Never Koop a Koopa

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode
"Never Koop a Koopa"
Production number	112
Airdate	September 22, 1990 (English) October 11, 1991 (French)
Writer(s)	Martha Moran
Opening curtain	Dark Land
Featured song	"Sizzle"
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"Never Koop a Koopa" is the sixth episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. It aired alongside another episode entitled "Princess Toadstool for President."

Plot synopsis

Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad are eating pasta for lunch outside Toad's house. When Mario looks around, bored, he is shocked when he sees King Koopa and the Koopalings walking towards them, holding a white flag. To the surprise of Mario and his friends, Koopa announces that he is giving up his evil ways and surrendering his kingdom, and is leaving the Mushroom Kingdom forever. To try and make up for all the misery that he has caused, he gives Princess Toadstool the key to Kastle Koopa as a donation to charity. Koopa then uses his magic wand to create a Warp Pipe which he and his kids exit through.

With the key to Kastle Koopa now in her hands, Princess Toadstool decides she can turn the place into a retirement home for elderly Mushrooms. Luigi warns Princess Toadstool that the whole ordeal is probably a trap, and tells her to just throw the key away. However, Princess Toadstool points out that the old people of her kingdom need a good home, and decides to visit Kastle Koopa right away. Mario tells Luigi that he will travel with Princess Toadstool to protect her, just to be safe. Princess Toadstool and Mario then head for the Warp Pipe to Dark Land, while Luigi and Toad follow along.

Mario and the princess greeted/shocked by a falling Dry Bones.

Upon unlocking the front door to Kastle Koopa, Princess Toadstool and Mario are greeted by a falling Dry Bones. Princess Toadstool figures that they just need to clean the place up a bit, but Mario, suspecting danger, decides to enter first. In the front hallway, Mario and Princess Toadstool pass by portraits of the Koopalings and King Koopa; the moving eyes of King Koopa's portrait frighten Mario. After Princess makes a remark about Koopa's portrait being the first thing to go, the front doors suddenly shut.

A Thwomp near the ceiling taunts Mario and Princess Toadstool, then comes close to crushing them. Mario uses a plunger to stop the Thwomp from crushing them. Mario and Princess Toadstool run towards the other end of the hallway, dodging several more Thwomps. Two Ptooies come and attack Mario, but he deflects their balls with his plunger, allowing him and Princess Toadstool to slip past them. After running down a few more corridors, Mario and Princess Toadstool stop to count their steps, when a trapdoor opens beneath them, dropping them to the dungeon.

King Koopa laughing at Princess Toadstool.

Standing outside the door to the dungeon are King Koopa and Cheatsy. Koopa mocks his new guests, and Princess Toadstool comments that she never should have trusted him. Koopa tells Cheatsy that he is going to give him more lessons on lying and cheating, but his son does not hear him, as he is listening to a Walkman (which is playing the underground theme). It is not until he pulls the headphones off of Cheatsy's head that Koopa gets his son's attention. He then tells Cheatsy to pay attention while he cons Princess Toadstool out of the Mushroom Kingdom. Koopa presents a contract to Princess Toadstool, but she refuses to sign it. To help get Princess Toadstool to change her mind, Koopa pulls a lever, releasing about 25 Bob-ombs into the dungeon. Knowing that Princess Toadstool and Mario are trapped with the Bob-ombs, he figures that they will surrender soon.

Luigi grabbing Toad.

Meanwhile, Luigi and Toad are waiting in a boat outside Kastle Koopa on the Mushroom Sea. Toad comments that Mario and Princess Toadstool have been inside too long, and that they should go and investigate. Luigi then points out that they have to sneak in through the drainpipe. Thinking that Luigi was being sarcastic, Toad is startled when Luigi gets ready to jump in the water, bringing him with him. Luigi manages to swim past several Bloobers, but only Toad notices the Boss Bass that is chasing them. As Luigi unscrews the grating on the drainpipe, Toad points out the Boss Bass to him, scaring him into unscrewing the grating faster. Luigi and Toad manage to enter the drainpipe right before the Boss Bass reaches them.

Back in the dungeon, Cheatsy mentions that he likes his father's "Big Bang" theory, and Koopa remarks that in order to be a big cheat, one needs to "double-trick, double-deal and double-cross." The double-cross bit gives Cheatsy an idea, but he keeps it to himself.

Luigi and Toad falling over from the Sledge Brothers' tremor.

In another part of the castle, Luigi and Toad enter through a manhole in the floor, only to be greeted by two Sledge Brothers. Luigi and Toad try to run away, but the Sledge Brothers pound the floor, causing them to fall over. Luigi and Toad are then caught and get thrown in the dungeon, just as the Sledge Brothers pull Princess Toadstool out.

