The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

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This article is about the television series. For other uses, see The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (disambiguation).
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show logo
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[A]
Danish
Dutch[B]
Filipino
Finnish
French (Europe)
German
Greek
Hebrew
Icelandic
Indonesian
Italian
Korean
Mandarin (China)
Mandarin (Taiwan)
Norwegian
Polish[A]
Portuguese (Brazil)
Portuguese (Europe)[B]
Russian
Spanish (Latin America)
Spanish (Europe)
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
Ratings
TVPG:TV-Y7 - Youth seven years and older[1]
MCC:G - General[2]
BBFC:U - Universal[3]
IFCO:GG - Guidance[3]
MR:A - Everyone[4]
KAVI:ST - All ages[5]
FSK:6 - Six years and older[6]
Kijkwijzer:AL - All ages[7]
NMA:A - All ages[8]
CPT:T - Everyone[9]
ACB:G - General[10]
OFLC:G - Universal[11]
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)
WildBrain[12] (current global distributor)
Runtime 20 minutes
Broadcast
Channel USA First-run syndication
First aired USA September 4, 1989[13]
Philippines 1990s[14]
Israel 1990[15]
France February 1990[16]
Italy September 25, 1990[17]
South Africa (1928-1994) 1990[18]
Canada 1991[19]
NZ 1991[20]
Germany Februrary 23, 1991[21]
Mexico 1991[22]
Brazil June 1, 1991[23]
Singapore 1991[24]
UK 1991[25]
Malaysia 1992[26]
Spain 1992[27]
Sweden 1992[28]
Denmark 1993[29]
Greece 1993[30]
Ecuador 1993[31]
Iceland 1993[32]
Portugal 1993[33]
Finland 1994[34]
Turkey 1994[35]
Brunei 2001[36]
Russia September 1, 2003[37]
Belarus September 8, 2003[38]
Ukraine September 8, 2003[39]
Last aired USA December 1, 1989[13]
Philippines 1990s[14]
Italy December 18, 1990[17]
Mexico 1991[22]
NZ 1991[20]
Canada 1992[19]
Germany 1992[40]
Israel 1992[15]
Spain 1992[27]
Denmark 1993[29]
Greece 1993[30]
Iceland 1993[32]
Portugal 1993[33]
Sweden 1993[28]
Turkey 1994[35]
Belarus April 9, 2004[41]
Russia July 1, 2004[42]
Ukraine July 9, 2004[43]
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, paisanos! It's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!”
—Mario, opening credits

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, also known as simply Super Mario[44] or Super Mario Brothers,[45] is a live-action/animated television series that originally aired from September 4 to December 1, 1989.[13] In addition to being the first cartoon of DIC Entertainment's Super Mario trilogy, it was the only one to be produced directly for syndication. In the show's live-action segments, 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. The show's cartoons, which are based on Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2, feature the Mario Bros. joining Princess Toadstool and Toad against King Koopa and his minions to save the many lands of the Mushroom Kingdom. The Super Mario Bros. cartoons were shown on Mondays through Thursdays only; on Fridays, the show aired cartoons based on the animated series The Legend of Zelda. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is succeeded by The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, which features cartoons based on the then-recent Super Mario Bros. 3, which is then succeeded by Super Mario World, which is based on the SNES game of the same name.

Episode format[edit]

The basic format of every episode of the show is this: a cartoon segment based on Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2, bookended by a live-action segment featuring Mario and Luigi at Mario Brothers Plumbing split into two parts.

Opening[edit]

Each episode begins with cartoon Mario's floating head welcoming the viewer to the show, followed by the first part of "The Mario Rap", the opening theme for the show. Here, the live-action Mario and Luigi, portrayed by World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer "Captain" Lou Albano and Danny Wells, respectively, dance to the opening theme as it plays in the background.

Live-action segment[edit]

Mario and Luigi begin to show their expert plumbing skills to Nicole Eggert.
Screenshot of the live-action segment "Neatness Counts"

Following "The Mario Rap" is a live-action segment starring Mario and Luigi living at Mario Brothers Plumbing in Brooklyn, a plumbing business which doubles as their home. They are often visited by a celebrity guest star, either playing themselves or another character at Mario Brothers Plumbing, such as Nicole Eggert, Lyle Alzado, or Magic Johnson. In addition to the guest stars, the segments also feature several recurring characters, most notably the Ratagator, a large mutated creature resembling a fusion of a rat and alligator who is also Mario and Luigi's pet in the show. Other recurring characters appear, but much less prominently, such as the blue bird CooKoo Bird and the electrician Edison. The segments are usually comedic in nature, with "Neatness Counts" featuring a running gag where Nicole is frequently dirtied despite Mario and Luigi's efforts to keep her clean for her upcoming party. The live-action segment is interrupted halfway by the cartoon segment, and is continued following the cartoon segment. Towards the end of the show, the live-action segment is interrupted with scenes from that week's upcoming episode of The Legend of Zelda, with Mario and Luigi (or occasionally someone) saying "Watch these scenes from the next Legend of Zelda!" or a variation thereof prior to The Legend of Zelda preview.

A few dubs of the show omit the live-action segments and go directly into the cartoon segments following the "The Mario Rap", see the Translations § Differences section.

