Toddler Terrors of Time Travel

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode
"Toddler Terrors of Time Travel"
Production number	104
Airdate	September 29, 1990 (English) September 13, 1991 (French)[?]
Writer(s)	Rowby Goren
Opening curtain	Grass Land
Featured song	"Baby Chase" (Jan Garber)
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“Good going, guys! That'll teach Koopa! Never mess with history!”

—Princess Toadstool

"Toddler Terrors of Time Travel" is the eighth episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. It aired alongside another episode entitled "Reign Storm."

Plot synopsis

One day at Kastle Koopa, King Koopa is sitting on his throne. He was moaning about his aching head, just as he sandwiches a hot water bottle between it and his crown. With King Koopa is Kooky von Koopa, who mentions that his father seems to get headaches every time he gets defeated by Mario and Luigi. As Koopa places a second hot water bottle under his crown, he and Kooky note that he could have taken over the Mushroom Kingdom years ago had the Mario Bros. never gone down the drainpipe back in Brooklyn. As Koopa and Kooky speak, they fail to notice Toad, who is hiding inside a flower pot, and spying on the duo through a periscope disguised as a flower. After some brief pondering, Kooky suggests that they can change history through the use of time travel, to which Koopa complies.

Later, onboard the Doom Ship, Kooky is making adjustments to his latest invention, the Time Travel Tube, while Koopa, who appears to have gotten over his headache, argues that it will not be able to send them back in time. Kooky implies that he knows what he is doing, just as Toad retracts his parascope and gets out of his disguise. Toad mentions that he needs to alert Mario and Luigi right away, and leaves.

Mario, Toad, and Luigi squashed in the crate.

Sometime later, as a team of Hammer Brothers are loading crates onboard the Doom Ship, Mario, Luigi and Toad arrive. Looking at one of the unloaded crates, Luigi comments that the three of them cannot fit inside it, but Mario disagrees, and forces them to squeeze inside one. Soon, a Hammer Brother picks up the crate that the they are hiding in, and complains about how heavy it is, while another Hammer Brother has no problem in carrying four crates at once. As the Hammer Brother carries the crate into the Doom Ship's helm, Koopa orders him to put it down against a wall. He hears Toad make a squeak from inside the crate, and goes to check it out. He asks Kooky if he heard anything to which Mario responds that it is just his imagination. Right before Koopa can inspect the crate, he is suddenly distracted by Kooky, who has managed to get the Time Travel Tube working.

Kooky warning King Koopa about the procedure.

Kooky states that he is going to take the two of them back in time to Brooklyn, just before noon, when the warp that sent Mario and Luigi to the Mushroom Kingdom opened up. As the Doom Ship takes off, Koopa takes control of the wheel, and demands that they hurry up. Kooky warns him not to rush the procedure, and sure enough, the Doomship starts shaking back and forth, eventually breaking the crate that Mario, Luigi and Toad were hiding in. Before Koopa can deal with them, Kooky, who is trying to fix the Time Travel Tube, explains that they are going too far back in time, just as the Time Travel Tube overloads, creating a large flash.

As the Doom Ship slows down, the flash fades, revealing that everyone onboard the Doomship has been turned into infant versions of themselves due to a glitch from the Time Travel Tube. After both sides settle into their younger bodies, Baby Kooky makes some more adjustments to the Time Travel Tube, just as the Doomship arrives in Brooklyn, and crashes in a vacant lot.

Mario explaining to Toad what happened.

Mario, Luigi and Toad crawl out of the crashed Doom Ship, and Toad questions why they are still babies. Mario answers that the crash messed up the Time Tube, and that they do not have much time to get back to the apartment where they originally fell down the drain. Luigi suggests that they try to find a shortcut, while Koopa orders Kooky to follow them.

Mario, Luigi and Toad are then chased down a sidewalk by the baby Koopas. Upon reaching an intersection, Toad has to stand on Mario and Luigi's backs in order to reach the crosswalk button. When Toad pushes the button, the walk symbol on the do not walk sign turns into a baby, and the crossing guard allows them to cross. After the babies all cross the street, Koopa and Kooky get caught in a jump rope that some kids are playing with. Mario, Luigi and Toad enter a back alley and take off with a stroller, a wagon, and a skateboard respectively. Koopa and Kooky hop into a baby carriage and use it to keep up with Mario's group, whom they corner in another alley. Just before Koopa and Kooky can enter the alley, an elderly woman mistakes them for normal babies, allowing Mario's group to make their escape. However, the woman is shocked to see that the babies are not human, and she runs off screaming. When Kooky notes that the "Mario Babies" got away, Koopa claims that they need to stop "kidding around".