Koopa tells Princess Toadstool that her friends will be blown up if she does not sign over the kingdom, and she agrees, on two conditions: one, that they move to the throne room, and two, that King Koopa puts on something formal to wear. Koopa tells Cheatsy to take Princess Toadstool to the throne room while he finds something to wear. Cheatsy then thanks him for his lesson in cheating, and his father says that one day he will be just as big a cheat as himself. As Koopa walks off, Cheatsy comments to himself that that day will be today, and orders the Sledge Brothers to take the prisoners to his bedroom, where Mario, Luigi and Toad get locked in his wardrobe. Cheatsy tells Princess Toadstool to sign the kingdom over to him, or else he will have her friends sent back to the dungeon with the Bob-ombs.

Cheatsy ecstatic that Princess Toadstool had "signed" the contract.

Princess Toadstool signs the contract and hands it over to Cheatsy, who gets so ecstatic over the whole deal that he runs off to tell his father that he double-crossed him. With Cheatsy gone, Princess Toadstool breaks a lamp, causing the Sledge Brothers to come running in. Princess Toadstool dodges their sledges, which hit and break open the wardrobe, freeing Mario, Luigi and Toad.

The four heroes run out of Cheatsy's bedroom dodging the attacks of the Sledge Brothers. As they continue down the hallway, they are attacked by two Fire Chomps. Mario and Luigi take care of the Fire Chomps by pushing them out a window, and they fall down into the water. Looking out the window, Toad comments that they would be free if they could fly. Toad's comment then gives Mario the idea to start bashing the blocks in the ceiling, in hope that he will find some Super Leaves.

King Koopa and Cheatsy shocked to see Mario and his friends escaping.

At the same time, Koopa enters the throne room wearing a red cape, but Cheatsy comes running in and sits down on the throne. Koopa yells at Cheatsy, but Cheatsy tells him that he is the new king of the Mushroom Kingdom. Cheatsy shows him the contract and takes his crown, telling him that he can get a job cleaning the royal stables, as a reward for giving him the idea to cheat in the first place. Having read the contract thoroughly, however, Koopa takes back his crown, and points out that Princess Toadstool had actually drawn a goofy face instead of actually signing the contract. Koopa claims that he will get Princess Toadstool to sign the contract properly, and demands to know where the prisoners are. Cheatsy tells him that they are locked in his bedroom, but they are both surprised to see Mario and his friends, all with Raccoon Power, flying outside the windows of the throne room. Unable to stop the good guys, Koopa starts growling at Cheatsy, who tells him that he was only doing bad like he taught him. Koopa then starts chasing Cheatsy around the throne in circles, telling him that he is "really going to teach him a lesson now."

Cast

• Walker Boone — Mario
• Tony Rosato — Luigi
• Tracey Moore — Princess Toadstool
• John Stocker — Toad, Thwomp
• Harvey Atkin — King Koopa
• James Rankin — Cheatsy Koopa

