Super Mario Bros. (1993) Yoshi Puppet Restoration

To the amazing SMB Movie community:

YOSHI NEEDS YOUR HELP!!

As some of you may have seen, about a year and a half ago I was incredibly fortunate to bring the original Yoshi animatronic head from our beloved Super Mario Bros. film into the SMB Movie Archive collection, allowing fans the very first public glimpse of this wonderful creation outside of his debut in the film all the way back in 1993. This is very last surviving original piece of Yoshi and the only remnants of his original skin left in existence after the original Yoshi puppet was modified and repurposed a few years after SMB filming ended.

When I acquired this piece of Yoshi, it was with an understanding that the remnants of his foam latex skin were incredibly fragile, brittle from dry rot, and had to be curated within a climate controlled environment with minimal direct light, which he lovingly has been since his time here. However, one thing I was not counting on was that just within this past year, I’ve unfortunately noticed that gravity alone is taking its toll on the stability of the foam latex as well.

In the 25+ years that this artifact was in storage, the foam latex has naturally begun to break down and separate from the heavy animatronic skull and armature, creating a large section to tear and hang off the back of the skull and for some other gouges and openings to separate further around his neck and lower lip.


But there is hope! The good news is that Yoshi can and will be saved, but I am reaching out for a little help from the community, while I still aim to give back as I always have as the SMB Movie Archive Prop & Costume Curator. When I originally got Yoshi, I had inquired with the world-renown prop restorer, Tom Spina (who also restored one of the original hero Stomper Boots many years ago) about seeing if we should restore Yoshi, but at the time, we felt like due to the fragility and the fact he was stable at the time, that it was not worth risking the journey from Texas to Long Island, NY to be restored, however under these new circumstances, Yoshi will need the restoration attention after all. With the help of an original SMB movie crew member, I have been referred to world renowned  monster maker and prop restorer, Joe Petro who has agreed to take on the project. He will do a phenomenal job stabilizing the foam, patching its holes, securing the foam to the skull, and building a support base that will hopefully help offset the weight of the skull. It’s a very doable task for them but does cost a few thousand dollars.


With your help, this will allow Yoshi a newly refreshed life just in time for the upcoming Pipe Dream SMB Movie documentary to be filmed later in 2021 & 2022, as well as the 30th Anniversary of SMB in 2023. In addition, your help will also assist us in some other amazing projects and unveilings we have in the works coming up later this year, one of which may even be a long-term public display of the entire SMB Movie prop and costume collection we have!

I know 2020 has been a very trying and demanding year for us all and I sincerely thank you for your time, consideration, and support of the SMB community, as well as for spreading the love, creativity, and all around fun of this film, making it a modern cult classic. I will always continue to share this wonderful film and fanbase with others and look forward to bringing you all more looks at the artistry behind the props and costumes of the film in the future!

#SaveYoshi

Thanks,

Blake Dumesnil
SMB Movie Archivist – Props & Costumes