Serie: Super Mario
Company: PMS
Year: 2009
Size: 24~27cm
Main distribution: Europe (crane games)
This is a set of Nintendo plush from PMS labelled simply ‘Super Mario’. They are officially licensed by Nintendo and have the Official Nintendo Seal. This particular series is from 2009 and does not retail, it can only be won in amusement parks, arcades, crane games, fairs etc. The set exists out of Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Toad, Princess Peach, Koopa Troopa, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. I have here Mario, Yoshi and Toad.
The plush could not be bought and could only be won. I won mine out of a crane game machine. I got 3 of this series, but have sold 2 of them now.
Mario
Mario is about 27cm tall and has embroidered eyes and eyebrows. His big round nose and thick moustache are made of plush. His face and hair are made of a soft yet thin plush material with a short pile, while his clothing is made of a thinner, cheaper material. The buttons are made out of felt. The M logo on his hat is painted on.
His proportions are off. He has very tall legs and a case of pulling his pants really high. One arm seems to be attached wrong as it sticks out to the side awkwardly. His face seems ok though. I also prefer Mario a bit chubbier, but this seems based on the more modern, taller and leaner 3D Mario. Due to his high stand and slim base, the plush can’t stand on its own.
Its tush tag is located at his butt and is simple of design. The front is red with the Super Mario Logo and the Official Nintendo Seal, as well as the year. The back has PMS on it, the CE mark and a barcode. The Super Mario line appears to be item no. 145.
Its hang tag is attached to his left ear. The front has the Super Mario logo again with what appears to be stock images of 3D Mario characters on a red and white background. The back is simply red with the Super Mario logo, the Official Nintendo Seal, the year 2009 and the usual copyrights, CE mark and PMS logo. It clearly states these can only be won and not sold at retail. Further is the usual child safety warnings.
Yoshi
Yoshi is about 25cm tall and has embroidered eyes and nose holes. His entire body and shoes are made of a soft yet thin plush material with a short pile, while his eye white is made of a thinner, cheaper material.
His proportions are only slightly off. His nose could be bigger and his back could stick out more so someone can actually ride him. Apart from that he has a slight chibi look to him.
Due to his heavy head and slim base, the plush can’t stand on its own. The plush has a bit of awkward stitching, making him slightly a-symmetrical.
Its tush tag is located at his butt and is simple of design. The front is red with the Super Mario Logo and the Official Nintendo Seal, as well as the year. The back has PMS on it, the CE mark and a barcode. The Super Mario line appears to be item no. 145.
Its hang tag is attached to his left hand. The front has the Super Mario logo again with what appears to be stock images of 3D Mario characters on a red and white background. The back is simply red with the Super Mario logo, the Official Nintendo Seal, the year 2009 and the usual copyrights, CE mark and PMS logo. It clearly states these can only be won and not sold at retail. Further is the usual child safety warnings.
Toad
Toad is about 24cm tall and has embroidered eyes and mouth. His mushroom head / hat and body are made of a soft yet thin plush material with a short pile, while his clothing is made of a thinner, cheaper material. The vest is attached with a few stitches but could be removed.
His proportions are off. His body is too tall and he has a case of pulling his pants really high. One arm seems to be attached wrong as it sticks out to the side awkwardly. His head seems ok though but the mushroom has awkward stitching here and there. Due to his high stand, heavy head and slim base, the plush can’t stand on its own.
Its tush tag is located on its left side and is simple of design. The front is red with the Super Mario Logo and the Official Nintendo Seal, as well as the year.
The hang tag is attached to its left arm. The front has the Super Mario logo again with what appears to be stock images of 3D Mario characters on a red and white background.
The back of the tush tag has PMS on it, the CE mark and a barcode. The Super Mario line appears to be item no. 145.
The back of the hang tag is simply red with the Super Mario logo, the Official Nintendo Seal, the year 2009 and the usual copyrights, CE mark and PMS logo. It clearly states these can only be won and not sold at retail. Further is the usual child safety warnings.
To find Mario plush in the crane games at my local fair in the Netherlands was amazing back in the day. It usually consisted of generic teddies so to find a licensed product was cool. And Mario characters nonetheless!
I’m quite skilled at the cranes and I managed to win 3 of them, Mario, Toad and Yoshi. Yoshi and Toad were my favourite characters of the Mario ones, so I was quite pleased. My brother was quite jealous I caught a Yoshi!
Surprisingly, I didn’t have many Mario plush then apart from one Yoshi, which was a beanie, so was happy to have gained them. Sadly, Europe amusement plush are usually cheap made and mass produced, which is also the case for these. Quality control appears to be lacking, with odd and uneven stitching and arms attached wrongly.
PMS specialises in mass market products at very competitive prices, which means bulk done cheap. Unlike in Japan, where they are limited and high quality, Europe always lacks in this quality when it comes to amusement plush.
Nowadays, it’s also considered “cool” to be a geek, so there is an abundance of Mario toys everywhere. These may have been the first few of this era as well, as they started popping up around this time.
Now that I’m downsizing, it wasn’t a hard decision to let some of these go. I don’t like human plush, I don’t like plush that can’t stand on their own, and I find the material kind of cheap feeling. It is more a kids’ toy than a collector’s item in my opinion. Were they limited runs I probably would have cherished them more, but the lack of quality, especially compared to my Japanese plush sitting near them, irks me. The material also is a magnet to hairs!
So I sold Mario and Toad to some of my colleagues at work. Yoshi feels better than the Mario and Toad. He doesn’t have much of that cheap material on him like the other two. His proportions seem better as well. Yes, he still has that awkward stitching and there are probably better Yoshi out there, but for now I’m keeping him. I still feel it’s more a kids’ toy than a collector’s item though and I might replace him later with a nicer Yoshi.
But this is all personal preference of course. There is nothing wrong with these plushies. And I still wanted to catalogue them here for fellow collectors. The photo’s are, as always, of the actual plush in hand and not stock photos.
If you’re looking for a cheap plush to play with, these are alright. If you want a nicer, higher quality plush, I’d say pass on these.
Got any more details / information you think I should add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own the same plush? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!