Summary
Princess Peach’s character is redefined as a hero in The Super Mario Bros. Movie through 10 epic deeds.
Peach’s acts of heroism include saving Toad on Rainbow Road, freezing Bowser at their wedding, and evacuating the Toads from the Mushroom Kingdom.
Peach’s nifty driving, acrobatic skills, and bravery highlight her competence and make her the best version of Peach yet.
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie made an important change to Peach’s character from the games, making her into a hero through 10 epic deeds. The Super Mario Bros. Movie became one of the most lucrative films of 2023, earning over $1 billion at the box office and setting up a potential Super Mario Bros. Movie 2. Part of the movie’s incredible success is due to the way it redefined the character of Princess Peach, making her into a hero instead of the helpless princess she often is in the Nintendo games.
By the end of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Peach is firmly established as a hero in the movie’s continuity. In fact, she often far outshines the film’s other heroes, even if she doesn’t get to strike the final blow against Bowser. Though that climactic duty was given to the film’s title characters, Princess Peach still has plenty of great moments, including 10 acts of heroism and bravery that make this version of Peach the best one yet.
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10 Peach Saves Toad On Rainbow Road
Peach uses the glider on her kart to save Toad
During the Rainbow Road ambush scene, one of The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s best fights, Princess Peach makes one of her most heroic moves of the film by using the glider on her kart to save Toad when he falls off the track. Toad immediately voices his appreciation, yelling, “That’s how you princess!”, emphasizing the film’s desire to make Peach out as a hero in her own right. Peach’s nifty driving throughout the Rainbow Road sequence is impressive, and it’s one of the more heroic maneuvers in the movie.
9 Peach Freezes Bowser At Their Wedding
Peach cleverly conceals an Ice Flower in her dress
Another heroic moment for Princess Peach happens when she uses one of The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s best power-ups, the Ice Flower, to freeze Bowser and stop his attempt to marry her. Though Bowser eventually frees himself when the sight of Mario and Peach together sends him into a fierce rage, Peach manages to free herself and temporarily incapacitate Bowser. She also manages to save Bowser’s captives, including Luigi, by freezing the winch that’s slowly lowering them into a pit of lava.
8 Peach Runs The Obstacle Course In The Mushroom Kingdom
This proves Peach can handle herself
Peach’s effortless run through the obstacle course in the Mushroom Kingdom is The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s first indication that there is more to Peach in the movie than in the games. This scene sets her up as far more competent than Mario, helping the film make Peach out as a hero right from the start. Mario’s numerous failed attempts to complete the course show just how impressive Peach’s acrobatics are, giving the audience an early sign of what the princess is capable of.
7 Peach Saves Mario On The Kart Track In The Jungle Kingdom
Peach’s reflexes save Mario’s life
One of the more causal moments of heroism from Peach in The Super Mario Bros. Movie occurs when she, Mario, and Toad are being escorted to see Cranky Kong in the Jungle Kingdom. They are escorted via a kart which tears down a track at break-neck speed, almost sending Mario flying out of the kart. Luckily, Peach’s reflexes are sharp, and she grabs hold of Mario before he can plummet toward the jungle floor. Considering she saves the main character’s life in this brief instant, this is one of the more heroic moments in the movie.
6 Peach Evacuates The Toads From The Mushroom Kingdom
Peach thinks of her people first and foremost
After being the only one besides Toad to escape Bowser’s ambush on Rainbow Road, Peach commits another great act of heroism by rushing back to the Mushroom Kingdom and evacuating its citizens, staying behind herself to buy them time. Fearless as ever, Peach stands up to Bowser’s full force with nothing but a spear. Her willingness to sacrifice herself so the toads could escape Bowser’s attack is the best proof that Peach is as heroic as a princess can be.
5 Peach Agrees To Marry Bowser To Save The Toads
Peach shows she will do anything for her subjects
Though Peach manages to evacuate most of the toads before Bowser’s attack on the Mushroom Kingdom during The Super Mario Bros. Movie, some of them stay behind to defend her. This forces Peach to make yet another heroic sacrifice, as Bowser threatens to hurt the toads if she doesn’t agree to marry him. Peach does the most heroic thing she could do by relenting and agreeing to marry someone she despises in order to save her subjects. This is just another instance in which Peach shows how great of a princess she is.
4 Peach Lights King Bob-Omb’s Fuse With A Flaming Spear
This demonstrates Peach’s impeccable fighting skills
One of Peach’s most exciting moves in The Super Mario Bros. Movie comes when she is using the Ice Flower power-up at her almost-wedding to Bowser. After freezing Bowser and dodging several of his minions, one of the flying koopas throws a spear at Peach, which she nimbly snatches out of the air before setting it aflame and throwing it with deadly precision at the fuse on King Bob-Omb’s head, causing him to explode. Peach shows off amazing fighting skills here, showing once again why she is one of the best heroes in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
3 Peach Kicks The Super Star To Mario In Brooklyn
Peach’s precise kick ends up saving the day
One of Peach’s most crucial contributions to the fight against Bowser comes near the end of The Super Mario Bros. Movie when she kicks a green shell into the Super Star, sending it spinning away toward Mario. This helps Mario and Luigi get ahold of the Super Star and defeat Bowser. Had Peach not managed to free herself long enough to kick the Star out of Bowser’s reach, they might never have defeated him. Peach may not have been the one to ultimately defeat Bowser, but her heroics at that moment were vital to Mario and Luigi’s victory.
2 Peach Helps Hold Bowser Off In Brooklyn
Peach’s bravery shows as she takes Bowser on
During the drawn-out climactic battle with Bowser in Brooklyn, Peach acts heroically once again by stepping in to hold Bowser off while Mario gathers his courage. She, Donkey Kong, and Toad show incredible bravery by going toe-to-toe with Bowser, and it’s notable that Peach is the first one to attack. Though she doesn’t manage to defeat Bowser herself, she demonstrates her relentless courage and infinite resolve by stepping in to fight even when the odds are against her.
1 Peach Shrinks Bowser With A Mini Mushroom
Peach gets the final laugh against Bowser
Although Peach doesn’t get to strike the final blow against Bowser, it’s fitting that she is the one to force a Mini Mushroom into his mouth, shrinking him down enough to fit in a jar, thus capturing the villain for the foreseeable future. Bowser is contstantly trying to capture Peach, and the fact that she ends up capturing him in the end solidifies her heroic status. Peach is integral to the fight against Bowser at every juncture of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, so it’s fitting that her final act of heroism is to lock him away for good.