Mario is the titular character of the Super Mario video game franchise, owned by Nintendo and created by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is an Italian plumber who lives in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom with his cowardly younger brother, Luigi. His adventures generally involve him rescuing the kingdom's ruler, Princess Peach, from the clutches of Bowser, the relentless King of the Koopas, while using power-ups that give him different abilities.
The character debuted in the Donkey Kong arcade game in 1981; though initially unnamed for the game's original Japanese release and referred to as Jumpman in English, he was given the name "Mario" in later localizations, including his return appearance in 1983's Mario Bros. He later starred in Super Mario Bros. in 1985, which is considered the official start of the modern Super Mario franchise.
As Nintendo's mascot, Mario is an established icon of modern popular culture and is widely considered the most famous video game character in history. He has appeared in over 300 video games, which combined have sold more than 950 million copies worldwide, making his franchise the best-selling video game franchise of all time. He has also been licensed into other media, such as Japanese manga and feature films.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
For more than two decades before Mario made his official Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade debut, several attempts were made by the Parade's marketing and partnership team to feature him as a giant balloon. Former executive producer Robin Hall referred to Mario as "the last unfulfilled dream on my "personal" wish list of pop culture icons I wanted to pursue when [I] arrived in January of 2001," which also included Mr. Potato Head, Scooby-Doo, Mr. Monopoly, and the Pillsbury Doughboy.[1]
On October 24, 2025, it was announced that the highly anticipated hero would make his Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade debut as a giant helium balloon in that year's Parade, in commemoration of the original Super Mario Bros.' 40th anniversary and the forthcoming release of Illumination's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, set to be released in the spring of 2026. The balloon features Mario with his arms outstretched, soaring down the Parade route in a fashion similar to his pose in the cover artworks for two of his most famous games, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy, and at the ready to protect New York from Bowser and his army.
The balloon made its public debut just over a week later, at that year's edition of Macy's BalloonFest. For the balloon's debut in the parade, it was given the honor of leading the procession to 34th Street. The 90 balloon handlers carrying Mario were dressed as the franchise's four most famous power-up items: the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Star, and 1-UP Mushroom.
Trivia[]
- Mario is the sixth video game character to appear as a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as well as the third character from Nintendo to appear as a balloon after Pikachu and Eevee.[2]
- In 2014, the Super Mario franchise was referenced via the Spirit of America Dance Stars' "Video Game Salute" number, where the Super Mario Bros. overworld theme was played in a medley of other video game tracks.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Post from Jordan Dabby. LinkedIn.com. October 28, 2025.
- ↑ It should be noted that while Nintendo owns the trademarks to the Pokémon series, the franchise itself is controlled by The Pokémon Company, a joint venture of which Nintendo is a part of, thus making Mario the first fully-owned Nintendo character to appear in the parade.