I have a pretty simple job most mornings. I wake up, I make coffee, I sit down at the computer and I write the news. I write a lot about theme parks. I write about movies. I occasionally need to write a celebrity gossip story because it’s a job and that’s what they pay me to do. A “surprise” in this job is when a major piece of casting drops or a trailer is released for a highly anticipated movie. A “surprise” is usually not “Hey, can somebody write a story about how people on the internet think Luigi is hot in The Super Mario Bros. Movie?”
And yet, here we are. And yes, as it turns out. Some people think Luigi is really hot in the new Super Mario Bros. Movie. In fact, quite a lot of people seem to think it. Apparently, Luigi, especially when he takes his hat off in the new movie is making people…feel things…
I wanna honk that noseApril 7, 2023
Needless to say, this is not the rabbit hole I expected to go down when I woke up this morning. I’ve written about how The Super Mario Bros. Movie hints at a sequel and about some of the more deep-cut Nintendo easter eggs in the film. If I’d woken up to be told that a sequel had already been greenlit and dated, I would have been surprised, but not as much as reading a tweet from a guy who thinks that Luigi being hot is good news for his own chances…
And look, I’m not here to shame anybody. I was a teenager in the ‘90s when Disney Princesses looked like pin-up models. I’ve been there. This is not about people finding a cartoon character sexy. If that’s your thing, go for it. Life is too short. But I saw The Super Mario Bros. Movie and I just can’t say I saw these sorts of reactions coming a mile away…
It just raises all sorts of questions. Did the animators know they were making Luigi hot? Was this a concerted effort on the part of the people who brought us The Secret Life of Pets to make Mario’s brother an animated thirst trap? If not, then what exactly did they do that caused so many people to react like this...
And it would be easy to just blame a particular generation for being weird about Luigi. Maybe it’s a millennial thing or it’s a Gen Z thing. But it seems that whatever it is that has people hot for Luigi is crossing generations…
What we know, other than Luigi is hot, is that The Super Mario Bros. Movie has had a very strong opening, making the possibilities for a sequel pretty good. And if that happens, you can bet on one thing. Hot Luigi memes will last for years.