Mario, Princess Peach & the Hero’s Journey

There’s a scene in the new Super Mario Movie where Princess Peach wants to ‘see what Mario's made of’. She says ‘if you can finish this’ — referring to a classic Mario-style obstacle course — ‘you can come with me’.

She then demonstrates, flawlessly, how it’s done.

Mario, mouth open wide with wonder, hesitates when it’s his turn. ‘How am I supposed to do that?’, he says, looking himself up and down.

‘With the power up’, Peach replies.

The power up is in the form of a mushroom — which, the film has already established, Mario hates. Peach literally forces the mushroom down his throat, and he grows in size, strength and speed.