I don't think Mario with body hair would sell games. I cannot imagine playing Super Mario Galaxy with a furball running around. All Mario needs is the mustache.
And it's obvious that those Message Blocks are actual living things. They blink and move their mouths, and if I'm not mistaken, they actually made noise (garbling at best) when hit in YI.
And oh yeah. If you actually remember who I am, I am back. The dude has returned.