Article by Toby Jones, Illustration by Madeline Queripel

Profoundly surreal and infinitely quotable, it is my belief that Interview with Mario is the single greatest video on YouTube. Have a look now if you haven't had the pleasure of viewing it already.



I've been watching this video for years now, and while I can't claim to be able to fully describe its greatness, I feel it may have something to do with the many mysteries it holds. Who is "Daylan"? Was this scripted, or did Charles Martinet provide the responses to the questions in real time? Furthermore, is Martinet inside the gigantic Mario costume? There is so much that just isn't known about this video.

The only one of these queries I've been able to answer is the identity of Daylan. He apparently works for Hip Hop Official, an online channel focused on "short form video content made for mobile devices". Hip Hop Official seems to be owned by a company called GoTV, and based on the GoTV copyright at the end it can be deduced that Interview with Mario was created as part of all this business. This raises even more questions, though. Did Nintendo contact Hip Hop Official to make this interview (perhaps in an attempt to court a more "urban" audience) or was it the other way around? Furthermore, how is Mario connected to hip hop culture? Perhaps this isn't affiliated with Hip Hop Official, and instead GoTV enlisted Daylan to perform the interview for one of their other networks.

Another thing that I noticed is that I've never seen any other interviews of this nature with a possibly-Charles-Martinet man in a giant Mario suit. Was this really the only one, a whole scenario based around a giant talking Mario created for just this occasion?

Either way, I'm glad to not know the answers to these queries because they make the video all the more humorous. Everyone has their favorite lines and elements from the Interview (my roommate's cell phone ring is "sweeeet moooves!"), but for my money the thing that really makes this all work so well is how straight-faced Daylan remains throughout the duration. The whole while he acts as though he is actually talking to the world famous Mario and not a man in a silly costume. I don't know if this was his choice or how he was directed, but I am so grateful.

If you don't think Interview with Mario is as funny as I do, try watching again. Once you allow your life to be illuminated by its brilliance, you too will be dreaming every night about the possibilities of a new interview about New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

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