ERB: Mario Brothers v. Wright Brothers

I discuss ERB Mario Bros. v. Wright Bros. thoroughly, talking themes, lyrics and graphics

ERB: Mario Brothers v. Wright Brothers; an in-Depth Review

This essay is a very thorough review of Epic Rap Battles of History, Mario Brothers v. Wright Brothers. This series pits two (generally) historical figures against each other in a rap battle. I have explained each verse of the rap battle as follows: The quote is what is said by that individual in the rap battle. The line immediately following is the literal meaning of what the quote is trying to say. The next section of paragraph(s) discuss(es) various themes, historical context and references, rhyme schemes, plots, double entendres, etc. These are written in no particular order. The last section (generally one paragraph) discusses the visuals that occur during or around that scene, giving the lines extra meaning.
I highly recommend watching a few ERB's before looking at this. I strongly recommend watching the specific rap battle of Mario Brothers v. Wright Brothers before reading this. (I have also written an in-depth analysis on Red Baron v. White Death if you want to look at that.)
[Though this review contains adult language I have censored any inappropriate or cuss words.]
[I interchange 'Mario Bros', 'Mario Brothers' and 'Mario and Luigi' liberally. It does not indicate anything specific.]
When I use parenthesis it is to something that may be obvious, but I believe may be beneficial to some readers. When I use brackets (they look like this: []) it is to indicate something that is not obvious, but is more tangential than to the actual themes or meaning of the verses. When I use braces (they look like this: {}) it is to indicate something that is my opinion on whether I believe ERB did something well or badly.
Wright Brothers:
We're the Wright Brothers, and there can't be no other. We don't want to cause trouble. Are you looking for your lover?"
The Wright Brothers are saying that they are special and unique. They are surprised that the Mario Brothers came to them if they are not trying to fight at all. But they suggest that possibly they didn't mean to fight and they simply are looking for Mario's lover, Princess Peach.
The Wright brothers set up this battle by framing that they are extremely unique. (This point will be discussed more fully later in the battle.)
They then shift on to the classic United States East Coast olden day style of speaking: "We don't mean to be a bother," or, in this case, "We don't want to cause trouble." They are mystified that the Mario Brothers are fighting them. They didn't do anything.
{It's also possible that there is a reference to them inventing airplanes (as is seen later in the rap battle). They don't want to fight at all as they invented airplanes which allow you to fly away and avoid confrontation.}
They then have the realization that perhaps Mario and Luigi are looking for Princess Peach. Princess Peach is the princess that Mario (and occasionally Luigi {though he is more connected with a different princess named 'Daisy'}) need to rescue at the beginning of a large portion of Mario games, especially early ones. Maybe they couldn't find their lover and now they're checking everywhere.
The aesthetics of the Wright Brothers are clearly a reference to a more olden day style of video and picture. This tracks as the Wright Brothers invented the airplane in 1903. The pictures would be black and white at that time and videos had only been created about a decade earlier. [Historians debate exactly when videos were first created, but they all agree that they were around by the time the Wright Brothers created the airplane.] You also have them dressed as sort of 'rural Americans' as they have overalls and big jeans. They are in the middle of a field that is presumably supposed to replicate Kitty Hawk, where they had the first successful flight.
{As a bit of an aside, the costumes are laughable. Besides for the fact that one of the Brothers was noticeably shorter than the other, Rhett and Link look nothing like the Wright Brothers. Rhett has flying goggles on and nothing else and Link has an obviously fake mustache, that looks far more Italian than American. This may be because it's Rhett and Link, and in the other ERB that featured them (Lewis and Clark v. Bill and Ted), their costumes were fairly meek as well. It may also just be because this is a much earlier ERB and they didn't have stuff like that figured out yet. The latter option seems to hold more weight because the Mario Bros also don't have too much costume.}
"Cause your princess is in our castle now (yeah, she's gone). We stayed up all night playing Donkey Kong."
The Wright Brothers are saying that Princess Peach is now staying with them and they stayed up all night playing Donkey Kong, the original opponent of Mario.
