Old “Save the Date” wedding cards and a Golden Girls magnet adorn my refrigerator. Not exactly the greatest tableau of personal expression ever seen in a kitchen. But I’m not the only one who’s slacking when it comes to turning a fridge into a work of art. Because unless you are using yours to make stop-motion animation you’ve got nothing on this father and son duo who recreated a level from Super Mario Bros.
And “playing” with Luigi only makes it better.
Game developer Phi Dinh and his four-year-old spent a weekend putting together a fantastic short video. They used fridge magnets to create a stop motion version of Super Mario Bros. (which we first came across at Geekologie). Using a series of blocks, pipes, gold coins, and figures—including Koopa Troopas, Bullet Bills, and Goombas—they sent Luigi across and up their refrigerator. He had to avoid his enemies and grab all that precious gold. Eventually Luigi went through a pipe to a new “screen” where the level’s final boss awaited him.
The full effect is 43-seconds of delightful stop motion animation. It’s an art form Dinh encourages others to try themselves. “It’s literally just moving objects around very very very slowly and taking lots of pics,” he tweeted. “Anyone can do stop motion with practice and time.” We’re not sure of that. We’ve definitely lost our patience merely playing a Super Mario game or two (hundred) in our lives. But if he can do while working with a four-year-old, that gives us hope we could do it on our own.
Phigames
This video also highlights just how ingrained in our culture the original Super Mario Bros. is even after all these years. It might not be the greatest video game ever made, but it might be the most important. These songs and characters are so iconic even rats enjoy the game. But most recreations focus on Mario, when Luigi deserves just as much love too. Without him there is no “Bros.” in Super Mario.
We’re glad they stuck with Luigi in this magnet version.
Featured Image: Phigames