MC Ballyhoo

"On to the race to the Star Space! Where can it be? I'm crazed with anticipation!"

- MC Ballyhoo

MC Ballyhoo is a major character from Mario Party 8, in which he hosts the various game modes as the self-proclaimed, "master of catastrophes." He and his hat, Big Top, are the driving force behind the annual Star Carnival, hosting all of the attractions. While MC Ballyhoo is very extravagant and energetic in both speech and manner, Big Top is much calmer. Although the two rarely separate, they are separate entities capable of independent thought and action.

MC Ballyhoo's name is based on the word "ballyhoo," meaning "great noise or commotion." This term is often applied to carnival audiences. The acronym "MC" traditionally stands for the title, "master of ceremonies", but with MC Ballyhoo it stands for "Master of Catastrophes".

History
MC Ballyhoo is the creator of the Star Carnival. Ever since its conception, the MC has devoted each year to planning the next year's carnival. In Mario Party 8, he decided to invite the celebrities Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Daisy, Waluigi, Toad, Boo, Toadette, Birdo and Dry Bones to the festivities. Ballyhoo guided them through and hosted the festivities he and Big Top had prepared, all of which followed the traditional style of Mario Party board maps and mini-games. The winners of the main attraction, the Star Battles, won a year's supply of candy and the title of Super Star. Despite Bowser's interference, the MC still managed to keep the carnival running with the help of his guests.

Personality and Speech
MC Ballyhoo is highly energetic, often flailing around with excitement. He even goes so far as to characterize his excitement for the Star Carnival's events as madness. He speaks with satirical, ringmaster phrasing while introducing the various events at his carnival. He is always happy for the winning players, yet sad for the losers. This makes it seem as though he values fairness.

Physical Appearance
MC Ballyhoo is the only known member of an unnamed humanoid species. He has teal skin, large orange lips, and small yellow eyes. His bottom row of teeth are never seen, but he does have a large hot pink tongue. Without Big Top, he is a little taller than the average Toad and is dwarfed by most humans. His legs are much shorter and smaller in comparison to his large, lanky arms. He has no visible toes; rather, his feet appear similar to shoes. The top of Ballyhoo's head is pointed and his head appears to be black-and-teal striped. However, this feature is usually hidden by Big Top.

Ballyhoo wears a magenta suit and pink cufflinks with gold colored trim and buttons. He also sports a prominent red bow tie. Ballyhoo wears white gloves on his five-fingered hands. His suit wraps around his underside like the pants of a Toad, but he wears neither traditional pants nor shoes. MC Ballyhoo is never seen without his microphone or Big Top. Although the mic does not appear to be connected to a speaker, it seems to be effective for amplifying the voices of both Big Top and Ballyhoo. When activated, Big Top's propeller allows Ballyhoo to hover in midair with Ballyhoo somehow attatched, despite Big top jumping seemingly unattatched otherwise.

He also slightly resembles Chuck Quizmo from Paper Mario.