The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!: Difference between revisions

{{TV-infobox

|writer=Brad Wilson<br>Brooks Wachtel<br>Bruce Shelly<br>Cassandra Schafhausen<br>David Bennett Carren<br>David Ehrman<br>David Schwartz<br>David Tischman<br>Eleanor Burian-Mohr<br>George Atkins<br>J. Larry Carroll<br>Jack Hanrahan<br>Jack Olesker<br>John Vornholt<br>Kevin O'Donnell<br>Larry Alexander<br>Mark McCorkle<br>Martha Moran<br>Michael A. Medlock<br>[[Perry Martin]]<br>Peter Norris<br>[[Phil Harnage]]<br>Reed Shelly<br>Robert Schooley<br>Rowby Goren<br>Sean Roche<br>Steve Robertson<br>Ted Pedersen<br>Tony Marino

|open=[[The Mario Rap]]

|firstair=September 4, 1989

|lastair=December 1, 1989

'''''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!''''', also simply known as '''''Super Mario'''''<ref>[https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_zcLWHIbyq5UxUAHAEswDaD7f1BEW4D "Super Mario in Spanish" YouTube playlist by Super Mario Spanish - WildBrain]</ref> and '''''Super Mario Brothers''''',<ref>[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XejH0WlLaFA Super Mario Brothers - DO YOU PRINCESS TOADSTOOL TAKE THIS KOOPA | Super Mario Bros | WildBrain]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved October 1, 2020.</ref> was the first of the three series in [[DIC Entertainment]]'s ''Super Mario'' trilogy, aired between September and December of 1989; it was the only one to be produced directly for syndication. The show featured live-action segments in which [[Mario]] and [[Luigi]] (played by [[Lou Albano]] and [[Danny Wells]] respectively), living in [[Mario Brothers Plumbing|their basement workshop]] in [[Brooklyn]], were often visited by various celebrity guest stars. Also featured were cartoons based on the [[Super Mario Bros.|first]] and [[Super Mario Bros. 2|second]] ''Super Mario Bros.'' games, where the Mario brothers teamed up with [[Princess Peach]] (then known as Princess Toadstool) and [[Toad]] to battle [[Bowser|King Koopa]] and [[Koopa Troop|his forces]] to save the many lands of the world. The ''Super Mario Bros.'' cartoons were shown on Mondays through Thursdays only; on Fridays, the show would air cartoons based on ''[[The Legend of Zelda (cartoon)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' series. In 1990, the show was retooled and aired under the name ''[[Club Mario]]'', combining the animated segments with new live-action segments depicting the antics of two ''Mario''-loving slackers named [[Tommy Treehugger]] and [[Co-MC]]

The live-action segment would be followed by a cartoon-based on the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' video games, where Mario, Luigi, [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]] (Peach), and [[Toad]] would battle against [[Bowser|King Koopa]] (Bowser) throughout the many lands of the world, often in a book, movie or historical parody. [[Mouser]], [[Tryclyde]], [[Fryguy]] and a single, unnamed [[Koopa Troopa]] often worked closely with King Koopa, serving as his henchmen. Getting into the spirit of these parodies, King Koopa usually took on a varying [[King Koopa's alter egos|alter ego]]. He had a different outfit for each one, and would take on a different alias to along with it. For example, in a riverboat-themed episode, King Koopa was "Captain Koopa", while in one of the western-themed episodes, he went by "Billy the Koopa". In many episodes, King Koopa's minions would often dress up in outfits as well, to go along with Koopa's themed costumes. In some episodes, King Koopa would go without an alter ego nor wear a costume except for "Jungle Fever" and "Mario of the Apes". The only episode where King Koopa does not appear is "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em".

In another ''Mario'' related television series, ''[[King Koopa's Kool Kartoons]]'', framed portraits of ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' versions of Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool can be seen in various episodes.

After DiC's ''Mario'' cartoons ended, the show was aired in reruns on the Family Channel (currently known as Freeform). The Family Channel's reruns of the series removed ''The Legend of Zelda'' previews and the scenes that segued into them from the live-action segments, and 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. (Curiously, 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 that point onward, the song covers were removed, similar to season one of [[Captain N: The Game Master]], and were replaced with instrumentals of songs featured in ''[[The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3]]'' and ''[[Super Mario World (television series)|Super Mario World]]''. This was done for licensing reasons as the lyrics of the song covers are copyrighted.

