The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
General information
Format	Children's television series
Creators	Shigeru Miyamoto (characters) Andy Heyward (concept)
Director	Dan Riba
Writers	Brad Wilson Brooks Wachtel Bruce Shelly Cassandra Schafhausen David Bennett Carren David Ehrman David Schwartz David Tischman Eleanor Burian-Mohr George Atkins J. Larry Carroll Jack Hanrahan Jack Olesker John Vornholt Kevin O'Donnell Larry Alexander Mark McCorkle Martha Moran Michael A. Medlock Perry Martin Peter Norris Phil Harnage Reed Shelly Robert Schooley Rowby Goren Sean Roche Steve Robertson Ted Pedersen Tony Marino
Starring	Lou Albano Danny Wells
Voice actors	Lou Albano Danny Wells Harvey Atkin Jeannie Elias John Stocker
Opening theme	"The Mario Rap"
Closing theme	"Do the Mario"
Composers	Shuki Levy Haim Saban
Country of origin	United States of America
Original language	English
Translations	Bulgarian Danish Dutch Filipino Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Icelandic Indonesian Italian Korean Mandarin Chinese Taiwanese Mandarin Norwegian Polish Brazilian Portuguese European Portuguese Russian Latin American Spanish Castilian Spanish Swedish Thai Turkish
Ratings	TVPG: - Youth seven years and older MCC: - General BBFC: - Universal IFCO: - Guidance MR: - Everyone FSK: - Six years and older NMA: - All ages ACB: - General OFLC: - Universal
Number of seasons	1
Number of episodes	117 (65 live-action, 52 animated)
Production
Executive producers	Steve Binder Andy Heyward
Producers	John Grusd Troy Miller
Editors	Karen Rosenbloom Donald P. Zappala
Production companies	DIC Entertainment Saban Entertainment
Distributors	Viacom Enterprises Saban Entertainment (international) NCircle Entertainment (select DVD releases) WildBrain (current distributor) FilmRise
Runtime	20 minutes
Broadcast
Channel	First-run syndication
First aired	September 4, 1989 1990s 1990 February 1990 September 25, 1990 Februrary 23, 1991 June 1, 1991 1992 1993 1993 1993 1993 1994 1999 2004
Last aired	December 1, 1989 1990s December 18, 1990 December 20, 1990[?] 1992 1992 1992 1993 1993 1993 1993 1994 1999 2004
Status	Ended
Chronology
Successor	The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990)
Related programs	Club Mario King Koopa's Kool Kartoons Mario All Stars

“Hey, paesanos! It's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!”

—Mario

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, also simply known as Super Mario and Super Mario Brothers, is the first cartoon of DIC Entertainment's Super Mario trilogy, aired from September 4 to December 1 of 1989; it was the only one to be produced directly for syndication. The show features live-action segments in which Mario and Luigi (played by Lou Albano and Danny Wells, respectively), living in their basement workshop in Brooklyn, are often visited by various celebrity guest stars. It also features cartoons based on the first and second Super Mario Bros. games, where the Mario brothers team up with Princess Toadstool and Toad against King Koopa and his forces to save the many lands of the world. The Super Mario Bros. cartoons were shown on Mondays through Thursdays only; on Fridays, the show aired cartoons based on the animated The Legend of Zelda series. On May 4, 1990, the show was retooled and aired under the name Club Mario, combining the animated segments with new live-action segments depicting the antics of two Super Mario-loving slackers named Tommy Treehugger and Co-MC.

Overview

Each episode begins with a live-action segment starring Mario (portrayed by World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment Hall of Famer, the late "Captain" Lou Albano) and Luigi (the late Danny Wells) living in Brooklyn, where they are often visited by a celebrity guest star either playing themselves or another character at Mario Brothers Plumbing, a basement workshop which doubles as their home.

The live-action segment is followed by a cartoon based on the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 video games, where Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool (Peach), and Toad would battle against King Koopa (Bowser) throughout the many lands of the world, often in a book, movie, or historical parody. Mouser, Tryclyde, Fryguy, and a single, unnamed Koopa Troopa often work closely with King Koopa, serving as his henchmen. Getting into the spirit of these parodies, King Koopa usually takes on a varying alter ego. He has a different outfit for each one, and assumes a different alias to go along with the alter ego. For example, in "Rolling Down the River", King Koopa is "Captain Koopa", while in "The Provolone Ranger", he goes by "Billy the Koopa". In many episodes, King Koopa's minions often dress up in outfits as well, to go along with Koopa's themed costumes. In some episodes, King Koopa goes without an alter ego or a costume except for "Jungle Fever" and "Mario of the Apes". The only episode where King Koopa does not appear is "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em".

Wart, the main antagonist of the second game, does not appear in any of the episodes, yet most of his minions manage to appear as members of the Koopa Pack; King Koopa is also partially designed after him, featuring a mainly green color scheme with a crown on his head. Like most 1980s cartoons, King Koopa prolongs the series' run by escaping from his adversaries (which he does through the use of a Magical Potion), even though they can easily catch him. Also similar to most 1980s cartoons, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! has little continuity from episode to episode and ends with no obvious series finale.

The opening sequence of the show, where Mario and Luigi get pulled into a warp pipe that leads to the Mushroom Kingdom.

The basis of the storyline (introduced at the beginning of every animated episode) is that Mario and Luigi are working on a bathtub drain which unknowingly is a Warp Zone to the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario and Luigi literally go down the drain and end up in the Mushroom Kingdom, by sheer coincidence causing problems for King Koopa and rescuing Toad and Princess Toadstool. Now that they are rescued, the focus for the Mario Brothers is to return to Brooklyn, while stopping King Koopa's tyranny whenever they can. Lou Albano and Danny Wells also voice Mario and Luigi for the animated segment. It is never revealed whether their live-action sequences are a prequel to the animated series or they successfully return to Brooklyn and resume their duties in the plumbing business.

