Tanooki Mario (power-up)

Tanooki Mario is one of several power-ups used by Mario and Luigi in the Super Mario series. It made its first appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3. It is a variation of the Raccoon Mario form, although the Tanooki form has made more appearances.
When wearing it, Mario becomes Tanooki Mario, retaining his normal form's gloves and wearing a brown onesie with raccoon ears and a raccoon tail. Like the Super Leaf power-up, after a running start, this power-up allows Mario to jump up and fly/glide in the air by swing his tail for a certain period of time. The main difference is that Mario can transform into a statue for a few seconds, during which he is invincible but unable to move. In statue form, he can destroy some otherwise invincible enemies by landing on them. He can also land on spikes without getting damaged.
If Mario uses a P-Wing while wearing the Tanooki Suit, he keeps the suit while gaining the permanent flight ability of the wing.
This power-up is most certainly inspired by the Japanese tanuki, a raccoon dog that, according to Japanese mythology, has mischievous behavior and shapeshifting powers.
The Tanooki Suit reappears in Super Mario 3D Land. Mario can attack with the tail and also hover after a jump but is unable to fly in-game. When Luigi gets the Tanooki leaf in this, he turns into Kitsune Luigi, based on the Japanese name for a fox "Kitsune", as opposed to Tanooki Luigi. Kitsune Luigi is essentially the same as Tanooki Mario, aside from looking like a fox. The Tanooki Suit power-up item is absent from the game, and the Super Leaf grants the Tanooki suit instead. Mario also needs to get a Stone Leaf, which adds a red scarf to his onesie, to get the Tanooki Suit's signature statue transformation power. The same applies to Super Mario 3D World, though due to the absence of the Stone Leaf, the statue transformation power is gone.
Mario Kart 8 features a separate playable character of the same name who takes on this form. Tanooki Mario can transform into a statue for one of his tricks.
==Gallery==
== See also ==
* Raccoon Mario
* Cape Mario
* Cat Mario
* Flying Squirrel Mario
==Navigation==
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Category:Powered-Up Mario
Category:Transformations
Category:Power-ups
Category:Power-ups in Super Mario Bros. 3
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Category:Power-ups in Super Mario 3D World