Dinohattan



Dinohattan is the Super Mario Bros. movie's equivalent to the Mushroom Kingdom. However it differs drastically from its video-game counterpart. Dinohattan was created when a meteorite hit the planet Earth and created another dimension. While many dinosaurs were destroyed some migrated to and survived in that alternate dimension. Once there, they evolved into intelligent creatures, (though they may have already been on their way to sentience), and presumably built a city once they reached full human intelligence.

Region
Except for one large city, Dinohattan is mostly a desert location. The city that it does have seems to be made up of one large slum, with the only beautiful place being Koopa's Tower, which is still quite run down in appearance. After being de-evolved by Koopa, the former King turned into a thick web of fungus. As a fungus, he took revenge against Koopa by spreading over his city, adding to its unattractiveness. The city of Dinohatten is based off of the real world cities of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Inhabitants
Most of the inhabitants of Dinohattan are evolved dinosaurs, though from Daisy's paleontological research concerning fossils of dinosaurs the dinosaurs were already on their way to sentience before the meteor strike. She takes Luigi to an underground dig site near the Brooklyn Bridge and, perhaps sensing that she is in the presence of her ancestors, grows quiet when she shows him fossils of a "monster... trying to be a human being."

However, in addition to evolved dinosaurs, some Dinohattan's people are an evolved species of Mushroom, such as the Mushroom King. Regular Dinosaur's also appear in the movie, and are treated as pets or wild animals. Interestingly, whether a creature evolved from Dinosaurs or Mushrooms, every sentient creature can be transformed into a Goomba. Also interestingly, despite the fact that the King is evolved from fungus, Princess Daisy is a half-dinosaur. This may mean that Daisy's mother was an evolved dinosaur.

Notable Citizens



 * King Bowser
 * Princess Daisy
 * Big Bertha
 * King Koopa
 * Lena
 * Iggy
 * Spike
 * Yoshi
 * Toad

Politics
Dinohatten was originally ruled by the Mushroom King and his unnamed wife. However, Koopa, a military officer who had evolved from a Tyrannosaurus Rex, mutinied against his king, and turned the King into fungus with his De-Evolutionizer as part of his successful coup. Daisy's mother then uses a magic crytsal to flee to Earth with the Egg that held her baby, (Princess Daisy), and was able to leave it at the doorstep of a church before sacrificing herself to stop Koopa from entering the city. With the king and queen gone, Koopa announces himself and his cohort, Lena, the new rulers of Dinohattan. Interestingly, despite taking many of the trappings of royalty (even keeping the royal family's old pet, Yoshi) and despite the fact that he is even referred to as a king both in the film and in the credits, Koopa does not make himself a king; this stands in sharp contrast to many of Bowser's other incarnations. In fact, as part of his abolishing a monarchy, he institutes democracy and declares himself President Koopa. Judging from various campaign posters, the people have consistently re-elected him. At one point, he talks about doing the things he does for the sake of his people. However, being that he has been constantly re-elected to power for twenty years by people who openly hate him to the point that he has to rely on arbitrary arrest and police brutality to keep power, people who would openly celebrate on his death, any elections Koopa allows can safetly assumed to be sham elections.

To his credit, though, Koopa did create the city of Dinohatten in its modern form. As a military officer looking for Baby Daisy and the Rock, he followed her mother to Manhattan. While on Earth, he was amazed by the brief glimpse he caught of New York City and tried to remake it in his world. However, he was never quite able to accomplish it and only created a grotesque dystopia. Koopa, however, has bigger plans than the conquest of Dinohattan. He plans to take over Earth. To send his army to Earth, he needs the crystal that Daisy's mother used to go to earth, but it is still with Princess Daisy. King Koopa sends his cousins Iggy and Spike to kidnap her and retrieve the crystal. They succeed, but did not count on being followed back to Dinohatten by Mario and Luigi.

Eventually Koopa is usurped, King Bowser is restored to his proper form, and he returns to his duties as king, along with Princess Daisy. At the end of the movie, a new threat appears in Dinohattan, setting up a sequel that never came.

Trivia

 * The name Dinohatten is a portmanteau of the words Dinosaur and Manhattan, which is a borough of New York City.


 * At one point, King Koopa refers to Dinhattan as "this Mushroom Kingdom" in a derogatory manner, being annoyed by the fungus that was the former king covering the city.


 * As stated earlier, despite being referred to as a king and taking the place occupied by the royal family, Koopa in this film is actually a President that has been re-elected to office for twenty years--though presumably by sham elections to ensure his dictatorial rule. This is not the only time that Koopa has run for office. In the The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3's "Princess Toadstool for President" King Koopa tries to take over the Mushroom Kingdom legally by running for office and to his credit he uses, relatively, honest methods. After being goaded by Princess Toadstool, however, he reveals his true nature to the Mushroom people and receives only one vote, his own.