Following the cartoon is the third portion of the episode, which continues the story that the live-action segment set up in the beginning. Towards the end, the second part of the live-action segment is interrupted with scenes from that week's upcoming episode of The Legend of Zelda.

The Super Mario Bros. cartoon was shown on Mondays through Thursdays only. On Fridays, the show would air The Legend of Zelda cartoons based on the game of the same name. However, a Mario live-action segment would air with the Zelda episodes.

In another Super Mario-related television series, King Koopa's Kool Kartoons, framed portraits of Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! incarnations can be seen in various episodes.

Broadcast history

The show was originally meant to start September 11 and end December 7 instead of September 9 to November 30.

When the series was distributed and broadcasted internationally outside the United States, all The Legend of Zelda previews were removed. Some of these prints can be found on DVDs released by Maximum Entertainment from 2004 to 2008 in the UK. Most of the episodes in these prints (including foreign variations of the series) have the Saban International logo whereas some episodes have both the DIC and Saban logos.

After DIC's Super Mario cartoons ended, the show was aired in reruns on the Family Channel (currently known as Freeform). Like the international prints of the series, the Family Channel's reruns of the series removed The Legend of Zelda previews and the scenes that segued into them from the live-action segments, and unlike the international prints, these reruns slowed down the episodes to bring them back to their original length. They also changed the placement of the commercial breaks, placing them during scene dissolves in the animated segments. (For unknown reasons, the Family Channel version of "King Mario of Cramalot" and "Day of the Orphan" is the version used in subsequent DVD and digital releases.) Also, from that point onward, the song covers were removed, similar to season one of Captain N: The Game Master, and were replaced with instrumentals of seven songs from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and one song from Super Mario World. This was done for licensing reasons as the lyrics of the song covers are copyrighted. In the DVD and digital releases of the former episode mentioned, the 1987 DIC logo was replaced with the 1990 DIC logo.

In the UK, this series was featured as part of Jungle Fun on TV-am in 1991. Later, only the cartoon segments aired on GMTV in 1993. However, the series also aired as part of Parkin's In on the former channel during holidays..

In France, the series is aired via Pluto TV Kids Gaming on Pluto TV alongside Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

In Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, the United States, United Kingdom, and Thailand, the series is currently airing via the Super Mario Bros. FAST channel on LG Channels, The Roku Channel and Samsung TV Plus alongside The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.

Characters

Main protagonists

• 

  Mario

• 

  Luigi

• 

  Princess Toadstool

• 

  Toad

Main antagonists

• 

  King Koopa/his alter egos

• 

  Mouser

• 

  Tryclyde

• 

  Koopa Troopas

Cast

Main article: List of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! voice actors

Toad, Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool.

• Lou Albano — Mario
• Danny Wells — Luigi
• Jeannie Elias — Princess Toadstool
• John Stocker — Toad, Mouser, Koopa Troopa
• Harvey Atkin — King Koopa, Tryclyde