From 1989 to 1991, Kid Klassics released NTSC VHS videos of the show. These videos contained two, one, or no live-action segments, and featured the cartoon segments with their original song covers intact. On these videos, the "Super Mario Bros." theme wasn't included before the cartoon segment.

The show was made available to watch from [http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/content/tv/ Yahooligans! TV] starting in March 2004, with a new episode usually uploaded every week. It was taken down along with all DiC Entertainment cartoons on December 24, 2005.

As of November 3, 2009 it can be watched at [http://jaroo.com Jaroo.com], a video-streaming website owned by {{wp|Cookie Jar Group}}. The website routinely cycles through all fifty-two of the show's episodes, hosting five at any given time. Each Tuesday, the next episode in line is added, with the oldest being dropped. Since {{wp|DHX Media}} purchased Cookie Jar, Jaroo was taken down.  

As of 2018, it can be watched via {{wp|Netflix}}, {{wp|Hulu}} and {{wp|WildBrain}}'s [https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCUVnfQaEmCIhFZC5d_JniyQ WildBrain - Cartoon Super Heroes], [https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCzWzHziGhKBLrVRdQ6_g0iA Funny Animated Cartoons], [https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCe_nAv6UfY5nn53UQHqm6Dg Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - WildBrain], [https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCVwza-Klu19M4l76QP5IiXg WildBrain – Retro Cartoons],  [https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCrHPqtgUlQo15ReAe-dzJwQ Watch Cartoons Online HD], and [https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCx9mbLJaa5v_QNLU1dYytqg WildBrain – Cartoons for Kids] {{wp|YouTube}} channels.

==Main Protagonists==

*[[Mario]]

*[[Luigi]]

*[[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]]

*[[Toad]]

==Main Antagonists==

*[[Bowser|King Koopa]]/[[King Koopa's alter egos|his alter egos]]

*[[Mouser]]

*[[Tryclyde]]

*[[Koopa Troopa]]

===Main Cast===

*[[Lou Albano]] - [[Flab Boys|Flab Boy]], [[Mario]], [[Toad (species)|Mushroom Person]]

*[[Danny Wells]] — [[Goomba]], [[Gramps]], [[Luigi]], [[Toad (species)|Mushroom Person]], [[Pokey]], [[Pronto]], [[Romano's father and Joliet's father|Romano's father]], [[Salvador Drainado]], [[Secret Agent N]], [[Waldo the Wizard]]

*[[Jeannie Elias]] — [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]], [[Birdo (species)|Birdos]], and [[Shy Guy|Shyguys]]

*[[Robert Bockstael]] — [[Goomba]], [[Mervin]], [[Toad (species)|Mushroom Person]]

*[[Dorian Joe Clark]] — [[Toad (species)|Mushroom People]]

*[[Rob Cowan]] — [[Elvin Parsley]], Mushroom Person, [[Big bad wolf]]

*[[Greg Morton]] — [[June and Ward|Ward]], [[King James]], [[Prince Pompadour]], [[Quirk (species)|Quirks]], [[Scooter]], [[Snifit]], [[King Neptune]]

*[[Marilyn Lightstone]] — (Additional Voices)

*[[Marla Lukofsky]] — [[Toad (species)|Mushroom Person]]

===Live-Action Guest stars===

*Joseph S. Griffo([[Small Mario|mini Mario]])  

*Craig Armstrong([[Frankenstein's Monster]] and Gorilla)  

*Martin C. Gardner ([[Mikhail S. Gorbachev]])

{|align=center width=100% cellspacing=0 border=1 cellpadding=3 style="border-collapse:collapse; font-family:Arial;"

!style="background:#ff0000" width="20%"|Monday

!style="background:#ff0000" width="20%"|Tuesday

!style="background:#ff0000" width="20%"|Wednesday

!style="background:#ff0000" width="20%"|Thursday

!style="background:#ffd700" width="50%"|Friday (''The Legend of Zelda'')

|<center>October 11, 1989</center><center>Episode #23 - "[[Mario and Joliet]]"</center><center>Live-action segment #28 - "[[Fake Bro]]"</center>

 

 

{|style="text-align: center; width: 100%; margin: 0 auto; border-collapse: collapse;" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"

|-style="background: #F34723;"

!width="30%"|Episode

!width="33%"|Song

!width="33%"|Musician

==Home releases==

VHS Tapes:

*US: Mario Meets Koopzilla, Koopa Klaus, Count Koopula, The Great BMX Race, The Great Gladiator Gig, Butch Mario And The Luigi Kid, Mario's Magic Carpet, Hooded Robin, Two Plumbers And A Baby (Kids Klassics) and Super Mario Bros. Super Christmas Adventures! (Buena Vista)

DVDs:

*Two one-disc sets by Sterling Entertainment.

