A Flawed Father Figure
The Magikoopa who acts as Bowser’s right-hand man is named Kamek. He has a fairly lengthy history in the games. He is the closest thing that Bowser has to a father, and he has raised the Koopa King since infancy. He is archenemy of Yoshi, and he appears in multiple Yoshi titles as the main antagonist.
Halfway through the movie, we see Bowser practice his wooing skills with Kamek, who dresses up as Princess Peach for the occasion. This is a reference to the New Super Mario Bros. franchise, where Kamek bait-and-switches you into thinking he’s the princess, only to reveal himself and trigger the second phase of the Bowser showdown.
