The Wheel Thing

Super Mario World episode
"The Wheel Thing"
Production number	401
Airdate	September 21, 1991 (English) September 4, 1992 (French)[?]
Writer(s)	Eleanor Burian-Mohr Jack Hanrahan
Featured song	"Motor City"
Captain N episode	"Pursuit Of The Magic Hoop"
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"The Wheel Thing" is the second episode of the Super Mario World television series. The title for this episode may be a pun on the phrase "the real thing." It is notable for being the first appearance of King Koopa in Super Mario World, and is also the only episode in this series where Kooky has dialogue.

Plot synopsis

While relaxing in front of the Dome Castle, Mario and Luigi watch as the people of Dome City painstakingly move various rocks and boulders. Feeling sorry for the cave people, Luigi and Mario try to think of a way to help them; after some brainstorming, Mario comes up with an idea.

Inside the Dome Castle, Mario and Luigi are hard at work producing various wooden wheels, as Kooky von Koopa looks on. After getting an idea, Kooky runs off while Mario and Luigi begin to transport the wheels they constructed outside. Outside, Mario runs into two cave people, Ugga and Ooga. He then proceeds to hand some wheels over to the two. The two cave people, not understanding what to do with the wheels, wear them as hats, much to Mario's dismay.

While Mario tries to explain the concept of wheels to Ugga and Ooga, Luigi approaches the nearby, napping Yoshi, who proceeds to eat the wheel Luigi was carrying. After burning some holes into some wheels with a Fire Flower, Mario, using a wooden rod and stone slab, manages to make a stone skateboard.

Hopping on this skateboard, Luigi zooms around several amazed cave people. An overly-excited Yoshi ends up hopping on Luigi's back, wanting a ride. This added weight causes Luigi to crash, Yoshi to fall to the ground, and the skateboard to be flung into the air; as the skateboard begins to fall to the ground, Yoshi happily gobbles it up, proclaiming "Ohhh, is good!"

A while later, Mario begins to show Princess Toadstool his recently constructed car factory. Utilizing things such as Fishbones and Piranha Plants, Mario, with the help of Yoshi and the cave people, has managed to construct several Goomba-powered cars; despite Mario continually stating that his cars are a good idea, Princess Toadstool is still somewhat worried.

Luigi flinching after a car accident.

After having created several dozen cars, Mario decides to take a nap, only to be awoken several minutes later by a run over Luigi. Luigi explains to Mario that the cave people have no idea how to drive and that the accidents are piling up, quite literally. Mario simply brushes off Luigi's claims, saying that the cave people will "Catch on."

In the bowels of Neon Castle, Kooky von Koopa begins construction of what he calls his "most monstrous invention ever!". Kooky proceeds to begin welding with a Dino-Torch while laughing maniacally.

After some disastrous traffic management, a battered Luigi approaches Mario saying that the city is in a state of disarray. After a particularly bad accident, the angry people of Dome City, blaming Mario and Luigi for all the trouble that has been happening, banish the two to the Lava Pits.

Kooky revealing the Mega Mechanasaur to Koopa.

Outside the walls of Dome City, Kooky reveals his newest invention to King Koopa: the Mega Mechanasaur, a fire-breathing weapon of mass destruction. Boarding the Mega Mechanasaur, Kooky and Koopa proceed to rampage through Dome City, which is now defenseless without Mario and Luigi. A panicking Ooga proceeds to ask Princess Toadstool's help in getting Mario and Luigi back.

Meanwhile in the Lava Pits, Mario and Luigi are trying, quite unsuccessfully, to cook a pizza over a fire. As Luigi cooks the pizza, Mario gets a Morse-code message from Princess Toadstool, asking the Mario Bros. to come back and beat King Koopa and Kooky. As Mario and Luigi try and think of a way to get back to Dome City, a Blargg, attracted by the smell of the pizza, attacks the two. As Luigi runs from the Blargg, Mario, using a trampoline, manages to get a Cape Feather and transform into Cape Mario. In his new form, Mario grabs Luigi and flies up a nearby Warp Tube and back into Dome City.

