Mario

Mario
Mario
Mario character
	Mario, as depicted in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
First game	Donkey Kong (1981)
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto
Designed by	Shigeru Miyamoto; Yōichi Kotabe; Shigefumi Hino;
Portrayed by	Harris Shore (Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. ColecoVision commercials); Lou Albano (The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!); Bob Hoskins (Super Mario Bros.);
Voiced by	Charles Martinet (1991–2023); Kevin Afghani (2023–present) Others: Larry Moran (Donkey Kong Cereal commercials) ; Pat McBride (Donkey Kong Goes Home LP (1983)) ; Peter Cullen (Saturday Supercade) ; Tōru Furuya (1986–1998; Japanese) ; Hiroshi Otake (1986; Japanese) ; Gerri Sorrells (Super Mario: ABC no Utau Video) ; Lou Albano (The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!) ; Henry Corden (Mario Ice Capades) ; Nozomu Sasaki (1990; Japanese) ; Walker Boone (The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World) ; Ronald B. Ruben (Mario Teaches Typing (MS-DOS)) ; Takeshi Aono (1992–1993; Japanese) ; Stevie Coyle (1992, 1997–1998; Mario in Real-Time, E3 puppet) ; Nicholas Glaeser (Mario Is Missing!) ; Tony Pope (Super Mario Bros. Audio Poster Pack) ; Kōsei Tomita (1993–1994; Japanese) ; Colin Case (Super Mario Compact Disco) ; Marc Graue (Hotel Mario) ; David Plaschon (Mario's Time Machine Deluxe) ; Dale Johannes (1996; E3 puppet) ; Seth Green (2014; Nintendo Digital Event segments) ; Chris Pratt (2023 film) ; Mamoru Miyano (2023 film; Japanese) ;
In-universe information
Nationality	Italian (games); Italian-American (other media)

Mario is a character created by the Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the Mario franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario is an Italian plumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom with his younger twin brother, Luigi. Their adventures generally center on rescuing Princess Peach from the villain Bowser while using power-ups that give them different abilities.

Mario first appeared as the player character of Donkey Kong (1981), a platform game. Miyamoto wanted to use Popeye as the protagonist, but when he could not gain the licensing rights, he created Mario instead. The graphical limitations of arcade hardware influenced Mario's design, such as his large nose, mustache, and overalls. Miyamoto expected the character to be unpopular and planned to use him for cameo appearances; originally called "Mr. Video" and "Jumpman", he was renamed Mario after Nintendo of America's landlord Mario Segale. After Donkey Kong, Mario starred in Mario Bros. (1983). Its 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System sequel, Super Mario Bros., began the successful Super Mario series. Charles Martinet voiced Mario from 1991 to 2023, when he was succeeded by Kevin Afghani.

After Super Mario Bros., Mario began to branch off to different genres and has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation. These include puzzle games such as Dr. Mario, role-playing games such as Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, and sports games such as Mario Kart and Mario Tennis. He has appeared in other Nintendo properties, such as in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games. Mario has also appeared in various animations, including three series produced by DIC Entertainment (voiced by Lou Albano and later Walker Boone). He was portrayed by Bob Hoskins in the live-action Super Mario Bros. film in 1993, and voiced by Chris Pratt in The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023.

An established pop culture icon, Mario is widely considered the most famous video game character in history. He has appeared in a variety of merchandise, such as clothing and collectible items, and people and places have been nicknamed after him. He has also inspired a considerable amount of unofficial media. With more than 800 million units sold worldwide, the Mario franchise is the bestselling video game franchise of all time.

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