Elvin Lives
| The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode | |
|---|---|
| "Elvin Lives" | |
| |
| Production number | 139 |
| Airdate | November 8, 1989 (English) November 28, 1990 (French)[?] |
| Writer(s) | David Bennett Carren J. Larry Carroll |
| Plumber's Log # | 19-50 |
| King Koopa's alter ego(s) | Koopa, the Kool |
| Cover song(s) | "Rock Around the Clock" |
| Replacement song(s) | "Motor City" |
| Title reference | Elvis Lives |
| Live-action segment | "Home Radio" |
| << List of episodes >> | |
"Elvin Lives" is the thirty-ninth episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! The episode's title references a discredited conspiracy theory that was popular at the time of the episode's airing, which claimed that Elvis Presley did not die in 1977, but only went into hiding and was still alive, based on alleged inconsistencies with Presley's official death certificate. Had Presley lived, he would be 54 when the episode first premiered in 1989. This episode is notable for being the only episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! where a Goomba has a speaking role. Its corresponding live-action segment is "Home Radio."
Plot synopsis[edit]
Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool travel to Sock Hop Land in search of the music king Elvin Parsley. They ask a Mushroom person where to find Elvin, but he gives a response heavily influenced by 1950's slang that Mario and the others cannot understand. Suddenly, every Toad in the town becomes scared. As Mario and the others turn around, they see a group of greaser Goombas with Kool Koopa in a red convertible called the Koopallac following behind, the latter proclaiming himself as the new ruler of Sock Hop Land. Every Toad then runs for cover. The Goombas and Kool Koopa stop in front of Elvin's recording studio and replace his picture on a billboard with one of Kool Koopa. Koopa then sees Princess Toadstool and chases after her, planning to make her his girlfriend. As the Princess argues about not wanting to be his girlfriend, Mario grabs her and runs with Luigi and Toad into an alley. In the alley, they find a dumpster and push it into the Goombas and Kool Koopa as they pursue them.
As Mario and the others walk through a neighborhood, Mario mentions that Kool Koopa is tricking Sock Hop Land's citizens into believing he is their king, to which Luigi replies that they have to find Elvin Parsley. Princess Toadstool spots Elvin's mansion, Parsley Land, and suggests checking there for clues on Elvin's whereabouts. Upon entering the mansion, they hear the song "Jailhouse Rock" play. Mario mentions that there are many pictures and statues of Elvin Parsley, but the singer himself is nowhere to be seen. Sudddenly, the group hears tapping from a closet. Toad runs over to open the door, revealing Elvin's blue suede shoes trapped inside. The shoes explain that Kool Koopa broke into the mansion, kidnapped him, and took him to his hideout, and decide to lead Mario and his friends to the hideout.
The shoes lead Mario and his friends to the Half Life Malt Shop, Kool Koopa's hideout. As Mario and Luigi peek inside, they see many greaser Goombas seated at tables with a stage at the back. As Luigi wonders how they will sneak inside the malt shop, Mario tells them that they are "not the only slick ones around here," and proceeds to tell the group his plan. Mario, Luigi, and Toad sneak onstage and plan play music to distract the Goombas while Princess Toadstool and Elvin's shoes look for Elvin Parsley. They then proceed to play, but their lack of experience results in them playing poorly, resulting in many of the Goombas covering their ears from the music. Meanwhile, Princess Toadstool and Elvin's shoes find Elvin in a freezer room, frozen solid. The shoes mention that he will be alive again if the Princess puts them on his feet, but before she can do so, Kool Koopa apprehends her. As Mario, Luigi, and Toad play, Toad wonders where the Princess is, only to be grabbed by Kool Koopa, who mentions that he has captured her. Mario throws a cup at the Goomba host, starting a food fight with him and Kool Koopa. As Kool Koopa becomes angry about them throwing food at him, he throws Toad to the ground, allowing him, Mario, Luigi, and Elvin's shoes to flee the malt shop. Koopa chases after them, but he slips on a banana on his way out.
Later, Kool Koopa, with Princess Toadstool, drives the Koopallac into town to show off, driving past an alley where Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Elvin's boots are hiding in. Coming up with a plan to save the Princess, Mario suggests that they should make their own hot rod to chase after Koopa. Luigi asks where they would find a hot rod, to which Mario replies that they make their own, pointing to an old truck. They begin converting the truck into hot rod, finishing when Luigi inflates a tire too much causing it to blow up and transforming the truck into a hot rod.
