Line #2 WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBrosDic


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smbss.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''Come on, it's time to go! Do the Mario!'']]
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4	Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s flagship franchise, ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' has had multiple [[AnimatedAdaptation Animated Adaptations]] in the West. Preceded by Mario and Franchise/DonkeyKong's animated debut in ''WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade'' segments, the first to focus on both brothers and their new life in the Mushroom Kingdom were the three cartoons by Creator/{{DiC Entertainment}}. The first was ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'', a 1989 animated/live action production featuring the adventures of those plucky plumbers from Brooklyn. The show ran four days a week in syndication, with Fridays reserved for a cartoon based on ''{{WesternAnimation/The Legend of Zelda\|1989}}''.
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6	Saturday morning cartoons titled ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Super Mario World\|1991}}'' were later made (without live-action segments) and would air alongside ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' on Creator/{{NBC}}. All three shows are now available on [=DVD=].
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8	For tropes unique to one of the three shows, see their respective articles.
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10	----
11	!!Tropes present on more than one show:
12	* AbortedArc: The ''Super Show'' constantly reminds us that the Mario Brothers are [[BigApplesauce from Brooklyn]], with the live action segments representing their past lives there and the ExpositoryThemeTune to each episode documenting how they were sucked through a pipe into the Mushroom Kingdom. Many episodes, such as "Brooklyn Bound" and "Flatbush Koopa", focus on or mention their [[TheHomewardJourney attempt to return home]]. By the time ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'' rolls around, RefugeeFromTVLand is a common plot device, with the Mario Bros. themselves traveling to "The Real World" in many episodes, but they don't seem particularly interested in staying there anymore. According to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtpRHOyaUik Writer's Bible]] for ''Mario Bros. 3'', prior to the start of that show, the brothers chased Koopa into a "banishment zone" and sealed the entrance with 10,000 bricks. They then returned home to Brooklyn, but after Koopa escaped and threatened the Mushroom Kingdom again, the brothers returned, choosing to stay and defend the kingdom.
13	* {{Acrofatic}}: King Koopa may be large but he sure can be agile when the situation calls for it.
14	* AdaptationalWimp: Downplayed with King Koopa, as he never breathes fire nor is there any hint of him having this ability. That said, his army and evil plans still more than make up for this.
15	* AdaptationDyeJob:
16	** Princess Toadstool's appearance is a fairly good direct rendition of her early game sprite: a more Daisy-like redhead.
17	** King Koopa is also completely green scaled (likely so he also fills the position of Wart, see CompositeCharacter below).
18	* AdaptationNameChange:
19	** Bowser > King Koopa.
20	** Larry > Cheatsy.
21	** Morton > Big Mouth.
22	** Wendy > Kootie Pie.
23	** Iggy > Hop.
24	** Roy > Bully.
25	** Lemmy > Hip.
26	** Ludwig > Kooky.
27	* AdiposeRex: King Koopa, though it never is stated as such except when [[PoppingButtons a button pops off his tuexdo]] in an episode of ''Super Show''.
28	* AllThereInTheManual: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtpRHOyaUik The Writer's Bible]] for ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'' released on the DVD, contains information not given elsewhere, including the backstory for the series, what happened between ''Super Show'' and ''Mario Bros. 3'' and character bios.
29	* TheAnimeOfTheGame: To the extent that sound effects, backgrounds and music from the shows' games (Super Show counting for SMB 1 and 2) are used extensively.
30	* TheArtifact: In the first show, Koopa is made to be a composite of Bowser and Wart, hence his green skin and prominent crown. The next two cartoons would ditch references to the older games in favour of what was new. To keep continuity, Koopa still uses his Wart-like appearance that stands out from his kids (who are much closer to their game counterpart colors).
31	* BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad: What Koopa teaches his kids, [[HypocriticalHumor as long as their bad deeds aren't against him]].
32	* BastardUnderstudy: It seems at times, Koopa did a bit ''too'' good a job raising his kids to be underhanded villains. Cheatsy is the most recurring case, though all of the kids have at least one moment they stab their Pops in the back.
33	* BigApplesauce: This interpretation of the Mario Bros., arguably more than any other. They've got the accents, [[BigEater appetites]], and even a hint of BrooklynRage, and their New York origin[[note]]Flatbush, Brooklyn, to be precise.[[/note]] is the source of lots of observations and humor.
34	* BigBrotherBully: Bully is portrayed as the oldest of the Koopa Kids and often pushes his siblings around.
35	* BrickJoke: An odd one extending across two shows: Near the beginning of "The Super Mario Bros Super Show", in the episode ''King Mario of Cramalot'' Luigi tries to get out of an unpleasant task by saying he's going to have a baby. The final episode of the Super Mario World cartoon features him adopting a baby Yoshi and embracing his status as his "mama".