Episodes

Note: The episode listings on DVD releases, most digital/streaming services, and WildBrain's YouTube channels are in production order.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday (The Legend of Zelda)
September 4, 1989 Episode #1 - "The Bird! The Bird!" Live-action segment #1 - "Neatness Counts"	September 5, 1989 Episode #2 - "King Mario of Cramalot" Live-action segment #2 - "Day of the Orphan"	September 6, 1989 Episode #3 - "Butch Mario & The Luigi Kid" Live-action segment #3 - "All Steamed Up"	September 7, 1989 Episode #4 - "Mario's Magic Carpet" Live-action segment #4 - "Marianne & Luigeena"	September 8, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #1 - "The Ringer" Live-action segment #5 - "Slime Busters"
September 11, 1989 Episode #5 - "Rolling Down the River" Live-action segment #6 - "The Mario Monster Mash"	September 12, 1989 Episode #6 - "The Great Gladiator Gig" Live-action segment #7 - "Bonkers From Yonkers"	September 13, 1989 Episode #7 - "Mario and the Beanstalk" Live-action segment #8 - "Bats in the Basement"	September 14, 1989 Episode #8 - "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em" Live-action segment #9 - "Will the Real Elvis Please Shut Up!"	September 15, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #2 - "Cold Spells" Live-action segment #10 - "Magic's Magic"
September 18, 1989 Episode #9 - "The Great BMX Race" Live-action segment #11 - "Mama Mia Mario"	September 19, 1989 Episode #10 - "Stars in Their Eyes" Live-action segment #12 - "Alligator Dundee"	September 20, 1989 Episode #11 - "Jungle Fever" Live-action segment #13 - "Dance"	September 21, 1989 Episode #12 - "Brooklyn Bound" Live-action segment #14 - "Cher's Poochie"	September 22, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #3 - "The White Knight" Live-action segment #15 - "Wild Thing"
September 25, 1989 Episode #13 - "Toad Warriors" Live-action segment #16 - "E.C. The Extra Creepy"	September 26, 1989 Episode #14 - "The Fire of Hercufleas" Live-action segment #17 - "The Marios Fight Back"	September 27, 1989 Episode #15 - "Count Koopula" Live-action segment #18 - "Magician"	September 28, 1989 Episode #16 - "Pirates of Koopa" Live-action segment #19 - "Do You Believe In Magic?"	September 29, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #4 - "Kiss'n Tell" Live-action segment #20 - "Mommies Curse"
October 2, 1989 Episode #17 - "Two Plumbers and a Baby" Live-action segment #21 - "Lost Dog"	October 3, 1989 Episode #18 - "The Adventures of Sherlock Mario" Live-action segment #22 - "Plumbers of the Year"	October 4, 1989 Episode #19 - "Do You Princess Toadstool Take this Koopa...?" Live-action segment #23 - "Mario Hillbillies"	October 5, 1989 Episode #20 - "The Pied Koopa" Live-action segment #24 - "Super Plant"	October 6, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #5 - "Sing for the Unicorn" Live-action segment #25 - "Fred Van Winkle"
October 9, 1989 Episode #21 - "Koopenstein" Live-action segment #26 - "Baby Mario Love"	October 10, 1989 Episode #22 - "On Her Majesty's Sewer Service" Live-action segment #27 - "9001: A Mario Odyssey"	October 11, 1989 Episode #23 - "Mario and Joliet" Live-action segment #64 - "Captain Lou Is Missing"	October 12, 1989 Episode #24 - "Too Hot to Handle" Live-action segment #29 - "Time Out Luigi"	October 13, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #6 - "That Sinking Feeling" Live-action segment #30 - "Tutti Frutti, oh Mario"
October 16, 1989 Episode #25 - "Hooded Robin and His Mario Men" Live-action segment #31 - "Flower Power"	October 17, 1989 Episode #26 - "20,000 Koopas Under the Sea" Live-action segment #32 - "Vampire Until Ready"	October 18, 1989 Episode #27 - "Mighty McMario and the Pot of Gold" Live-action segment #33 - "Heart Throb"	October 19, 1989 Episode #28 - "Mario Meets Koop-zilla" Live-action segment #34 - "Fortune Teller"	October 20, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #7 - "Doppelganger" Live-action segment #35 - "The Magic Love"
October 23, 1989 Episode #29 - "Koopa Klaus" Live-action segment #36 - "Little Marios"	October 24, 1989 Episode #30 - "Mario and the Red Baron Koopa" Live-action segment #37 - "Gorilla My Dreams"	October 25, 1989 Episode #31 - "The Unzappables" Live-action segment #38 - "George Washington Slept Here"	October 26, 1989 Episode #32 - "Bad Rap" Live-action segment #39 - "Caught in a Draft"	October 27, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #8 - "Underworld Connections" Live-action segment #40 - "Defective Gadgetry"
October 30, 1989 Episode #33 - "The Mark of Zero" Live-action segment #41 - "Toupee"	October 31, 1989 Episode #34 - "The Ten Koopmandments" Live-action segment #42 - "The Artist"	November 1, 1989 Episode #35 - "The Koopas are Coming! The Koopas are Coming!" Live-action segment #43 - "Zenned Out Mario"	November 2, 1989 Episode #36 - "The Trojan Koopa" Live-action segment #44 - "Texas Tea"	November 3, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #9 - "Stinging a Stinger" Live-action segment #45 - "The Great Hereafter"
November 6, 1989 Episode #37 - "Quest for Pizza" Live-action segment #46 - "The Painting"	November 7, 1989 Episode #38 - "The Great Gold Coin Rush" Live-action segment #47 - "Game Show Host"	November 8, 1989 Episode #39 - "Elvin Lives" Live-action segment #48 - "Home Radio"	November 9, 1989 Episode #40 - "Plummers Academy" Live-action segment #49 - "Glasnuts"	November 10, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #10 - "Hitch in the Works" Live-action segment #50 - "Treasure of the Sierra Brooklyn"
November 13, 1989 Episode #41 - "Karate Koopa" Live-action segment #51 - "Adee Don't"	November 14, 1989 Episode #42 - "Mario of the Apes" Live-action segment #52 - "Chippie Chipmunks"	November 15, 1989 Episode #43 - "Princess, I Shrunk the Mario Brothers" Live-action segment #53 - "A Basement Divided"	November 16, 1989 Episode #44 - "Little Red Riding Princess" Live-action segment #54 - "No Way to Treat a Queenie"	November 17, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #11 - "Fairies in the Spring" Live-action segment #55 - "Pizza Crush"
November 20, 1989 Episode #45 - "The Provolone Ranger" Live-action segment #56 - "Goodbye Mr. Fish"	November 21, 1989 Episode #46 - "Escape from Koopatraz" Live-action segment #57 - "French"	November 22, 1989 Episode #47 - "Mario of the Deep" Live-action segment #58 - "Two Bums From Brooklyn"	November 23, 1989 Episode #48 - "Flatbush Koopa" Live-action segment #59 - "Opera"	November 24, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #12 - "The Missing Link" Live-action segment #60 - "Tutti Frutti Mario"
November 27, 1989 Episode #49 - "Raiders of the Lost Mushroom" Live-action segment #61 - "Cyrano de Mario"	November 28, 1989 Episode #50 - "Crocodile Mario" Live-action segment #62 - "Rowdy Roddy's Rotten Pipes"	November 29, 1989 Episode #51 - "Star Koopa" Live-action segment #63 - "Santa Claus is Coming to Flatbush"	November 30, 1989 Episode #52 - "Robo Koopa" Live-action segment #64 - "Captain Lou Is Missing"	December 1, 1989 The Legend of Zelda episode #13 - "The Moblins are Revolting" Live-action segment #65 - "Defective Gadgetry

Songs

Main article: List of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! songs

The first forty-one episodes also included covers of popular songs at the time, though all of the songs were later edited out due to copyright issues (except for the first part of Jungle Love from Jungle Fever, most likely because DIC forgot to edit it out).

