Raiders of the Lost Mushroom

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode
"Raiders of the Lost Mushroom"
Production number	149
Airdate	November 27, 1989 (English) December 17, 1990 (French)
Writer(s)	Perry Martin
Plumber's Log #	1938
King Koopa's alter ego(s)	Kolonel von Koop
Title reference	Raiders of the Lost Ark
Live-action segment	"Cyrano de Mario"
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"Raiders of the Lost Mushroom" is the forty-ninth episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Its corresponding live-action segment is "Cyrano de Mario." This episode is notable for being the last episode where Tryclyde appears. The episode shares a similar title with an episode of the later Donkey Kong Country animated series, "Raiders of the Lost Banana."

Plot synopsis

Indiana Joe

This episode possibly takes place after the events of "Mario of the Apes," due in part to Jungleland making a return. Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad have traveled to here in a red hot air balloon, complete with Mario's trademark "M" emblem plastered on it. Their reason for traveling to Jungleland is that they hope to find a magical statue known as the Lost Mushroom. However, according to Mario, King Koopa is looking for it as well.

Still flying in the balloon, Princess Toadstool tells her friends that the Lost Mushroom can grant the wishes of whoever possesses it, and that they must find it before King Koopa does himself. Toad points out that it will not be easy, as they do not know where to start looking. Before they can continue, Luigi points to a nearby, flying Albatoss. Toad remarks that the Albatoss works for King Koopa, and before any of them can react, the Albatoss swoops down and pierces a hole through the center of the balloon, causing it to deflate and crash down towards the ground.

Having survived the crash, the group feels relieved, until they discover that they have actually crashed into a quicksand pond, which they slowly start sinking into. After making a wry comment, Toad finds himself victim to a mysterious whip that wraps itself around his arm and it mysteriously put him on to dry land. As that happens, Toad sees that the whip belongs to an explorer. The explorer introduces himself as Indiana Joe, the self-proclaimed greatest treasure hunter in Jungleland. After Indiana Joe agrees to find the Lost Mushroom for Princess Toadstool, he uses his whip to rescue her from the quicksand, along with Mario and Luigi.

Meanwhile, King Koopa, who is with Mouser, Tryclyde and Koopa Troopa, has been spying on the heroes through binoculars from atop a cliff. King Koopa comments that Indiana Joe is going to lead them to the Lost Mushroom, and that he knows the location of every hidden treasure in Jungleland, as well as every shortcut leading to them. When Mouser whines that Mario's group will reach the Lost Mushroom before they do, King Koopa comments that the statue was left to him by his great-great grandkoop, and is rightfully his. Addressing King Koopa as Kolonel von Koop, Tryclyde asks what they can do about it. Kolonel von Koop responds by saying they will follow the other group and let them find the Lost Mushroom, so that they can simply take it away from them. Mouser, Koopa Troopa and Tryclyde nervously remind Kolonel von Koop that they would be stealing, so Kolonel von Koop has to remind them that they are supposed to steal since they are villains, and smacks them all with his whip.

Eventually, Indiana Joe leads Mario's group to the entrance of the Temple of Koopa, which he explains was built by Kolonel von Koop's great-great grandkoop, and that Lost Mushroom lies inside it. Although Mario is eager to enter, Indiana Joe starts shivering, and comments that the Temple of Koopa is too terrifying for him to enter. Mario mentions that he thought Indiana Joe was not afraid of anything, but Indiana Joe confesses that he has Koopaphobia, and that the very sight of a Koopa sends him into panic. Mario tells Indiana Joe to just wait outside the Temple of Koopa while he and his friends go inside.

Inside the Temple of Koopa, Mario's group proceeds with their search for the Lost Mushroom. When Princess Toadstool asks what Indiana Joe could possibly be afraid of, the ceiling behind them caves in, blocking their way out. Suddenly, a fireball goes flying over their heads, which they manage to dodge by ducking. Toad then points out the Fryguy that shot the fireballs, and the group proceeds to run away. While fleeing from the Fryguy, the group runs towards a large Cobrat in a glass bowl that they barely manage to leap over. Although the Fryguy continues to chase the group, they eventually slip into another chamber and block the entrance with a boulder, stopping the Fryguy's pursuit.

Mario, holding the newly-discovered Lost Mushroom.

Upon sealing off the chamber, Princess Toadstool points to the Lost Mushroom, which is lying atop a pedestal before the group. The group runs up to the Lost Mushroom and Mario picks it up. Luigi then points out that all they need now is a way out of the Temple of Koopa, and Mario inadvertently wishes for a trap door. The Lost Mushroom responds to Mario's wish by opening a panel in the floor beneath the group. Upon falling through the floor, Mario's group winds up being spat out at the entrance to the Temple of Koopa. Before they can celebrate their victory, Kolonel von Koop steals the Lost Mushroom right out of Mario's hand. Kolonel von Koop orders Mario's group to put their hands in the air, while Tryclyde opens his mouths, and Mouser and Koopa Troopa each pull out a small Cobrat akin to a gun, which they aim at them.