36	* ChristmasEpisode: "Koopa Klaus" and "The Night Before Cave Christmas."
37	* CirclingBirdies: Super Stars in this case, and Mario [[InvincibilityPowerUp uses it to his advantage]].
38	* ClumsyCopyrightCensorship: The song covers in SMBSS and a few [=SMB3=] episodes being replaced by instrumentals from the latter series, most notably an instrumental version of "Mega Move," an original song created by DIC that first appeared in the ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' series.
39	* CoDragons: Kooky and/or Cheatsy in the Saturday morning spinoffs are the ones most likely to be on hand in aiding their dad.
40	* CompositeCharacter: King Koopa, the cartoons' version of Bowser, appears to be a mix of both Bowser and Wart (especially in the ''Super Show''). Specifically, King Koopa has Wart's crown, green skin and {{Mooks}}.
41	* ContinuityNod: Uncommon, but it happens, even between series:
42	** Salvador Drainado from "Brooklyn Bound" - the greatest plumber to ever live - reappears as a statue (quite appropriately) at the titular academy in "Plummers Academy".
43	** The cab driver from "Flatbush Koopa" (''Super Show'') makes a cameo in "Recycled Koopa" (''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3''). Possibly a case of reusing character designs, as he was never more than incidental character.
44	** "Fire Sale", the first episode of ''Super Mario World'', takes place almost entirely in Ice Land, a location from ''Super Mario Bros. 3''.[[note]]In terms of the shows' game counterparts, fire-spitting Piranha Plants (with stems) exist only ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' and not ''Super Mario World'' as well, suggesting that this episode may be a RecycledScript from the previous show.[[/note]]
45	** "Rock TV" (''Super Mario World'') opens with King Koopa reminiscing on what he learned "while [he] was in the Real World." Presumably, he's talking about his [[RefugeeFromTVLand experiences]] in many episodes of ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3''.
46	* CowardlySidekick: Luigi, decades before ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' would establish his cowardly personality, and later Yoshi.
47	* ADayInTheLimelight: All three shows have at least one episode focusing on Luigi - "Quest for Pizza" in SMBSS, "Life's Ruff" in [=SMB3=], and "Mama Luigi" in SMW. Especially notable is that Luigi is the ''only'' one of the four heroes to be in "Life's Ruff".
48	* DemotedToExtra: Kootie Pie and Kooky were the most prominent Koopa Kids in [=SMB3=], most of Koopa's schemes primarily involving them. In SMW, they have only one limelight episode, limited to non speaking cameos otherwise.
49	* TheDragon: Mouser in SMBSS. The role tends to be granted to either Kooky or Cheatsy in the later cartoons.
50	* DubNameChange: Zigzagged for Bowser, who is referred to by his Japanese moniker King Koopa (though a FullNameUltimatum is used a handful of times). The writers made up their own names for the Koopalings, called the Koopa Kids in the actual show, before the English version of [[AllThereInTheManual The Manual]] was final.
51	* ExpositoryThemeTune: ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show'' has one in full 1980s cartoon show glory, explaining the Mario Bros' backstory and the premise of the show [[GratuitousRap in the form of a rap]]. ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'' drops it for an expository ''narration'', and ''Super Mario World'' for a catchy song that consists mostly of [[TitleThemeTune the show's title being repeated over and over]].
52	* {{Flanderization}}: Big Mouth seemed to originally earn his moniker from being a loudmouthed snarker (a role that was admittedly sorta redundant between him and the other mouthy Koopa Kids). By SMW he is a LargeHam MotorMouth who drives his siblings crazy by ''never shutting up''.
53	* ForTheEvulz: Koopa's motive for doing the things he does. Examples include turning his sons into giants to kidnap Prince Hugo just so he can turn him into a poodle.
54	* FullNameUltimatum: Mario does this a few times in the ''Mario 3'' cartoon when delivering smack talk to Koopa.
55	* HateSink: King Koopa was made as overtly evil as possible in the ''Super Show''. Later shows balance this out with his affection towards the Koopalings.
56	* ImpliedLoveInterest: Averted. Unlike the games, where Mario and Peach are both young adults in their twenties, Mario is a middle-aged man, and Toadstool, at seventeen, is young enough to be his daughter, so them being the OfficialCouple wouldn't work. In fact, there was never an attempt to give Toadstool a love interest, or really much attempt in these cartoons to have romance at all.
57	* ItalianAmericanCaricature: Exaggerated. Mario and Luigi are Italian-American New Yorkers described as Pizza-tarians, and while Mario's TrademarkFavoriteFood is pasta, he has also been known to enjoy [[BizarreTasteInFood pepperoni cheesecake and mozzarella milkshakes]]. It helps that both of them were voiced by people with Italian heritage at one point[[note]]Wrestling/CaptainLouAlbano for Mario in the Super Show and Creator/TonyRosato as Luigi in the latter two cartoons[[/note]], with Luigi's retaining a slight accent.
