Never Koop a Koopa

"Never Koop a Koopa" is the sixth episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3; it aired alongside another episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 entitled "Princess Toadstool for President".

Plot
Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad are eating pasta for lunch outside Toad's house. When Mario looks around, bored, he is shocked when he sees King Koopa and the Koopalings walking towards them, holding a white flag. To the surprise of Mario and his friends, Koopa announces that he's giving up his evil ways and surrendering his kingdom, and is leaving the Mushroom Kingdom forever. To try and make up for all the misery that he's caused, he gives Princess Toadstool the key to Castle Koopa as a donation to charity. Koopa then uses his magic wand to create a Warp Pipe which he and his kids exit through.

With the key to Castle Koopa now in her hands, Princess Toadstool figures that she can turn the place into a retirement home for elderly Mushrooms. Luigi warns Princess Toadstool that the whole ordeal is probably a trap, and tells her to throw the key away. However, Princess Toadstool points out that the old people of her kingdom need a good home, and decides to visit Castle Koopa right away. Mario tells Luigi that he'll travel with Princess Toadstool to protect her, just to be safe. Princess Toadstool and Mario then head for the Warp Pipe to Dark Land, while Luigi and Toad follow along.

Upon unlocking the front door to Castle Koopa, Princess Toadstool and Mario are greeted by a falling Dry Bones. Princess Toadstool figures that they just need to clean the place up a bit, but Mario, suspecting danger, decides to enter first. In the front hallway, Mario and Princess Toadstool pass by portraits of the Koopas; the moving eyes of King Koopa's freak Mario out. After Princess makes a remark about Koopa's portrait being the first thing to go, the front doors suddenly shut.

A Thwomp near the ceiling taunts Mario and Princess Toadstool, saying "Take this!" and comes close to crushing them. Mario uses a plunger to stop the Thwomp from crushing them. Mario and Princess Toadstool run towards the other end of the hallway, dodging several more Thwomps. Two Ptooies come and attack Mario, but he deflects their balls with his plunger, allowing him and Princess Toadstool to slip past them. After running down a few more corridors, Mario and Princess Toadstool stop to count their steps, when a trapdoor opens beneath them, dropping them to the dungeon.

Standing outside the door to the dungeon are King Koopa and Cheatsy. Koopa mocks his new guests, and Princess Toadstool comments that she never should've trusted him. Koopa tells Cheatsy that he's going to give him more lessons on lying and cheating, but his son doesn't hear him, as he's listening to a walkman. It isn't until he pulls the headphones off of Cheatsy's head that Koopa gets his son's attention. He then tells Cheatsy to pay attention while he cons Princess Toadstool out of the Mushroom Kingdom. Koopa presents a contract to Princess Toadstool, but she refuses to sign it. To help get Princess Toadstool to change her mind, Koopa pulls a lever, releasing about 25 Bob-ombs into the dungeon. Knowing that Princess Toadstool and Mario are trapped with the Bob-ombs, he figures that they will surrender soon.

Meanwhile, Luigi and Toad are waiting in a boat outside Castle Koopa (possibly on the Mushroom Sea). Toad comments that Mario and Princess Toadstool have been inside too long, and that they should go and investigate. Luigi then points out that they will have to sneak in through the drainpipe. Thinking that Luigi was being sarcastic, Toad is startled when Luigi gets ready to jump in the water, bringing him with him. Luigi manages to swim past several Bloopers, but only Toad notices the Boss Bass that's chasing them. As Luigi unscrews the grating on the drainpipe, Toad points out the Boss Bass to him, scaring him into unscrewing the grating faster. Luigi and Toad manage to enter the drainpipe right before the Boss Bass reaches them.

Back in the dungeon, Cheatsy mentions that he likes his father's "Big Bang" theory, and Koopa remarks that in order to be a big cheat, one needs to "double-trick, double-deal and double-cross." The double-cross bit gives Cheatsy an idea, but he keeps it to himself.

In another part of the castle, Luigi and Toad enter through a manhole in the floor, only to be greeted by two Sledge Brothers. Luigi and Toad try to run away, but the Sledge Brothers pound the floor, causing them to fall over. Luigi and Toad are then caught and get thrown in the dungeon, just as the Sledge Brothers pull Princess Toadstool out.

Koopa tells Princess Toadstool that her friends will be blown up if she doesn't sign over the kingdom, and she agrees, on two conditions: one, that they move to the throne room, and two, that King Koopa puts on something formal to wear. Koopa tells Cheatsy to take Princess Toadstool to the throne room while he finds something to wear. Cheatsy then thanks him for his lesson in cheating, and his father says that one day he will be just as big a cheat as himself. As Koopa walks off, Cheatsy comments to himself that that day will be today, and orders the Sledge Brothers to take the prisoners to his bedroom, where Mario, Luigi and Toad get locked in his wardrobe. Cheatsy tells Princess Toadstool to sign the kingdom over to him, or else he have her friends sent back to the dungeon with the Bob-ombs.

