A Little Learning

Super Mario World episode
"A Little Learning"
Production number	412
Airdate	November 30, 1991 (English) November 6, 1992 (French)
Writer(s)	Martha Moran
Featured song	"Rockin' the High School"
Captain N episode	"Quest For The Potion Of Power"
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"A Little Learning" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the Super Mario World animated series. The parts leading up to the science fair can be seen as commentary on bullying in school and how it is often ignored by adults, such as when Princess Toadstool punishes Oogtar for fighting with Hip and Hop. The episode marks the final animation appearance of the Koopalings and Oogtar. Chronologically, this is also the final appearance of King Koopa, Mario, and Princess Toadstool, though they appear in the series finale, "Mama Luigi," in Luigi's story set before the events of the series). Additionally, this is the only episode of any Super Mario cartoon where Luigi does not have dialogue, the only Super Mario World episode where Hip and Hop have dialogue, and Princess Toadstool's last speaking role in a Super Mario cartoon.

Plot

While rushing to school, Yoshi and Oogtar, carrying lunch-boxes and schoolbags, run up to Princess Toadstool (who acts like a teacher) ringing a bell in front of the schoolhouse. While Hip and Hop Koopa watch from the bushes, Oogtar hands Princess Toadstool an apple. Taking a bite of this apple, Princess Toadstool hurls it away in disgust, as it has a small Caterpillar in it. An angry Princess Toadstool proceeds to order Oogtar and Yoshi into the schoolhouse.

Seeing Oogtar, Yoshi, and the Princess go into school, Hip and Hop try to follow them, only to be grabbed by King Koopa. The angry Koopa king proceeds to tell Hip and Hop they are forbidden to go to school, believing school will turn the Koopaling twins into "goodie two-shoes". As Koopa makes Hip and Hop promise not to go to school, he fails to notice Hip and Hop crossing their fingers as they make this promise.

As Koopa walks-off, Hip and Hop zoom into the schoolhouse, just in time for the Pledge of Allegiance. After reciting their own version of the pledge, Hip and Hop are asked why they are at school by a confused Princess Toadstool; Hip and Hop give the simple reply for wanting to go except their father rejects it.

Angry Cave People who are not appealed at the idea of having the Koopalings at school.

Before the Princess can reply to Hip and Hop's remark, the school is besieged by angry cave-people, who refuse to allow Hip and Hop to attend the same school as their children. As Princess Toadstool leaves to discuss matters with the cave-people and Mario (who acts like the principal), Oogtar decides to give Hip and Hop some gum, saying that the Princess loves when kids blow bubbles in their class, the bigger, the better.

After convincing the cave-people to give Hip and Hop a chance, Princess Toadstool returns to class, only to get caught in the gunk left by Hip and Hop's giant bubble gum bubble. As Princess Toadstool begins telling Hip and Hop she does not like gum in her class, Hip and Hop can only glare angrily at Oogtar. After reprimanding Hip and Hop, Princess Toadstool proceeds to give Oogtar and Yoshi the responsibility of showing Hip and Hop around.

Later, during a game of catch at recess, Hip and Hop pop the game ball. As Princess Toadstool goes to get another ball, Hip and Hop, hungry for revenge against Oogtar, proceed to take several dozen fireballs from out of their backpack. With fireballs blazing, Hip and Hop begin throwing fireballs everywhere.

Running from Hip and Hop, Oogtar becomes entangled in the school playground's jungle gym. Approaching Oogtar, Hip and Hop throw a pair of fireballs at him. Missing Oogtar, Hip and Hop instead release him from entanglement. Before Hip or Hop can hurl anymore fireballs at Oogtar, Yoshi eats the Koopaling's backpacks. After doing this, Yoshi is attacked by Hip and Hop, with Oogtar joining in the fighting shortly afterwards.

Princess Toadstool, blaming the fight on Oogtar.

Rushing outside, Princess Toadstool manages to stop the fighting and, believing Oogtar to be the one who started the fight, scolds him while Hip and Hop make mocking poses at him from behind the Princess' back.

At Neon Castle, King Koopa begins to wonder why things are so quiet and where Hip and Hop are. Perplexed, he begins to look around his castle for his youngest children.