Episode	Song	Musician
"The Bird! The Bird!"	"Surfin' Bird"	The Trashmen
"King Mario of Cramalot"	"Bad"	Michael Jackson
"Butch Mario & The Luigi Kid"	"Rawhide"	Frankie Laine
"Mario's Magic Carpet"	"Magic Carpet Ride"	Steppenwolf
"Rolling Down the River"	"Proud Mary"	Creedence Clearwater Revival
"The Great Gladiator Gig"	"Shaddap You Face"	Joe Dolce
"Mario and the Beanstalk"	"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"	Marvin Gaye
"Love 'Em and Leave 'Em"	"The Power of Love"	Huey Lewis and the News
"The Great BMX Race"	"Shut Down"	The Beach Boys
"Stars in Their Eyes"	"Chains"	The Cookies
"Jungle Fever"	"Jungle Love"	The Time
"Brooklyn Bound"	"Danger Zone"	Kenny Loggins
"Toad Warriors"	"Born to Be Wild"	Steppenwolf
"The Fire of Hercufleas"	"Great Balls of Fire"	Jerry Lee Lewis
"Count Koopula"	"Thriller"	Michael Jackson
"Pirates of Koopa"	"Limbo Rock"	Chubby Checker
"Two Plumbers and a Baby"	"Baby Sittin' Boogie"	Buzz Clifford
"The Adventures of Sherlock Mario"	"Peter Gunn"	Henry Mancini
"Do You Princess Toadstool Take this Koopa...?"	"White Wedding"	Billy Idol
"The Pied Koopa"	"Hit the Road Jack"	Ray Charles
"Koopenstein"	"Weird Science"	Oingo Boingo
"On Her Majesty's Sewer Service"	"Secret Agent Man"	Johnny Rivers
"Mario and Joliet"	"That's Amore"	Dean Martin
"Too Hot to Handle"	"Hot Hot Hot"	Arrow
"Hooded Robin and His Mario Men"	"Rockin' Robin"	Bobby Day
"20,000 Koopas Under the Sea"	"Splish Splash"	Bobby Darin
"Mighty McMario and the Pot of Gold"	"Do You Believe in Magic"	The Lovin' Spoonful
"Mario Meets Koop-zilla"	"The Jolly Green Giant"	The Kingsmen
"Koopa Klaus"	"Jingle Bell Rock"	Bobby Helms
"Mario and the Red Baron Koopa"	"Danger Zone"	Kenny Loggins
"The Unzappables"	"Beat It"	Michael Jackson
"Bad Rap"	"I Got You (I Feel Good)" "Make It Funky"	James Brown
"The Mark of Zero"	"La Bamba"	Ritchie Valens
"The Ten Koopmandments"	"Walk Like an Egyptian"	The Bangles
"The Koopas are Coming! The Koopas are Coming!"	"He's a Rebel"	The Crystals
"The Trojan Koopa"	"I Hear You Knocking"	Smiley Lewis
"Quest for Pizza"	"Alley Oop"	The Hollywood Argyles
"The Great Gold Coin Rush"	"Money (That's What I Want)"	Barrett Strong
"Elvin Lives"	"Rock Around the Clock"	Bill Haley & His Comets
"Plummers Academy"	"Workin' for a Livin'"	Huey Lewis and the News
"Karate Koopa"	"Kung Fu Fighting"	Carl Douglas

Releases

The iTunes Store artwork for the series.

Physical home video

Main article: List of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! home media releases

From 1989 to 1991, Kid Klassics released NTSC VHS tapes of the show. These tapes contained two, one, or no live-action segments, and featured the cartoon segments with their original song covers intact. On these tapes, the Super Mario Bros. theme is not included before the cartoon segment.

Digital retail

The complete series is available to purchase on Google Play and the iTunes Store in the United Kingdom. In the US and Canada, only the first 26 episodes presented in production order are available.

Streaming

The show was made available to watch from Yahooligans! TV starting in March 2004, with a new episode usually uploaded every week. It was taken down along with all DIC Entertainment cartoons on December 24, 2005.

Starting from November 3, 2009, it can be watched at Jaroo.com, a video-streaming website owned by Cookie Jar Group. The website routinely cycled through all fifty-two of the show's episodes, hosting five at any given time. Each Tuesday, the next episode in line would be added, with the oldest being dropped. In 2012, WildBrain (formerly DHX Media) purchased Cookie Jar and Jaroo was taken down.

The complete series with the live-action segments can be watched via Amazon Prime Video, Fawesome (US only), FilmRise (US only), HappyKids (US only), The Roku Channel (US only), Tubi (US only), Vudu (US only), and WildBrain's Superheroes and Retro Cartoons YouTube channels. WildBrain also created a separate channel exclusively for all Super Mario cartoons, which includes this series. However, some regions only have the first 26 episodes presented in production order available on services such as Pluto TV in the UK.

The series has played on Super Mario Bros., a linear streaming network available through LG Channels in the United Kingdom, The Roku Channel in the United States and Samsung TV Plus in Australia and New Zealand; and Go Go Gadget!, a linear streaming network available through Pluto TV in the United States.

Production

“The bible was written by Bruce and Reed Shelly. Reading it, you could tell that they were still struggling to get a handle on the show. I mean, the core problem was obvious: There are no real characters or stories in a Nintendo game, so how do you turn one into a TV series? [...] There was little indication about the kinds of adventures our heroes would have, and a lot of unanswered questions about how we would incorporate elements of the game. I had no clue how to solve those problem and didn’t see how that show was going to work at all! But DIC had an order for 52 episodes and deadlines were looming. We had to make some decisions fast or fall behind schedule, which would be a disaster. So at the beginning there was a lot of urgency to solve those problems and get on with it.”