*At least eight one-disc sets by NCircle Entertainment.

*Three one-disc sets by Maximum Entertainment (UK only).

*One one-disc set by Lions Gate Home Entertainment/Trimark.

*Two four-disc box-sets by Shout! Factory (released 2006).

*One two-disc set by Beyond Home Entertainment (Australia only).

*One six-disc set by Beyond Home Entertainment (Australia only).

Strong from its multiple animated shows based on pre-existing properties, [[DIC Entertainment]] approached [[Nintendo]] with an offer to make a cartoon based on the ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'' franchise. Nintendo initially declined, but later signed a deal after DIC put together a creative team they liked <ref name="Canoe">[http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Movies/2013/01/11/20490741.html Canoe: Super Mario Bros. Super Show hit a high score]</ref>. Nintendo required DIC to pay extensive royalties, an unusual arrangement for children programming at the time.  

[[File:SMBSSHotdogPoster.jpg|thumb|An early poster of concept artwork featuring a vastly different interpretation than the final product]]

A few pieces of conceptual artwork have surfaced from early design phases of the show. Some of them were somewhat more accurate to the games, notably in King Koopa's design, while others were far more loosely based on official designs. One such piece is a poster featuring a much different depiction of Mario and Luigi (the latter of which is using his in-game clothing colors for ''Super Mario Bros.'') who are brandishing a plunger and a monkey wrench as weapons, a yellow-capped Toad, two large, grotesque [[Trouter]]s, a flying green [[Birdo (species)|Birdo]] being ridden by a [[Snifit]] holding two [[Beezo]] spears, a large purple frog monster with a necklace (possibly [[Wart]]) with a [[Hammer Bro]]ther in tow, a flying yellow [[Pidgit]], two [[Hoopster]]s with distinct heads (one of which has a worried expression), a green [[Tryclyde]], a pelican-like [[Albatoss]] holding a muscular red [[Bob-omb|Bob-Omb]] by the fuse, a giant red octopus with blue arms (possibly a complete reinterpretation of [[Blooper|Bloober]]), two tube worm-like creatures with sharp teeth and long tongues (possibly [[Piranha Plant]]s), and some goggle-wearing, long-tongued aliens atop spacecrafts with vaguely face-like fronts (possibly intended to be [[Lakitu]]s). King Koopa appears in the background and mostly looks as he does in the finished product but with more exaggerated proportions, while Princess Toadstool, the Shyguy, the Snifit, and the Beezo are fairly accurate to their artwork. The poster also shows a helmet-wearing skull mounted to a "Go Back!" sign, a Sphinx, a sea serpent, and some prehistoric reptiles. This loose, heavily abstracted depiction of game elements closely resembles that of their later show ''[[Captain N: The Game Master]]''.

According to [[Danny Wells]], him and co-star [[Lou Albano]] recorded the show on a six days schedule, where they would first film the live-action segments and then drive to another studio in order to record voices for the animated segments.  

In a 2018 interview, freelancer writer [[Perry Martin]] explained that the show's focus on parodies came from Andy Heyward, as the production team had struggled to make much material from the thin story present in the games<ref name="Perry"></ref>. Writers would first submit a one-page premise of the story to the show's editors Bruce and Reed Shelly, then spent two days on a four page outline and finally a week to create the final script.

In an interview about DIC's history in adapting video games to television, DIC executive Robby London stated that video games such as ''Super Mario Bros.'' were DIC's favorite type of media to adapt because "[...] the videogames themselves were colorful, imaginative, hip and more than a little bizarre – in the best sense" and that their sparse lores and simple character allowed more creativity than when adapting material from other media<ref name="GamesTM">''GamesTM''. "[https://www.gamestm.co.uk/uncategorised/from-pixels-to-primetime-the-making-of-mario-and-sonics-cartoon-careers/ From Captain N to Sonic Underground: Behind videogames' earliest cartoons]. Retrieved September 13, 2016</ref>. London also spoke positively of Nintendo's involvement in the show, stating "[...] Nintendo was reasonable, professional and good to deal with. Their America office seemed quite capable of speaking definitively on behalf of their Japanese owners, and I don’t remember any problematic disputes with Nintendo [...]" and contrasting it with DIC's more turbulent partnership with [[Sega]] for its three ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]]'' series<ref name="GamesTM"></ref>.

