Mario and his flying

[RemyC]

In Super Mario 3, a lot of weird things happen throughout the game that we just shrug off and say, "its a video game...let your imagination go wild for awhile." However, their are some things that really push the limits.
One of the weird things is that koopas (turtles) can fly. I shrug this one off, because they gave them wings. Anything that has wings can fly, right? (Except for some birds that have their issues).
Now when it comes to Mario and his flying, they gave him a raccoons tail. Has this ever been explained? or rationalized?
When it came to swimming they made him a frog, which isn't the first creature that comes to mind when you think about being a good swimmer, but it is an amphibious creature. So whats the deal with the raccoons tail? Does anybody think of flying when they see a raccoon?

[tylerbgood]

From IGN:
"The original idea for power-ups changed Mario into various mythological creatures, including a centaur, but none of them got past the pen-and-paper stage. The first one that actually clicked was a simple drawing of Mario with a raccoon tail."

I would assume that the "mythological creature" the tail and ears were based on is the same basis as the Tanooki suit.

From Wikipedia:
"Tanooki suits are named after tanukis, Japanese creatures who, according to mythology, can use leaves to shapeshift and cause chaos."

Japanese tanukis look very similar to our North American raccoons.

[NeoRage]

Japanese tanukis look very similar to our North American raccoons.

Except for the HUGE testicles

Japan.gif (183.9 KiB) Viewed 1102 times

[lordofduct]

Japanese tanukis look very similar to our North American raccoons.

Except for the HUGE testicles

Japan.gif

The funny thing is this isn't a joke!

The fact the tanuki flies on the other hand... well, that's where the imagination comes in. But come on, all the shapeshifting going on in the game, the tanuki being the most prominent, we have our excuse for flying. I guess.

[NeoRage]

That's a great picture!

In Japan they have the statues everywhere, They're supposed to bring luck (probably fertility too ).

Mario can also turn into a statue while wearing the suit, I guess that shows some shape shifting.

[andythebadass]

From IGN:
"The original idea for power-ups changed Mario into various mythological creatures, including a centaur, but none of them got past the pen-and-paper stage. The first one that actually clicked was a simple drawing of Mario with a raccoon tail."

I would assume that the "mythological creature" the tail and ears were based on is the same basis as the Tanooki suit.

From Wikipedia:
"Tanooki suits are named after tanukis, Japanese creatures who, according to mythology, can use leaves to shapeshift and cause chaos."

Japanese tanukis look very similar to our North American raccoons.

wow that was pretty damn thorough! I just shut my brain off and enjoy it. He also uses/eats a flower to throw fire balls from... (i always thought his nose from the original, lol)..... its all a little crazy.

[lordofduct]

yeah, probably has to do with the tanuki being a prominent statue figure in Japan.

Though, meh, I hardly know anything Japanese.

[RemyC]

Wow. I really did not expect an answer like this.
Those are indeed some very gargantuan testicles.
Thanks for the answer.

[Jrecee]

shigeru miyamoto "In the original concept, the leaf gave mario giant testicles that he flapped to fly into the air, but we found that we could not sell it that way in america, where they are afraid of sex, so it was changed to a flapping tail"

Source: my ass.

[superlarz]

When I first played the game all of those years ago, I questioned how a tail could make Mario fly. It drove me nuts when I was little, but I loved this game. They fixed the problem in SMW with the cape coming into play... I am not surprised to find the tail may actually have a mythological background or whatever. That brings some closure to my young mind.
I never stopped to think about how the flower gives him fire power though.