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SYFY WIRE super mario bros. movie

Is the fan favorite 'Peaches' song from 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' eligible for an Oscar?

Will The Super Mario Bros. Movie score high at the 96th Academy Awards?

By Josh Weiss
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Trailer

Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment, and Nintendo already have plans to score high at next year's Academy Awards.

Per a new report from Variety, the fan favorite "Peaches" song performed by Jack Black's love-stricken Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (now playing in theaters everywhere) is eligible to be submitted in the category of Best Original Song. In addition to belting out the romantic lyrics, Black also shares writing credit on the soulful piano ballad alongside Eric Osmond, John Spiker, Aaron Horvath, and Michael Jelenic. Horvath and Jelenic — both of whom are veterans of Teen Titans GO! — co-directed the animated project from a screenplay penned by Matthew Fogel (Minions: The Rise of Gru).

RELATED: ‘Mario’ creator explains why Nintendo has been so reluctant to adapt its games for the big screen

"As we were trying to get the point across of Bowser’s feelings for Peach, it seemed more fun, funny and sweet if we had him sing a song about it," Horvath states in the official production notes. "Jack Black is an incredible singer and musician, so we spent a night writing the song and sent the demo to Jack. A couple days later, Jack sent us back a finished track. He had added his own twist on it and his pianist played an original music track for it. We were blown away."

"We had a ball with it and I’m looking forward to audiences experiencing this new side of Bowser!" adds Black.

Produced by Chris Meledandri (founder/CEO of Illumination) and Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Super Mario and a slew of other Nintendo franchises), the long-awaited adaptation also features the voice talents of Chris Pratt (Mario), Charlie Day (Luigi), Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek), and Charles Martinet (the longtime voice of Mario in the games has a small cameo near the start of the movie).

Illumination has not taken home any Oscars, though it did land a nomination for Despicable Me 2 at the 86th Academy Awards (the sequel lost to Frozen).

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now playing in theaters everywhere. Tickets are on sale here! The film opened to a whopping $377 million worldwide this past weekend, setting new box office high scores for animation and video game-inspired cinema.

Want more Illumination goodness in your life? Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2 are now streaming on Peacock.