Review: 72044 Piranha Plant Power-Up Pursuit

The last double pack of karts to hit the road this wave are popping with colour and sprouting with life. One of the earliest enemies seen in 1985’s Super Mario Bros. stars as the first large, attachable power-up to appear in the theme. When used in Mario Kart 8, the Piranha Plant is a time-limited item that lunges towards opponents, items, and obstacles while giving a speed boost with every bite. While the attachment coupling only appears on these two karts, it’s an entertaining play feature that works well in LEGO.

Box

Five paper bags, two sticker sheets, and paper instructions are in the square-format box.

One of the two sticker sheets was mangled from being loose in the box. The harsh crease on the left headlight sticker affected its appearance when applied, as you may see shortly in the Tanooki Kart part of the review. Thankfully, the adhesive on the other stickers held them down smoothly.

Characters

This simple green-shelled Koopa is identical to the one found in 71365 Piranha Plant Power Slide. The technique has been used on other figures, like Yoshi, but I still appreciate the perfect use of 1x2 curved slopes for the nose and mouth.

The Toadette minifigure was last seen in 2022’s 71408 Peach's Castle. While she does normally don this outfit in the games, a racing uniform (maybe similar to the Toadette Mii uniform) would have been a fun way to differentiate the figures. The newest title, Mario Kart World, has introduced outfit changes for characters.

Completed Model

This wave introduced a new heavyweight class barcode for both this kart and the Standard ATV in 72039 Bowser's Castle. The new kart type features stronger engine sounds and a deeper horn sound like a truck. This one is a Tanooki Kart with Koopa branding. The rear lights are decorated with hanging tooth elements, and the mudguards are opaque 2x4 windscreens, all new in dark brown. Electronic Mario, wearing 71385 Tanooki Mario Power-Up Pack, would beautifully complete the look.

The spare tyre cover retains the Super Leaf emblem used in the Super Mario games to indicate various power-ups, the most relevant being the Tanooki suit. The new wheel moulds, also in 72039 Bowser's Castle, look great paired with this orange vehicle. However, as I said in the 72039 review, their smoothness still looks odd on what is supposed to be a large off-road vehicle. All the wheels in the Mario Kart theme feature this unusual texture choice.

Although this set does not include a glider, there is a spot for one to attach to this vehicle. The glider pictured is borrowed from 72038 Wario & King Boo.

The Piranha Plant Power-Up’s pot understandably had to have its scale and shape altered to accommodate the Technic mechanism within. As a result, the plant’s container appears slightly awkward as a simple, smooth cylinder. In-game, the pot and its wheels are smaller while the Piranha Plant’s head is much larger.

The Piranha Plant lurches forward and back when rolled along a surface as if it’s reaching forward to chomp at other racers. Unusually for these smaller-scale Mario Kart sets, rubber-like tyres are used to grip the surface, and this friction then allows them to engage the mechanism.

Toadette’s kart of choice in this set is the Cat Cruiser and uses the standard kart barcode. The in-game car is much bubblier than its LEGO counterpart, but it looks decent with a little assistance from detailing illustrated with stickers. Several elements have been recoloured in bright pink for this model, most notably, the versatile 1x1 d-snot. The mudguards are also new in tan.

The Cat Cruiser can also use the Piranha Plant Power-Up by removing the nose from the front of the vehicle.

Again, the power-up’s larger scale was necessary to accommodate the chomping mechanism; as a result, it looks massive compared to the Cat Cruiser.

Extra shells can be stored in the boot, or if you have the Piranha Plant power-up connected, you can stow away the Cat Cruiser's nose pieces for safekeeping. We always appreciate a good compartment for additional accessories!

Here’s how these two compare to the full range of new karts in the wave:

Some irregular colours of Technic elements were the most interesting takeaways from this small array of extra pieces.

Conclusion

Unique kart designs have been abundant in this wave, and hopefully LEGO doesn’t pump the brakes on providing a few more. The more eccentric-looking Steel Driver, Streetle, or Prancer karts would be my top picks to see next.

The Piranha Plant is comically large, but the chomping mechanism is an enjoyable feature, and so is the ability to swap the power-up between the karts. For some extra help in the race, the question mark block can be used by electronic Mario to obtain coins and items such as the infamous blue shell.

The price per piece is reasonable, and the Piranha Plant itself is successful, but for £45, the lack of a new character or glider left me feeling a little let down. A standout figure like Wario appearing in the same wave makes the characters in this set seem even more lacklustre. Birdo would have been another nice match for the pink vehicle, but despite being playable in Mario Kart, she might have been a bit too obscure for current young players.

5 comments on this article

By Wallace_Brick_Designs in United States, 28 Dec 2025 14:26

I will never understand why TLG doesn’t put stickers in something. Stickers are more important, in this case, than instruction, yet they get protection. It’s the same thing as a cloth element really. And while I’m ranting, windscreens, too. The inconsistencies there are pretty annoying. I had this happen with the V-19, and a few other sets, too.

By lost_scotsman in United Kingdom, 28 Dec 2025 15:10

@Wallace_Brick_Designs said:
"I will never understand why TLG doesn’t put stickers in something. Stickers are more important, in this case, than instruction, yet they get protection. It’s the same thing as a cloth element really. And while I’m ranting, windscreens, too. The inconsistencies there are pretty annoying. I had this happen with the V-19, and a few other sets, too."

Same I had this with my 76832 XL-15. Completely gutting for such a great Moc'ing part and given a ship like that will often be a display piece.

By lost_scotsman in United Kingdom, 28 Dec 2025 15:10

Kinda love that mini scale Piranha plant if I'm honest.

By Lyichir in United States, 28 Dec 2025 15:41

Nice review. I really liked this set as after the first wave these were two of my most-wanted karts. It helps that both Cat Peach and Tanooki Mario have been in sets before and can drive this (though a drawback of the stickered decorations in these sets is that they only have emblems for the included drivers).

As for the drivers themselves, they're sorta unexciting for longtime collectors, but Toadette is still a great character who hadn't appeared in three years so her inclusion here is appreciated.

By Crux in Netherlands, 28 Dec 2025 19:01

I think we can all be thankful that the Tanooki-car doesn't feature those ridiculous "truck-nuts". I mean, if THIS design isn't going to fall for that, no design ever will.

2025 has been the longest decade of all of our lives. We can all go into 2026 with that mildly soothing thought.