—Perry Martin

Strong from its multiple animated shows based on pre-existing properties, DIC Entertainment approached Nintendo with an offer to make a cartoon based on the Super Mario franchise. Nintendo initially declined, but later signed a deal after DIC put together a creative team they liked. Nintendo required DIC to pay extensive royalties, an unusual arrangement for children's programming at the time.

Preview image from Nintendo Power issue 7 featuring King Koopa resembling his Super Mario Bros. sprite design, while Mushroom Retainers resemble normal mushrooms

A different early poster of concept artwork featuring a vastly different interpretation than the final product

A few pieces of conceptual artwork have surfaced from early design phases of the show. Some of them were somewhat more accurate to the games, notably in King Koopa's design, while others were far more loosely based on official designs. One such piece is a poster featuring a much different depiction of Mario and Luigi (the latter of which is using his in-game clothing colors for Super Mario Bros.) who are brandishing a plunger and a monkey wrench as weapons, a yellow-capped Toad, two large, grotesque Trouters, a flying green Birdo being ridden by a Snifit holding two Beezo spears, a large purple frog monster with a necklace (possibly Wart) with a Hammer Brother in tow, a flying yellow Pidgit, two Hoopsters with distinct heads (one of which has a worried expression), a blue Tryclyde, a pelican-like Albatoss holding a muscular red Bob-Omb by the fuse, a giant red multi-eyed octopus with blue arms (possibly a complete reinterpretation of Bloober), two tube worm-like creatures with sharp teeth and long tongues (possibly Piranha Plants), and some goggle-wearing, long-tongued aliens atop spacecrafts with vaguely face-like fronts (possibly intended to be Lakitus). King Koopa appears in the background and mostly looks as he does in the finished product but with more exaggerated proportions, while Princess Toadstool, the Shyguy, the Snifit, and the Beezo are fairly accurate to their artwork. The poster also shows a helmet-wearing skull mounted to a "Go Back!" sign, a Sphinx, a sea serpent, and some prehistoric reptiles. This loose, heavily abstracted depiction of game elements closely resembles that of their later show Captain N: The Game Master.

According to Danny Wells, he and co-star Lou Albano recorded the show on a six-day schedule, where they would first film the live-action segments and then drive to another studio in order to record voices for the animated segments.

In a 2018 interview, freelance writer Perry Martin explained that the show's focus on parodies came from Andy Heyward, as the production team had struggled to make much material from the thin story present in the games. Writers would first submit a one-page premise of the story to the show's editors Bruce and Reed Shelly, then spend two days on a four-page outline and finally a week to create the final script.

There was initially an episode titled "Ali Koopa and His Forty Goombas" and a cover song in every episode including "Gimme Shelter", "Love Potion Number Nine", and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". Additionally, every episode without a cover song contains a unique piece of music suggesting that DIC replaced the last copyrighted songs with original ones.

In an interview about DIC's history in adapting video games to television, DIC executive Robby London stated that video games such as Super Mario Bros. were DIC's favorite type of media to adapt because "[...] the videogames themselves were colorful, imaginative, hip and more than a little bizarre – in the best sense" and that their sparse lores and simple characters allowed more creativity than when adapting material from other media. London also spoke positively of Nintendo's involvement in the show, stating "[...] Nintendo was reasonable, professional and good to deal with. Their America office seemed quite capable of speaking definitively on behalf of their Japanese owners, and I don’t remember any problematic disputes with Nintendo [...]" and contrasting it with DIC's more turbulent partnership with Sega for its three Sonic series.

The series was a rating success and was widely syndicated. Also, according to Wells, the guest stars actively asked to be part of the live-action segments due to the popularity of Super Mario Bros. with their children. However, despite its success, Nintendo had little interest in continuing the show beyond the initial package, leading to its cancellation.

Staff

Main article: List of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! staff

The Super Show was executive produced by Andy Heyward, directed by Dan Riba and produced by John Grusd, who also produced and directed the two subsequent Super Mario cartoons by DIC. Animation was provided by Sei Young Animation Co., Ltd. The live-action sequences were co-produced with Saban Productions.