Kooky and King Koopa turn back to their original selves.

After returning to the Doom Ship, Kooky makes some more adjustments to the Time Travel Tube, and succeeds in restoring himself and King Koopa to their proper ages. Koopa then announces that they are going to carry on with the next part of his plan.

Meanwhile, Mario's group arrives at the front door of the apartment where the drainpipe is. As Mario knocks on the door, it gets opened up by the lady inside, and he accidentally knocks on her knee. Although the lady assumes that the babies were abandoned, Mario tries to explain that they are plumbers, and the babies proceed to crawl into the apartment. The lady exclaims that plumbing is too dangerous for babies, so she picks them up and places them on her bed, where she expects them to take a nap.

Kooky and King Koopa introducing themselves as "Costume Plumbers".

Just then, the lady notices that a van has pulled up outside, with the words "Koopa & Kid Costume Plumbers" crudely painted on its side, and figures that the "real" plumbers have arrived. Koopa and Kooky, both dressed in caps, gloves and overalls exit the van and walk over to the front door. Kooky explains that if they can pass off their Koopa bodies as costumes, no one will suspect that they are not from the real world. After Koopa knocks on the door, the lady opens up and is introduced to the "Costume Plumbers", who claim to make plumbing a party. Overhearing the conversation from inside the bedroom, Luigi comments that they will never make it to the Mushroom Kingdom if the Koopas mess with the drainpipe.

Inside the bathroom, the lady asks for Koopa and Kooky to fix her drain as fast as they can, so that she can bathe for her party that night. Koopa claims that they will fix everything, and escorts the lady out of the bathroom. Meanwhile, Mario is spying through the bathroom window from outside, and comments that they cannot let King Koopa get away with his plan. Toad asks what they can do, and Luigi gets an idea after looking down at the basement window.

Mario, Toad, and Luigi shortly after falling.

Mario, Luigi and Toad enter the basement window, and head over to the bathtub drainpipe, which Luigi wants them to open up. Mario tries to open the pipe with a wrench, but as a baby, he is not strong enough, and needs Luigi and Toad's help in doing so. Toad asks what they are supposed to do now, and Mario picks up a hose, suggesting that they reverse the flow of the apartment's water.

Back in the bathroom, Koopa stuffs a washcloth down the drain, and demands for Kooky to find more stuff that they can use to clog the drain with. As Kooky throws some toiletries into the bathtub, he claims that they are going to make sure that the Mario Bros. never make it to the Mushroom Kingdom. As Kooky runs out of the bathroom, the lady asks how Koopa is doing, only for him to tell her to be quiet. When the lady comments that his remark was rude, she brings up the subject that they were supposed to make plumbing a party. Kooky returns to the bathroom carrying a lamp and two end tables, and comments that they are indeed making plumbing a party, and are playing a game called "STUFF YOUR FURNITURE DOWN THE DRAIN!"

Water spraying out of the phone.

Down in the basement, the pipes have been rerouted, and Mario tells Luigi and Toad to turn on several faucets, which in turn sends water up through the apartment's drainpipes. As Koopa and Kooky try to keep their clog in the drain, the lady panics as water comes spraying out of the kitchen sink, dishwasher, lighting fixtures, and other odd places. As the lady tries calling for help, water even sprays out of the phone receiver. Kooky, however, has discovered what is happening in the basement after looking through the basement window for himself.

As the water flow comes to a halt, Mario realizes that the Koopas must have shut off the water, just as King Koopa and Kooky enter the basement. Mario tells Luigi and Toad to follow him into a pipeline, but before they can pass through the first pipe, Koopa lifts it up, with both Mario and Luigi trapped inside. When Luigi asks what he is doing, he and Kooky stick a large cork into each end of the pipe, and toss it onto a table. Figuring that the Mario Bros. are stuck, they head upstairs, unaware of the fact that Toad got through the first pipe, and crawls out from inside the next pipe.

Toad using the Time Travel Tube to turn Mario and Luigi back into adults.

Toad travels through a hose as if it were a Warp Pipe, and comes out in the alley next to the apartment. From there, he follows Koopa and Kooky back to the Doom Ship, and jumps onboard just as it takes off. Meanwhile, Koopa explains to Kooky that since the Mario Bros. are now stuck in Brooklyn as babies, they can return to the present and freely take over the Mushroom Kingdom. When the Koopas' backs are turned, Toad uses his parascope to snatch the Time Travel Tube, and uses it to restore himself to an adult (although this is never shown). Toad then places the Time Travel Tube by one of the Doom Ship's portholes, aims it at the apartment's basement window, and fires a beam at it.

