The Trojan Koopa

"The Trojan Koopa" is the thirty-sixth episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Its corresponding live-action segment is "Texas Tea".

Plot synopsis
Mario, Luigi, and Toad, who were riding in their bathtub in the ocean at stormy weather, were on a mission to rescue Princess Toadstool, who has been kidnapped once again by King Koopa, who is holding her hostage in an island fortress in the island of Koopos with a ball and chain to her ankle. When Toad spots the island, claiming it is "dead ahead". Luigi asks if he had to say "dead", but Mario reassures him saying that things are going smoothly.

When Mario, Luigi, and Toad get swept into Koopos later that morning, they get up with the bathtub on their heads and stroll their way into King Koopa's fortress. At the fort, King Koopa and two Hammer Brothers are at the battlements, where they spy on the Marios heading to his fortress. Because of the bathtub on their heads, one of the Hammer Brother points out that the Marios might be a six-legged bathtub. King Koopa takes the spyglass from him and find out it's Mario, Luigi, and Toad, who throw the bathtub off their heads. Princess Toadstool tells King Koopa that the Marios are going to rescue her, but King Koopa objects her stating that his fortress is "plumber-proof" and will be stuck there for all eternity. King Koopa then tells Princess Toadstool that his Hammer Brothers are going to patrol her in order to keep the Marios away from her.

When Mario, Luigi, and Toad reach King Koopa's fortress, they find the Hammer Brothers taunting them from on top of the fort. Hammer Brothers throw their hammers at Mario, Luigi and Toad, which causes them to retreat and bounce into the other side of the bushes. Luigi laments that they'll never get past King Koopa's fortress at this rate. Mario tells Luigi that he has a plan.

Mario's plan is that Luigi and Toad tie a pair of plungers to Mario's legs so he can climb on the fort wall and on top where he could retrieve the Princess. The plan backfires however, as the Hammer Brothers knock the brick that Mario's on off the fort, causing him to plummet into the ground, with parts of the brick are still in his plungers when he gets out of where he fell.

Luigi's plan is that he pole vaults his way up on top of the fort. When Mario tells Luigi on what do, Luigi wracks up the courage to initiate the plan and attempts to do so, only to no avail when one of the Hammer Brothers breaks the pole with his hammer, dropping Luigi into the ground as well.

Toad's plan is to use a slingshot (with Luigi's overalls as the strips) so he can launch himself into the fort. Toad's shot becomes a near miss when he reaches the edge of the battlements, only to get pushed back to the bottom, where he hits the Mario Brothers on impact and tells them that it was no use.

Back at the battlements, King Koopa tells Princess Toadstool that she'll never free her kingdom. Princess Toadstool disagrees to King Koopa's statement, stating that they would never throw in the towel. Koopa then tells Princess Toadstool that this is the reason why he's made "a little plumbing party" as he turns to the Hammer Brothers, who laugh gloatingly in response.

Meanwhile, Mario, Luigi and Toad were sitting at an unlit campfire, where they bemoan their botched plans. When Toad talks about his plan and how he could've gotten away with it, Mario tells him doubtfully that they are in trouble. Suddenly, the Hammer Brothers appear from under the bushes, who were ready to destroy the Marios. When Mario and Luigi do their patty-cake routine, Mario proceeds to make the Hammer Brothers hit each other on the head, dropping them unconscious. Mario has a plan to use the Hammer Brothers to trick King Koopa into thinking he and the gang have finally given up.

Back to King Koopa and Princess Toadstool, when the former looks through his spyglass to find the Marios have seemingly given up hope, he gives it to Princess Toadstool so she can find out. It actually turns out to be the Hammer Brothers, who were thrown in the bathtub, tied up and dressed as Mario and Luigi, along with a poorly-made fake of Toad. Princess Toadstool begins to well up in tears, thinking that they really were the Marios after all. When King Koopa takes the spyglass from Princess Toadstool, he looks from below, only to find a large wooden statue of himself from nearby the fort; the Trojan Koopa. King Koopa, admired by this, comments it is "a monument of his monstrosity". He then sends four Shyguys to open the gate and bring the Trojan Koopa to his fortress.

Inside the Trojan Koopa, it turns out that the real Mario, Luigi and Toad are inside. Toad compliments the Mario Brothers that they make good carpenters for plumbers. Luigi tells Toad that he wishes not to be crammed inside the wooden Koopa. Mario replies that the best part is that they are sneaking inside while their phony selves are floating away.

Meanwhile, the Hammer Brothers, who were still floating away, were fired up and ready for revenge. The Hammer Brother dressed as Mario then paddles with his face to get back to Koopos. As King Koopa commands his Shyguys to adjust the Trojan Koopa's placement, the wooden statue begins to shake, causing the Marios to lose balance. Luigi says that King Koopa must be an "inferior decorator". Mario replies to his brother that they would probably have to stay their until it was dark, and then break out of the Trojan Koopa and rescue Princess Toadstool. Just as Mario has quietly discussed Luigi and Toad about their plan, King Koopa tells his Shyguys to stop and leave it where it is until morning so he can see what it looks like on the battlements.