Differences from the games

• Several characters have very different appearances from what became their standard character models in later years, mostly owing to being based on sprites and/or character artwork from Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2.
  • King Koopa's appearance was loosely based on his sprite from Super Mario Bros. His main skin color is green instead of orange-yellow; his ribbed stomach is deeper yellow than its game color; he has a crocodilian snout that matches the rest of his skin in coloration; he has two spike-bands instead of five (worn on his wrists only), which are dark green with gold spikes, instead of black with white spikes; his shell has a bright green lining and fewer spikes than in the games; his horn- and spike-rings are green like his skin; he has a crown instead of a mane, and no eyebrows; his tongue is reptilian instead of human-like; and his eyes are yellow instead of white and lack their red irises. In various pieces of concept art for the show, King Koopa retains his original color palette.
  • Princess Toadstool's model portrays her as a redhead instead of a blonde, resembling her sprites from the first two Super Mario Bros. games. She also lacks her gloves and crown jewels, and her brooch, earrings, and eye color are green rather than blue (though some episodes do depict her earrings and irises as blue later on within animation).
  • Mario and Luigi have overalls matching their cap colors, with blue shirts, and also have black hair instead of brown, along the lines of their early appearances in sprites and artwork. However, in later DIC cartoons, Mario's hair color is changed to brown, as seen in his current design, while Luigi's hair stays black.
  • Toad's appearance is based on his sprite from Super Mario Bros., with the waistcoat being red instead of blue. In the first three episodes, all instances of white and red in his appearance are inverted, but this is fixed from the fourth episode onwards, although his shoes are recolored purple instead of the red from the original sprite, which is always seen in the opening in every episode. However, Toad's original inverted color scheme is reused for his super form in the episode "The Fire of Hercufleas" and on VHS and DVD covers.
• In addition to not having his more fantastical design from the games, King Koopa does not have the ability to shoot fire; he instead uses his magic wands or minions for long-range attacks.
• In several episodes, Birdos are shown to be able to fly, a trait not seen in any Super Mario game.
• Rather than becoming Fire Mario, unlike in the games, Mario (or Luigi) become "Super Mario" or "Super Luigi" upon touching either a Fire Flower, Starman, or some other source of excessive power. As Super Mario, Mario can hurl fireballs, has super-strength, and on a few rare occasions, can even fly. Although Mario can lose his powers by taking a hit (similar to the 2D Super Mario side-scrollers), it is also possible for them to wear off after a while.
• Mario's super form is based on his fire form sprites from Super Mario Bros.; Luigi's variant of this form replaces the red with his defining color, green. This resembles what would be their standard fire form color schemes from Super Mario World onwards, but with their shirt and overall colors swapped.
• During Mario's transformation into a "Super Mario", Mario's color scheme from the Japanese cover of Mario Bros. is seen.
• During Luigi's transformation into a "Super Luigi", he is shown in one frame with a green shirt and blue overalls, as it would later become his current color scheme in the franchise, starting with Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Although Mario's eyes are the established blue, Luigi's are green instead. However, their game color is used on the cover of the Volume 1 DVD set.
• Trouters are portrayed as being far more vicious than they are in Super Mario Bros. 2, and pursue anybody who comes near them. Their appearance more closely resembles that of Cheep-Cheeps, and they may be only a merger of the two enemies.

Differences from the other series

• The voices of Mario and Luigi in this show most resemble their voices heard today, whereas their voices in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World shows (voiced by Walker Boone and Tony Rosato, respectively) were lower and raspier for Mario, and higher and softer for Luigi, instead of Mario having a higher voice and Luigi having a lower voice like Charles Martinet does for the two's voices, and he made neither of them any raspier than Mario and Luigi's voice actors in this show.
• This is the only English DIC show where there is a live-action section.
• There is the Plumber's Log, whose number quote in every episode is a reference to the Captain's Log quote from Star Trek.

Quotes

Main article: List of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! quotes

Promotion

• Super Mario Bros.: Favorite Mushroom Party Hits!!!: In 1989, Rhino Records released a cassette titled Super Mario Bros.: Favorite Mushroom Party Hits!!!, a compilation album tying in with The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! The album consists of popular songs from the 1950s and 1960s, each song preceded by an introduction by Mario.
• In 1991, the German book Zur Fernseh-Serie Super Mario Bros. - Spiele und Geschichten was published for the show. The book contains a prequel to the show, "Im Pilzewunderland," a retelling of the episode "The Bird! The Bird!," "Die trottelige Drachenmutter," and two original stories based on the show, "Die Mario Bros. im Zirkus" and "Der überlistete Häuptling." The book also contains coloring pages and activities based on the show. The books Super Mario Bros. - Wundersame Abenteuer and Super Mario Bros. - Wunderlandreisen also feature cover art featuring Mario, his friends, and the Giant Birdo with their designs from the show, but are actually German translations of the Super Mario Bros. coloring and activity books Super Mario Bros.: A Giant Color/Activity Book and Super Mario Bros.: A Big Activity Book, respectively.
• The Super Mario Bros. Video-Comic-Magazin, published from 1991-1993 by Condor-Verlagsgruppe, alludes to the show by featuring a caption saying that it is an extension of Super Mario Bros. and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

References in later media

• King Koopa's design appears in several other non-game media, including Mario Ice Capades, the Nintendo Comics System, the Nintendo Adventure Books, Super Mario Bros. Print World, and Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up. Additionally, his color scheme may have inspired his mostly green alternate costume for Bowser in Mario Golf and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U. King Koopa also appears as a separate character in a couple volumes of Kodansha's Super Mario manga.
  • In Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World 3, after Mario, Princess Peach, and Yoshi criticize Kootie Pie's appearance, she calls for King Koopa. King Koopa arrives to protect her daughter, but the protagonists also criticize his appearance and throw rocks at both of them, making the back away and fall into the lava. King Koopa makes a final appearance at the end of the manga, where he appears alongside Mario, who is drawn similarly to how he appears in the Super Mario Bros. comics by Valiant Comics and various pieces of American merchandise.
  • In Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World 7, King Koopa's design is used for the Koopa Daimyōjin.
• Mario Brothers Plumbing appears in several other non-game media, such as the Nintendo Comics System, the Nintendo Adventure Books, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Additionally, what appears to be Mario Brothers Plumbing appears in the Super Mario Maker course Did Somebody Call a Plumber?
• Mario being from Flatbush is carried over into the Nintendo Comics System's Game Boy comic strip, as he mentions that he managed to travel from Flatbush to Fifth Street without any problems in Pipes is Pipes. Additionally, in the Super Mario Bros. comic "Beauty and the Beach", Mario owns a yacht named The Spirit of Flatbush, referencing his hometown in the show.
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie: A cover by Ali Dee of The Mario Rap under the name "Mario Brothers Rap" is used in the Super Mario Bros. Plumbing commercial, with the full song featured on the film's official soundtrack. Additionally, two of the film's posters feature lyrics from the first verse of the song.

References to third-party media

Main article: List of references in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

Due to its heavy focus on parodies, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! contains numerous references to works and elements of the media and other assets of popular culture.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

• 

  Mario

• 

  Princess Toadstool

• 

  Toad

• 

  King Koopa

• 

  Title screen of "The Bird! The Bird!"

