigi reference Mama twice in "Gorilla My Dreams." When Mario wonders where the ears on his bunny costume are, Luigi states that he remembers Mama using them as oven mitts. Later in the episode, Mario asks the gorilla and Luigi, who is wearing a gorilla costume, how many warts are on Mama's nose to determine who is Luigi and who is the gorilla, claiming that only Luigi would know the answer to the question. The gorilla answers by beating his chest three times and Luigi protests that it was a lucky guess. Mario interjects, saying that he is not talking about the one on her chin.

"Plummers Academy"

"Plummers Academy" features a flashback to when Mario and Luigi were enrolled in the Brooklyn Plumbers Academy. After Sergeant Kooperman throws them out of the academy, Mario refuses to give up, claiming that he had been born with a plunger in his hand. Luigi said that he knows, and that it had been very hard on Mama. Upon hearing that, Mario's courage fades, and he and Luigi temporarily gave up plumbing.

"Two Bums From Brooklyn"

Tommy Lasagna, coach of the Brooklyn Dodgers, visits Mario Brothers Plumbing in "Two Bums from Brooklyn" in search of the famous Mama Mario meatball recipe. However, tasting the meatballs, he is disgusted, declaring that they taste like horsehide and string. Mario confides to Luigi that Lasagna had tasted the secret ingredient. However, the coach decides to use the meatballs by covering them with leather and using them as baseballs. This episode is the first to give Mama Mario an official name, as she had only previously been referred to as "Mama" by Mario, Luigi, and Pietro.

"Flatbush Koopa"

Having successfully liberated the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi are to return to Brooklyn in "Flatbush Koopa." Luigi comments that life without King Koopa would be "perfect as pasta." Mario comments that, speaking of pasta, it is time to go back to Mama's cooking.

"Opera"

After Mario and Luigi retaliate against their neighbor Mrs. Gammliss' horrendous opera singing with obnoxious singing of their own in "Opera," Luigi tells Mario that Mama would be proud.

"Star Koopa"

In "Star Koopa," upon falling into the Intergalactic InSinkErator and nearly being grinded alive, Luigi comments that Mama always told him and Mario to be careful when working with garbage disposals. Princess Toadstool then points out that Mama had been right.

Super Mario World

Mama Mario is mentioned in the Super Mario World episode "Gopher Bash," when Mario compliments Luigi for successfully teaching the Cave People to grow crops. Noticing a bountiful harvest, Mario tells Luigi that Mama always said he was good at growing.

Nintendo Comics System

Mario's mama appeared much more feminine in "Family Album "The Early Years"."

"Family Album 'The Early Years'" features various photographs of Mario's early life, including one in which he is being bathed by his mother in the kitchen sink. "Little Mario", playing with locking pliers, detaches the sink's faucet, sending a stream of water into his mother's face.

In the comic, the artists drew Mario's mother as a young and shapely blond-haired woman in a purple dress.

Super Mario (Kodansha manga)

During the final fight against Wario in the Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins arc, Mario is losing hope in beating and besting his rival and saving the Mario Land, until he turns and sees a portrait of his parents, whose faces are blacked-out, depicted as the former king and queen of Mario's castle. Mario regains confidence in order to make them proud and runs towards Wario to finish him.

Yoshi's Island series

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Mario and Luigi are discovered by their parents in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

At the end of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Mario and Luigi's mother made her first video game appearance. Only her lower half and hands are seen, and she is the smaller figure in the dress to the right, carrying Luigi. Once Yoshi rescues the stork and Baby Luigi, the stork takes Baby Mario and Baby Luigi and continues on his way to deliver them to their parents. The video game's narration states that the boys' delivery has been "long awaited." Flying to a small, unnamed town surrounded by mountains where "mom and dad live," the stork leaves the bundles on the doorstep of a mushroom-shaped house. The parents awake, turn on a light, open the door, and are pleasantly surprised to see their twins have arrived.

Yoshi's Island DS

The introduction to Yoshi's Island DS features a short retelling of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are seen in the hands of one of their parents. Additionally, the introduction shows various children being kidnapped by Kamek and his Toady minions at night, including Mario and Luigi. During the abduction, the lights are on and red marks indicating commotion are emerging from Mario and Luigi's house.

