Nintendo and Illumination debuted a second trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which debuted Anya Taylor-Joy’s Princess Peach and Seth Rogan’s Donkey Kong. It also included way more Easter eggs than the film’s first clip, including references to Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros. 3, and more.
Rather than showing off an extended sequence from the film, the latest clip is a full-fledged trailer that shows off more of the film’s story and universe. It sets up an expected story of Mario, Peach, and an army of Toads banding together to defeat Bowser. However, there were far more “blink and you miss it” moments that will give fans a lot to pick at.
The most notable moment comes towards the end, when Mario and company are shown riding around on karts. After jumping off a ramp, the Mushroom Kingdom crew land on Rainbow Road in a nod to Mario Kart’s most iconic level. Look closely at the scene, and you’ll see some monkeys driving on the left side of the frame, one of which looks like early NES renderings of Donkey Kong Jr. A version of Funky Kong appears during the race scene as well.
Donkey Kong himself is a throwback too, as the character takes design cues from original illustrations of the ape rather than his modern counterpart. We also see a very brief shot of multicolored Yoshis stampeding through a grassy field, which feels pulled right out of Super Smash Bros. Melee‘s opening cinematic.
The trailer includes some throwbacks to Mario’s classic platforming adventures. One scene shows him flying in a tanuki suit, while Princess Peach is shown touching a fire flower. We also get to see Mario traversing a 2D platforming environment, where he bumps up against fire bars and falling yellow blocks. Perhaps the most pointed reference to the classic games comes when Mario walks across a bridge swarmed by jumping Cheep Cheeps — a familiar sight for anyone familiar with the NES installments of the game.
Those are just a few of the Easter eggs packed into the trailer, but there’s plenty more to comb over. In particular, Princess Peach noting that the world contains many “galaxies” is sure to stir some speculation from fans.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is coming to theaters next April.