The word 'castle' is probably the best use of language in this battle. The obvious reference is to the fact that Princess Peach generally gets captured by a giant fire-breathing turtle named Bowser (or his son) and gets taken to a castle (at least in the newer Mario games). Mario then goes to save the princess from that castle. Many times, on beating specific levels, a notification will occur telling you that the princess is in another castle, hence the word-choice reference. 'Castle' also refers to a house, as in, 'a man's house is his castle.' This use of the word 'castle' for house was much more prevalent a century ago than today, ergo, making it more reasonable that the Wright Brothers are using this word. Finally, 'Castle Doctrine' is a legal concept that states that if you break into someone's home, they are allowed to defend themselves (generally with deadly force). It has many variations and differences among states nowadays, but when the Wright Brothers lived it was nationwide. They are saying that if you try to save her by breaking into our 'castle', we'll kill you.
The second part is an obvious reference to Mario's first main rival, Donkey Kong. In the original game, Donkey Kong would take Princess Peach up a bunch of ladders and Mario (at that point, he was known as 'Jump Man') would need to climb ladders and avoid barrels that Donkey Kong was throwing at him.
They are saying that they were playing that game, but sort of as Donkey Kong instead of Mario. While Rhett says "playing Donkey Kong", he shifts his shoulder and raises his eyebrows, implying that they both had s*x with Princess Peach. Unlike Donkey Kong, however, Princess Peach actually enjoyed it, insinuating that Mario would not be able to satisfy her. You can see this because Princess Peach actually appears in the background, smiles and waves at Mario, showing that she was not r*ped or coerced in any way, making the betrayal worse.
{It's very good that they reference both of Mario's main rivals (Bowser and Donkey Kong) while fighting them, as the Wright Brothers demonstrates how strong they are in that they are as formidable as any enemy Mario has taken on.}
You can see the Wright Brothers both showing flying motions in the back of Princess Peach, showing that they both had helicopter style s*x with her.
"Before us, people only used to fly in balloons. You think we're scared of two idiots addicted to shrooms?"
Before the Wright Brothers had invented the plane, people only flew in hot air balloons. They were the first to make a flying machine that could steer. The Wright Brothers aren't scared of two foes who are addicted to eating mushrooms, like Mario and Luigi do.
The Wright Brothers are countering a potential diss by the Mario Bros. The Mario Bros may claim that people still flew before the Wright Brothers and so they're not that special. The Wright Brothers are acknowledging that people used to fly, but that they would only fly in balloons and they made the first planes. This also demonstrates their uniqueness, as referenced in the beginning of the battle.
'Shrooms' is an obvious reference to the mushrooms that Mario and Luigi eat in most Mario games in order to level up. It makes sense to say that they are addicted to mushrooms as they have them in pretty much every level of every game. Some of the characters are even shaped as mushrooms. It is also an obvious reference to being high on actual mushrooms. The erratic behavior of the brothers suggest that they are always on something. It's significantly easier to beat someone like that in a rap battle. {I think it's great when the double entendre itself is obvious. Generally, it's the main diss and then you have to know a bit more about the characters for the double entendre to be effective. But here, if you know anything about Mario at all, the double entendre is extremely simplistic.}
The Wright Brothers hold up a bag of flat cardboard mushrooms to demonstrate that the Mario Brothers only exist in 2d. This works well with their later line of, "Conquer every level of your 2d scroller," because it demonstrates that they are flat and simplistic
"You shoulda woulda coulda, come to lose an extra life. So just duh-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru back down in your pipe."
The Wright Brothers are saying that the Mario Brothers could have done anything else but battle them, but now they are going to lose one of their lives. They should just run back down into their pipes they go down and come up from.
"Shoulda woulda coulda" is classic East Coast talk for something like 'oh well, too bad.' The Wright Brothers are saying that it's too bad that Mario and Luigi had to battle them. They should not have done that.
The sound effect is the classic sound effect that Mario makes every time that he goes into a pipe. Mario is a plumber and therefore all of the levels are filled with pipes that he goes down into. Also, it is a reference for him sucking because he has to go into the stinking pipes underground.
Mario Brothers:
"It's a me Mario, and Luigi Motha[coin sound]. Why don't you get back in your biplane and make out with each other. Look at these two; their lives must've been horrible. Two dorky dudes names Wilbur and Orville."