Yoshi's New Island

It is revealed in Yoshi's New Island that the parents seen in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island are not the parents of Mario and Luigi, and the stork made a mistake. By the end of the game, the stork delivers the Mario Bros. to the right parents.

Super Mario 4koma Manga Theater

In the Yoshi's Island 4-koma collection, the Stork has a photo as a reference for the couple to whom it needs to deliver the babies. Both Papa and Mama Mario have a similar appearance and clothing to Mario. In the photo, Mama Mario has short hair, a ribbon where the hat emblem is, and flower-shaped buttons on her overalls.

Mario Quiz Cards

One of the Mario Quiz Cards about Mother's Day shows Mario and Luigi visiting Mama Mario with flowers. Mama Mario receives her children's presents on her doorstep, though only her gloved hand waving at them can be seen.

Mario and the Incredible Rescue

In Mario and the Incredible Rescue, Mario mentions that his mother used to make scrambled eggs for him and Luigi.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Profile picture of BrosMom on the Super Mario Bros. Plumbing website

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mama Mario is first mentioned by Luigi after he brags to Foreman Spike of their first plumbing call, which is a cheerful message from her. She is then first seen having dinner with Mario, Luigi, and the rest of their family after the brothers return from their first disastrous job. While her husband is pessimistic about their career, she continues to show them support and affection. As Mario leaves the table, upset by his father's lack of support, Mama Mario disappointedly shakes her head at her husband. Mama and Papa Mario are later seen in the climax witnessing Mario and Luigi battling the Koopa Troop, and later hug them after they defeat Bowser.

On the promotional website SMBPlumbing.com, one of the fictional testimonials pertains to the Mario Bros.' mother, as indicated by the username BrosMom. This testimonial praises the Super Mario Bros. Plumbing service, in contrast with those from users SpikeIsCool and BrKlyn Couple, stating that "The Mario Bros. are the very best in the business! They’re polite, professional, adorable, and treated me like family!"

In an interview for the film, co-director Aaron Horvath stated that both the mother and father have their designs strongly resembling the design from Nintendo's unused material.

Impersonal references

There have been multiple instances in which a character invokes Mario's mother in a general sense, rather than speaking of Mama's person, such as Rawk Hawk's jab "Didn't your momma teach you any manners?!?" in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Another noteworthy case is in the German Club Nintendo comic, "Super Mario in Die Nacht des Grauens", when a demonically possessed Peach tells Mario that his mother scrubs toilets in hell, in what can be taken as a "your mother" joke and reference to a line in the 1973 film The Exorcist. Additionally, in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film, Luigi jokingly says that Mario has been like a father and a mother to him, as their real parents died when he was still a baby and he was brought up by his brother.

Family

In the games, Mario and Luigi are Mama Mario's only children, and their father is presumed to be her husband.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! introduces two characters known as Grandma Mario and Grandma Mia, though it is not revealed as to which one is Mama's mother or mother-in-law. The show also reveals that Mama has a pair of nieces named Marianne and Luigeena, and two nephews called Mario Joe and Luigi Bob, though like the two grandmothers, it is not known if they hail from Mama's or Papa's side of the family. The same goes for Aunt Luigeena and Aunt Maria (who was mentioned in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3): either one could be a sister or a sister-in-law of Mama's. There is also an Uncle Tony who is either her brother or brother-in-law.

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the family is presented with more members living under the same roof, but aside from Mario, Luigi, and her husband, only two uncles are credited: Uncle Tony and Uncle Arthur. In an interview, the directors reveal them as brothers of her husband. Other family members seems to include a grandfather, Aunt Marie, and a niece, but nothing is said about who comes from her side of the family.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ママ[?] Mama	Mama
Chinese (simplified)	马力欧妈妈 Mǎlìōu Māma	Mama Mario
German	Mama Mario	-
Hebrew	מאמא מריו Mama Mryv	Mama Mario
Italian	Mamma	Mom
	Mamma Mia/Mamma Mario	Mama Mia/Mama Mario
Portuguese	Mama Mia	-	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Spanish	Mamá Mia	Mama Mia	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Swedish	Mama Mario	-