Grape (character)

Grape
First appearance	Princess Peach: Showtime! (2024)

“We have an announcement for everyone gathered here today. It is now time for... a performance of terrifying proportions. Featuring yours truly, Grape! And my crew, the Sour Bunch!”

—Grape, Princess Peach: Showtime!

Grape, also referred to as Madame Grape by her minions, is the main antagonist of Princess Peach: Showtime! She is an evil sorceress who, along with her gang of minions called the Sour Bunch, uses the power of Darkle to take over Sparkle Theater while Princess Peach is in attendance. Peach teams up with the theater's guardian Stella to put a stop to Grape's madness.

Grape's name, when combined with that of the Sour Bunch, plays off the phrase "sour grapes;" it also refers to her purple coloration and may also play into a fruit theme with Princess Peach's name. Additionally, the play on the phrase "sour grapes" references Ancient Greek theater's celebrations to honor Dionysus, the god of wine and theater.

History

Princess Peach: Showtime!

Grape makes her first appearance in the opening cutscene of Princess Peach: Showtime!, where she travels through a dark portal to suddenly appear in the first floor of Sparkle Theater just after Princess Peach and two Toad companions had arrived to attend some plays. After giving a brief introduction, she unleashes a powerful force that ejects several guests, including the Toads, from the theater, along with Peach's crown, and seals the doors to prevent anyone else from leaving. The Sparkle Theater quickly transforms as a result of Grape's influence, with the neon sign above the entrance changing from a Sparkle Gem to match her insignia, and posters advertising the different plays being replaced by ones featuring her and her minions.

She next appears in a cutscene just prior to Darkle Boss: Light Fang, where she interacts with Peach and Stella for the first time. During this encounter, Grape reveals that she has imprisoned the Sparklas, and expresses frustration towards the duo for interfering with her productions. She then orders Light Fang to attack them as a means of "reviewing their performance" before disappearing.

Grape makes another appearance prior to the fight in Darkle Boss: Spotlion, where she again expresses irritation towards Peach and Stella for their continued efforts to restore Sparkle Theater from her control. She admits to underestimating the pair and declares them her rivals, but insists that her plans continue regardless, before summoning Spotlion in an another effort to defeat Peach and Stella.

After Peach and Stella succeed in rescuing all of the Sparklas and Peach transforms into Radiant Peach, Grape appear once again and reveals her intention to create the ultimate tragedy by defeating her foil, Peach, who has received power from the hopes and expectations of the theatergoers. She is then fought in It's Showtime, Grape!, the final level of the game.

After seemingly being defeated by Radiant Peach, Grape's body disappears and she reverts to a mask. However, she quickly recovers and gains a new transformation known as Grape the Great, in which she grows to a massive size, destroying Sparkle Theater in the process, and threatening to destroy the entire island. After a final confrontation in which Peach gains a new form as Super Radiant Peach, she is ultimately defeated again and completely vanishes.

General information

Personality

Grape is a malicious entity with a single-minded focus on creating “the ultimate tragedy”, wishing to make everyone despair. To that end, she uses her powers to take over Sparkle Theater, employs the Sour Bunch to cause chaos in each of the plays, and imprisons the Sparkla in the basement. She seems very confident in her abilities, and holds little regard for Peach and Stella in their first encounter, finding their efforts to oppose her amusing and comparing them to rats.

Physical description

Grape is a tall, menacing figure, appearing roughly twice the height of Peach (though because she is constantly floating, it is difficult to directly compare). Her head, torso, arms, and lower body (entirely covered by the skirt of her dress) are completely disconnected. One of Grape’s most defining features is the gold masquerade mask that acts as a face, concealing green eyes and four plumes of curly, dark purple hair. She also wears a tall blue and purple top hat. White gloves float at her side to act as hands, featuring gold and green bands around her wrists, and purple gems on her palms and fingers. She wears a high collared dress with a cravat and a a large purple brooch shaped like a diamond. Her dress is mostly purple and blue, with green, black, and gold accents. Grape appears hollow underneath the skirt of her dress, seemingly featuring a swirling purple vortex beneath rather than legs.

Gallery

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  Close-up look of Grape

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  Grape emerging from a portal

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	グレープ Gurēpu	Grape
Chinese	桂葡 Guìpú	Derived from "grape" and「葡萄」(pútáo, "grape")
Dutch	Grape	-
French	Syrah	Named after the French grape variety
German	Grape	-
Italian	Uva Spina	Lit. "spiny grape", the Italian name for gooseberries
Korean	그레이프 Geuleipeu	Grape
Portuguese	Rubi	Reference to the Brazilian grape variety uva rubi ("ruby grape")
Russian	Грейп Gryeyp	Grape
Spanish	Grape	-

Madame Grape

Language	Name	Meaning
Dutch	Hare Zurigheid Grape	Her Sourness Grape
French	Dame Syrah	Lady Grape
German	Frau Grape	Ms. Grape
Italian	Somma Uva Spina	Supreme Grape
Portuguese	Manda-uva Rubi	Portmanteau of mandachuva ("big shot"/"big cheese") and uva rubi ("ruby grape")
Spanish (NOA)	Señoría Grape	Lordship Grape
Spanish (NOE)	Doña Grape	Mrs Grape

Grape the Great

Language	Name	Meaning
Dutch	Giga-Grape	Big/Giant-Grape
French	Méga Syrah	Mega Grape
German	Grape die Große	Grape the Great
Italian	Grande Uva Spina	Great/Big Grape
Portuguese	Mega Rubi	Mega Grape
Spanish	Giga Grape	Big Grape