Mario Bros introduce themselves and suggest that the Wright Brothers just leave the battle. They could continue to be weirdly in love with each other in their little biplane. They then call them dorky and add that they have dorky names.
Mario starts off with his classic, "It's a me, Mario." This is how Mario tends to introduce himself in many video games (the later ones at least). It helps set the stage for the battle as the watcher becomes more comfortable hearing that phrase, since it reminds them of their childhood, or just playing the game in general, giving Mario fantastic Brownie points. [Wright brothers don't have this chance because there is no phrase that they could use which would make people instantly connect with them. Certainly, people don't think Wright brothers every time they get on a plane. That would be fairly ridiculous. {They do have sway when they say, "Representin' North Carolina. Aiiiight," in a way to connect to watchers from North Carolina, but that sway is certainly less powerful.}] [The reason that Mario says "it's a me Mario" instead of just saying, "it's me Mario" but in an Italian accent, is because, in Italian, almost every word ends in a vowel. (If you think about an Italian accent, you'll see what I am talking about immediately.) Therefore, Mario adds a vowel to the word 'it's.' He's not really saying 'it's a me, Mario;' rather, he's saying, 'itsa me Mario.' (You can see this also when he says, 'Let's a go,' in Mario games, he's actually saying 'Let'sa go.')]
Luigi comes in with a sharp contrast to Mario's more upbeat introduction. It's a way of shocking the audience and forcing them to focus more on the battle.
The reason the coin sound is made is actually threefold. First, Mario is known for collecting coins in his games and, just like when Mario says, 'it'sa me, Mario,' in order to bring back good memories, Luigi adds the coin sound to get that good feeling back. Secondly, it is a cuss and Mario is a game for kids, so Luigi doesn't cuss in this battle. Instead, they make the iconic coin noise from the game as a 'bleep' noise that is commonly used to cover up a cuss in movies or TV. Thirdly, Rhett and Link's channel is kid-friendly, and they asked that there be no cussing in the battle, to which ERB obliged. It's sort of saying like, 'Yeah, we get it, no cussing in this battle.' {This last part is interesting because in the other battle that Rhett and Link are involved in, there does seem to be a cuss that is used. ("These two d*ckweeds right here are severely endangered.") [It's possible though that they do not consider d*ck a cuss word.].}
They then go on to say that the Wright Brothers should just leave this battle. Why don't you guys just go back into your biplane. The biplane was invented by the brothers so that it could hold a passenger, as well as a pilot, hence two people. The word 'bi' also refers to bisexual, insinuating that the brothers are gay (which they were not), and therefore should just 'enjoy' each other in their little plane. Obviously, it's more than that, as the brothers would be involved in an incestuous relationship if the were making out with each other. This adds another layer to the diss.
The "Look at these two," is classic Italian verbiage, and it references disappointment.
Saying "their lives must have been horrible" references the fact that they are long gone, but Mario and Luigi exist (obviously, in a technical sense) even today.
They call them dorks seemingly because of their names. The names 'Wilbur' and 'Orville' over a century ago, were regular names. But now, they sound very weird. The way that Luigi says the word Orville is to add a space between the 'r' and the 'v,' making the word sound like 'Oriville.' The reason he does this is so that he could rhyme it properly with 'horrible,' which does, in fact have an 'i' in it. [This is similar to what Eminem told CNN in 2014. He said that he gets annoyed when people say that the word 'orange' doesn't rhyme with anything because he could think of a lot of things that rhyme with 'orange.' It just depends on how you elongate or shorten certain words and syllables.] The word 'Orville' is pronounced 'ohr-vil.' There is no sound in between the first and second syllable. Rather there is only a pause. But Luigi lengthens this word to include an 'i' sound in between so that he could rhyme it with 'horrible.'
"You spent all your time on one machine? Sheesh. If you wanted to fly you should've just eaten this leaf."
They are saying that it is crazy that they spent all their time on only one machine throughout their life. They say they didn't have to do that and could've just eaten the leaf that helps them fly in the games.
The Wright Brothers spent hundreds, upon thousands of hours working on their plane. There was nothing to really go off of and they had to create a lot of the mechanics from scratch. They say it's pathetic that they spent all their time on only one thing. 'Sheesh' is a clear Italian reference to say like 'my God' or something to that effect.
