Quote Originally Posted by Eldan View Post
Isn't there an old Mario cartoon? Presumably, there's a basis for him having a personality there.
Yes, the Super Mario Bros. Super Show (except on Fridays, when The Legend of Zelda replaced it), which also featured live-action scenes bookending the show and around commercial breaks. Mario was portrayed by Captain Lou Albano, who chose to own the show and maintained an actual thick handlebar mustache for it (this necessitated shaving his signature look). Captain Lou and Danny Wells (Luigi), along with the writers, delivered an absolutely top notch personality set for the Mario Bros.

SMBSS is an unassailable high point in video gaming put to film. LoZ and Captain N: The Game Master were valient attempts but both fell short somewhat.