Video game fans are hype for the new “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which hits theaters Wednesday.
But some are wondering whether Mario’s dinosaur buddy Yoshi is in the film, since he was missing from the trailer.
Renata Brito-Cherrin and her boyfriend Ed Sadler are in a win-win situation, whether or not they discover Yoshi when they see the movie. That’s because the couple already has a real-life Yoshi in their Arden home, their pup Tenoch, nicknamed Tenny.
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Tenny’s dad loves Mario’s brother Luigi and is a big fan of Super Mario games, while the dog’s mom said she isn’t good at gaming.
Sadler sees a key resemblance between their pup and Yoshi. “He does have a long tongue like Yoshi,” he said.
Yoshi dog cosplays as Mario
Last Halloween, Tenny’s tongue generated attention from friends and family on Facebook. The couple, who went as Mario and Luigi, did a photo shoot with Tenny, who wore a Super Mario hat.
In one photo, Tenny is yawning with his tongue dangling out of his mouth, unraveled like a Fruit Roll-Up.
“Wait — is that a real tongue??” someone wrote under Brito-Cherrin’s post. “yes! Lol he has a very long tongue,” the pup’s mom explained.
“he has a Scooby-Doo tongue,” another person joked. “kind of bizarre!’ a third person chimed.
Why does this dog have such a long tongue?
Tenny’s mom said the 2-year-old Yoshi dog doesn’t have any irregular health conditions she’s aware of.
They think his tongue is probably normal for such a big dog. But when he yawns, the couple occasionally gets freaked out by it, Brito-Cherrin said.
One time, Sadler told his girlfriend he was going to touch Tenny’s tongue when he yawned. “He tried to gnaw my arm. He doesn’t like it,” Sadler recalled.
Dog does photo shoots for broccoli
Sadler and Brito-Cherrin enjoy doing photo shoots with Tenny.
They’ve done everything from wrap him up like a mummy in bed sheets to dressing him in a sweater.
Brito-Cherrin was hardcore about playing with Barbies as a kid. Now Tenny is paying the price, she said. “I would make costumes for all of my toys, and I cared for my stuffed animals like they were children,” Brito-Cherrin recalled. “It’s almost like [Tenny] is just a dog version of that.”
Tenny “tolerates” the costumes.
Usually, they get him to model for them by bribing him with broccoli, they said. The Yoshi dog loves vegetables, but isn’t a fan of fruit.
Brito-Cherrin made him a meatloaf cake for his second birthday with mashed potato frosting. It was topped off with blueberries.
“He ate the whole cake, but every blueberry was in a little pile,” she remembered.
So, who is Yoshi?
Yoshi is a green dinosaur that debuted in 1990 in the SNES game “Super Mario World.” The dino was a key character in the game, serving as Mario’s vehicle and protector.
Mario would ride Yoshi and the dino would use his long, iconic tongue to swallow enemies to shield the plumber.
Yoshi has been in the Super Mario universe for 33 years and has become a fan favorite, appearing in a bunch of titles. In 2015, Yoshi starred in his own video game, “Yoshi’s Woolly World.”
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The new Mario film is an epic battle between Mario (Chris Pratt) and his nemesis Bowser (Jack Black).
The CGI-animated movie features lots of notable characters including Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen), Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), Luigi (Charlie Day) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key).
Tenny’s mom said she’s happy the movie features comedians Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key. And Sadler said he’s looking forward to seeing his childhood condensed into a movie on the big screen.
Real Yoshi is a protector
But at the end of the day, it’s all about Yoshi for the Delaware couple.
Their dog shares qualities with Yoshi, they say, beyond his long tongue.
The couple’s Yoshi dog makes them feel protected from real life goombas (fictional mushroom-like creatures from the “Mario” franchise) and other villains.
“He makes me feel safe when I walk him at night,” Tenny’s mom said.
‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ hits theaters Wednesday, April 5. For more info, visit fandango.com.
If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters.
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