Now, to counter the Wright Brother's obvious counter of saying that what they were working on was very difficult and that is why they spent all their time on one machine. The Mario Brothers are saying there is a very simple solution in that they could just have eaten one of Mario's leaves and that would be able to fly easily without doing any work at all. They wasted their whole life on something that was so easy. [Not only that, but the leaf allows Mario to fly without any kind of plane, making it significantly better than the silly plane that the Wright Brothers created.]
When the leaf comes onto the screen, it is very pixelated, and is much more reminiscent of early Mario. This will be indirectly commented on by the Wright Brothers later on when they mention '2d scroller.'
"You should eat something, anyway, look at you so skinny. You might fly like a hawk, but you fight like a kitty."
The Mario Brothers are saying that the Wright Brothers are ridiculously thin and scrawny. While they may fly very well, their fighting ability is lacking.
It is a very Italian refrain to tell someone that they are too skinny and they should eat up. In a good number of the Mario games, Mario has a plump belly and is clearly not skinny. What's interesting is that that is usually not the case for Luigi. Though Luigi does sometimes also have a bit of a gut, he is generally very thin. {However, the Wright Brothers are always thin, so I suppose the diss works.}
The words 'Hawk' and 'Kitty' are a reference to Kitty Hawk, which is where the first successful flight occurred. The reason the Mario Brothers do this is to say that the Wright Brothers should be in flight mode and not in fight mode, as they are clearly more into flying (as can be seen from Kitty Hawk) and they are scrawny (like a kitty). [Mario and Luigi are known for fighting (and racing, but primarily fighting) and so they are in a much better position to fight than the Wright Brothers.]
Wright Brothers:
"We don't need to fight; we're the fathers of flight. Representin' North Carolina. Aiiiight. We'll be pressin' all your buttons like we're the controller. Conquer every level of your 2d scroller."
Wright Brothers are saying that they can easily fly away from any danger. They also represent North Carolina, as that's where the first successful flight was. They are going to annoy Mario Bros by pressing their buttons in the same way that you press a controller's buttons. They'll also beat all the levels on their 2d game.
This part is a bit odd to me as the Wright Brothers seem to be dissing themselves. The Mario Brothers just told them that they can't fight them and that they could only fly. Why would the Wright Brothers seem to affirm this by agreeing that they can't fight the Mario Brothers? {Phrasing it as "We don't need to fight," instead of "We are not going to fight" does not help.}
They finish off by saying that they are going to beat every level in the game. That's good for Mario. Mario wants to defeat Donkey Kong or Bowser or whoever. Beating the game is not a diss at Mario and cannot be construed to be such in any way.
{The fact that they represent North Carolina because the first flight was there does absolutely nothing for the rap battle. I understand why they put it in, but in rap battle context it doesn't make sense. The reason they put it in is because Rhett and Link are both from North Carolina and so represent the characters in the battle. They also want to say 'Aiiiight' as that is classic East Coast (especially, middle East Coast) language. [Also, as stated previously, it may be a slight reference to people from North Carolina that they could feel connected to the characters, but that's unlikely.]
{But this verse doesn't make sense in context of the battle. Imagine Mozart saying to Skrillex, "Was that a verse or did you just get the hiccups? I lived in Amsterdam sonny and I'm about to smack a b*tch up." What does that have to do with anything? That doesn't prop up Mozart or hurt Skrillex. Now, there are times when people can represent where they live and it makes sense in the battle. Contrast the (fictional) verse of Mozart to that of Beethoven when he battles Justin Bieber: "I would smack you, but in Germany we don't hit little girls." In that case, saying where he comes from may not directly add to the weight of the diss, but it makes sense to include it. Like, he would smack him, but his culture says it's wrong. It hits harder than: "I would smack you, but I don't like to hit little girls." It says that the weight of a country is behind his decision to refrain from violence. One can also use where they come from as a diss in and of itself. Contrast the Mozart line again with Napoleon Bonaparte's verse against Napoleon Dynamite: "How dare you address moi, you adolescent worm. I am French, you are a buck tooth nerd with a perm." The fact that Napoleon is French adds to the diss, because France is known for being sort of elite and snobbish. He looks down at 'ze stupid American.' What is North Carolina known for aside from the Wright Brothers? What does them coming from North Carolina mean? They represent North Carolina, as opposed to the Mario Bros, who represent... what? This line adds absolutely nothing as it is just here for the wordplay. It would've made more sense if Mario had insulted North Carolina somehow and then the Wright Brothers would come back with this diss. But as it stands now, the diss falls flat.}
The reason he waves his shirt in the air is because there is a song by a rapper named Petey Pablo called 'Raise Up.' Part of the lyrics involve giving a shoutout to North Carolina and he tell people to take off their shirts and spin it like a helicopter. Their helicopter reference is because it is considered an outgrowth of the airplane.
