The Wheel Thing

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Super Mario World episode
"The Wheel Thing"
Mario, having created a car for the cave-people of Dome City.
Production number 401
Airdate September 21, 1991 (English)
September 4, 1992 (French)
Writer(s) Eleanor Burian-Mohr
Jack Hanrahan
Featured song "Motor City"
Captain N episode "Pursuit Of The Magic Hoop"
<< List of episodes >>

"The Wheel Thing" is the second episode of the Super Mario World television series. The title for this episode may be a pun on the phrase "the real thing".

Plot[edit]

While relaxing in front of the Dome Castle, Mario and Luigi watch as the people of Dome City painstakingly move various rocks and boulders. Feeling sorry for the cave people, Luigi and Mario try to think of a way to help them; after some brainstorming, Mario comes up with an idea.

Inside the Dome Castle, Mario and Luigi are hard at work producing various wooden wheels, as Kooky von Koopa looks on. After getting an idea, Kooky runs off while Mario and Luigi begin to transport the wheels they constructed outside. Outside, Mario runs into two cave people, Ugga and Ooga. He then proceeds to hand some wheels over to the two. The two cave people, not understanding what to do with the wheels, wear them as hats, much to Mario's dismay.

While Mario tries to explain the concept of wheels to Ugga and Ooga, Luigi approaches the nearby, napping Yoshi, who proceeds to eat the wheel Luigi was carrying. After burning some holes into some wheels with a Fire Flower, Mario, using a wooden rod and stone slab, manages to make a stone skateboard.

Hopping on this skateboard, Luigi zooms around several amazed cave people. An overly-excited Yoshi ends up hopping on Luigi's back, wanting a ride. This added weight causes Luigi to crash, Yoshi to fall to the ground and the skateboard to be flung into the air; as the skateboard begins to fall to the ground, Yoshi happily gobbles it up, proclaiming "Ohhh, is good!"

A while later, Mario begins to show Princess Toadstool his recently constructed car factory. Utilizing things such as Fishbones and Piranha Plants, Mario, with the help of Yoshi and the cave people, has managed to construct several Goomba-powered cars; despite Mario continually stating that his cars are a good idea, Princess Toadstool is still somewhat worried.

Luigi in the episode The Wheel Thing.
Luigi flinching after a car accident.

After having created several dozen cars, Mario decides to take a nap, only to be awoken several minutes later by a run over Luigi. Luigi explains to Mario that the cave people have no idea how to drive and that the accidents are piling up, quite literally. Mario simply brushes-off Luigi's claims, saying that the cave people will "Catch on".

In the bowels of Neon Castle, Kooky von Koopa begins construction of what he calls his "most monstrous invention ever!". Kooky proceeds to begin welding with a Dino-Torch while laughing maniacally.

After some disastrous traffic management, a battered Luigi approaches Mario saying that the city is in a state of disarray. After a particularly bad accident, the angry people of Dome City, blaming Mario and Luigi for all the trouble that has been happening, banish the two to the Lava Pits.

Kooky revealing the Mega Mechanasaur to Koopa.

Outside the walls of Dome City, Kooky reveals his newest invention to King Koopa: the Mega Mechanasaur, a fire-breathing weapon of mass destruction. Boarding the Mega Mechanasaur, Kooky and Koopa proceed to rampage through Dome City, which is now defenseless without Mario and Luigi. A panicking Ooga proceeds to ask Princess Toadstool's help in getting Mario and Luigi back.

Meanwhile in the Lava Pits, Mario and Luigi are trying, quite unsuccessfully, to cook a pizza over a fire. As Luigi cooks the pizza, Mario gets a Morse-code message from Princess Toadstool, asking the Mario Bros. to come back and beat King Koopa and Kooky. As Mario and Luigi try and think of a way to get back to Dome City, a Blargg, attracted by the smell of the pizza, attacks the two. As Luigi runs from the Blargg, Mario, using a trampoline, manages to get a Cape Feather and transform into Cape Mario. In his new form, Mario grabs Luigi and flies up a nearby Warp Tube and back into Dome City.

Through the use of some "log speed-bumps", fireball-shooting stop-lights and a pot-hole-digging Yoshi, Mega Mechanasaur is destroyed and Kooky and Bowser are forced to flee.

A celebration is thrown by the cave people in Mario and Luigi's honor. As the two Mario Bros. are happily welcomed back to Dome City, the two decide to stave-off inventing things for the cave people for "a few thousand years".

