The Super Mario Galaxy Movie soundtrack has over 300 references to the series, composer was working from a hospital bed

Brian Tyler, the composer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, has spoken about what it was like working on the project.

The film is not only a visual feast for Mario fans, but you could say the same when it comes to the music. Tyler is a fan of the franchise and packed in over 300 references to the series.

In a recent interview, Men’s Journal asked Tyler if he feels pressure adapting the Super Mario Bros. music. In response, he said:

“Since I am one of those fans, it’s fun. It’s a cool thing. The most difficult, and most challenging, but coolest task for me is really bringing it to life in a way that becomes epic on the big screen. In order to do that, I have to write new themes for the characters that are cinematic.

If you know the movies, they include music from the games and The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s main theme, which is from me. It’s a cool synergy, where I’m writing all these new themes, including the main theme, Princess Peach’s theme, Yoshi’s theme, Rosalina’s theme, and Bowser’s theme. All of these are new themes, but they have to feel like they fit inside the world of Super Mario Bros. So, when we want to include Easter eggs, there are references all over. I make over 300 references in the score to different parts of the video game series.”

Something also shared in the interview is that Tyler was writing music while in the hospital since he “didn’t want to let anyone down.” He kept this to himself and apparently this is where he “wrote a lot of the main themes”.

In other news, Nintendo today announced a limited-time Switch 2 offer featuring Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2. We have more information about that here.

Thanks to Greatsong1 for the tip.