"Pressing all your buttons" is not only a cute reference to actually pressing the buttons on the controller of a Mario game, but it's saying that Mario could actually be controlled. As it turns out, Mario and Luigi hardly ever move on their own. You generally press buttons to control them. This means that the Wright brothers can control the Mario Brothers literally. This is also a subtle jab that the Mario Brothers are not real and the Wright Brothers are.
Technically, all Mario games are in 2d, again, because Mario is not real. However, it's also a diss because Mario was originally very pixelated, and Wright Brothers are making fun of him for his weak initial game design. The 'scroller' also refers to the earlier games, where the mechanics were the game scrolling and where you couldn't go back in the level. {I thought the Mario Brothers would have a great comeback by talking about how silly the Wright Brother's first plane was instead of the current planes, but this is early ERB.}
"You talk a lot o' trash, but let me tell ya' somethin'. We're gonna beat you so fast, it's like we're holdin' down the B button."
You have a lot of disses against us, but we're gonna beat you so quickly it's like we're holding down the B button on the controller.
The first part of the diss is just classic East Coast lingo. The second part refers to the Mario games where you had to hold B down in order to make Mario run. The Wright Brothers are saying we're going to beat you so fast and make you run away it's like we have our finger totally on that button. The B button has also been used to go back to previous levels or parts of the game. So they are saying that they are going to undo all of the progress Mario and Luigi made in the first verse.
This bar also goes back to the control that Wright Brothers have over Mario and Luigi, demonstrating that they completely control their (fake movements). You can see them actually holding the B button down together on the controller, symbolizing that they are going to defeat the Mario Brothers really quickly, or that they are going to delete all their progress immediately. You can also see them destroying the controller in the background, symbolizing that Mario and Luigi can be totally destroyed by the Wright Brothers.
Mario Brothers:
"We're servin' up an eight-bit fist, made to order. That'll knock you off the back of your own stupid quarters. Like POW, how ya' like me now?"
The Mario Brothers are ready to punch the Wright Brothers, and they want to knock them off of the quarters they are on the back of. It will be like a boom to the face.
The 'eight-bit fist' is a reference to the Mario Brothers (generally) only having four fingers. In this way, they are going to punch them with both hands [or, alternatively, they are both going to punch one of the brothers.] 'Eight-bit' is a reference to the first Mario games, which were on an eight-bit processor. So, the Mario Brothers were countering what the Wright Brothers have been saying about the Mario Bros being very pixelated and ugly looking. They clap back by saying that even though that is true, we can still easily beat you.
Since the Mario Brothers are Italian, they are 'serving' up their punch and it is "made to order," which is common Italian slang, especially in the U.S. A huge percentage of pizza places are owned by Italians, and so people connect this line with Italians serving pizza, but this time they're serving up a fist.
There are many North Carolina quarters that have the Wright Brothers on the back (due to obvious reasons) and Mario and Luigi think they look dumb and they want to knock them off the quarters. {But again, this is misplaced. It is a good thing for the Wright Brothers that they are on the quarters. It's not like the Wright Brothers mentioned the quarters and then the Mario Brothers said they looked stupid. That would be fair enough. But this just gives the Wright Brothers credit, seemingly for no reason. [Tangentially, it would've made more sense for the Wright Brothers to say that they are representing North Carolina after Mario talked about the quarters.]