Though The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is the only English Super Mario cartoon to feature a live-action segment, the concept of a live-action segment featuring Mario and Luigi at their plumbing workshop would later appear in airings of the Danish dub of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 on TV 2, which feature Mario and Luigi, there played by Lennart Johannessen and Jørn Rosenville, bookending the original cartoons of the show. Unlike The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, there are no guest stars, and the workshop is smaller than in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

According to the Shout! Factory release of the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Volume 1 DVD, the live-action segments take place before the Mario Bros. were sucked down the Warp Pipe to the Mushroom Kingdom.[46]

Cartoon segment[edit]

Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad
Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad, the main protagonists of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
King Koopa BTV Image
King Koopa, the main antagonist of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

The live-action segment is followed by the second part of "The Mario Rap". Here, Mario and Luigi unclog the drain of a bathtub, which is a secret Warp Zone to the Mushroom Kingdom, and are sucked down the drain and warped to the kingdom, where they rescue Toad and Princess Toadstool, who are cornered on the ledge of a cliff by Koopa and his Koopa Troopas. It is then 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 battle against King Koopa (Bowser) throughout the many lands of the Mushroom Kingdom, with the ultimate goal of Mario and Luigi returning to Brooklyn; Lou Albano and Danny Wells also voice Mario and Luigi respectively for the cartoon segment. Mouser, Tryclyde, Fryguy, and a single, unnamed Koopa Troopa often work closely with King Koopa, serving as his main henchmen. At the beginning of each cartoon segment, Mario quotes a brief entry from the Plumber's Log, an unseen logbook that he uses to record his adventures throughout the show. Like most 1980s cartoons, King Koopa prolongs the series' run by escaping from his adversaries, which he often does through the use of a Magic Potion. Also similar to most 1980s cartoons, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! mainly follows an episodic format, having little continuity from episode to episode and ending with no clear series finale.

The cartoon segments are often set in a literary, film, mythological, or historical parody. For example, the episode "King Mario of Cramalot" is based on the Legend of King Arthur, whereas "Mario and the Beanstalk" is based on the fairy tale "Jack and the Beanstalk". In line with these parodies, Koopa usually takes on various alter egos. He usually has a different outfit for each alter ego, and usually assumes a different alias to go along with the alter ego. For example, in "Rolling Down the River", King Koopa is "Captain Koopa" and wears a pirate outfit, while in "The Provolone Ranger", he goes by "Billy the Koopa" and wears a cowboy outfit. 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, such as "Jungle Fever" and "Mario of the Apes". The only episode where King Koopa does not appear is "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em" (where his role as the main antagonist is instead taken up by Queen Rotunda).

Likely owing to its heavy focus on parodies, the series also contains many references to popular culture at the time of the show's airing, particulary American popular culture. For example, in "Rolling Down the River", Toad mentions Pee-wee Herman when thrown into the Princess's cell, while in "The Great Gladiator Gig", Koopa references the romance comedy drama film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. The Super Mario Bros. comics by Valiant Comics has a similar trend of referencing American popular culture, but much less frequently, likely due to the comics drawing more inspiration from the settings of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3 as opposing to mainly relying on parodies like the show.

Do the Mario from the credits of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Mario dancing to "Do the Mario"

Wart, the main antagonist of Super Mario Bros. 2, does not appear in the show, though most of his minions 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.

The Super Mario Bros. cartoons aired on Mondays through Thursdays only. On Fridays, the show aired The Legend of Zelda cartoons, based on the game of the same name. However, a live-action segment of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! aired with The Legend of Zelda episodes.

Closing[edit]

The show ends with "Do the Mario", the ending theme for the show, where the live-action Mario performs a dance and sings a tune similar to the Ground Theme from Super Mario Bros.

Broadcast history[edit]

This section needs The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! improvement. Specifically:

  • Add missing channels in the Broadcast history section.
Requested improvements must be clear, pertinent, and well-formed. Please refrain from adding bullet points such as "Add more information" or "Write the rest of the article".

The show was originally intended to begin airing on September 11 and finish airing on December 7 instead of September 4 to December 1.[47]

When the series was distributed and broadcast 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 United Kingdom. Most of the episodes in these prints (including foreign versions of the series) have the Saban International logo whereas some episodes have both the DIC and Saban logos.[48]

After DIC's Super Mario cartoons ended, the show aired as reruns on the Family Channel (currently known as Freeform) from September 23, 1991 to August 26, 1994.[49][50] 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 led into them from the live-action segments, and unlike the international prints, these reruns also 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 this 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 "King Mario of Cramalot", the 1987 DIC logo is replaced with the 1990 DIC logo.

In the United Kingdom, the series was featured as part of Jungle Fun on TV-am in 1991.[25] Later, only the cartoon segments aired on GMTV in 1993.[51] However, the series also aired as part of Parkin's In on the former channel during holidays.[52]

In Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Thailand, the series airs on 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.

Starting on March 30, 2026, the series airs reruns regularly on the American TV network MeTV Toons on weekdays at 8am/7c.[53][54] The episodes' resolution was increased via an artificial intelligence upscaler, which caused a controversy.

Worldwide, the show has aired in 40 countries. The countries, grouped by continent, as well as their respective channels, are listed below:

United States[edit]

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! two-page ad from a 1989 trade magazine
Two-page advertisement of the show from a 1989 trade magazine, showing its wide syndication across the United States

In the United States, the show has broadcasted from 93 cities across 39 states during its syndication. It has also aired as re-runs on the Family Channel (currently known as Freeform)[49] and is currently airing on the Super Mario Bros. FAST channel and MeTV Toons.[53]

Nationwide
Western United States
Central United States
Eastern United States