58	* LoudOfWar: One episode had a group of cute little aliens saving the day by using their kazoo-like noses to hum a tune which drove King Koopa ''nuts'' and forced him to flee. The song they sang? The theme of ''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic The Legend of Zelda]]!''
59	* MeaningfulName: All of the Koopa Kids' names but some (such as Bully, Big Mouth and Cheatsy) are more blatant.
60	* OncePerEpisode: In each series, the Mario Bros. and Koopa (with the Koopa Kids in the latter two) fight to the beat of a musical montage. Each episode of Super Show, along with a few [=SMB3=] episodes, has a pop music song covered by the cast. The rest of the [=SMB3=] episodes and the entire [=SMW=] series have songs specifically written for the shows.
61	* PetTheDog: King Koopa thrives on being [[CardCarryingVillain as underhanded and nasty a villain]] as possible. In the later two shows however, it's clear he genuinely cares for his kids, particularly Kootie Pie who he spoils rotten.
62	* PieEyes: Almost every character has these in Super Show; while only Toad and the Goombas retain these in the other cartoons.
63	* PlanetOfHats: ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show'' has a new one OncePerEpisode, always denoted by a name like "[Hat] Land." There's Caveman Land, Car Land and [[HipHop Rap]] Land, just to name a few! ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'' borrows a few (considerably less wacky) lands from the game's [[SingleBiomePlanet Single-Biome Country]] environments, like Desert Land and Ice Land.
64	* QuicksandSucks: A few times the good guys got stuck in it and needed someone to help them out, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation apparently forgetting they have the ability to hop out of the quicksand]].
65	* RefugeeFromTVLand: A common gimmick in ''The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'' has the Koopas traveling to [[BreakingTheFourthWall "The Real World"]] to cause havoc, and the Marios following to fix it. Although it doesn't ''really'' show up in the other shows, though Koopa [[ContinuityNod flashes back]] to his time spent in the Real World at the beginning of the ''Super Mario World'' episode "Rock TV."
66	* RetCanon:
67	** Luigi's status as a CowardlySidekick debuted here, though it's played slightly differently here, as this Luigi isn't very timid.
68	** Toad's oddly screechy voice is eerily similar to Toad's modern voice.
69	** The games version of Bowser shares several traits of King Koopa from game to game (eg. DeadpanSnarker moments, a loyally CardCarryingVillain, genuinely love for his offspring).
70	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Princess Toadstool. King Koopa too.
71	* SavingChristmas: The Christmas episodes of ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show'' and ''Super Mario World'' do one of the different types of this.
72	* ShoutOut:
73	** ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' appeared in two live-action segments (played by Creator/MauriceLamarche, as Creator/DonAdams was supposedly approached but declined) and was referenced in a third.
74	** ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' is referenced twice. King Koopa hosts a spoof in ''Super Show'' (in "On Her Majesty's Sewer Service") and he spies on a family watching the show in ''Super Mario World''.
75	** ''Franchise/StarTrek'' gets a reference in every cold open to the ''Super Show'' in the form of the "Plumber's Log" Mario narrates to himself at the beginning of each episode.
76	** Documenting ''all'' the {{Shout Out}}s in the ''Super Show'' would be a task daedalian in scope. Nearly every episode is a reference (either a full-blown WholePlotReference, or an InNameOnly reference in the form of a PunnyName title) to a film (such as "The Mark of Zero" for ''Franchise/{{Zorro}}'', "Toad Warrior" for ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior'', or "Crocodile Mario" for ''Film/CrocodileDundee''), and the ones that aren't are usually a reference to folklore, literature, celebrities or something else.
77	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: All the games are heavily idealistic.
78	* TagalongKid: Toad in first two series and Oogtar in Super Mario World. Yoshi also generally acts like an infant, though leans more as a TeamPet.
79	* VagueAge: The Koopa Kids in the cartoons are a special case. It's averted with Kootie Pie, who is sixteen, along with Hip and Hop, who are both six. The rest are allegedly in their teens.
80	* VillainExitStageLeft: King Koopa frequently pulls this off in the ''Super Show'', usually by way of a warp-generating potion (based on the doors to Sub-Con in the American ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2''), and a few times on the later two as well.
81	* WomenAreWiser: Princess Toadstool is generally the smartest member of the cast.
82	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Mario and Luigi in the ''Super Show''. [[spoiler:Even in the episode "Brooklyn Bound", where it looks like they'll finally be able to return to Brooklyn again, they miss their chance when Koopa swoops in at the last minute to threaten the Princess.]] Subverted in the sequel series, where they can go back to the real world any time they want, but have lost interest in doing so.

Context WesternAnimation / SuperMarioBrosDic