Back at school, Princess Toadstool announces that a science fair is going to be held and advises the students to start working on their projects. As Oogtar and Yoshi work on their project, an "eggabega", a cross between an eggplant and a rutabaga, they are continually taunted by Hip and Hop. Having had enough, Oogtar begins storming over to Hip and Hop's table, only to be stopped by Princess Toadstool, who sends Oogtar back to his and Yoshi's table. While Hip and Hop work on their volcano project, Oogtar has Yoshi use his tongue to pull Hip's chair out from under him, causing Hip to fall face-first into his and Hop's volcano.

After the school day is done, Hip and Hop sneak-back into the building during the night and proceed to sabotage Yoshi and Oogtar's project by sticking a Piranha Plant in it. After doing this, Hip and Hop begin modifying their volcano.

Mario and Luigi as judges to the fair.

The next day, Princess Toadstool begins to announce that the science fair is starting and proceeds to introduce the fair's judges: Mario and Luigi. As the students begin setting up their projects, Hip and Hop begin discussing their own project in a tunnel beneath the school. Having set-up an extensive piping system which goes from Neon Castle to the school, Hip proceeds to tell Hop how to work the pipes.

Meanwhile, King Koopa, still searching for Hip and Hop, ends-up tripping over a newly placed pipe in his dungeon. Confused, Koopa begins to follow the pipe, which leads to the nearby Warp Tube to Dome City. Becoming increasingly suspicious, he jumps into the Warp Tube.

At school, Hip begins to show-off his volcano project, which is quite spectacular and impresses everyone present. Oogtar, jealous of Hip's project, begins to dump excessive amounts of fertilizer on his and Yoshi's "eggabega". Unbeknownst to anyone, the fertilizer causes the Piranha Plant hidden in the eggabega's leaves to grow instead.

Outside the school, Koopa exits the Warp Tube and, seeing he is at the Dome City school, instantly realizes that Hip and Hop disobeyed him. He then finds Hop next to a lever that controls the lava that flows through Hip's volcano. When Koopa picks up Hop, Hop tells Koopa that he does not belong here. Koopa says that he does not either and says to him that as he gets Hop and his brother Hip home, they will be in big trouble. However, when Koopa picks up Hop, Hop accidentally spins the lever out of control. Hip's volcano begins spurting huge amounts of lava without Hop to steady the flow.

Everyone makes it out, though the school becomes destroyed by the lava. The giant Piranha Plant has also escaped and begins going on a rampage, wanting King Koopa as its meal. He, along with Hip and Hop, attempts to flee but they all get eaten by the Piranha Plant. Yoshi then swallows the slowed down Piranha Plant, trapping Koopa, Hip, and Hop inside him.

Princess Toadstool, instructing Yoshi to spit the Koopas out.

Feeling extremely bloated and sick, Yoshi is instructed by Princess Toadstool to spit the three Koopas into the Warp Tube to Neon Castle. After doing so, Princess Toadstool yells into the Warp Tube that Hip and Hop must not bother going to school tomorrow (it is not a holiday as Hop asked, but they are expelled forever). With the lava from Hip's volcano still flowing and heading for the city, Mario and Luigi manage to save Dome City by turning the piping system around. They shove the pipe down the Neon Castle Warp Tube and into Koopa's bedroom, flooding it with lava (which comes out of a pipe in his room). Koopa, trapped and panicking on his bed, pleads with Hip and Hop to save him with the promise that they can return to school (not knowing that the Princess has banned them from attending school).