{When Mario shows the quarters in his hands, they are cartoonishly huge, and obviously much bigger than regular quarters. They sort of look like 8-balls. They probably made them that way so that you would easily be able to see the actual quarters, but you still can't tell unless you look really closely.}
The POW button appears in many Mario games and it generally freezes time. This corresponds to the slight pause between the word and the next part of the verse. Also, POW is the cartoonish way to show that you have punched someone. This demonstrates that the Wright Brothers will actually be punched by the Mario Brothers, rather than the Mario Brothers simply trying to punch the Wright Brothers but missing because they flew away.
"How ya' like me now?" is more East Coast than it is Italian, but it is a clear cultural reference.
"Spit flames out our mouths like our name was Bowwwwser. You'll get pummeled. You'll wish you never stumbled out your little wind tunnel."
Mario Brothers are saying that they spit hot bars like they are Bowser in the Mario game. The Wright Brothers will also be pummeled by the Mario Brothers and wish they had never left their wind tunnel to fight them.
'Flames,' or being 'hot,' is when you rap very well. So, the Mario Brothers are able to pair this with actual flames to burn the Wright Brothers with. (The first planes were obviously very flammable and therefore the plane would easily be struck down by fire.) Bowser is the main villain in (probably) the majority of Mario games. [There are so many Mario games, it's very difficult to pin down.] He is a giant turtle creature who breathes fire and tries to kill Mario. {It is a bit odd to me that Mario would reference his own main rival while in the rap battle.}
{I do not appreciate that they extended the word Bowser, so that they could pretend that it rhymes with 'POW' and 'now' and 'mouths.' You could extend it a bit, but it feels like it goes on forever. It's ok if it doesn't rhyme perfectly. The word 'mouths' doesn't rhyme perfectly either. Think of how odd it would be to say, "Spit flames out our mouuuuuuths."}
At this point in the battle, the noise in the game where Mario and Luigi get bigger occurs and they actually do get much bigger. This is because you can see that the Wright Brothers are in the plane on the left side of the screen, trying to get away. To make sure they can't, Mario and Luigi both become giant as if to tell them that there's no escape. It also works as a backhanded way of rebutting the Wright Brothers' assertation that the Mario Bros are addicted to shrooms. Mario Bros are showing that it's good that they eat their mushrooms because it makes them very powerful. Though Mario would not be anywhere near how high a modern plane would go, the Wright brothers plane only reached around 30 to 50 feet, allowing giant Mario to easily reach that height. {It's also fantastic that they harp on these sound effects for the Mario Brothers (the 'duh-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru' that the Wright Brothers says, the coin sound instead of the cuss by Luigi, the sound of the leaf and now this noise.) That's because people know the Mario Brothers by these sound effects. Mario and Luigi rarely talk in these games (obviously) and so the way to connect the people watching the battle are through the sound effects.}
'Pummeling' is an attack that Mario performs in many games. Especially when the brothers are giant.
The Mario Bros then say that they should not have left their wind tunnel to battle them. The wind tunnel is an obvious reference to the wind tunnel created by planes. It's also a bash against what the Wright Brothers said initially that, "they don't wanna' cause trouble." This was not true. If it would've been, they would not have stumbled out of their wind tunnel at all.
"We've been droppin' ba-bombs since we started this song. Sorry Wright Brothers, this time you chose wrong."
They have been doing well the whole time, and this time, the Wright Brothers were wrong.
'Dropping bombs' refers to doing very well in a rap battle. But now it's modified to 'ba-bombs,' which is very specific to Mario. 'Ba-bombs' are characters in Mario who are, more or less, walking, bombs. If one of them is lit or thrown they will blow up. When the Mario Bros say that they are dropping bombs, it is referencing them throwing the bombs and having them explode.
The last line is an obvious reference to the 'Wright Brothers' being a homophone for 'Right Brothers.' They play on this homophone, saying that this time they are the 'Wrong Brothers.' The word 'choose' is used creatively as it is a reference to the Wright Brothers going first and lying that they didn't want to cause trouble. They did want to, and they were wrong for doing it. [This is also a reference to the fact that there name is not 'Right Brothers,' which would imply that they are always right, but Wright, which actually starts with a 'w' and is therefore somewhat similar to 'wrong,' to symbolize that they are always wrong.]

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