Meanwhile, Princess Toadstool mentions that Kool Koopa should acting so arrogant, mentioning that Mario and Luigi will save her. Koopa denies this, mentioning that they will never catch up to Koopallac, boasting about its features. As he boasts, Princess Toadstool spots the Mario Bros. pursuing the Koopallac in their hot rod and mentions that he has trouble. The Mario Bros. drive in circles around him, with Luigi grabbing the Princess and driving off, outpacing the Koopallac. However, Mario mentions that, while they outpaced Kool Koopa, they did not outpace his greaser Goomba minions. One of the Goombas kicks a Bob-Omb at one of their hot rod's tires, deflating it and causing the hot rod to swerve to the right, resulting in the car crashing and being destroyed. Elvin's shoes suggest running away, though Mario points out a field of Fire Flowers they can use to deter the Goombas. He and Luigi pick a Fire Flower, turning into Super Mario and Super Luigi. They then shoot fireballs at the Goombas, resulting in him and Kool Koopa fleeing. Mario and Luigi then chase after Kool Koopa. Once they catch up to them, Luigi taunts him, while Mario jumps into the driver's seat and steers Kool Koopa's car towards a cliff as he tell Luigi to leave. The Koopallac drives off the cliff and falls to the ground, destroying it, while Kool Koopa hangs onto a tree branch. As Kool Koopa expresses his distate towards plumbers, the branch he is holding snaps, resulting him falling to the bottom of the cliff as well.
With Koopa defeated, Mario and his friends return to the malt shop. Princess Toadstool puts Elvin's shoes on his feet, causing the ice to melt and bringing Elvin back to life. As he exclaims that he feels refreshed, Mario and Luigi go outside to tell everyone that the king has returned, resulting in the Toads coming out of their hiding places and running over to the malt shop to see Elvin perform. As he performs, Mario asks if he could play with Elvin. However, knowing that Mario does not play well, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool firmly reject his request, much to Mario's dismay.
Characters[edit]
- Mario
- Luigi
- Princess Toadstool
- Toad
- Kool Koopa
- Mushroom People
- Greaser Goombas
- Elvin Parsley
- Elvin Parsley's blue suede shoes
- Bob-Omb
Cast[edit]
- Lou Albano — Mario, citizen #2
- Danny Wells — Luigi, citizen #3, Goomba #2
- Jeannie Elias — Princess Toadstool, citizen #5, mushroom boy
- John Stocker — Toad, citizen #1, Goomba #1
- Harvey Atkin — Kool Koopa, citizen #4, Goomba #3
- Robert Bocksteale — Goomba #4, citizen #6
- Marla Lukofsky — citizen #8
- Dorian Joe Clark — citizen #7
- Rob Cowan — Elvin Parsley, citizen #9
- Denise Pidgeon — citizen #10
Animation and continuity errors[edit]
- In the original version, when Princess Toadstool sees Elvin Parsley frozen, she incorrectly says he was turned into stone instead. This error is repeated with Elvin's blue suede shoes at the end of the episode.
- When Mario and his friends walk at the beginning of the episode, Princess Toadstool's brooch has its colors reversed.
- When showing the Elvin Parsley billboard at the beginning of the episode, the words "Elvin Parsley" are orange, but when the Goombas take it down, they are red and blue.
- In some scenes, the symbols on Mario and Luigi's caps are missing.
- When Kool Koopa tells the Goombas to capture Mario and his friends, a building overlaps on one of the Goombas.
- When Toad runs over to the closet, he freezes for a few frames before the transition to the next shot.
- When Mario and his friends follow the shoes out of the mansion, Toad is missing.
- As the host Goomba walks offstage when introducing the Toadstool Trio, he speaks, but his mouth does not move.
- When the Goombas clap for the Toadstool Trio, one Goomba's hat flashes.
- When the shoes says that Elvin will be unfrozen if Princess Toadstool puts them on him, Elvin's socks are blue instead of brown.
- When Kool Koopa drives away from the Half Life Malt Shop with Princess Toadstool, a second Koopallac can be seen still parked at the malt shop.
- When Kool Koopa drives through Sock Hop Land with Princess Toadstool, the crown on Princess Toadstool's head is missing.
- When Mario and Toad become upset with the shoes, the back-right tire appears as its normal size. This also happens after it blows up, along with Luigi also being missing.
- When Princess Toadstool says that Kool Koopa has trouble, the Koopallac is green instead of red.
- When one of the greaser Goombas kicks a Bob-omb towards one of the hot rod's tires, its body is colored brown instead of tan.
- When Mario and Luigi start chasing after Kool Koopa as he flees, they are briefly layered over some Fire Flowers.
Princess Toadstool's miscolored brooch
Elvin's miscolored socks
Kool Koopa's miscolored car
Profiles[edit]
- Netflix: With Toad and the Princess in tow, Mario and Luigi travel to Sock Hop Land, where they learn that music royalty Elvin Parsley is in trouble.[1]
- Off the Map DVD: The Mario Bros., Princess Toadstool, and Toad arrive in Sock Hop Land to save the music king Elvin Parsley from Greaser Koopa.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | Quelle Drôle d'Histoire[2] | What a Funny Story | |
| German | Elvin lebt[3] | Elvin Lives | |
| Italian | Elvin, Re del Rock[?] | Elvin, King of Rock | |
| Portuguese | A volta de Elvin[4] | The return of Elvin | |
| Spanish | Elvin vive[5] | Elvin lives |
Trivia[edit]
- When the curtain goes up, Mario and Luigi appear like how they are on The Best of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! DVD cover.
- When Elvin Parsley is unfrozen at the end of the episode, he exclaims, "OW! I FEEL GOOD!", a line from the song "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown.
