Nintendo's live-action mascot commercials nearly caused one actor to drown
We need Lakitu, stat!
Every dedicated Nintendo fan remembers the original commercial for Super Smash Bros., as it’s one of Nintendo’s most iconic spots. The commercial showed people running around in Nintendo mascot suits, and while it started out happy-go-lucky, the mascots eventually started beating the crap out of each other.
That commercial was such a hit that Nintendo ran a whole string of live-action mascot commercials from the late 90s into the early 2000s. Those commercials were all created by Kathy Lawrence and her husband Tim, and it turns out some of them were incredibly dangerous to film.
In an interview with Game Informer, Kathy and Tim reveal that a particular commercial that involved Yoshi swimming in a pool ended up being a life-threatening situation. Tim, who was inside the Yoshi costume, quickly found out that the mascot costume and water didn’t mix.
Tim: “I was raising my hand as if to say, ‘I’m about to die; someone save me.’”
Kathy: “The head was vacuum-formed, but Yoshi’s whole body was solid foam.”
Tim: “It went from a costume that weighed about 35 pounds to over 200 pounds. The foam, like a sponge, just absorbed the water, and I just started to sink.”
This instance was far from the only one that put Kathy and Tim in some life-threatening situations. The duo has some incredible stories to share, and you can read them all in Game Informer’s feature.
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