The Night Before Cave Christmas

Super Mario World episode
"The Night Before Cave Christmas"
Production number	411
Airdate	October 12, 1991 (English) October 30, 1992 (French)
Writer(s)	Martha Moran Phil Harnage
Featured song	"Rockin' With the Sleigh Bells"
Captain N episode	"A Tale Of Two Dogs"
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"The Night Before Cave Christmas" is the fifth episode of the Super Mario World animated series. The title for this episode is based on the title of the poem The Night Before Christmas. This episode is notable for being the only Super Mario World episode to be released on a VHS tape in the United States, being packaged with the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Koopa Klaus" in the Super Mario Bros. Super Christmas Adventures! VHS tape.

Plot synopsis

While at a barbecue, Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool can only watch in dismay while Yoshi and Oogtar fight over a "barbecue mammoth rib". Mario attempts to stop the fighting, only to get some barbecue sauce spattered on his face when Yoshi and Oogtar accidentally tear the rib in half.

After wiping the sauce from his face, Mario claims that all Oogtar ever does is squabble with others; after saying this, Mario notices that it is not just Oogtar, all the cave-people have been acting grumpy recently. Watching the cave-people fight makes Mario think of how everyone acts nice to one another around the holidays. After dodging some corn thrown by Oogtar, Luigi replies that Mario means Christmas, which is too odd because it is the middle of August and not Christmas.

Mario about to explain Christmas to Oogtar and Yoshi.

Despite this detail, Mario decides to celebrate Christmas with the cavepeople, thinking it will cheer them up (saying that since they are in Dinosaur World, they can have Christmas any time they want, even though the cave people do not know that Christmas does not come in the middle of August). Soon after stating this, a confused Yoshi asks what Christmas is. Mario proceeds to explain what Christmas is to Yoshi and Oogtar, with Oogtar taking particular interest in Santa Claus and the presents he delivers.

After his explanation about what Christmas is, Mario begins to decorate all of Dome City with the curious and excited cave-people watching him. After hearing about Mario's plans for a "Cave Christmas", King Koopa pops out of his hiding place in a garbage can and begins to wonder why Mario would be celebrating Christmas in the hottest day of the year.

With "Cave Christmas Day" coming up, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Princess Toadstool, Oogtar, and Ooga begin to cut down several Christmas trees, while King Koopa and Bully Koopa spy on them.

After cutting down the Christmas trees, Princess Toadstool and Yoshi begin to decorate them with candy canes, while King Koopa and Bully look on. After saying he has a plan forming, King Koopa and Bully are accidentally picked up by a garbage-collecting dinosaur and thrown out with the rest of the trash.

Mario, Luigi, and Toadstool making presents.

With Christmas coming, Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool begin to make presents for the cave-people's children, while Oogtar looks on with greedy eyes. After yelling "Oogtar want" aloud, Oogtar is found by Luigi, who throws him out of the toy workshop before he can grab anything. As Princess Toadstool begins to pack the toys for delivery, King Koopa looks on, with the plan of stealing all the toys for "Koopa Christmas Morning".

As Luigi and Mario begin packing up for the big toy delivery, Oogtar sneaks into the workshop, wanting to take all the best toys for himself. As Oogtar is rummaging through Mario's toy sack, he is surprised when King Koopa approaches. Hiding in the toy sack, Oogtar is taken away by King Koopa, who steals the sack of toys meant for the cave-children.

While trying on a Santa Claus outfit, Mario notices that all the toys have been stolen. Rushing into the workshop, an angered Mario realizes it had to have been King Koopa who stole the toys. A fuming Mario vows to reclaim the toys and sets off for Neon Castle.

Mario, with the help of Yoshi, who has a pair of Magic Wings on, sets off to Neon Castle. With Mario fast approaching, King Koopa begins praising himself on having committed such a bad deed. While inspecting the toys he stole, King Koopa discovers Oogtar in the bag. Demanding to know what Oogtar is doing there, a fight breaks out between King Koopa and Oogtar over who gets the presents. Tearing open a present meant for Bully, Oogtar discovers that the present is a Bob-omb, which explodes. King Koopa gets very angry, but Oogtar tries to run away from the enraged Koopa king, only to be captured.

King Koopa, about to abandon Oogtar.

Deciding to get rid of Oogtar, King Koopa begins to lower a tied-up Oogtar into a pit with a hungry orange Tyrannosaurus rex in it. In true villain fashion, King Koopa leaves Oogtar alone, with a candle to burn through the rope suspending him above the Tyrannosaurus' pit. Koopa says to Oogtar to have a merry Cave Christmas. He then concludes that the name "Oogtar" said backwards is "Ratgoo", and leaves Oogtar alone.

Landing in front of Neon Castle, Mario and Yoshi hear Oogtar's cries for help, but they break through the wrong window, and are besieged by Mechkoopas, Thwomps, Dry Bones, and Koopa Football Players. While running from all these enemies, Mario finds a feather and uses it to become Cape Mario. With his power of flight, Mario picks up Yoshi and flies through a nearby Warp Tube.

Exiting this Warp Pipe, Mario and Yoshi arrive in the room Oogtar is being held captive in. Right before Oogtar is fed to a T-Rex, Mario flies in and saves him. Bringing Oogtar to safety, Mario, who Oogtar believes to be Santa Claus, manages to get him to confess to trying to steal all the presents.