The beam hits the pipe that Mario and Luigi are trapped in, and restores them to their adult selves, causing them to burst out of the pipe in the process. With only thirty seconds left before the warp opens up, Mario and Luigi hurry upstairs and rush to unclog everything that Koopa and Kooky shoved down the drain. After pulling out the actual clog that clogged the lady's drain in the first place, the lady thanks Mario and Luigi, and invites them to her party. However, Mario and Luigi have already filled the tub with water, and Mario explains that he and Luigi have a date with the Princess. Mario and Luigi then jump into the tub and get warped down the drain along with the rest of the water.

King Koopa with the clog in his face that Mario had threw at him.

Back in the present, in the Mushroom Kingdom, Koopa, who has his claw around Princess Toadstool's arm, is ordering her into surrendering her kingdom to him. Kooky, who is holding Toad's arm, explains that the Mario Bros. are stuck in the past, and are unable to stop them. Before anyone can react, Raccoon Mario and Luigi leap out of a pipe, startling Koopa and Kooky, who let go of Princess Toadstool and Toad. Mario then throws the clog from earlier at Koopa, who comments that this whole ordeal is even worse than the first time (The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!) that the Mario Bros. came to the Mushroom Kingdom. Koopa then tells Kooky to retreat, and jumps down a pipe. Before Kooky can follow, Raccoon Luigi hits him with his tail, knocking him into the air and into the pipe.

Aftewards, Princess Toadstool congratulates Mario and Luigi. She commented that King Koopa should have never tried to mess with history. Mario comments that Koopa also should not mess with himself and Luigi, and Luigi remarks that maybe next time, Koopa will try to pick on someone his own size. Mario and Luigi then put their arms around each other's shoulders, and give their thumbs up.

Cast

• Walker Boone — Mario
• Tony Rosato — Luigi
• John Stocker — Toad
• Tracey Moore — Princess Toadstool
• Harvey Atkin — King Bowser Koopa
• Michael Stark — Kooky von Koopa
• Paulina Gillis — Old lady, Young lady