Later that night, as Shyguys have fallen asleep, Mario, Luigi and Toad roll out of the Trojan Koopa from inside its belly. Just when they were about to sneak in, the gate begins to pound causing the Shyguys wake up. Just as Princess Toadstool find out that the real Mario Brothers were going to rescue her, King Koopa bursts out of the tower and catches Mario, Luigi and Toad. It turns out the pounding came from the Hammer Brothers, who burst back into the fortress with their fake mustaches and chase the Marios, along with the Shyguys. After some circling around, the Hammer Brothers (who now out of nowhere lack their mustaches) and Shyguys finally corner Mario, Luigi and Toad.

Back on top of the fortress, Princess Toadstool states that she wishes to help the Mario Brothers and Toad. She then makes a wish upon a Starman, which comes falling from across the sky and grabs it, becoming Super Princess as the chain around her ankle breaks. Just when King Koopa is ready to bring the Mario Brothers and Toad down, Princess Toadstool jumps out of her prison to give King Koopa's minions their just desserts. Mario, confused, comments that they were supposed to rescue the Princess. Toad replies that it isn't a good time for technicalities. The Hammer Brothers attempt to throw their hammers right at Princess Toadstool, but Princess Toadstool grabs their hammers and throws them at the tent, trapping the Hammer Brothers in it as Mario and Luigi tie them up. When King Koopa begins to retreat, Princess Toadstool pounds the Shyguys as Mario, Luigi and Toad cheer for her.

Mario thanks Princess Toadstool for saving them. Princess Toadstool thanks him back along with Luigi and Toad, for their determination. When King Koopa prepares to steal the Marios's bathtub to escape Koopos, Mario gets an idea, where he and the gang use the Trojan Koopa as a substitute boat to escape the island. When Toad throws the spyglass to Mario, Mario looks at King Koopa, as the bathtub the Marios traveled to the island with in the first place apparently sprung a leak, as he pours water from inside the bathtub to keep it afloat.

Characters

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Princess Toadstool
 * Toad
 * King Koopa
 * Hammer Brothers
 * Shyguys

Cast

 * Lou Albano &mdash; Mario
 * Danny Wells &mdash; Luigi
 * Jeannie Elias &mdash; Princess Toadstool
 * John Stocker &mdash; Toad, Hammer Brother #1
 * Harvey Atkin &mdash; Bowser, Hammer Brother #2, Shyguys

Animation and continuity errors

 * In some shots, the yellow spots on the Hammer Brothers arms are missing.
 * The awning changes color throughout shots of the episode.
 * In the scene with the Trojan Koopa, its eyes change throughout shots.
 * When Mario, Luigi, and Toad are riding up the wave, Luigi's sideburns are flashing.
 * Mario, Luigi, and Toad are able to communicate with the Hammer Brothers despite the latter group being on top of the tower.
 * When the Hammer Brothers are banging the brick that Mario is on, it comes out the wall, but in the next shot, it is back in.
 * When Mario is knocked of the tower, he flies far, but in the next shot, he is only falling down the tower.
 * When Mario uses Luigi's overalls as a slingshot, Luigi still has his overalls, while his shirt is the same color as the overalls.
 * After Toad says that he is a bad Mushroom Retainer, he freezes.
 * When Princess Toadstool looks through the telescope, the boat is moving, but when King Koopa looks through, it is not.
 * When the Hammer Brothers are tied up in the boat, the one wearing Mario's clothes has Luigi's mustache, and the one wearing Luigi's clothes has Mario's mustache. However, in one shot, the Luigi Hammer Brother is wearing Luigi's mustache.
 * When King Koopa is looking at the Trojan version of himself, he has more spikes on his shell than normal.
 * When Mario is telling Luigi and Toad that they can't wake anyone up, he has two sets of eyebrows.
 * When the Hammer Brothers are banging at the door, Princess Toadstool's dress flashes.
 * When Princess Toadstool is watching the big chase, her dress is completely dark-pink.
 * When Princess Toadstool is jumping on the Shyguy, one appears of thin air.
 * When Princess Toadstool jumps to catch the Starman, her chain disappears.

Profiles

 * Netflix: With the Princess locked away on King Koopa's island fortress, the only way in for Mario and Luigi is via a wooden Trojan Koopa.

Trivia

 * The Shyguys in this episode are voiced by Harvey Atkin as opposed to their usual voice actor, Jeannie Elias.
 * Princess Toadstool declaring, "Princess P. to the rescue!" is the first known reference to her Japanese name in English materials, and the first reference to the idea that Toadstool is her surname.