The series was a rating success and was widely syndicated<ref name="Canoe"></ref>. Also, according to Wells, the guest stars actively asked to be part of the live-action segments due to the popularity of ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' with their children <ref name="Canoe"></ref>. However, despite its success, Nintendo had little interest in continuing the show beyond the initial package, leading to its cancellation.

 

The ''Super Show'' was executive produced by [[Andy Heyward]], directed by Dan Riba and produced by [[John Grusd]], who also produced and directed the two subsequent ''Mario'' cartoons by DIC. Animation was provided by [[Sei Young Animation Co., Ltd.]]. The live-action sequences were co-produced with Saban Productions.

**Toad's appearance is based on his sprite from ''Super Mario Bros.'', with the waistcoat being red instead of blue. In the first three episodes, all instances of white and red in his appearance were inverted, but this was fixed from the fourth episode onwards, although his shoes were recolored purple instead of the red from the original sprite. However, Toad's original inverted color scheme was reused for his [[Super Toad|super form]] in the episode "The Fire of Hercufleas" and on VHS and DVD covers.

*In several episodes, Birdos were shown to fly, a trait not seen in any ''Mario'' game.

*Rather than becoming [[Fire Mario]], unlike in the games, Mario (or Luigi) would become "Super Mario" or "Super Luigi" upon touching either a [[Fire Flower]], [[Super Star|Starman]], or some other source of excessive power. As Super Mario, Mario could hurl [[fireball]]s, had super-strength, and on a few rare occasions, could even fly. Although Mario could lose his powers by taking a hit (similar to the 2D ''Mario'' side-scrollers), it was also possible for them to wear off after a while.

*The voices of Mario and Luigi in this show most resembles the voice of them heard today, whereas their voices in ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'' and ''Super Mario World'' shows (voiced by [[Walker Boone]] and [[Tony Rosato]], respectively) was lower and raspier for Mario, and higher and raspier for Luigi, instead of Mario having a higher pitched voice and Luigi having a lower pitched voice like [[Charles Martinet]] does for the two's voices, and he made neither of them any raspier than Mario and Luigi's voice actors in this show.

*This is the only DIC show where there is a live action section.

:''For a full list of quotes, see [[List of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! quotes]].''

*Luigi's personality of being scared and cautious was (arguably) first used in ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' Later, this personality appeared in video games, most notably in the [[Mario & Luigi (series)|''Mario & Luigi'' series]], ''[[Luigi's Mansion]]'', ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'', ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'', ''[[Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon]]'', and ''[[Luigi's Mansion 3]]''.

*'''Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - WildBrain:'''