Gallery[edit]

Quotes[edit]

  • "Behold our cave mobile assembly line, Princess! We're on a roll. The cave people are gonna have wheels before you can say Henry Ford!" - Mario
  • "Thank you, Marios. You've inspired me to create my most monstrous invention ever!" - Kooky von Koopa
  • "Wow, and I thought I was hungry all the time!" - Mario
  • "Your turn as traffic cop, mister fender-bender. If only Yoshi would stop nibbling on the stop signs! It's a nightmare out there! Yeesh!" - Luigi

Characters[edit]

Cast[edit]

Animation and continuity errors[edit]

  • In several scenes, the "L" on Luigi's cap is colored white on a black background.
  • When Kooky is climbing a tree, his tail is the same color as the rim of his shell.
  • When Kooky lifts the mask of his disguise, its tooth turns the same color as the rest of the mask.
  • Unlike in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Kooky's snout is the same color as his body.
  • In one scene when Mario and Luigi are making wheels, Luigi's mustache turns the same color as his skin.
  • After the cave people use the wheels as hats, Mario has an "L" on his cap.
  • When Luigi first shows Yoshi some wheels, the latter's arms are white.
  • When Mario grunts when he tosses the fireball from the Fire Flower Luigi gave him, he has King Koopa's voice.
  • When Mario says, "Gimme some of that prehistoric prod!", as he starts walking, the "M" on his cap disappears.
  • When Luigi and Yoshi start fighting over the stick, the symbol on Luigi's cap turns green.
  • When Mario says he thought he was always hungry, Yoshi's face is miscolored.
  • After Yoshi falls off Luigi, he speaks but his mouth does not move.
  • When the engine lands on the car, a cave person's foot overlaps on the car.
  • When a cave person drives out of the factory, he overlaps on a house.
  • When Princess Toadstool asks Mario, "It even has a horn?", her eyebrows are black instead of orange.
  • When showing the accident, a Goomba's lips are the same color as its body.
  • When Kooky says that he will use the Mega Mechanasaur to conquer the world, his mouth does not move.
  • When the Mega Mechanasaur starts breaking into Dome City, its shoulders are light-blue instead of dark-blue.
    • In the same scene, the cover underneath it disappears.
  • When King Koopa and Kooky step onto one of the Mega Mechanasaur's hands, it is miscolored.
  • When King Koopa and Kooky board the Mega Mechanasaur, the borders around the cockpit are colored blue instead of brown.
  • When King Koopa runs away from Kooky's machine, he says for it to let him go before he is grabbed.
  • When Kooky's machine throws King Koopa into the cockpit, the top is light-blue, but in later appearances, it is dark-blue.
  • When Ooga knocks on the door to Dome Castle, he knocks once but the knocking sound can be heard twice.
  • While Mario and Luigi are in the Lava Pits, the pizza Luigi is cooking switches direction between shots.
  • When Luigi asks Mario, "Does that mean what I 'tink' it means?", Mario's shirt is red, while his and Luigi's gloves match the color of their shirts.
  • When Luigi jumps in Mario's arms after the Blargg scares him, the circle in his hat is black instead of white.
  • When Princess Toadstool tells Mario to catch the Trampoline while he and Luigi are being chased by the Blargg, she can be seen to be smiling.
  • When Mario tries to hit the ? Blocks, there are five of them, but when Mario hits the Block containing a Cape Feather, there are six.
  • When Yoshi appears with a digging helmet, he has four spikes on his back instead of three.
  • In several scenes, Yoshi's eyes are smaller than normal.
  • In one scene, the lower jaw on the Mega Mechanasaur is colored blue like its body instead of yellow.
  • In some scenes, the tops of the levers of Kooky's machine change color.
  • When Kooky lands on King Koopa, the Mega Mechanasaur is moving, but the background makes it appear as if it is stationary.
  • After two of the cave people hammer in the crossing signals, one overlaps on a tree.
  • When the Koopa Troop runs away, the spikes on the orange dinosaur are the same color as its body instead of green.

Profiles[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
French La préhisto-mobile
The prehistoric mobile
German Das Ding auf Rädern
The Thing on Wheels
Hungarian Egy kerékkel több
One more wheel
Italian Cos'è la Ruota?
What's the Wheel?
Portuguese (NOA) A Roda
The Wheel
Romanian Chestia cu roți[1]
The thing with wheels
Spanish (NOA) La rueda
The wheel
Spanish (NOE) La rueda (re-dub)
The wheel (re-dub)

Trivia[edit]

  • After being absent from "Fire Sale", this is King Koopa's first appearance in the Super Mario World series.
  • This is the only Super Mario World episode where Kooky has a speaking role. This is also his final speaking role in the entire Super Mario animated series produced by DIC.

References[edit]

  1. ^ May 20, 2015. "The Wheel Thing", dubbed in Romanian by KidsCo. Odnoklassniki (OK.ru). Retrieved January 4, 2016.