One day it happened; the clash of the titans, two mediums of entertainment melding and my mind was blown away. I have seen the light my friends, seen what the complexity of intellectual analysis is capable of. It stood below my eyes, controller in my hands I was enlighten.

Super Mario Bros. is Citizen Kane.

Let’s look at the synopsis of our beloved franchise from a different perspective; A princess living in her ivory tower isolated from her kingdom, incapable of controlling and preserving the beings around her. She was taken away from her world by a despot corrupted by power and greed, a woman desperate for attention, thoughtless and incapable of giving love. A story told by the player, controlling Mario as he conquers his way to the Princess, earning coins and stars for her. Has he achieves his goal, he his welcomed by an ungrateful, cold blooded woman driven by avarice only to be offered a chance to expand the possessions of her kingdom even more by the Secret Star World.

In order to support my thesis I have accumulated proof that Miyamoto’s masterpiece is indeed related to Welles’s opus.




Princess Peach’s castle is Xanadu :

The asylum of a powerful man, removed from society an ivory tower to behold. Much like Charles Foster Kane, Princess Peach never leaves her castle unless she is kidnapped by Bowser. How much money and oppression must have taken to build such a palace, no man can say. It is not only the crown jewel of the Mushroom kingdom but also Peach’s sinister retreat managed by her servants and obsessed on accumulating wealth for her personal satisfaction. Her avarice is beyond logic, one day she wants the stars the other day the wealth of a decrepit empire, the never ending quest to be the richest Princess in the whole universe. She must surround herself with objects to feel the void of her tormented soul.

Princess Peach is Charles Foster Kane:

An abandoned girl, secluded from her parents at a very young age, Princess Peach is a lonely little girl, growing up to be an isolated and needy woman. She is thoughtless, incapable of protecting her people and the kingdom. A woman constantly saved by two brave heroes , so desperate for attention that we would believe that she is setting herself up by her own will. Princess Peach has a whole kingdom at her service, why Bowser does succeeds so easily? Kidnapped by him without any resistance, saved by Mario and she remains oblivious to his emotions and incapable of giving him the love he deserves.



Mario is Mr. Bernstein and Jerry Thompson:

In the motion picture, Bernstein is the only character who genuinely loves Kane even after the years. Mario on his side, despite the rejection and the heroic endeavors he took to save the broad still believes that a relationship is constructive and that her frozen soul could still be human.

As an interactive experience Mario also plays the role of the reporter Jerry Thompson who tries troughtout the movie to uncover the mystery around Kane’s dying words. The player is driven along the story controlling his actions capable of experiencing his own playtrough. Much like the wives and the old colleagues of Kane the characters of the Mushroom Kingdom tell their own reminisces about Princess Peach on how she needs your help and she is so kind. Mario has this natural urge to save the princess, find out what happened to her. He is forced to collect coins and stars in order to survive, get more lives in order to find Peach. Much like the second wife of Kane , Mario is a puppet to Peach’s will , jumping like a monkey and stomping on goombas for her pleasure.

Bowser is Walter Thatcher:

Thatcher represents greed and corruption; the corporate world of America. Bowser takes away the Princess corrupting her goals and way of life. He introduces her to better palaces, infinite wealth the power to control the whole universe with the Koopa army. He takes her away from her world much like Thatcher took away Kane from his parents with his promise of wealth and financial security. The corruption of power envelopes Peach and she becomes less and less aware of the world surrounding her. She is unfazed by the invasions of the Koopas and the many kidnappings. Her only drive in life is the accumulation of those shiny Stars.



Citizen Kane is based on a real person much like Super Mario is:

William Randolph Hearst is mostly considered to be the primary inspiration of Welles’s Citizen Kane character. He was a business tycoon of the first half the 20th century. It is also believe that Mario Segali, the Nintendo of America warehouse landlord was the inspiration for the character of the rad Italian plumber. Although he wasn’t a plumber he had a mustache, which was the undeniable evidence of their similarities.

Citizen Kane’s filming is similar to Super Mario Bros. Power-ups:

During the shooting of the movie, Orson Welles used a lot of the same sets in many different scenes while using different costumes. It is only logical to see the connection between the two with Super Mario Bros. power-ups; such as the Tanooki suit , the Penguin suit and the everlasting Bee suit.



As I wipe my nose clean from the nosebleed I had just now, I have proven without the shadow of a doubt that Super Mario Bros. is indeed Citizen Kane and that Miyamoto was inspired directly by Orson Welles 1941 movie. I believe that the undeniable truth of the universe lies in this analysis and that all videogame JOURNALISTS , should consider analyzing this theory with thorough interrogations.

I bid you all a very nice evening.