The Amazing Rollerskate Race
| Saturday Supercade episode | |
|---|---|
| "The Amazing Rollerskate Race" | |
| |
| Segment | Donkey Kong Jr. |
| Season | 1 |
| Episode | 9 |
| Airdate |  November 12, 1983 |
| Writer(s) | Matt Uitz |
| << List of episodes >> | |
The Amazing Rollerskate Race is the ninth episode of Saturday Supercade's Donkey Kong Jr. segment.
Plot synopsis[edit]
The episode opens with Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones leaving a local city zoo, as they had just mistaken one of the zoo's gorillas for Donkey Kong. As Donkey Kong Jr. vows to find his father sooner or later and zooms off, they encounter a group of rollerskaters known as the Roller Stars, who aim to win an international skating race in Mexico City. Donkey Kong Jr. stops the motorcycle to prevent it from crashing into one of the skaters, causing Bones to fall off and get his hands caught in a pair of skates, careening out of control towards a manhole. After Donkey Kong Jr. saves him from falling, they perform skating moves together in front of the awestruck Roller Stars.
The Roller Stars reveal that they intend to compete in the Mexico City race in order to purchase a clubhouse with the prize money, eliminating the need to skate on the streets. Unbeknownst to them, two thieves are watching them from an alleyway. One of them tells his partner, Al, that the skates' gold-plated wheels are worth a fortune, and they agree to steal the skates, quickly taking the box containing them. Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones give chase as the thieves attempt to escape in their convertible car, only for Donkey Kong Jr. to use a lasso to snag the car's loose rear bumper. This separates the car's rear area from its body, sending the box with the skates to Donkey Kong Jr. and forcing the thieves to flee on foot.
Skates in tow, the Roller Stars leave for Mexico City via bus, with Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones tagging along in case the thieves return; meanwhile, the thieves follow them by buying their own bus tickets. As the group arrives at their locker room for the event, Donkey Kong Jr. has the Roller Stars undergo his father's warm-up routine, putting Bones on guard duty. However, the thieves soon grapple the box away from a hole in the roof, hooking Bones on the same line before taking off. Bones alerts Donkey Kong Jr. to the situation; upon seeing the thieves' van, the duo immediately give chase by riding a burro after feeding it chili peppers.
The thieves eventually stop at a cantina, where Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones learn of their desire to auction off the skates for their gold-plated wheels. Thinking quickly, Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones disguise themselves as stereotypical Mexican musicians, "entertaining" the thieves with a rendition of La Cucaracha. After getting close to them, Donkey Kong Jr. uses a guitar string to tie a hat over the head of Al's partner. Al then incapacitates Bones in the same way and orders the skates back; Donkey Kong Jr. pretends to surrender, only to unleash "Monkey Muscle!" and quickly spread beans on the floor of the cantina. The thieves subsequently slip and fall, dropping the box in front of Donkey Kong Jr.; after immobilizing them in a "baddie burrito", Donkey Kong Jr. rushes off to give the Roller Stars back their skates.
Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones manage to return the skates to the Roller Stars just in time for the race to begin, and the Roller Stars begin to ascend the ranks. However, in a last-ditch effort, the thieves knock over a fruit cart to trip up and subsequently kidnap all of the Roller Stars except TJ. Bones then attempts to help TJ cross the finish line while Donkey Kong Jr. chases the thieves, but Bones soon gets lost and asks a policeman for help. The policeman is actually Al's partner in disguise, who misleads Bones into a tunnel, causing him to enter a bullfighting arena. He then attracts the attention of the bull in the arena, who leaves the arena with Bones in tow. As the thieves spot TJ and give chase, Donkey Kong Jr. gets on the bull's back and has it puncture a tire of the thieves' van with its horn. Unleashing "Monkey Muscle!" again, he grabs a nearby cloth to tie up the thieves, then frees the Roller Stars that were kidnapped. The group then watches as TJ wins the race.
Later, the Roller Stars thank the duo for contributing the reward money for turning in the thieves to the purchase of their new clubhouse, to which they reply that they are only glad they could help. Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones leave on their motorcycle, promising to return once they reunite with Donkey Kong.
Animation and continuity errors[edit]
- When Donkey Kong Jr. and Bones learn of the thieves' true motives, Bones' left arm is seen overlapping Donkey Kong Jr.'s jaw.
- When Donkey Kong Jr. unleashes "Monkey Muscle!" to reclaim the skates for the second time, he is briefly seen in his normal leotard instead of his musician disguise.