Quotes

• "Ugh! A caterpillar!" (Princess Toadstool)
• "You will not go to school! No lizard of mine is gonna learn good citizenship!" (King Koopa)
• "Like King Dad said, lying is an excellent trait!" (Hip and Hop Koopa)
• "Koopa Kids? What they do here? Me no like!" (Cave Person)
• "...And to the repulsiveness for which he stands, one Koopa, underground, reprehensible, with lizards and Goombas for all!" (Hip and Hop Koopa)
• "No way, Princess! Cavepeople just say no to Koopa Kids!" (Cave Person)
• "You complain about the Koopas, but when they decide to do something to improve themselves, you're against it!" (Princess Toadstool)
• "What? No way, cave babe!" (Oogtar)
• "Fireballs? Yum!" (Yoshi)
• "Sure is quiet around here! I wonder where Hip and Hop are? Well, whatever they're doing, I hope they're up to no good! Think I'll take a look around!" (King Koopa)
• "Cross eggplant with rutabaga, get eggabaga!" (Oogtar)
• "Or cross Oogtar with broccoli and get Oogli!" (Hip and Hop Koopa)
• "Oogli's in for a surprise tomorrow when his eggabaga turns out to be a Piranha mama!" (Hip and Hop Koopa)
• "Welcome to Dome City's very first science fair!" (Princess Toadstool)
• "I've got to hand it to you, Princess! I still can't believe you've turned Hip and Hop into good students!" (Mario)
• "Ow! Dawdling dinosaurs! When will those awful offspring of mine learn to pick up their... pipes?" (King Koopa)
• "The warp pipe to Dome City? I wonder. Only one way to find out!" (King Koopa)
• "You can never predict when exactly a volcano is going to erupt!" (Hip Koopa)
• "Ooh, Yoshi no feel good!" (Yoshi)
• "No school tomorrow, boys!" (Princess Toadstool, after Yoshi spits out the Koopas into the Warp Pipe)
• "You mean it's a holiday?" (Hop Koopa)
• "No, you're expelled! Forever!" (Princess Toadstool)
• "A little bed warming for Papa Koopa!" (Mario, after Mario and Luigi complete the pipe assembly for the lava flood)
• "Hip! Hop! Get me out of here! I'll send you to school! (sotto voce) Gladly." (King Koopa)
• "We wanna go to school! Except King Dad doesn't want us to!" (Hip and Hop Koopa)

Cast

• Walker Boone — Mario
• Tony Rosato — Luigi
• Andrew Sabiston — Yoshi
• Tracey Moore — Princess Toadstool
• Harvey Atkin — King Bowser Koopa
• John Stocker — Oogtar the caveboy, angry caveman
• Stuart Stone — Hip Koopa
• Tara Charendoff — Hop Koopa
• Gordon Masten — Male singer
• Judy Marshak — Female singer

Animation and continuity errors

• When King Koopa says "No lizard of mine is gonna learn good citizenship!", the bottom of his crown is green instead of yellow.
• Right after Oogtar gives the bubble gum, Yoshi's saddle has its colors reversed. This also happens when he applies some fertilizer to his plant.
• When Hip pops the football, his bag is missing.
• When Hip and Hop put the Piranha Plant into Oogtar's plant, the pot changes from purple to green. Also, when the Piranha Plant is chasing them, the pot also changes to green.
• When the camera pans over to Hip and Hop underground after Mario and his friends walk inside, Hop's eyelids are the same color as his glasses.
• When Hop says that he and Hip are performing an experiment even King Koopa would be proud of, his shell has its colors reversed.
• When Hip and Hop are chased by Koopa during the "Rockin' the High School" sequence, their heads match the colors of their bodies.
• During its appearance, the Piranha Plant's legs are light-green like its pot instead of dark-green.
• When Hip and Hop run on a pipe, they and King Koopa are on the side of it instead on top of it.
• When King Koopa tries to jump on the Koopalings, he overlaps on a Block.
• Before being swallowed by Yoshi, the giant Piranha Plant freezes in mid-step for a few frames.
• When Yoshi spits out the Koopas, his face turns completely green.
• When Mario is about to reroute the lava, his sideburns disappear.
  • In the same scene, his mouth moves before any sound comes out. Shortly after, when Princess Toadstool asks, "What did you do with it?", her mouth only moves once and then closes.

Profiles

• Yoshi the Superstar DVD: Princess Toadstool starts a school with Yoshi and Oogtar with Hip & Hop as her first students. The kids become sworn enemies, and their desire for revenge culminates in a disastrous science fair that threatens to blow up the entire Dinosaur World.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
French	La rentrée scolaire	The first day at school
German	Der Vulkan bricht aus	The Volcano erupts
Italian	Tutti a scuola	Everybody at School
Portuguese	Aprendendo um Pouco	Learning a Little
Romanian	O mică lecție	A little lesson
Spanish	Una pequeña lección	A little lesson

Trivia

• Koopa implies in this episode that he is illiterate, though his game counterpart appears capable of writing a letter in Super Mario Bros. 3.
• The Pledge of Allegiance was previously parodied in "Reptiles in the Rose Garden"; in both cases, "republic" is replaced with "repulsiveness".