Bad Rap

"Bad Rap" is the thirty-second episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Its corresponding live-action segment is "Caught in a Draft". The title "Bad Rap" is a play on the term "bad rap", which means an undeserved poor reputation.

Plot synopsis
Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad have arrived in Rap Land, because King Koopa had kidnapped Rap Land's king, and is attempting to take everyone's money by playing an eerie theme throughout the land. They are surprised to see the rapper-themed citizens of Rap Land monotonously entering the castle, carrying sacks of Gold Coins. Princess Toadstool assumes that King Koopa is forcing everyone to bring him their money, but Toad wants to know how.

A message from King Koopa, announcing himself as "Rappin' Koopa", comes out of all the speakers around Rap Land, demanding that everyone give him their money. The group is then approached by the Flab Boys, two obese, yet friendly guys who tell them that their earphones blocked out Rappin' Koopa's sound. They then explain that Rappin' Koopa has trapped King James in his own castle. Mario then decides that they'll all head over to the castle to set things straight.

At the castle, Rappin' Koopa makes another announcement for everyone's money. He then taunts King James, who is tied up and sitting on an enormous turntable. King James tells Rappin' Koopa that the Flab Boys are going to save him. Although Rappin' Koopa doubts him, from looking out upon Rap Land through a telescope, he finds Mario's group and the Flab Boys arriving at the castle.

As Mario's group reaches the castle, they spy on a Koopa Troopa collecting everyone's money. One of the Flab Boys runs towards the castle, and it takes the combined strength of Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad to stop him. Mario explains that he has a plan; To have Princess Toadstool dress up like a rapper and offer a bag of coins to the Koopa Troopa that Toad is hiding in. Just as Princess Toadstool hands over the bag with Toad to the Koopa Troopa, Rappin' Koopa announces that Princess Toadstool's disguise is fake, and the Koopa Troopas uncover the real Princess.

Mario tells the others that they need to save Princess Toadstool, who soon gets tied up by the Koopa Troopas. As they run towards the castle, the Flab Boys create a small tremor, causing Mario and Luigi to fall over. Because they all had to stop, the Koopa Troopas start to bring Princess Toadstool into the castle. The Flab Boys try to stop the Koopa Troopas by throwing records at them, but they are ineffective. Mario manages to hit the Koopa Troopas with his plunger, causing Princess Toadstool to fly out of their hands and into the claws of Rappin' Koopa.

As Rappin' Koopa brings Princess Toadstool into the castle, several Albatoss show up and start dropping Bob-Ombs at the heroes. Luigi mentions cannolis, and this prompts Mario into retreating for a lunch break.

Meanwhile, Rappin' Koopa places a tied up Princess Toadstool with King James on the giant turntable, and turns on the record player. As the needle slowly lowers towards Princess Toadstool and King James, a Koopa Troopa reports to Rappin' Koopa that the Mario Bros. got away. As Rappin' Koopa leaves the room, Toad, who had avoided being caught, sneaks in, turns off the record player, and unties the two captives.

Toad, Princess Toadstool and King James manage to meet up with Mario, Luigi and the Flab Boys outside the castle, where King James points out that they need to cut off Rap Land's power supply to stop Rappin' Koopa's takeover; a huge cord plugged into a hydroelectric dam. Luigi is afraid to pull the plug, as he fears that he will get electrocuted. Mario decides to do it, and is given a boost up to the outlet by Luigi and the Flab Boys. As Mario grabs onto the cord, he gets shocked, but the power surge transforms him into Super Mario, giving him the strength to unplug the cord. Mario gives King James a hand shake, which electrocutes him, and everyone laughs.

With the power cut off, Rappin' Koopa announces an attack on the Mario Bros. At the same time, Mario's group readies themselves by giving Princess Toadstool and King James two Stereo Guns that can shoot exploding records, while Toad puts on an army helmet and hides in a small hole. Mario poses as an announcer with a microphone, and Luigi takes on role of a DJ with twin turntables.

Rappin' Koopa shows up with a portable turntable, and is accompanied by his Koopa Troopas and a flock of Albatoss. Mario tells Princess Toadstool and King James to stop the Albatoss, and they do so by firing exploding records at them. Mario then tells the Flab Boys to do a roll, and they respond by rolling down a hill, knocking out the Koopa Troopas on the way.

Rappin' Koopa gets mad, and claims that he will not be leaving Rap Land without everyone's money. Luigi is afaid of what Rappin' Koopa is about to do, but Mario reminds him about Toad, who is still hiding in his hole. As Rappin' Koopa runs over Toad, Toad pops up and knocks him over. Mario's group surrounds Rappin' Koopa, and the Flab Boys threaten to sit on him. Rappin' Koopa pulls out a Magical Potion, which he uses to create a door that he escapes through.

Back at the castle, everyone in Rap Land is celebrating Rappin' Koopa's defeat. Princess Toadstool then announces that Rap Land deserves a new song, which the Flab Boys identify as the Mario Rap. Toad plays the record, and everyone dances to the rap song. After the song, King James declares Mario as number one in a rapping duel, and gives him a special crown.

Characters

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Princess Toadstool
 * Toad
 * Rappin' Koopa
 * Koopa Troopas
 * Albatosses
 * Bob-Ombs
 * Flab Boys
 * King James

Cast

 * Lou Albano &mdash; Mario, Flab Boy #1
 * Danny Wells &mdash; Luigi
 * Jeannie Elias &mdash; Princess Toadstool
 * John Stocker &mdash; Toad, Koopa Troopa
 * Harvey Atkin &mdash; King Bowser Koopa, Flab Boy #2
 * Greg Morton &mdash; King James

Animation and continuity errors

 * When Rappin' Koopa is looking through his telescope, part of the background can be seen at the edges of the screen.
 * When Rappin' Koopa grabs the Koopa Troopa in frustration, the Koopa Troopa's eyes are yellow circles with black pupils, and shortly after, its eyes are white instead of yellow.
 * In the second shot of Rappin' Koopa tying Princess Toadstool and King James onto the giant spinning record, Princess Toadstool's nose is missing until she starts speaking.
 * In the shots where Princess Toadstool and King James are trapped on the giant spinning record, the actuator appears to be rising upward instead of lowering down to slice them.
 * When the Flab Boy tosses the record to Toad, it is black, but when Toad puts it on the turntable, it is brown.
 * When Rappin' Koopa ties Princess Toadstool onto the giant spinning record with King James, it is black, but when Toad comes in to save them, the spinning record is brown.
 * When it shows Rappin' Koopa marching up the hill, his portable turntable is blue, but in the next shot, it is orange.

Profiles

 * Netflix: With Koopa holding the King of Rapland hostage, Mario and Luigi must speak in rhythmic rhyme to set him free.

Trivia

 * The song heard in Mario's honor at the end of the episode is Plumbers Rap Part 2; however, the song is in a lower pitch.
 * Almost every spoken line in "Bad Rap" is done in rhyme.
 * As everyone is dancing to the "Mario Rap" in celebration, the song abruptly stops and all on-screen audio is muted until the episode is over. In original and foreign airings, the audio was not muted and a sound bite of James Brown saying "It's got to be funky!" at the beginning of his song "" could be heard. This sound bite can be heard on the "Robo Koopa" VHS (both Kids Klassics and Paramount editions).