Through the use of some "log speed-bumps", fireball-shooting stop-lights and a pot-hole-digging Yoshi, Mega Mechanasaur is destroyed and Kooky and Bowser are forced to flee.

A celebration is thrown by the cave people in Mario and Luigi's honor. As the two Mario Bros. are happily welcomed back to Dome City, the two decide to stave-off inventing things for the cave people for "a few thousand years".

Gallery

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  Ooga and Ugga struggling with their work.

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  Kooky spying on Mario and Luigi.

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  Mario and Luigi making wheels.

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  Ooga and Ugga receiving wheels Mario and Luigi made.

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  Ooga and Ugga using the wheels for more objects to carry.

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  Ooga and Ugga "wearing" the wheels.

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  Ooga and Ugga use the wheels as a flyswatter.

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  Luigi pulling the brown stick.

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  Luigi demonstrating the wheels.

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  Luigi and Yoshi making wheels.

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  A Goomba running a car.

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  Kooky von Koopa constructing the Mecha Mechanasaur.

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  The Cave People blaming Mario and Luigi for the damage.

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  Mario and Luigi being banished into the Lava Pits.

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  The Mecha Mechanasaur.

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  The Mecha Mechanasaur making havoc.

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  Ooga asking Princess Toadstool to bring the Mario Bros. back.

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  A Blaarg scares Mario and Luigi.

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  Yoshi with the digging helmet.

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  The Cave People construct a truck.

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  The Cave People's logs acting like speed bumps.

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  Fire Traffic Lights

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  Yoshi's holes destroying the Mecha Mechanasaur.

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  The Cave People cheering on Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi.

Quotes

• "Behold our cave mobile assembly line, Princess! We're on a roll. The cave people are gonna have wheels before you can say Henry Ford!" - Mario
• "Thank you, Marios. You've inspired me to create my most monstrous invention ever!" - Kooky von Koopa
• "Wow, and I thought I was hungry all the time!" - Mario
• "Your turn as traffic cop, mister fender-bender. If only Yoshi would stop nibbling on the stop signs! It's a nightmare out there! Yeesh!" - Luigi

Characters

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Toadstool
• Yoshi
• Kooky von Koopa
• King Koopa
• Ugga
• Ooga

Cast

• Walker Boone — Mario
• Tony Rosato — Luigi
• Andrew Sabiston — Yoshi
• Tracey Moore — Princess Toadstool
• John Stocker — Ogga, dinosaur
• Dan Hennessey — Agga, singer #3, caveman #1
• Michael Stark — Kooky von Koopa, singer #1, caveman #2
• Harvey Atkin — King Bowser Koopa
• Stuart Stone — singer #2