Princess Toadstool signs the contract and hands it over to Cheatsy, who gets so ecstatic over the whole deal that he runs off to tell his father that he double-crossed him. With Cheatsy gone, Princess Toadstool breaks a lamp, causing the Sledge Brothers to come running in. Princess Toadstool dodges their sledges, which hit and break open the wardrobe, freeing Mario, Luigi and Toad.

The four heroes run out of Cheatsy's bedroom dodging the attacks of the Sledge Brothers. As they continue down the hallway, they are attacked by two Fire Chomps. Mario and Luigi take care of the Fire Chomps by pushing them out a window, and they fall down into the water. Looking out the window, Toad comments that they would be free if they could fly. Toad's comment then gives Mario the idea to start bashing the blocks in the ceiling, in hope that he'll find some Super Leaves.

At the same time, Koopa enters the throne room wearing a red cape, but Cheatsy comes running in and sits down on the throne. Koopa yells at Cheatsy, but Cheatsy tells him that he's the new king of the Mushroom Kingdom. Cheatsy shows him the contract and takes his crown, telling him that he can get a job cleaning the royal stables, as a reward for giving him the idea to cheat in the first place. Having read the contract thoroughly, however, Koopa takes back his crown, and points out that Princess Toadstool had actually drawn a goofy face instead of actually signing the contract. Koopa claims that he will get Princess Toadstool to sign the contract properly, and asks Cheatsy where the prisoners are. Cheatsy tells him that they're locked in his bedroom, but they are both surprised to see Mario and his friends, all with Raccoon Power, flying outside the windows of the throne room. Unable to stop the good guys, Koopa starts growling at Cheatsy, who tells him that he was only doing bad like he taught him. Koopa then starts chasing Cheatsy around the throne in circles, telling him that he's "really going to teach him a lesson now."

Cast

 * Walker Boone &mdash; Mario
 * Tony Rosato &mdash; Luigi
 * Tracey Moore &mdash; Princess Toadstool
 * John Stocker &mdash; Toad, Thwomp
 * Harvey Atkin &mdash; King Bowser Koopa
 * James Rankin &mdash; Cheatsy Koopa

Animation and continuity errors

 * When King Koopa says that he and his children are leaving the Mushroom Kingdom forever, Kootie Pie's face is completely brown.
 * Mario shouts "Look out! A Ptooie!", despite the fact that there are two Ptooies. And when Luigi comes out of the drain then says "Whoa! A Sledge Brother!", there are actually two.
 * In one shot, one of King Koopa's shell's spike rings is colored light green, like his shell's border.
 * The color on the Sledge Brothers briefly changes when Luigi and Toad look out through the manhole.
 * The color of the inside of King Koopa's cape changes red and black between shots.
 * When Luigi is opening the grating, it briefly disappears.
 * When Toad panics over the Boss Bass underwater, Luigi's overalls are red.
 * When King Koopa goes through the Warp Pipe, only Kootie Pie and Hop follow him and not the other Koopalings.
 * The color of the Koopalings change numerous times, most notably, the skin on Cheatsy's face.
 * The opening curtain title screen used for this episode is Dark Land, yet the Grass Land music is played with it.
 * Princess Toadstool's dress appears a light, blue-ish white for a moment, as seen in the above image.
 * When King Koopa's giving Cheatsy an earful saying to pay more attention, Mario's moustache is red. When the Mario's gang is flying out the castle, the same thing happens.
 * In the scene when Luigi thinks King Koopa is up to mischief, Mario's eyes are completely black.
 * When the episode starts, Mario and Luigi's clothes are different colours.
 * When Mario eats his spaghetti, he's not really eating it, since it stays still.
 * When Luigi is running to the warp pipe where the Princess and Mario is on top, Toad doesn't seem to appear following them.
 * When the Ptooies shoot a second ball at Mario, Mario seems to jump right through it.
 * The eyes on King Koopa's portrait face the screen, but when it zooms in closer, the eyes seem to be facing to the right.
 * After Luigi grabs Toad's arm in the boat, his sunglasses disappear.
 * The Boss Bass appears smaller when it jumps out of the water. Its size increases considerably moments later.
 * In two shots, the locked-up cupboard in Cheatsy's room disappears, and also Mario's yelling stops. Also, when the cupboard reappears, the horns on it reappear.
 * At the end of the episode, when King Koopa is chasing Cheatsy around the throne, the latter disappears for a second.

Trivia

 * Although completely coincidental, Bowser bears a great resemblance to King K. Rool while wearing his red cape.
 * This is one of the only Mario cartoon episodes to show alcohol usage; Mario and his friends drink wine with spaghetti.
 * The song Cheatsy listens to on his walkman is the underground theme.
 * When Cheatsy puts King Koopa's crown on his head, his hair is divided in locks.
 * The insulting raspberry face Princess Toadstool drew resembles Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.