The Untold Dangers Behind Nintendo's Classic Mascot Commercials: Shockingly Revealed!

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The creators of Nintendo's beloved mascot commercials from the 90s have revealed some surprising stories about the dangers they faced while filming. Those who grew up in the 90s and were fans of Nintendo likely have warm memories of the lively live-action commercials that showcased iconic characters like Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, and others. These commercials depicted them engaging in playful fights in Super Smash Bros., pushing each other into water in Mario Party, and causing chaos in various entertaining ways. However, it turns out that creating these commercials was much riskier than it appeared.

During the 90s and early 2000s, KCL Productions was responsible for producing numerous commercials for Nintendo. Renowned for their top-notch mascot costumes, which were featured in nearly all the Nintendo commercials, KCL Productions started with the uproarious Super Smash Bros. commercial that showcased Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Pikachu. They went on to create commercials for Animal Crossing, Super Mario Sunshine, Kirby, Banjo-Tooie, and many other beloved games.

During an interview with Game Informer, Kathy and Tim Lawrence from KCL Productions shared their experiences in creating these commercials. KCL Productions exceeded expectations by going above and beyond for the commercials, as seen in the Mario Party 4 GameCube commercial. In this commercial, mascots engaged in jousting in a pool. Tim Lawrence amusingly recounts how his Yoshi costume went from weighing 35 pounds to over 200 pounds when submerged in the pool. He humorously raised his hand to convey a sense of impending doom, signaling for someone to rescue him.

Another noteworthy example involves a commercial for Super Mario Advance 2 on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, which required an underwater scene. Tim had to submerge himself, wear the Mario mascot head, blow bubbles through a special straw, and remove the head before resurfacing for air. The team even went to the extent of adding diving weights to the Mario mascot head to ensure it sank instead of floating. Tim described the experience as a mix of excitement and spine-chilling fear, admitting that he had pondered whether this shoot might be his "last day on earth."

Swimming was not the sole or even the most perilous stunt that the Nintendo mascots were required to perform. In the Banjo-Tooie advertisement, a stuntman donned a Banjo costume and skydived. Kathy had concerns that the costume's lack of aerodynamics could potentially result in the stuntman's neck being injured. As a precaution, the stuntman performed test runs while holding onto the head, but he encountered no issues.

Although the KCL Productions Nintendo commercials only spanned approximately a decade, the Lawrences hold cherished memories of this time. They express gratitude for the commercials and appreciate the love that Nintendo fans have for the traditional costumes. When it comes to fans requesting more commercials featuring mascots, Kathy acknowledges that it would be fantastic, but states that it is not possible to recreate the atmosphere of the 1990s.

Source: Game Informer