New Mario Little People Set Will Entice Young Children (and Their Parents)
Do you remember Little People? They’ve been around for a long time. Fisher-Price’s popular toy line has had many incarnations over the years, but nowadays, the toys generally recreate many popular licensed characters in friendly figure sets suitable for young children to play with. Now, Mario and his friends will be joining the Little People as part of Nintendo’s My Mario line.
The Super Mario Little People
According to The Gamer, the Super Mario Little People set will consist of six figures: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, and Toad. All of them have their arms raised as if they are inviting the children to give them hugs. Most of them are smiling, although as expected, Bowser has an angry face, though he doesn’t look too intimidating.
While Nintendo’s official site doesn’t yet have a page for these figures, they are listed for sale at retailers like Curacao. On that site, they cost $21.99. The website describes the figures as “six iconic Super Mario figures sized perfectly for toddlers to grasp and play” that are “durable plastic figures designed for long-lasting toddler-friendly fun and play.” It also talks about how the figures encourage creative play and are a great way to introduce very young children to the beloved Mario characters.
Interestingly enough, the site also advertises that the figure set is “compatible with additional Little People My Mario sets for additional enjoyment.” This indicates that Nintendo and Fisher-Price could plan on releasing other Little People Mario sets. Perhaps they plan on releasing a set that includes other characters such as Daisy, Rosalina, Donkey Kong, or Pauline. If this first set sells well, there could even be figure sets for other Nintendo franchises such as The Legend of Zelda or Metroid.
About the My Mario Line
The My Mario line is Nintendo’s recent attempt to introduce toddlers to the Mario universe and characters, even when they might be too young to actually play the games. It is a multimedia line, including toys, short videos, clothing, and apps. Most of the toys and clothes are currently available at Nintendo’s New York and San Francisco stores, though some items will be available online on February 19th. Perhaps the Mario Little People set will be one of these items.
Some people who were young children in the eighties and nineties will remember when Little People came with entire playsets that kids could put the figures in. Some of these sets included a zoo, a garage, and even a McDonald’s. Perhaps Nintendo and Fisher-Price could bring back that whimsy by releasing a Mushroom Kingdom playset for the figures. Little kids might love making their figures jump around on mushrooms and play in Peach’s and Bowser’s castles, and their parents might love telling their children about the Mushroom Kingdom.
Of course, the My Mario line’s main goal is to make Mario fans out of very young children, so that in a few years when they are old enough to play video games, they’ll ask their parents for a Switch or Switch 2 so they can play the games their beloved toys are based on. In addition, they’ll want to watch “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the upcoming “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” and however many other Mario movies there will be. The younger kids are when they are first inducted into the Mario fanbase, the more money their parents will spend.
What Does the Future Hold for My Mario?
The Little People figures look cute, and there will likely be some childless adult Mario fans who want to get their hands on them. They will likely look good on collectors’ shelves, but little kids will also get pleasure out of playing with the colorful, friendly-looking figures, even if the kids don’t yet know who the characters are. Then as they get older, they can get a proper introduction to Mario and his friends by playing the games.
