Super Mario Traffic Safety (translation of Super Mario no Koutsuu Anzen) is a Japanese PSA based on Super Mario Bros.. As the title suggests, it's all about traffic safety.
The short begins with a boy and his little sister playing Super Mario Bros. 3. Their mother calls them on the phone and tells them to come by the shop she works at. However, the boy procrastinates by continuing to play video games. His sister gets impatient and leaves without him, however she doesn't know where the store is and gets lost.
Around the same time, the mom goes looking for her kids because they haven't arrived yet. The brother, suddenly realizing his sister is missing, goes to look for her. In his haste he almost gets hit by a car. The driver of the car turns out to be Mario himself, who scolds the boy for his reckless running. Elsewhere, Bowser spots the little girl, but she gets scared by him and runs to a police officer. The family eventually reunites. When the girl spots Bowser again, she tells the police, causing Bowser to run off into traffic. Mario kicks Bowser out of the way. The short has a review of safety tips and then ends with Mario flying away in his Tanuki suit.
Super Mario Traffic Safety was only released in Japan and only given out to schools. It was never commercially released and, as a result, is very rare. The short is still used in some schools, but the short has never been fully posted online.
Compare to Super Mario's Fire Brigade, a similar PSA about fire safety.
Super Mario Traffic Safety provides examples of:
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Bowser's skin is colored green, giving him an Off-Model look.
- Look Both Ways: One of the safety tips is on looking both ways before you cross. To show the importance of this, the brother almost gets hit by Mario's car when he runs into traffic and later Bowser runs into traffic and nearly causes a wreck.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Mario has cartoonish proportions, being barely taller than the kids. He also looks much different than the rest of the "normal" looking humans.
- Too Smart for Strangers: A safety tip about not talking to strangers is given. Bowser acts as a "stranger" who tries to kidnap the little girl.