Animation and continuity errors

• When King Koopa says that he could have taken over the Mushroom Kingdom years ago, his lower jaw is not fully colored in.
  • His statement also contradicts The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, where his takeover is a main plot point.
• When Toad retracts his periscope while on the Doomship at the beginning of the episode, the background is King Koopa's throne room instead of the Doomship.
• When Toad talks about telling Mario and Luigi about the Koopas' plan, he constantly turns to his left. This also happens with King Koopa when he asks if Kooky heard anything.
  • In the same scene, his head is smaller than normal.
• When showing Mario and his friends in the crate, Toad's vest is missing.
• When Mario and his friends are being carried, the background does not move with them.
• When Mario and his friends are being hauled onto the Doomship, the Hammer Bros' faces turn completely cream-colored.
• When King Koopa walks over the box Mario and his friends are in, the box overlaps the background.
• When the Time Travel Tube starts working, its handle is colored purple instead of yellow, and shortly after, the buttons are the same color instead of different colors.
• Kooky claims that the drainpipe opened at around noon, but the clock that Mario and his friends look at after crawling away from the Doomship reads 2:00.
• When King Koopa takes the wheel, his left hand is resting in midair.
  • In the same scene, Kooky's time machine disappears.
• When the Doomship starts shaking, the screen turns black for a split-second.
• When the box breaks open, Mario's hair is black like Luigi's instead of brown.
• When Kooky says that he and King Koopa are traveling too far back in time, his device is layered over some controls while Mario's mustache is colored brown instead of black.
• In one scene, Kooky's face turns the same color as his snout.
• In several scenes, Mario and Luigi have four fingers on each hand instead of five.
• In a couple of scenes, Kooky's eyes are colored purple instead of black.
• When Mario and his friends leave the junkyard, the wagon is floating in midair, while Mario is briefly layered over a tire and bowling ball.
• When Mario and his friends jump over a skipping rope, there is a girl with a green skirt, but when Koopa and Kooky crawl to them, the skirt is purple.
• When the Koopas chase after Mario and his friends in a stroller, Kooky's hair is transparent.
  • In the same scene, Mario and Luigi switch places, while the back of their bibs is the same color as their heads.
• When Luigi removes a wheel from his wagon, he has his normal outfit and is on dirt instead of the road.
• When Luigi replaces one his wagon's wheels, the axle for the wheel disappears.
• Mario and his friends swap wheels but are shown with their original wheel when they enter the alley.
• When Mario and his friends are stopped at an alley, Toad appears as his normal age. This also happens when he jumps onto the Doomship.
• When the elderly lady reveals King Koopa and Kooky, Kooky's right arm is colored green instead of orange.
• When the elderly lady screams and runs away, the wheels and supports on King Koopa and Kooky's stroller are green instead of orange and white, respectively.
• The past versions of Mario and Luigi never show up at the apartment to fix the drainpipe like they did in the first place. Koopa and Kooky may have come to the lady's house before they did.
• When the young lady opens the door, Mario does not knock on it, but the sound of knocking can be heard.
  • Inversely, When King Koopa knocks the fourth time, no sound plays.
• When the young lady says that plumbing is too dangerous for Mario and Luigi, Toad's shoes briefly turn the same color as his skin.
• When the young lady puts Mario and his friends on a bed, Mario's eyebrows are brown instead of black.
• In several scenes, the spikes on King Koopa's tail are colored orange instead of white.
• When King Koopa tells the young lady to leave the plumbing to him and Kooky, he is layered over the bathtub.
• When Mario and Toad are entering the basement, they are cropped with lines.
• When King Koopa tells Kooky to bring more items to clog the drain, Kooky's gloves are white like King Koopa's instead of orange.
• When the lady asks how King Koopa is doing in the bathroom, the door is brown with a yellow doorknob, but in the next shot, it is black with a blue doorknob.
• When the young lady asks what King Koopa and Kooky are doing, the phone's receiver is facing down, but when she goes over to pick it up, it faces up.
• When Luigi and Toad turn on some faucets in the basement, a third faucet turns on by itself.
• When the young lady gets sprayed by water from the phone, her neck overlaps the water.
• When King Koopa and Kooky enter the basement, Kooky's right arm passes through a wall.
• Despite Mario being the first to enter the pipe he and Luigi become trapped in, Toad is the only one to make it through.
• In several scenes, Kooky in baby form has his usual shackles instead of being missing.
• When Toad is crawling after the Doomship, the background moves backwards.
• When Mario and Luigi land upon breaking out the pipe, one of Luigi’s eyebrows disappears for a split second.
  • In the same scene, the far left piece of the broken pipe is in midair.
• When Luigi runs to unclog the drain, he runs in midair.
• When King Koopa tells Princess Toadstool to surrender, he has a belt, but when he notices the Mario Bros, it disappears.
  • In the same scene, Princess Toadstool is shown smiling.
• When Mario and Luigi come out of the real world, they are depicted with raccoon powers despite them not picking up a Super Leaf.
• When Princess Toadstool and Toad run over to Mario and Luigi, Toad is layered over Princess Toadstool.
• When Mario shouts, "Hairball!" the hairball is white instead of blue.
• When King Koopa tells Kooky it is time to leave, the former pulls out his wand yet does not use it.
• When Mario and Luigi give a thumbs up, Mario's emblem swaps colors for a few frames.

• 

  Luigi in his normal outfit

• 

  Toad as his normal age

• 

  Kooky's miscolored gloves

Profiles

• King Koopa Katastrophe VHS/DVD: The Mario Brothers are transformed into toddlers and crawl as fast as they can to save the Warp Zone from Koopa.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Chinese (simplified)	穿越时变光婴儿[?] Chuānyuè Shíguāng Biàn Yīngér	Travel Through Time, Turn into Babies
Croatian	Dječji teror putovanja kroz vrijeme[?]	Terror children's travel through time
Dutch	De tijdreis[?]	Time travel
French	Les voyageurs du temps[?]	The time travelers
German	Die Zeitreise[?]	The Journey Through Time
Italian	Bambini a spasso nel tempo[?]	Children walking in time
Korean	타임머신[?] Taimmeosin	The Time Machine
Polish	Koszmar Podróży w Czasie[?]	Nightmare of Time Travel
Portuguese (NOA)	Viagem Pelo Tempo (Herbert Richers dub) Os Horrores de uma Viagem no Tempo (Uniarthe dub)[?]	Travel Through Time The Horrors of Time Travel
Spanish	Pequeños Diablillos Viajan Por El Tiempo[?]	Little Imps Travel Through Time

Trivia

• How Mario and Luigi returned to the present at the end of the episode is never explained, as the Time Travel Tube was not in their possession.