Summary
- The Super Mario Bros Movie 2 could reveal Princess Peach’s origin, possibly connecting her to the character Pauline and the Metro Kingdom.
- The movie could explore the events of the original Donkey Kong game, potentially revealing the identity of Jumpman and further connecting the characters.
- However, confirming these connections might be problematic due to the complexity and obscurity of the lore, as well as potential plot complications.
The Super Mario Bros Movie left Peach’s origin story a mystery, but Cranky Kong and Donkey Kong lore could provide an answer in The Super Mario Bros Movie 2. The 2023 hit film put a unique spin on Mario’s story, creating a clearer explanation for how he and Luigi came to live in the Mushroom Kingdom (despite not being Toads). Along that same line, The Super Mario Bros Movie revealed that Princess Peach had come from a different world as a baby, but she had no idea which of the many had initially been her home. This approach implies that a Mario Movie sequel will provide the answers, and a theory about Cranky Kong could explain everything.
The Super Mario franchise is relatively flexible regarding continuity, so the Super Mario Bros Movie had the job of putting together a more concrete story. In the case of Princess Peach, this meant providing an explanation for why a human was ruler over the Toads of Mushroom Kingdom. It’s heavily implied that Peach would have come from a human world aside from Earth since she pointed out that there were countless possible worlds in the universe. It’s likely that where Peach comes from will be addressed in The Super Mario Bros Movie 2, and it’s sure to somehow connect to other aspects of Mario lore—perhaps through the 1981 Donkey Kong arcade game.
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Cranky Kong Once Kidnapped A Human Princess (Pauline) In Mario Canon
The Kongs were heavily featured in The Super Mario Bros Movie, and this could perfectly set up a sequel that dives further into Donkey Kong lore. For instance, though it’s often thought that the characters in the first Donkey Kong arcade game are DK, Peach, and Mario, this isn’t technically true. The villain of the classic game, who threw barrels at the hero to stop him from taking his captured princess, is actually a younger Cranky Kong. The version of Donkey Kong that appears in modern Mario and Donkey Kong games is the grandson of this original DK. Additionally, the princess Cranky Kong captured wasn’t Peach. Instead, her name is Pauline.
The villain of the classic game, who threw barrels at the hero to stop him from taking his captured princess, is actually a younger Cranky Kong.
Looking at the Mario chronology, it seems that The Super Mario Bros Movie is set decades after the Donkey Kong game, and depending on whether Illumination makes Cranky Kong kidnapping Pauline canon within the movie universe, it’s possible this will all come into play in The Super Mario Bros Movie 2. After all, we see that the arena at Jungle Kingdom (the one in which Mario and Donkey Kong had their big battle) greatly resembles the classic stage seen in the Donkey Kong arcade game. So, perhaps this is where Cranky took Pauline after he captured her. If this were true, he first would have needed to travel to Pauline’s world to retrieve her, and this is where Peach comes in.
Donkey Kong isn’t the last time Princess Pauline was seen in the Mario franchise. She made a reappearance in Super Mario Odyssey when Mario traveled to a world called Metro Kingdom. Here, he met the mayor of New Donk City—a New York-like metropolis full of Donkey Kong references—and this ruler was none other than Pauline. It seems that since the princess was rescued from Cranky Kong, she returned to her home. Since the citizens of Metro Kingdom are all human, it’s certainly possible that this is where Peach came from before she came to the Mushroom Kingdom.
If this is the case, then it’s possible that when Cranky Kong kidnapped Pauline and took her through the Warp Pipe to the Jungle Kingdom, Peach somehow wandered through herself, ending up instead in the Mushroom Kingdom. She may have just been an innocent bystander, or perhaps she even has some kind of relation to Princess Pauline (maybe even mother-daughter?) and followed the captured woman through the pipe, not understanding what was really happening. There could be countless reasons that Cranky Kong’s disruption in Metro Kingdom could lead to Peach accidentally ending up far from home, and The Super Mario Bros Movie 2 could choose any one of them.
The Super Mario Bros Movie 2 Could Explore The Events Of The Original Donkey Kong Game
If the theory that Princess Peach came from Metro Kingdom around the time Cranky Kong kidnapped Princess Pauline were true, it could create an interesting opportunity for The Super Mario Bros Movie to dive even further into the classic Donkey Kong game that saw the birth of the Mario franchise. The 2023 movie was already packed full of references to the arcade game, including the actual game cabinet at the pizza parlor in Brooklyn, and an explanation about where the game fits in with this new story could be even more fun. Not only would it answer where Peach came from, but it would also provide an explanation for another Mario secret—who is Jumpman?
The hero of the original Donkey Kong game wasn’t called Mario at the time; his official name was Jumpman. Since Nintendo revealed that the villain was modern DK’s grandfather, it doesn’t make sense that Mario would have been around when he kidnapped Pauline. It’s been theorized for years that Jumpman is Mario’s father, which could be another interesting twist for The Super Mario Bros Movie 2. Additionally, since the movie made Cranky Kong DK’s father instead of grandfather, it could be interesting if a sequel revealed that Princess Pauline is Peach’s mother and Jumpman is Mario’s father—a generational tale.
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Connecting Cranky Kong & Peach’s Stories Could Create Problems For The Super Mario Bros Movie 2
As interesting as this theory is, confirming it could be a problem for The Super Mario Bros Movie 2. First, it’s a pretty complicated story. Establishing a generational tale would require a deep dive into several facets of Mario lore, and since Pauline’s character and Cranky Kong’s past aren’t widely known among typical fans, the references might be too obscure to be well-received. Additionally, since the Donkey Kong arcade game was only referenced through meta Easter eggs, confirming it as part of movie canon may muck up the plot. Still, it’s fun to think that the characters of The Super Mario Bros Movie 2 could be cleverly connected in this way. Only time will tell.
