Princess Toadstool for President

Princess Toadstool for President is the fifth episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3; it aired alongside another episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 entitled "Never Koop a Koopa".

Plot Synopsis

Toad comes running out of his his house to find Mario, Luigi and Princess Toadstool, who are fishing at a pond and warns them about how Bowser has brought a plague of Paragoombas to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Bowser and Cheatsy wheel a cage full of Grand Paragoombas from Giant Land to the top of a hill. Bowser tells Cheatsy that he intends to have the Paragoombas eat up the local crops so that the Mushroom People will have no food and so that Princess Toadstool will be forced into giving him her kingdom in exchange for his food.

As soon as the Paragoombas are unleashed, Mario and Luigi arrive and make quick work of them. Princess Toadstool then confronts Bowser, telling him that if he's so desperate to rule her kingdom, that he should do it properly. She informs him of an upcoming election, and that he should run in it. That way, the citizens will be able to elect their next leader, and the loser will agree to leave the kingdom. Mario doubts that Bowser would actually enter the running, but Bowser surprises him by agreeing to Princess Toadstool's suggestion, and shakes her hand.

Having returned to his throne room at Castle Koopa, Bowser whines to Cheatsy about how nobody in the Mushroom Kingdom would ever vote for him, because Princess Toadstool is a goody-two-shoes. Cheatsy suggests being nice, but Bowser claims that he's never been nice in his life, and that he's allergic to nice. Kooky enters and sprays his dad with a strange, blue chemical, which suddenly forces him to act nicely. Kooky explains that he has created a Nice Guy Potion, and with it, Bowser stands a chance against Princess Toadstool.

Back in the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Toadstool is giving a one-sided debate against Bowser, when Bowser and his kids arrive as a marching band. Bowser tosses Gold Coins out to everyone, telling them all to have a nice day. He then goes on to toss more freebies down to the Mushroom People from his Doomship. Back at Toad's House, Mario and Toad worry that all of Bowser's offerings will persuade people into voting for him, so Princess Toadstool plans to give a speech about what he's done in the past at the Mushroom Kingdom Founder's Day Picnic. Cheatsy and Kooky, who are spying on them through a window, realize that they need to deal with Princess Toadstool's plan.

At the picnic, Princess Toadstool starts to give her speech, when Kooky sets off a firecracker, which hits a mountain of blocks, causing it to collapse. The blocks scare Princess Toadstool into falling off a cliff, but when Mario and Luigi go down to find her, they learn that she hid in a Warp Pipe.

Meanwhile, Bowser is sweet-talking to a baby, when he slowly stops acting nice. Kooky figures that the Nice Guy Potion is wearing off, so Bowser orders him and Cheatsy to return home and create some more before his final election speech. Mario and Luigi, who were spying on the Koopas, head after them.

Mario and Luigi soon arrive in Dark Land, where they are ambushed by Tanks and Rocky Wrenches. They escape into a Warp Pipe leading underground, but find themselves in a fire pit. In the pit, the brothers are chased around by Fire Chomps, Hot Foots and a Fire Snake, but they manage to avoid them and get to the other side.

Mario and Luigi soon make it inside Castle Koopa, and arrive at the entrance to Kooky’s lab, where Kooky and Cheatsy are preparing more Nice Guy Potion. Luigi gets the Koopalings' attention, and they chase him out of the lab. While they’re gone, Mario walks into the lab and pours the Nice Guy Potion down the drain. Cheatsy and Kooky return to the lab without find Luigi to see that the potion is gone. When Bowser finds out, he's furious, because the election is about to start.

After Princess Toadstool gives her final speech, Bowser is reluctant to give his, as he's still angry. Kooky and Cheatsy tell him to fake his way through his speech, so he attempts to do so. As he gives his speech, Princess Toadstool claims that he used a Nice Guy Potion to try and win the election. Bowser claims that he would never need such a potion to be nice, and threatens to pound anyone who opposes him into mush.

Afterwards, Mario reveals the final vote count, announcing that Princess Toadstool won by a landslide, and that Bowser only received one vote. When Bowser ponders as to why the only vote he received was his own, Cheatsy and Kooky explain that Princess Toadstool was so nice, that they had to vote for her. Bowser growls, and starts chasing his kids around.

Trivia

• If the Mushroom Kingdom is ruled by a monarchy, then it would never have any elections.

• Grand Goomba-sized Paragoombas have never appeared in any game.

• King Koopa is referred to as Bowser Koopa twice in this episode.

• There is an episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog entitled "Sonic is Running", with a somewhat similar plot. Basically, Dr. Robotnik runs for presidency of Mobius, and tricks people into voting for him. However, Sonic ruined his plans, and in the end, Dr. Robotnik only received one vote (his own).