The Nintendo characters at Universal Studio Hollywood were doing their thing this summer, meeting and greeting park guests, when an excited l'il Toad made a mistake and broke into some dance moves. Yes, it was cute — so darn cute, in fact, that everyone with a TikTok account started to ask the adorable toadstool to dance with them. And he obliged, at first, causing #toad to trend.
But then Toad — perhaps a little spooked by an ever-growing eager but encroaching crowd — snapped.
In a series of videos posted below, you can see Toad in June and July go from crowd-pleasing dancing machine to a crowd-fearing fungi who had finally had enough. By mid-July, he not only refused to dance, he stiffly stared at his fans before making sudden jerky moves to scare them off. Which he succeeded in doing — even inciting shrieks and screams from the frightened guests.
After weeks of Toad's rebellion, his handlers outright banned requests asking Toad to dance, begging guests to "please" knock it off. You can meet and you can greet the little guy, but keep your dance moves to yourself!
Here's video of Toad showing off his dancing skills in June:
And in July, a quick montage of the dancing shroom offers just a few of the many #toad clips that were circulating:
But by July 29, the magic was over. Toad was done, as in sick, sick, sick of it. Even a cute spotted mushroom can turn off:
And then finally, this month, "Please! Do not ask Toad to dance!" begs an announcer. "He's not dancing, okay?" (See video below.) But, even just posing with his fans, he's still as cute as a button mushroom.
None of this post is based on any real facts or newsworthy sources other than what I've gathered by watching these videos.
Previously: Watch the first ever TV commercial for Super Mario Bros. from 1985
