Mini Mario (toy)

Mini Marios (originally styled as Mini-Marios) are energetic Mario toys sold by the Mario Toy Company. They first appeared in Mario vs. Donkey Kong. They have appeared in all of the installments of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. Mini Mario is voiced by Charles Martinet in all seven games; they sound similar to Mario, but higher-pitched. The hands of Mini Marios resemble, and are likely designed after, those of Lego minifigures.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong
When Donkey Kong is watching his television set, he sees a commercial for the toys, which persuades him to immediately buy some Mini Marios. However, he soon learns that there are currently none in stock. Put to great chagrin, DK invades the Mario Toy Company, kidnaps its Toad employees and steals the remaining toys for himself. Mario chases Donkey Kong around various levels, trying to get the toys back. In the end, he retrieves all the toys and scolds Donkey Kong for his actions. When Donkey Kong cries over the incident, however, Mario cheers him up by letting him have his own Mini Mario that actually likes him.

Super Mario-Kun
The Mini Marios make an appearance in a Mario vs. Donkey Kong segment in volume 33 of Super Mario-Kun. The story follows closely with the games with a few differences. For instance, while Donkey Kong is searching for Mini Marios in vain, a sales Toad offers a bootleg-like variant of Mini Mario, called Mimi Mario (ミミマリオ), to Donkey Kong, who he remarks as cute, but rejects. While Mario and Toad find Mario's company ransacked by Donkey Kong, Mario finds a remaining Mini Mario, who is damaged and malfunctions, frequently hitting Mario in the face. This Mini Mario, who talks, accompanies Mario and Toad and helps them defeat Donkey Kong. This Mini Mario is distinguished from other Mini Marios by its eyes, which resemble Mario's eyes.

In the segment, it has been shown that Donkey Kong controls the Mini Marios he has stolen using an embedded chip (which the Mini Mario Mario has found removes). Additionally, the Mini Marios can combine and transform into weapons. One weapon shown is a gun that shoots Mini Mario heads while the other is a cannon that also shoots Mini Mario heads. At a last effort, Donkey Kong rides a mech to attack Mario, but the Mini Marios transform into a Mini Mario mech, which Mario uses to defeat Donkey Kong.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
The toys reappear in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, where they have a bigger role than even Mario. In the game, Mario and Pauline open the Super Mini Mario World Theme Park. Donkey Kong sees Pauline and falls in love with her, attempting to give her a Mini Donkey Kong toy out of affection. At the same time, Mario gives her a Mini Mario toy. When Pauline chooses Mario's Mini Mario over the Mini Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong gets angry and kidnaps her out of envy. The Mini Marios, with some limited help from Mario, attempt to rescue her.

When a Mini Mario touches a Fire Flower in this game, it becomes a Fire Mini Mario. Additionally, the Mini Marios can touch hammers, which result in them beginning to wildly swing them around, destroying any foes in their paths. The game also introduced Gold Mini Marios.

As of Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Mini Mario spin-offs such as Mini Peaches, Mini Toads and the aforementioned Mini Donkey Kongs have been introduced. In Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, on the Game Over screen, a Mini Mario can be heard mumbling about his dreams. This is likely meant to mirror Mario vs. Donkey Kong 's Game Over sequences, in which Mario himself dreamed about Italian food Super Mario 64-style, but Mini Mario, unlike the actual Mario, mentions an affinity for chocolate while dreaming ("I want the chocolate! Mmmmmmmmmmmm!").

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! the minis play a similar role as in their previous appearance. Like in Mario vs Donkey 2: March of the Minis, the game is about guiding Mini Mario to a goal instead of Mario. In this game, however, the player cannot control the minis but rather has to control the objects in the level to make sure all the minis make it to the goal safely.

The game introduces the Key Mini Mario. They appear on the Key level of the 8 Worlds with one Key Mini Mario per level. Unlike Gold Mini Marios, which go at the end of a chain to get bonus points, a Key Mini Mario has to be the first in a group in order to open the locked door.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!
Mini Marios re-appear in the game Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!. They once again have to rescue Pauline from DK, just like they did in the previous 2 games. Mini Toad, Mini Peach (known as Mini Princess in game), and Mini DK reappear alongside the Mini-Marios, and a new toy, Mini Pauline, is introduced. Donkey Kong was too late to get in Mario's new park and get a free, new Mini Pauline toy, prompting him to kidnap her yet again.

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move
The Mini Mario once again appears in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move. They are the default playable toy in the main game, and are available on display from the start in the Toy Collection. Mini Marios are also the only playable characters in the minigames.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars
Mini Mario appears again in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, as well as their gold counterpart introduced in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. The game also introduces Mini Luigis. There is also a possessed Mini Mario at the start of certain levels, and the non-possessed Minis must touch it to make it free.