Loading all the presents in his sleigh, Mario, Oogtar, and Yoshi escape King Koopa's Castle, just as the Koopa family (some creatures and Bully Koopa) find all the presents King Koopa stole missing. Arriving at Dome City, Mario drops Oogtar, who has had an epiphany, off at his dome-house. As Oogtar falls asleep, Mario drops off what appears to be a miniature television on his bedside table. Mario then leaves to deliver presents to the rest of Dome City.

Later in the morning, while Mario is asleep in the Dome Castle, Oogtar sneaks in and, believing Santa had forgotten to give a present to Mario, drops off a present for him.

Cast

• Walker Boone — Mario
• John Stocker — Oogtar the cave boy, caveman #3, dinosaur, Ghost
• Harvey Atkin — King Bowser Koopa
• Andrew Sabiston — Yoshi
• Tony Rosato — Luigi
• Tracey Moore — Princess Toadstool
• Dan Hennessey — Bully Koopa, Caveman #1, Caveman #2, Singer 2
• Gordon Masten — Singer #1, Caveman #4
• Paulina Gillis — Female Singer, Cave Lady #1, Cave Lady #2, Cave Girl

Animation and continuity errors

• When Mario shakes the sauce off him, the emblem on his cap is black instead of red.
• When Mario says, "It's a day where everyone's nice to each other!", the "M" on his cap is missing.
• When Yoshi says, "Ooh, eat treats?", Oogtar has four eyebrows.
• When Mario says, "...who've been good!", his mouth does not move. This also occurs with Yoshi when he says. "...on diet!", as he pushes him into Neon Castle.
• When King Koopa says, "Cave Christmas? What's that pipe-squeezer up to now? It's the hottest day of the year!", his color changes from light-green to dark-green.
• In the second shot of Mario and a cave person cutting down a tree, the colors of the "M" on Mario's cap are inverted, and as the screen moves to Princess Toadstool, Yoshi and Oogtar, two cave kids move without moving their legs.
• When Oogtar swings on a vine, the rim of King Kooopa's shell is the same color as his body.
• When Yoshi licks a candy cane, it overlaps on Princess Toadstool, and shortly after, one of his spikes turns the same color as his body.
• When King Koopa says, "Don't worry, Bully! I have a plan!", his mouth is the same color as his skin.
• When King Koopa and Bully get thrown into some trash, the Rex carrying it freezes.
  • In the same scene, King Koopa's claws on his hands are the same color as the spikes on his shackles.
• When the workshop is first seen, the jack-in-the-boxes from left to right are purple, red, and yellow, but in the next shot, the colors are revresed.
• When Luigi is operating the present Oogtar wants, the white area on his cap is black and the "L" is white.
• When Oogtar looks at his present, the lid on the jack-in-the-box he comes out of appears out of nowhere.
• When Luigi walks over to the jack-in-the-boxes, the one Oogtar is hiding in is green, but when he operates that one, it turns yellow.
  • In the same scene, the lid on it disappears.
• When King Koopa says that he will steal the presents, part of the rim of his shell turns the same color as his body.
• When Princess Toadstool puts the toys in the sack, she is seen putting them beside it instead of in it.
• When a cave person is walking with a dinosaur, it overlaps on the sleigh.
• When Mario says that King Koopa stealing the presents is low even for a Koopa, Princess Toadstool can be seen to be smiling.
• When Oogtar opens the second present and when he points to it, he is briefly layered over it.
• In one scene, the rims on the Koopa Football Players' helmets are the same color as their mouth guards.
• When Mario saves Oogtar and his cape power wears off, the cape remains for a short while.
• When Mario says that Oogtar has some explaining to do, the stripes on his gloves are the same color as his shirt.
• When Mario puts the toys into his sleigh, he briefly appears frozen.
• When Mario tells Yoshi to hold on as he gets him some Wings, the sleigh can be seen overlapping on the bridge, as well as when he is about to fly off.
• When Oogtar says that he does not deserve a present, Mario's overalls are purple instead of red.
• When Mario says this is unlike how Oogtar usually is, his left hand is layered underneath his sheet.

• 

  Oogtar with four eyebrows

• 

  King Koopa's miscolored claws

• 

  Oogtar layering error

Profiles

• Yoshi the Superstar DVD: Mario decides to bring Christmas to the Cave People. Luigi and Princess Toadstool make toys and wrap gifts. Mario dresses up as Santa Claus, and Yoshi pulls the "cave sleigh." But when King Koopa, "Grinch"-like, steals the toybag with Oogtar inside, Mario must save Cave Christmas.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
French	L'esprit de Noël	The spirit of Christmas
German	Weihnachten im Sommer[?]	Christmas in Summer
Italian	La vigilia del natale preistorico	On the eve of prehistoric Christmas
Korean	봄날의 크리스마스 이브 Bomnaleui Keuriseumaseu Ibeu	Spring Day on Christmas Eve
Polish	Dino-święta	Dino-Santa
Portuguese	A Véspera do Natal das Cavernas	The Eve of the Cave Christmas
Romanian	Noaptea dinaintea Crăciunului	The night before Christmas
Spanish (NOA)	Nochebuena cavernícola	Caveman Christmas Eve
Spanish (NOE)	La víspera de la Navidad cavernaria (original dub)	The night before cave Christmas
	La cueva de navidad (re-dub)	Christmas cave

Trivia

• In Australia, this episode aired as the sixth episode instead of the fifth, replacing "King Scoopa Koopa."
• Despite being produced after "Born to Ride" (episode 406), this episode (411) uses Yoshi's original design.