Mississippi Madness

Saturday Supercade episode
"Mississippi Madness"
Segment	Donkey Kong
Season	1
Episode	1
Airdate	September 17, 1983[?]
Writer(s)	Duane Poole Tom Swale
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"Mississippi Madness" is the first episode of the first season of Saturday Supercade's Donkey Kong segment. As such, it is the first animated program featuring Mario overall. The episode's title may be a reference to the college basketball tournament March Madness.

Plot synopsis

Mario explains his trap to Pauline

On the Mississippi River aboard the Mississippi Maid, Pauline mentions that she and Mario are bound to find Donkey Kong on the other side of the river as the latter nails a large sheet of paper over a hallway. He then describes his latest Donkey Kong trap: using a duck to make a hunting dog drop a bucket of water to make a squirrel turn an exercise wheel, unraveling a rope to drop a cage on Donkey Kong. A trio of thieves named Belle, Billy Bob, and Colonel Culpepper interrupt Mario's rant, with Billy Bob tearing a hole in the paper. He then confronts Mario, only to be told by his leader, the Colonel, to restrain himself, who mentions that they have "bigger fish to fry." He then points to a poster advertising the Emerald of the East, which is being exhibited at the city museum in New Orleans. He then continues that they need someone who is strong and gullible enough to help them steal the emerald.

Mario and Pauline walk by some deckhands loading bananas, with the former asking how the latter thinks about his trap. Pauline comments that one of the deckhands looks very familiar, while Mario slips on a banana peel tossed by him and they discover that the sailor is Donkey Kong in disguise. Donkey Kong flees on a nearby rope; as he flees, an impressed the Colonel, who is watching from a distance, begins to believe Donkey Kong is the ideal character to steal the emerald. Mario, rolling up his sleeves, runs off to capture Donkey Kong. Pauline reminds him not to let anything bad happen to him, with Mario giving a confused remark as Donkey Kong holds up a barrel in front of him. Donkey Kong throws the barrel at him, but Mario ducks under it, missing him. Mario, holding a net, corners Donkey Kong, telling him to "come down with his paws up." However, he instead drops his barrel on a seesaw-like wooden platform, launching him into the air. He then holds out a barrel full of fish underneath him, Mario crashing into it, before ejecting Mario into the water. After spitting a fish from his mouth, Mario remarks that he wishes he was as good at catching apes as he is at catching fish, showing Pauline his net full of fish. Pauline throws Mario a line from the cruiser, but Donkey Kong manages to jump on the cruiser's rear propeller and run on it like a treadmill, resulting in Mario being dragged as if he is water-skiing. The ship eventually crashes back into dock, flinging Mario through a welcome sign and into a crate full of tires. Donkey Kong then jumps from the riverboat, proceeding to perform a flip atop some cargo in front of a group of spectators, scaring them. the Colonel, also watching Donkey Kong, reaffirms that he is the ideal character for stealing the emerald, saying that "[he] will get past the museum guards with no trouble at all," though Billy Bob wonders if he will work for them. The Colonel reassures him, saying that he will work for Belle, as he suspects that he "has an eye for the ladies."

Pauline finds Mario in the crate, who asks if he is alright. Mario mentions that he probably should take early retirement before a stack of tires drops on him. Pauline reminds him that they need to find Donkey Kong before it is too late, though Mario remarks that it is already too late. After laughing at Mario's remark, Donkey Kong stumbles into the Colonel, who tries to get him to join his trio of thieves; Donkey Kong refuses at first, but stops short when he notices and falls in love with Belle, the latter complimenting that he "really [knows] how to flatter a girl." The Colonel directs the two to a warehouse, mentioning that they have business to discuss, or, as Belle puts it, "monkey business." They then take him just outside of the museum, and ask him in secret to steal the emerald for them, to which a flattered Donkey Kong agrees.

Mario and Pauline look for Donkey Kong

Meanwhile, Mario and Pauline, walking through a street, call out to Donkey Kong, but to no avail. Pauline reminds that they have to find Donkey Kong, mentioning that, if he falls into the hands of an unscrupulous person, he might be in great danger. Mario, on a hunch, walks right into the museum and finds him stealing the Emerald of the East. Pauline firmly demands that Donkey Kong put the emerald back where it belongs, but he refuses, not wanting to disappoint Belle. At that moment, the guards notice him stealing the emerald, to which Donkey Kong places the display case on their heads and kidnaps Pauline. Mario proceeds to run up to him, to which he places Pauline on a shelf and throws multiple pillars at Mario. Mario attempts to climb a ladder to reach Pauline, but the pillars Donkey Kong rolls at him shorten his ladder. Donkey Kong, swinging on a chandelier, grabs Pauline and escapes the museum with her and the emerald in tow as a group of spectators watch. The Colonel asks Billy Bob to prepare their airboat, as they need to catch up to him.

Mario deduces that Donkey Kong must be hiding in a jungle, and the scene then pans to Donkey Kong and Pauline in a swamp. Pauline tries to Donkey Kong explain that Mario would undoubtedly find him here and suggests that they should return to the circus, though Donkey Kong refuses to leave. Mario arrives in the nick of time, and proceeds with the trap he discussed at the beginning of the episode. Just as the cage is about to drop, the Colonel, Belle, and Billy Bob use their airboat to push Donkey Kong out of the way, causing the emerald to fall into the Colonel's hand. However, it also causes the cage to land on the trio instead.

The police arrive and promptly arrest the Colonel, Belle, and Billy Bob, who mention that Mario and Pauline caught the real "emeraldnappers," though the former insists upon reclaiming Donkey Kong, to which Pauline realizes that Donkey Kong escaped. Donkey Kong is then seen boarding a bus at a bus stop, scaring out everyone inside and allowing him to take control of the bus, before driving into the sunset.

Gallery

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  Title card

Characters

• Mario
• Pauline
• Donkey Kong
• Belle
• Billy Bob
• Colonel Culpepper
• Museum guards
• New Orleans residents

Animation and continuity errors

• As Mario asks Pauline what she thinks about his plan to capture Donkey Kong, his gloves disappear several times.
• While Donkey Kong is working on the Mississippi Maid as a deckhand, he throws a banana overboard, but the following shot shows it landing in front of Mario.
• When cornering Donkey Kong on top of the Mississippi Maid, Mario demands him to drop the barrels he is holding, despite him holding only one barrel at the time.
• After the barrel lands on the seesaw and launches Mario into the air, it rolls in midair.
• Donkey Kong runs on the Mississippi Maid's propeller like a treadmill, crashing it back into port and resulting in it and the welcome sign being destroyed. However, in later shots, both the riverboat and the sign are intact.
• When Donkey looks at the pillars in the museum, he shifts to the right as the camera pans over to them.
• When Donkey Kong slides over to the staircase while holding a pillar, he is briefly layered over it.
• As Donkey Kong recites his name while swinging on the chandelier, his mouth does not move.

Notes

• One of the passengers scrambling out of the bus at the end bears a noticeable resemblance to Popeye.