**"''The Super Mario Brothers Super Show is a zany animated fantasy adventure comedy based on Nintendo’s most popular video game. The stars are the world-famous Mario and Luigi, two laugh-provoking plumbers from Brooklyn who suddenly find themselves washed through a Warp Zone.<br> <br>Mario Bros. Plumbing<br>The first and last parts of each episode were live segments which showed Mario (professional wrestler and manager Captain Lou Albano) and Luigi (Danny Wells), two Italian-American plumbers living in Brooklyn, where they would often be visited by celebrity guest stars. It appears that the live segments take place before Mario and Luigi went to the Mushroom Kingdom.<br> <br>Some of the celebrity guest stars were popular television stars, such as Nedra Volz, Norman Fell, Donna Douglas, Eve Plumb, Vanna White, Jim Lange, Danica McKellar, Nicole Eggert, Clare Carey and Brian Bonsall or professional athletes such as Lyle Alzado and Magic Johnson and WWE (then WWF) stars like Roddy Piper and Sgt. Slaughter. In one episode, Ernie Hudson appeared as a Slimebuster, a parody of his Ghostbusters persona Winston Zeddemore and on another two occasions, Mario and Luigi received visits from Inspector Gadget, performed live by Maurice LaMarche who voiced Chief Quimby in the second season of the show and later went on to voice Gadget himself in Inspector Gadget's Last Case and Gadget & the Gadgetinis. There were also two episodes with Cassandra Peterson as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, but the episodes, as well as the second Gadget appearance and a few other episodes, were not included in the Shout Factory DVDs.<br> <br>In one episode, Lou Albano portrays himself, forcing his regular character to leave the scene in order for him to return as himself. In the episode in question, pop star Cyndi Lauper states she's looking for Lou Albano because he's missing, due to the note she got from him (although there is an important part missing from the note). Mario exclaims how much he wants to meet Lou, and later Lou appears as himself supposedly while Mario's out shopping for pizza. As a result, Luigi gets to meet Lou, but Mario does not.<br> <br>Lou Albano and Danny Wells also twice played female versions of themselves, cousin Marianne, mama Mario, cousin Luigeena and aunt Luigeena., and also two hillbilly cousins, named Mario Joe and Luigi Bob.<br> <br>Super Mario Bros.<br>Each Super Mario Bros. cartoon served as the second segment of every show, following the introduction and first few minutes of the episode's live-action segment. The cartoon featured characters and situations based upon the NES games Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2, as well as several sound effects and musical cues from both games. Each episode featured Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool defending the Mushroom Kingdom from the reptilian villain King Koopa, often in a movie or pop-culture parody. Getting into the spirit of these parodies, Koopa often used alter egos fitting the current theme, but Koopa sometimes goes without an alter ego in some episodes.<br> <br>The theme song for the cartoon segments revealed that the Super Mario Brothers were accidentally warped into the Mushroom Kingdom while working on a bathtub drain in Brooklyn. After traveling via the warp drain, the Super Mario Brothers defeated King Koopa's Koopa Troopas, saved Princess Toadstool and halted Koopa's plan to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. At the beginning of every cartoon segment, Mario recites an entry into his "Plumber's Log", a parody of the Captain's Log from Star Trek.<br> <br>When Mario and Luigi are in danger, they often do their patty-cake routine: "Patty-cake, Patty-cake, Pasta-Man! Gimme Pasta power as fast as you can!<br> <br>There were a few blunders with the animation and production of the show. The Star power up in the Mario Bros. games grants invincibility, but in the show it gives them the same effect as the Fire Flower. This blunder even appears in the shows opening. In the Episode "Quest for Pizza" after Luigi turns the square wheels into round wheels of the Caveman car<br>The Super Mario Bros. cartoons aired four days a week, from Monday through Thursday.<br>The Legend of Zelda<br>Main article: The Legend of Zelda (TV series)<br>On every Friday episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, a cartoon based on The Legend of Zelda video game series was featured instead of the Super Mario Bros.''"

 

With the show being translated into 14 languages and 1 dialect {{wp|Filipino language|Filipino}}, ({{wp|Finnish language|Finnish}}, {{wp|French language|French}}, {{wp|German language|German}}, {{wp|Hebrew language|Hebrew}}, {{wp|Italian language|Italian}}, {{wp|Korean language|Korean}}, {{wp|Indonesian language|Malay}}, {{wp|Norwegian language|Norwegian}}, {{wp|Brazilian Portuguese|Portuguese}}, {{wp|Russian language|Russian}}, {{wp|Spanish language|Spanish}}, {{wp|Castilian Spanish}}, {{wp|Swedish language|Swedish}}, and {{wp|Taiwanese Mandarin}}) there are many differences between them.

*The French, Dutch and German dubs are the only international versions to completely re-dub the Plumber Rap, whereas other foreign markets use the English version and dub only the animated Mario head introducing the show. Also, the German and Dutch versions also re-dubs "Do the Mario" ("Mach den Mario") for the closing credits.

*The Korean version uses a slightly modified lyrical version of the original Mario theme music and replaces the live-action skits with new ones starring Korean actors. The Korean skits feature original plots, sets, and costume designs, rather than simply remaking the Albano/Wells skits; among other changes, Mario & Luigi's outfits more closely resembles those of their game counterparts, their mustaches are stereotypical handlebar mustaches (as opposed to Albano & Wells' natural facial hair), and the set design is significantly more sterile.

* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLySo2SlSHPSOBOcRLpSsmr5CqvDRlUa-U All full episodes of the show] officially uploaded on YouTube, courtesy of {{wp|WildBrain Spark}}.

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[[Category:DiC Entertainment]]