Mickey Mouse has been a character and icon for not just The Walt Disney Company, but the entire world for decades now. Likewise, Mario has been an icon in his own right for the world, but especially for the video game industry. Now with Nintendo’s partnership with Universal, Mario is stepping into the movies with The Super Mario Bros. Movie and likely a Nintendo Cinematic Universe. More importantly to this conversation, Mario is jumping through his warp pipe into theme parks with his very own Super Nintendo World. Will Mario’s mega popularity be so successful that Universal Parks and Resorts would have their very own version of Mickey on their hands? Let’s explore.
Back in 2015, Nintendo was in a financial struggle and they decided to partner up with Universal to help with their situation. It was a historic partnership that would not only prove beneficial to Nintendo but Universal as well. A few years after the partnership was announced Universal announced the first of many Super Nintendo World theme park lands to be built in Japan, with Hollywood and Orlando to come soon after that. The pandemic delayed the opening of Japan’s version but their land opened in 2021 to massive success.
Super Nintendo World just opened this past February at Universal Studios Hollywood and is nothing short of a game changer for that park. Since its opening the park has been sold out on several occasions even in the off-season and has enjoyed extended park hours with many days open until 10 pm, when previously it would be open until only 6 pm or 7 pm in the slow period between the holidays and Spring Break. The Orlando version will be the largest version of the land in terms of square footage and it will open with Universal’s brand new theme park Epic Universe in Summer 2025. A version of the land will be coming to Universal Studios Singapore in a few years as well.
Expansions for the existing lands are either happening or being heavily rumored. Donkey Kong Country is already under construction in Japan with a 2024 opening on its way and an expansion to Hollywood’s version, Donkey Kong or something else entirely should start construction soon.
The Nintendo Cinematic Universe (NCU) is already well on its way thanks to the Super Mario Bros. Movie doing STUNNING numbers and has a decent chance of becoming the biggest animated movie of all time beating Disney’s Frozen 2. I am not counting The Lion King because Disney said that it is a “live-action” remake.
Next up is likely to be a Zelda movie and eventually down the line a Super Smash Bros movie event.
Now let’s talk about merch. Not only are the theme park lands successful in terms of popularity, but they are also, like the movie, printing money.
Everywhere you go in Universal Hollywood you see many people with some sort of merch from the land. In one of my showings for the movie, I saw a group of people bring their Nintendo popcorn buckets and wear their Yoshi hats that they got from the land. Friends have even told me that they have spotted Super Nintendo World merch that guests were wearing inside the Disneyland Resort! A source told me that when Universal opened up the very first Super Nintendo World store inside Feature Presentation at Universal Hollywood, that store made $100,000 in ONE DAY! That is the reason you now see a total of FIVE Super Nintendo World stores throughout Universal Hollywood and CityWalk, and each one of them to this day are still busy.
Universal has never really had any icon that said “This is Universal.” Some may claim that the Classic Monsters are the icon, but even that is a group of characters and not a single icon like Mickey Mouse is to Disney. With the expansion of Nintendo in the parks and the Nintendo Cinematic Universe on the horizon, Mario has the chance to become Universal’s icon.
One day you may be able to go ask a random person on the street what or who they think of when they think of Universal Studios and it is likely their answer will be Mario. This won’t happen for a few years in my opinion as Universal and Nintendo’s partnership is just getting started and will take a while to settle in and fully become well-known. There is precedent for this to happen as well because it kind of already has with Harry Potter. Thanks to the highly successful Wizarding World lands throughout multiple Universal parks around the world, many people associate Universal with Harry Potter.
When my own family and friends ask me about Universal Studios Hollywood, they always say, “That’s the place with the Harry Potter area right?” Nintendo is a massive intellectual property and already has more stores at Universal Hollywood than Harry Potter does, so this partnership really has the chance for Mario to solidify itself as the icon of Universal Destinations and Experiences.
Mario is such an icon that yes I do in fact think that he is Universal’s Mickey Mouse. I have never seen anything like this before. It’s actually so amazing to me, it’s incredible! This partnership is only just beginning and I believe it will blossom into something that will be extremely successful for both companies! What do you think, is Mario Universal’s Mickey Mouse? Let us know your thoughts on the topic!
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Ethan Becker is a columnist for the Boardwalk Times
