Il Piantissimo

“And now, we shall race to that flag!”

—Il Piantissimo, Super Mario Sunshine

Il Piantissimo finding the Magic Paintbrush near Gelato Beach.

Il Piantissimo is a human disguised as a Pianta that the player must race in Super Mario Sunshine, similar to Koopa the Quick races in Super Mario 64. He can be raced in the 5th episodes of Gelato Beach and Noki Bay, and in the second episode of Pianta Village. Il Piantissimo's name could be a portmanteau of the words "Pianta", whom he is dressed as, and "Pianissimo," which is Italian for "very soft", usually used in musical notations, though it is worth noting that "-issimo" itself is an Italian suffix for "extremely."

Piantissimo is very overconfident, and finds himself much superior to others. According to various locals at Pianta Village, he is considered a rogue, a creep, and not related to the Piantas. This could show that due to his attitude, he is left alone and barely challenged, fueling his ego as there is no one to compete against him.

When Mario races against Il Piantissimo, the two must head to a flag that represents the finish line. If Mario wins, he gets a Shine Sprite, then completing the mission. However, Mario loses a life if Il Piantissimo finishes first. Also, if the player replays a completed Il Piantissimo episode, Il Piantissimo is more difficult to beat, as he finishes the course with the player's previous time. However, Il Piantissimo cannot use any tactics involving F.L.U.D.D.

If the game is beaten without all 120 Shine Sprites collected, the ending screen shows Il Piantissimo finding Bowser Jr.'s Magic Paintbrush.

Gallery

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  Gelato Beach

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  Noki Bay

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  Pianta Village

Appearances

Title	Description	Original Release Date	System/Format
Super Mario Sunshine	NPC	2002	NGC
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour	Name appears on score board	2003	NGC
Mario Golf: Advance Tour	Name appears on score board	2004	GBA
Super Mario 3D All-Stars	NPC	2020	Nintendo Switch

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	モンテマン Monteman	"Monteman", Monte being the Japanese name for Pianta.
French	Il Piantissimo	Same as English name
German	Palmathon	Palmathon; Portmanteau of Palma (German for Pianta) and "Marathon".
Italian	Palmassimo	Portmanteau of Palmense (Pianta) and massimo (greatest); "Massimo" is also an Italian name
Spanish	Forestón	Augmentative of Foresto, the NOE Spanish name of Piantas; paralleling how Il Piantissimo means "The Very Pianta" in Italian.

Trivia

Il Piantissimo without his mask.

• With his mask removed, Il Piantissimo's face resembles those of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's running man, and by extension, the postman from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. This can also be seen in gameplay by looking through the mask's eyeholes.
• Mario, Shadow Mario, and Il Piantissimo all use the same animations.