Animation and continuity errors

• In the original version, when Mario grunts when tossing the fireball from the Fire Flower Luigi gave him, he has King Koopa's voice, being a reused audio clip from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "The Fire of Hercufleas." This error is fixed in foreign dubs.
• In several scenes, the "L" on Luigi's cap is colored white on a black background.
• When Kooky is climbing a tree, his tail is the same color as the rim of his shell.
• When Kooky lifts the mask of his disguise, its tooth turns the same color as the rest of the mask.
• Unlike in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Kooky's snout is the same color as his body. This oversight is consistent throughout the entire episode.
• In one scene when Mario and Luigi are making wheels, Luigi's mustache turns the same color as his skin.
• After the cave people use the wheels as hats, Mario has an "L" on his cap.
• When Luigi first shows Yoshi some wheels, the latter's arms are white.
• As Luigi throws the fireball to Mario, his sideburns turn the same color as his cap for a few frames.
• When Mario says, "Gimme some of that prehistoric prod!", as he starts walking, the "M" on his cap disappears.
• When Luigi and Yoshi start fighting over the stick, the symbol on Luigi's cap turns green.
• When Mario says he thought he was always hungry, Yoshi's face is miscolored.
• After Yoshi falls off Luigi, he speaks, but his mouth does not move. This is fixed in the French, Italian, and Latin American Spanish dubs.
  • In the German dub, Yoshi's English voice can also be heard as he falls.
• When the engine lands on the car, a cave person's foot overlaps on the car.
• When a cave person drives out of the factory, he overlaps on a house.
• When Princess Toadstool asks Mario, "It even has a horn?", her eyebrows are black instead of orange.
• When showing the accident, a Goomba's lips are the same color as its body.
• When Mario tells Luigi not to worry when the cave people blame them for causing the accident, the cel number can be seen on the bottom-right corner of the screen for a few frames.
• When Kooky says that he will use the Mega Mechanasaur to conquer the world, his mouth does not move.
• When the Mega Mechanasaur starts breaking into Dome City, its shoulders are light-blue instead of dark-blue.
  • In the same scene, the cover underneath it disappears.
• When King Koopa and Kooky step onto one of the Mega Mechanasaur's hands, it is miscolored.
• When King Koopa and Kooky board the Mega Mechanasaur, the borders around the cockpit are colored blue instead of brown.
• When King Koopa runs away from Kooky's machine, he says for it to let him go before he is grabbed.
• When Kooky's machine throws King Koopa into the cockpit, the top is not colored in.
• When Ooga knocks on the door to Dome Castle, he knocks once, but the knocking sound can be heard twice.
• While Mario and Luigi are in the Lava Pits, the pizza Luigi is cooking switches direction between shots.
• When Luigi asks Mario, "Does that mean what I 'tink' it means?", Mario's shirt is red, while his and Luigi's gloves match the color of their shirts.
• When Luigi jumps in Mario's arms after the Blargg scares him, the circle on his cap is black instead of white.
• When Princess Toadstool tells Mario to catch the Trampoline while he and Luigi are being chased by the Blargg, she can be seen to be smiling.
• When Mario tries to hit the ? Blocks, there are five of them, but when Mario hits the Block containing a Cape Feather, there are six.
• When Yoshi appears with a digging helmet, he has four spikes on his back instead of three.
• In several scenes, Yoshi's eyes are miscolored.
• In one scene, the lower jaw on the Mega Mechanasaur is colored blue like its body instead of yellow.
• In some scenes, the tops of the levers of Kooky's machine change color.
• When Mario and Luigi jump onto Yoshi, the three stagger backwards for a frame.
• When King Koopa lands on Kooky, the Mega Mechanasaur is moving, but the background remains stationary.
  • In the same scene, his claws turn the same color as the spikes on his shackles.
• After two of the cave people hammer in the crossing signals, one overlaps on a tree.
• When Bowser's Minions run away, the spikes on the orange dinosaur are the same color as its body instead of green.
• The Albanian dub title misspells pajisja ("wheel") as "paisja."

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  The Mechanasaur error

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  Mario's miscolored shirt

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  Yoshi's miscolored eyes

Profiles

• Koopa's Stone Age Quests DVD: Mario "invents" the wheel, and the cave people discover traffic jams and fender benders. Frustrated, they banish Mario and Luigi to Lava Land.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Albanian	Paisja me rrotë[sic]	The wheel thing
French	La préhisto-mobile	The prehistoric mobile
German	Das Ding auf Rädern[?]	The Thing on Wheels
Hungarian	Egy kerékkel több	One more wheel
Italian	Cos'è la Ruota?	What's the Wheel?
Korean	자동자 소동 Jadongcha Sodong	Car Commotion
Polish	I tak w kółko	Both ways in a circle
Portuguese (NOA)	A Roda	The Wheel
Romanian	Chestia cu roți	The thing with wheels
Spanish (NOA)	La rueda	The wheel
Spanish (NOE)	Cosa de ruedas (original dub)	Wheel thing
	La rueda (re-dub)	The wheel