Animation and continuity errors

• The opening title screen for this episode is Dark Land, but the Grass Land music is played with it.
• At the beginning of the episode, Mario and Luigi's have their colors swapped.
• When the shot is on Luigi eating, Mario is frozen, and when it shows Mario eating, Luigi is frozen.
• When Mario notices King Koopa at the beginning of the episode, he has spaghetti and a spoon in his bowl, but when he says that he is surprised that King Koopa is surrendering, the spaghetti and spoon disappear.
• After Mario says that he is surprised that King Koopa is surrendering, Toad's pants are colored brown instead of blue.
• When King Koopa surrenders to Princess Toadstool, Mario is to the right of Luigi, but in the next shot, he is to the left of him.
  • In the same scene, Toad is drawn with sclerae and Luigi's shirt is darker than normal.
• When King Koopa says that he and his children are leaving the Mushroom Kingdom, Kootie Pie's face is completely brown.
• When King Koopa spawns the Warp Pipe, Mario and his friends fade away instead of being layered behind it. When the Warp Pipe disappears, they fade back in.
• When the Koopas jump into the Warp Pipe, part of Kootie Pie is missing.
  • In the same scene, only Kootie Pie and Hop follow him.
• When Luigi thinks King Koopa is tricking him and his friends, Mario's eyes are completely black.
• When Luigi runs to the Warp Pipe where the Princess and Mario are on top of, Toad is missing.
• When a Dry Bones lands in front of Princess Toadstool and Mario, part of it can be seen overlapping on Princess Toadstool and a door.
• When the camera pans past the pictures, the screen shakes.
• In several scenes, the Koopalings' portraits are miscolored.
• When Mario looks at King Koopa's picture, his hair is black instead of brown. This also happens when he stops the Thwomp from crushing Princess Toadstool.
• Initially, the eyes on King Koopa's portrait face the screen, but when it zooms in closer, they face to the right.
• When the Thwomp tries to crush Princess Toadstool, some of the debris is layered over Princess Toadstool.
• When warning Princess Toadstool about the Ptooies, Mario shouts "Look out! A Ptooie!", despite there being more than one. This error is fixed in the Polish dub.
  • Similarly, when Luigi sees the Sledge Brothers, he says "Whoa! A Sledge Brother!", despite there being more than one, followed by the Sledge Brothers changing color to resemble King Koopa.
• When Mario is battling the Ptooies, Mario only deflects one Spike Ball back at them, but when they are knocked out of the room, a second Spike Ball appears.
• When the Ptooies shoot a second ball at Mario, Mario passes through it.
• After Mario says, "Some retirement home!" his mouth moves, but no sound can be heard.
• When Mario and Princess Toadstool enter the dungeon, the hatch they enter briefly appears closed, but they still enter it regardless.
• In one scene, Princess Toadstool's dress is blue instead of pink.
• In one scene, one of King Koopa's shell's spike rings is colored light-green like his shell's rim instead of dark-green.
• When King Koopa tells Cheatsy that he will give him more lessons when Mario and Princess Toadstool are in the dungeon, the trims on Princess Toadstool's dress turn the same color as the rest of the dress.
• After Cheatsy does not listen to King Koopa, King Koopa takes his cassette player away, but Luigi and Toad enter the castle, it reappears.
• When King Koopa tells Cheatsy to pay more attention, Mario's mustache is brown instead of black. This also happens when Mario's group flies outside the castle, at the end of the episode.
• In several scenes, Cheatsy's head turns the same color as his body.
• When Princess Toadstool says that she would never sign her kingdom over to King Koopa even with the threat of Bob-ombs, she is holding thin air.
• After Luigi grabs Toad's arm in the boat, Toad's sunglasses disappear.
• When Toad says that he does not want to jump into the water, his mouth does not move.
• When Toad panics about the Boss Bass, Luigi is colored like Mario.
• When Luigi opens the grate, it briefly disappears.
• When King Koopa gives Cheatsy a lesson, his left arm briefly turns the same color as the rim of his shell.
• When Luigi and Toad run through the halls when the Sledge Brothers shake the floor, Toad's shoes turn the same color as his skin. This also happens when the Flame Chomps fall out a window.
• When Luigi and Toad are caught by the Sledge Brothers, part of Luigi's cap is blurred off.
• When King Koopa tells Cheatsy that he is going to get ready, Princess Toadstool is missing.
• When King Koopa leaves to prepare himself for the ceremony, his right arm passes through a door.
• In a couple of scenes, the cupboard in Cheatsy's room is missing.
• When Princess Toadstool gives the contract to Cheatsy, Cheatsy's hands are colored like King Koopa's.
• After Toad jumps on a Sledge Bro, it briefly overlaps him.
• Throughout its appearance, the inside of King Koopa's cape changes from red to black several times.
• When King Koopa demands Cheatsy the location of the prisoners after he notices that Princess Toadstool never signed the scroll, the spikes on his shackles are colored white like his claws instead of orange.
• In the Romanian dub, the Sledge Brothers are incorrectly called Hammer Brothers throughout the episode.

• 

  Cheatsy's miscolored head

• 

  A miscolored Sledge Brother

• 

  Cheatsy's miscolored hand

Profiles

• King Koopa Katastrophe VHS/DVD: Koopa gives up being bad for good and gives the Princess the keys to Kastle Koopa!

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Chinese (simplified)	千万別信酷霸 Qiānwàn Biéxìn Kùbà	Never Trust a Koopa
Croatian	Nikada ne kupujte Koopa	Never Koop a Koopa
Dutch	Bedonder nooit een Koopa	Never cheat on a Koopa
French	L'apprenti escroc	The apprentice crook
German	Spukschloss	Haunted Castle
Hungarian	Koopa-kelepce	Koopa-trap
Italian	Un imbroglio per papà	A trick for dad
Korean	그 아버지애 그 아들 Geu Abeoji Geu Adeul	Like Father Like Son
Polish	Nigdy nie kupuj Koopy w worku	Never Koop a Koopa in a sack
Portuguese (NOA)	Nunca Traia o Rei Koopa	Never Betray King Koopa	original dub
	Jamais Confie em um Koopa	Never Trust a Koopa	re-dub
Romanian	Să nu Koopii un Koopa	Don't Koop a Koopa
Russian	Обман Купы Obman Kupy	Koopa's deception
Spanish (NOA)	Nunca koopaconfies en un Koopa	Never koopatrust in a Koopa
Spanish (NOE)	No koopajugueis con una Koopa	Don't koopaplay with a Koopa	original dub
	Nunca koopaconfies en un Koopa	Never koopatrust in a Koopa	re-dub

Trivia

• When Cheatsy puts on King Koopa's crown, his hair is divided in locks.
• In the original NBC airing, Princess Toadstool narrates the teaser trailer promo for this episode by saying, "King Koopa promises he's quitting being bad for good, and I make the biggest mistake I've ever made when I believe him."