• 

  Live-action Mario and Luigi in "Plumbers of the Year"

Profiles

• The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Tempest Special Edition:
  • "The zany Italian plumbers are back with an extra escapade free!"
  • "Mario and Luigi are two wacky Italian plumbers who get washed through a warp zone into a magical land populated entirely by Mushroom people. Here they join forces with the lovely Princess Toadstool and her assistant to fight the dastardly King Koopa and his Koopa Troopas"
• The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Volume One:
  • "You're in for a treat, so hang on to your seat
    Get ready for adventure and remarkable feats
    You'll meet Koopas, the Troopas, the Princess and the others
    Hangin with the plumbers, you'll be hooked on the brothers!"
• The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Volume Two/The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Mega Disc:
  • "Mario and Luigi are two wacky Italian plumbers who got washed through a warp zone while fixing a clogged drain. They find themselves in the colourful video world of the Mushroom Kingdom where they stumble from one adventure to another helping the perky Princess"
• Robokoopa:
  • "Hey paisanos!
    It's the Super Mario Brothers Super Show!
    We're the Mario Brothers, and Plumbing's our game
    We're not like the others who get all the fame
    If your sink is in trouble, you can call us on the double
    We're faster than the others, you'll be hooked on the Brothers"
• Netflix:
  • "Mixing live action and animation, this classic series brought the beloved Super Mario Bros. video game characters to television screens everywhere."
  • "Beloved Brooklyn plumbers Mario and Luigi burst out of the video-game world and onto TV screens in this blend of animation and live-action."
• Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, WildBrain's YouTube channels, and Pluto TV:
  • "The Super Mario Brothers Super Show is a zany animated fantasy adventure comedy based on Nintendo's most popular videogame. Staring the world-famous Mario and Luigi, two plumbers from Brooklyn who suddenly find themselves washed through a Warp Zone."
• The Roku Channel:
  • "After being sucked into a drain pipe, Mario and Luigi defend the Mushroom Kingdom from King Koopa."

Translations

This section is about a work that used to be available to the public, but is now partially or entirely inaccessible. Details: Many translations are either partially or entirely lost; see Lost translations section.
Our documentation of the subject is inadequate. Only remove this notice if the complete work is recovered and made available publicly.

Mario and Luigi in the Korean live-action segments of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

The show received 23 translations, including Danish, Dutch, Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese Mandarin, Norwegian, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Latin American Spanish, Castilian Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish, along with Bulgarian, Polish, and Russian voiceovers, with several differences between them.

• While most translations dub both the live-action and animated segments, the Dutch, Finnish, Hebrew, Icelandic, Korean, and Norwegian dubs do not dub the live-action segments, instead being subtitled. The Turkish dub removes the live-action segments entirely.
• The French, German, Italian, and Russian dubs are the only ones to completely dub the "Mario Rap," whereas the Icelandic, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish dubs use the English version and dub only the animated Mario head introducing the show. The remaining translations leave the "Mario Rap" completely intact.
  • On a related note, the German and Italian versions use dubs of "Do the Mario" for the closing credits.
• The original translations in Spain and Italy use an entirely different extended theme song: "Super Mario."
• The Korean version uses a slightly modified lyrical version of the original Super Mario theme music and replaces the live-action skits with different ones starring domestic actors. These skits feature original plots, sets, and costume designs, rather than simply remaking the Albano/Wells skits; among other changes, Mario and Luigi's mustaches are stereotypical handlebar mustaches (as opposed to Albano and Wells' natural facial hair), the set design is significantly more sterile, and the brothers' outfits more closely resemble those of their game counterparts.
• The Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Norwegian, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Swedish dubs cut the Zelda previews.
  • The Italian and Brazilian Portuguese dubs also cut the Friday live-action skits and the Zelda episodes. Later, these animated episodes were broadcasted in their own series: Un regno incantato per Zelda (An enchanted kingdom for Zelda) in Italian and simply Zelda in Brazilian Portuguese.
• In the Chinese, Danish, Finnish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Latin American Spanish dubs, a narrator reads the episode title's translation as it appears, usually starting with "today we present" followed by the episode name (this was a common practice for cartoon dubs).
  • In the Dutch, French, Hebrew, Icelandic, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, and Russian dubs, the title is visually translated instead.
• In the French dub, the Plumber's Log is not used, leaving the intro without any dialogue in some instances. The Plumber's Log is also not used in the first four episodes of the Norwegian and Swedish VHS dubs, with "Rolling Down the River" being the first episode to use it. It is additionally not used in the first episode of the German dub, with "King Mario of Cramalot" being the first episode to use it. However, in both of these cases, Mario still gives a narration at the beginning of the episode.

Lost translations

Despite the show's success and wide syndication, many translations of the show have become partially or entirely lost. Information on missing translations is as follows:

• Bulgarian: Only the majority of the episode "Koopa Klaus" and the first half of its accompanying live-action segment "Little Marios" have been found. The final thirty seconds of the episode is lost.
• Danish: Only the first seven episodes of the dub have been uploaded online. However, home media releases also include episodes 8–12, as well as "Pirates of Koopa" and "Two Plumbers and a Baby."
• Filipino: The entirety of the Filipino dub is lost, with the only proof of its existence being a Reddit post.
• French: Most French dubs of the live-action segments are lost, with only four having been recovered to date: "Neatness Counts," "All Steamed Up," "The Mario Monster Mash," and "Bonkers From Yonkers."
• Greek: Only "The Great BMX Race" and "Pirates of Koopa" have been found.
• Hebrew: Only a small clip of the Channel 6 version of the dub has been found.
• Icelandic: Only the first six episodes of the dub have been found.
• Indonesian: Only four episodes of the dub have been found: "Do You Princess Toadstool Take this Koopa...?," "Mighty McMario and the Pot of Gold," "Mario and the Red Baron Koopa," and "The Mark of Zero." "On Her Majesty's Sewer Service" and "Bad Rap" had also found, but were lost again when the YouTube channel hosting these two episodes was taken down.
• Italian: Almost half of the episodes of this dub are lost. Of the 28 found, only 12 have their accompanying live-action segments also found. The episodes "The Pied Koopa," "The Unzappables," "The Trojan Koopa," and "Karate Koopa" only have the audio of the dub found, with the visuals using the original version of the episode, resulting in their title cards being lost. The episodes "The Provolone Ranger" and "Plummers Academy" are missing a large portion of the episode, with three to four minutes missing from the episode respectively. The episodes "Raiders of the Lost Mushroom," "Little Red Riding Princess," and "Crocodile Mario" are also missing portions of the episode, but not as much as the aforementioned two episodes, with the former missing the first fifty seconds of the episode and the latter two missing the last thirty seconds of the episode.
• Korean: Only the episodes "Stars in Their Eyes," and "Pirates of Koopa," with three live-action segments corresponding to unknown episodes also being found. However, eight VHSes of the dub are known to exist, which contain "The Bird! The Bird!," "Butch Mario & The Luigi Kid," "Mario and the Beanstalk," and "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em."
• Mandarin Chinese: The episodes "King Mario of Cramalot," "The Unzappables," "Little Red Riding Princess," "Escape from Koopatraz," and "Flatbush Koopa" are lost.
• Taiwanese Mandarin: Only the episodes "The Unzappables," "The Trojan Koopa," "Quest for Pizza," "Karate Koopa," "Raiders of the Lost Mushroom," and "Star Koopa" have been uploaded online. However, ten VHSes of the dub are known to exist, which contain at least nine more episodes that have yet to have surfaced on the Internet.
• Norwegian: Only the first twelve episodes of the Fox Kids dub have been found.
• Polish: Only the Top Kids voiceovers of "Rolling Down the River," "Mario and the Beanstalk," and "The Great BMX Race" have been found. The Polsat voiceover is completely lost.
• Brazilian Portuguese: 45 of the 52 episodes of this dub have been found, making it one of the more complete dubs of the lost dubs based on episode count. However, the completeness of the actual episodes varies, from being entirely complete to being mostly lost with only the first half of the episode's live-action segment being recovered. The episodes in this dub that are completely lost include "Koopenstein," "Mario and the Red Baron Koopa," "The Koopas are Coming! The Koopas are Coming!," "Little Red Riding Princess," "Escape from Koopatraz," "Crocodile Mario," and "Star Koopa."
• European Portuguese: The entirety of the European Portuguese sub is lost, with the only proof of its existence being blog mentions.
• Russian: Only the dubs of the first eight episodes and "Mario Meets Koop-zilla" have been found.
• Castilian Spanish: Only the dub's theme song has been found.
• Thai: 2 hours and 58 seconds of the dub has been found. However, the video containing the dub is inaccessible outside of Thailand.
• Turkish: Outside of a bootleg VCD, the entirety of the Turkish dub is lost, with the only proof of its existence being an entry on a blog.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Bulgarian	Шоуто на Братя Марио Šouto na Bratja Mario	The Mario Bros. Show
Chinese (traditional)	超級瑪利兄弟超級秀 Chāojí Mǎlì Xiōngdì Chāojí Xiù	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show
	超級瑪利 Chāojí Mǎlì	Super Mario	VHS
Dutch	De Mario Bros. Show	The Mario Bros. Show
Finnish	Supermarion supershow	Super Mario's super show
French	Super Mario Bros.	-
German	Die Super Mario Brothers Super Show	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show
Greek	Σούπερ Μάριο Soúper Mário	Super Mario
Hebrew	האחים סופר מריו HaAchim Super Mario	Super Mario Bros.
Icelandic	Súper Marió bræður	Super Mario brothers
Italian	Super Mario	-	First airings
	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!		Subsequent airings and home-video releases
Korean	슈퍼 마리오 Syupeo Mario	Super Mario
Norwegian	Super Mario Bros. Super Show	-
Polish	Przygody Braci Mario	The adventures of the Mario Brothers
Portuguese (NOA)	O Super Show dos Irmãos Mario	The Super Show of the Mario Brothers
	O Super Espetáculo dos Irmãos Mario		Prior to "The Great BMX Race"
Portuguese (NOE)	Super Mário Bros. Super Show!	Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Russian	Супер брать Марио Super brat' Mario	Super Mario brothers
Spanish (NOA)	El súper show de Super Mario Bros.	The Super Mario Bros. super show
	El súper programa de Super Mario Bros.	The super program of Super Mario Bros.	Prior to "Mario's Magic Carpet"
Swedish	Super Mario Bröderna Super Show	Super Mario Bros. Super Show
Thai	ซูเปอร์มาริโอ้ Suu-bpuuhr Maa-ri-o	Super Mario
Turkish	Süper Marıo kardeşler	Super Mario brothers

Notes

• Although The Legend of Zelda animated episodes were aired on Fridays, the live-action episodes were still The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episodes.
• Three live-action segments ("Dance", "Home Radio", and "Treasure of the Sierra Brooklyn") identify Mario as being Mario and Luigi's surname.

External links

• All full episodes of the show officially uploaded on YouTube, courtesy of WildBrain Spark.