Broque Monsieur: the block merchant of Mario & Luigi

CharacterMario & LuigiMerchant

A block collector who calls Bowser “Mister Turtle”. Broque Monsieur is the cube-shaped merchant of Mario & Luigi, the one who sells his wares to Bowser while smothering him in overfamiliarity. This profile digs into the accent that became his trademark, his dog Broggy, his collection of Blitty kittens and the love story he sacrificed to his passion.

In the Mario brothers' RPGs, shopkeepers are usually mere background extras. Broque Monsieur, by contrast, has established himself as a character in his own right — to the point of coming back from one installment to the next.

His signature fits into a single image: a block on legs who runs a shop and treats Bowser with a familiarity nobody else would dare.

Contents

• A merchant who serves a single customer
• Charlie Bloc or Monsieur duBloc: a matter of translation
• Broggy, the dog built out of cubes
• The Blitties, his collection of square kittens
• Broque Madame, the love sacrificed to blocks
• A running gag that spans the series
• Broque Monsieur at a glance
• FAQ

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A merchant who serves a single customer

Broque Monsieur first shows up in the installment where the player controls Bowser as much as the brothers. There he runs a shop where the king of the Koopas buys items and equipment.

The official Japanese site gives him a title that says it all: foremost block collector in the Mushroom Kingdom. He is not a shopkeeper who sells blocks, he is an enthusiast who agrees to part with them.

His relationship with his customer is the heart of the joke. He calls Bowser “ Mister Turtle ”; Bowser, in return, never calls him anything but “ blockhead ”.

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Charlie Bloc or Monsieur duBloc: a matter of translation

The character goes by two French names depending on the territory. In Europe, he is called Charlie Bloc; in North America, the Quebec version names him Monsieur duBloc.

This double identity is no accident: it comes from the fact that the character is, originally, a caricature of a Frenchman. In the English version, he speaks with a thick French accent and slips words of that language in at every turn.

Translating a fake Frenchman into French is a real puzzle. The European version has him speak a broken French, riddled with English turns of phrase and mismatched articles; the German version, for its part, drops the accent entirely and simply has him speak with excessive politeness.

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Broggy, the dog built out of cubes

Broque Monsieur does not live alone. He owns Broggy, a dog likewise made of blocks, as hulking as his master is talkative.

The animal is not just decoration: he takes part in the adventure and drives sequences where his sheer bulk becomes the player's tool.

The pair sets the tone for the character: everything about him is cubic, right down to his affections.

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The Blitties, his collection of square kittens

His passion does not stop at building blocks. Broque Monsieur collects Blitties, kittens carved into cubes as well, which you have to bring back to him over the course of the adventure.

It is a side quest that is classic in form — tracking down scattered items — but memorable in its premise: you bring cats back to a block that talks with an accent.

The reward lies less in the bonus than in the pleasure of watching him react, since every reunion sets off a flood of delighted comments.

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Broque Madame, the love sacrificed to blocks

The game grants him a romantic past, and it is sadder than it looks. Broque Monsieur was once in a relationship with Broque Madame, before the two of them split up.

The reason is given bluntly by the lady herself, whom you meet at her home: he left her for the blocks.

In a single line, a comic shopkeeper becomes a character with a sacrifice behind him — the kind of detail the series is happy to put in a bit player's mouth.

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A running gag that spans the series

Broque Monsieur was not confined to a single installment. He returns in the saga's later adventures, including the expanded re-release that follows Bowser Jr.'s misadventures.

His staying power comes from what he brings: a slapstick counterpoint in stories that sometimes turn dramatic. Faced with a Bowser in the middle of a meltdown, he goes right on praising his wares.

It is also a hallmark of the series. The brothers' RPGs were built on these talkative supporting characters, and Broque Monsieur remains the most instantly recognizable.

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Broque Monsieur at a glance

French name (Europe)	Charlie Bloc
French name (America)	Monsieur duBloc
Original name	Broque Monsieur
Species	Living block
Role	Merchant, sells mainly to Bowser
Official title	Foremost block collector in the Mushroom Kingdom
Pet	Broggy, a dog made of blocks
Collection	The Blitties, cube-shaped kittens
Former partner	Broque Madame, left for the blocks

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FAQ

• Who is Broque Monsieur in Mario & Luigi?
  He is a living block who runs a shop and sells items and equipment, mainly to Bowser. The official Japanese site introduces him as the foremost block collector in the Mushroom Kingdom.
• Why does he have two different French names?
  He is called Charlie Bloc in Europe and Monsieur duBloc in North America. Since the character is originally a caricature of a Frenchman, each French-speaking version had to come up with its own translation solution.
• How does he speak in the French version?
  In the European version, he speaks a deliberately broken French, with phrasing copied from English and mismatched articles. It is the transposition of the thick French accent he has in the English version.
• Who is Broggy?
  He is his dog, likewise made of blocks. He is not just decoration: his bulk serves the player in several sequences of the adventure.
• What are the Blitties?
  Cube-shaped kittens that Broque Monsieur collects and that you have to bring back to him over the course of the adventure. It is a side quest worth doing above all for his enthusiastic reactions to each reunion.

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