Later, Kolonel von Koop's group has led Mario's group to a caged tree hut, where they are holding them prisoner. Mario demands to be released, but Kolonel von Koop sarcastically responds at his threat and laughs with his henchmen. Kolonel von Koop's group leaves the tree hut, and leaves Mario's group trapped inside. As soon as Princess Toadstool wonders what Kolonel von Koop plans on doing with them, a trap door opens up, and a Shyguy Lion pops out, which Toad assumes will eat them for lunch. Bracing his fear, Mario asks for Luigi to lend him his plumber's snake, which he uses as a whip to tame the Shyguy Lion. Mario then orders the Shyguy Lion to free them, and it crashes through the door, providing them with a way out. Princess Toadstool remarks that they still need to find a way to defeat Kolonel von Koop. Toad points out that they cannot do it alone, as the Lost Mushroom makes Kolonel von Koop too powerful. Mario suggests that maybe Indiana Joe can help, and that they can help him overcome his Koopaphobia, so the group sets off to find him.

Mario's group arrives at Indiana Joe's hut and discover from a sign hanging next to his front door that he is offering a babysitting service. Entering the hut, they see Indiana Joe trying to look after three whiny Mushroom kids. Mario asks Indiana Joe why he became a babysittier, and he responds by saying that he cannot be a treasure hunter due to his Koopaphobia, so he went into babysitting instead. Princess Toadstool asks for his help and tells him that they cannot defeat Kolonel von Koop alone. Unable to stand the kids' behavior, he puts them down, joins up with Mario's group, and comments that while Kolonel von Koop may be scary, he is nothing compared to looking after bratty kids. Indiana Joe then instructs Mario's group to leave as the kids proceed to throw toys around the hut.

Meanwhile, the Koopa Pack is at a clearing, where Kolonel von Koop plans to test out the Lost Mushroom. Kolonel von Koop asks for the Lost Mushroom to build him a castle made of solid gold, which it does by making one appear right before his eyes. Ecstatic over his newfound treasure, Kolonel von Koop is too slow to stop Mario's plumber's snake from stealing it out of his claws. Mario is then joined by Indiana Joe, who is holding his whip, along with Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad, who have plumber's snakes of their own.

Kolonel von Koop, Mouser and Koopa Troopa use their gun-sized Cobrats to try and ward off their opponents, while Tryclyde spits fireballs. Mario and Indiana Joe proceed to fight Kolonel von Koop with their plumber's snake and whip respectively. Tryclyde attempts to shoot Princess Toadstool with fireballs, but she wraps her plumber's snake around his heads and tosses him aside. Luigi dodges the bullets fired from Koopa Troopa's Cobrat, and manages to wrap up and toss him aside with his plumber's snake. Toad then dodges Mouser's shots, and he too uses his plumber's snake to wrap up Mouser and toss him away. Indiana Joe succeeds in grabbing Kolonel von Koop's Cobrat out of his claw with his whip, and soon Kolonel von Koop finds himself surrounded by Mario, Princess Toadstool, Toad, Luigi and Indiana Joe. Kolonel von Koop pulls out a Magical Potion and uses it to create a Warp Zone that disappears once he jumps down it.

Back at his hut, Indiana Joe thanks Mario's group for helping him conquer his Koopaphobia, and proceeds to take down his babysitter sign, which Toad in turn tosses into the nearby pond. Princess Toadstool then asks as to what happened to the Lost Mushroom, and Mario, who is inside the Indiana Joe's hut with it, wishes for the place to be filled with pasta. As noodles start to fill up the entire hut, none of the others can believe what they are seeing, but Mario is thrilled, and comments that he and the Lost Mushroom are going to get along just fine.

Characters

"Kolonel von Koop"

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Toadstool
• Toad
• Kolonel von Koop
• Mouser
• Koopa Troopa
• Tryclyde
• Indiana Joe
• Albatoss
• Fryguy
• Cobrats
• Shyguy Lion
• Three Mushroom babies

Cast

• Lou Albano — Mario
• Danny Wells — Luigi
• Jeannie Elias — Princess Toadstool
• John Stocker — Toad, Albatoss, Indiana Joe, Mouser, Koopa Troopa, baby #1
• Harvey Atkin — King Bowser Koopa, Tryclyde
• Robert Bockstael — baby #2
• Joyce Gordon — baby #3

References to Indiana Jones

This episode was based heavily on the original Indiana Jones movie trilogy. The third movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was released a few months before the airing of the episode, and is most likely the impetus for its production.

