Probably also because his name was racist: one of the villains from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” should have a different name in the future

At the beginning of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, we are introduced to New York plumber brothers Mario and Luigi, where they started their own small plumbing business in the Brooklyn borough. They’ve just put their last savings into an obviously homemade (and therefore rather amateurish-looking) TV commercial when they meet their former boss Spike, who immediately teases them that their company has no chance of making it in the long run anyway. keep your head above water…

Spike is a well-known villain character from the Mario video game universe, which first appeared in 1984 in “Wrecking Crew” and thus in one of the very first Mario games ever:

But while the pesky foreman was known as “Spike” in the US and Europe from the start, is the translation of the original Japanese name of the character “Blackie” — a name many now consider racist. Nintendo Japan has now announced in a tweet on its official Twitter channel that the character will also be officially renamed “Spike” in Japan:

The German translation of the tweet: “”

It’s not clear from the tweet itself why Nintendo changed the character’s Japanese name: Is it (only) about the racist sound of the name? Or (also) adapt the name to the rest of the world to standardize the Nintendo universe as internationally as possible? Both arguments probably played a part in the decision – but if Ninendo were to comment publicly on the reasons, we’ll of course give them to you later.

The tweet should be taken to mean that the adjustment not only affects the blockbuster “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” – which is now set to launch a few weeks behind schedule in Nintendo’s home country of Japan – but also all future video game appearances from the Nintendo Switch. become a character.

Mario continues to exceed expectations at the box office

Since Mario & Co. being particularly popular in Japan, it can be assumed that the worldwide box office result of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, which has already exceeded all expectations, will be significantly increased again next weekend: The film currently has a worldwide box office of approximately US$900 million – breaking the magical barrier of one billion dollars is already expected next Sunday.

The FILMSTARTS review for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (3 out of 5 stars)

In contrast, in Germany “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” After just three weeks, more than three and a half million tickets have already been sold – so the chances are quite high that the animation super hit could even become the most successful film of the year in German cinemas…