• Indiana Joe is a parody of Indiana Jones, who is also a treasure hunter.
• In place of Indiana Jones's whip is a plumber's snake.
• Indiana Joe's Koopaphobia (fear of Koopas) is the equivalent of Indiana Jones's Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes).
• The Lost Mushroom is the equivalent of the Chachapoyan Idol, which Indiana Jones retrieved in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• The Plumber's Log number is 1938, the year when The Last Crusade takes place.
• The Temple of Koopa is derived from the Temple of Doom, a location in the eponymous movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
• Kolonel von Koop is based upon Colonel Dietrich, a major antagonist from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  • In keeping with the fact that Dietrich was a member of the Nazi Party in the film, the Koopa Pack are shown with red WWII-era armbands with black "K" marks in the place of the Nazi swastika.

Animation and continuity errors

• When an Albatoss starts flying towards Mario and his friends, its "K" insignia is missing.
• After the Albatoss rips Mario and his friends' balloon, Toad's vest is the same color as his pants.
• When Indiana Joe saves Luigi, he is layered over a mushroom.
• When Kolonel von Koop says that Mario and his friends are finished, the wristbands on Mouser's gloves are colored white like his shirt instead of pink.
• Shortly after Mario's friends arrive, Mario's mouth moves, but no sound can be heard.
• When Kolonel von Koop is surrounded by Mario and his friends, his tank top turns into a shirt.
• When Kolonel von Koop jumps into the Warp Zone, Mario and his friends freeze for a few frames in the transition to the next shot.
• After the Warp Zone disappears, Mario and Luigi have their colors swapped, and shortly after, the Warp Zone reappears.
• When Mario snatches the Lost Mushroom from Kolonel von Koop, Kolonel von Koop's wristband is missing.
• When Kolonel von Koop and his minions are shocked that Mario and his friends survived, Koopa Troopa's face is completely green, while Mouser's tail is the same color as his pants.
• When Kolonel von Koop says that Mario and his friends are not going to have the Lost Mushroom, one of his nails turns the same color as his shirt.
• When Mouser says that stealing is wrong, his ears are smaller than normal.
• When Indiana Joe says he will not enter the Temple of Koopa, the bag over his left shoulder is colored yellow instead of brown.
• Throughout its appearance, the Cobrat in the fishbowl has its eyes and underbelly changing color several times.
• When Kolonel von Koop approaches Mario and his friends, his costume is missing.
• When King Koopa steals the Lost Mushroom from Mario, Mario has four fingers on each hand instead of five.
• When Mouser and Koopa Troopa pull out their Cobrats, Mouser's band is on his right arm instead of his left.
• The Shyguy Lion cage is much smaller outside than inside.
• When the Shyguy Lion breaks a hole in the door, the hole is in the center, but in the next shot, it is closer to the bottom.
• When Kolonel von Koop says that the Lost Mushroom worked, his belt buckle is colored yellow instead of gray. This also occurs when he says it will make him the wealthiest Koopa.
• When Mouser wonders if the Lost Mushroom can make a cheese castle, his pants are the same color as his shirt while Koopa Troopa's eyes are white instead of yellow.
• In some scenes, the Lost Mushroom's belly button is missing.
• After Indiana Joe saves Toad, Toad is at the swamp's edge, but in the next shot, he moves slightly inland.

• 

  Toad's miscolored vest

• 

  Koopa Troopa's miscolored face

• 

  Mario and Luigi's miscolored clothes

Profiles

• Action Adventures VHS and Mario's Greatest Movie Moments DVD: Mario and friends butt heads with Kolonel Koopa over a long-lost magical mushroom statue... and whip him good!
• Mario's Movie Madness DVD: Mario and friends brave the wilds of Jungleland in search of the golden statuette, "The Lost Mushroom."
• Netflix: Indiana Mario heads to Jungleland on an epic quest to find a priceless gold statue known as the Lost Mushroom.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Chinese (traditional)	神雕奇兵 Shéndiāo Qíbīng	Condor Soldiers; possibly a reference to the wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes
French	Les Aventuriers du Champignon Perdu	The Adventurers of the Lost Mushroom
German	Die Räuber des verlorenen Pilzes	The Raiders of the Lost Mushroom
Italian	I Predatori del Fungo Perduto	The Raiders of the Lost Mushroom
Portuguese	Os caçadores da estatueta de ouro	The hunters of the gold statue
Spanish	Buscadores del hongo perdido	Hunters of the lost mushroom

Trivia

The finalized model sheet, featuring Indiana Joe without a face.

• Although Tryclyde refers to King Koopa as Kolonel von Koop, Mario and his friends refer to him as Kolonel von Koopa.
• Perry Martin, the writer of the episode, has stated that he considered "Raiders of the Lost Mushroom" the worst episode he wrote for the show, even giving an apology to Bruce Shelly when he submitted the script.