The Ugly Mermaid
The Ugly Mermaid is the 18th episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3.
Plot Synopsis
The episode begins in Water Land as Bowser's Doom Sub swiftly makes its way through the ocean, planning to conquer the underwater world of Mertropolis, which he plans to turn into Kooptropolis. Already aware of his plans, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad pursue the sub, aided by Frog Suits. Once Bowser notices this, he orders the Rocky Wrenches to attack. The Mario Bros. manage to catch some of the wrenches that are thrown at them, and throw them back, damaging the Doomsub's propellers. The submarine spins out of control, firing strange beams in all directions. One of them hits Mario, encasing most of his body in a block of cement, which causes him to begin sinking.
When all seems lost, a mermaid named Holly Mackerel swims over to save Mario. She introduces herself as the mermaid princess of Mertropolis. She gets Mario to the submerged city, which is covered by a dome. Luigi and the others follow, and try their best to awaken the now-unconcious Mario. When he regains consciousness, Holly tells him that a prediction states that a frog prince will arrive to marry her. Believing Mario to be that prince, she falls in love with him and tries to get him to marry her. After some brief dodging and running away, Mario directly confronts her and tells her that they just aren't compatable. Leaving her in tears, he and the rest of the team head back to the pipe leading to the ocean.
However, upon arriving, Mario can't bring himself to go back. His near-death experience has made him dreadfully afraid of the water, and he refuses to leave. The others try to convince him to go, but he makes it clear that he won't go into the water ever again. Suddenly, the Doomsub appears over the city, and Bowser shouts his demands through a loudpseaker, declaring that if the city isn't surrendered in 20 minutes, he'll destroy it. Luigi, Peach, and Toad rush over to the exit pipe, but Mario's too afraid. Peach tries to convince him that everything will be okay, but it doesn't do any good. Suddenly, two Boomerang Bros. enter through the pipe and start attacking the city. Mario defeats them, but just as soon as they're gone, more arrive. After battling the small troop of Boomerang Bros., Bowser announces that he has more to come, and begins approaching in his submarine. As before, Mario's too scared to leave the city. Peach tells him to stay behind, while she, Luigi, and Toad stop the Doomsub.
Holly sees that Mario's still there, and misinterprets his staying as a sign of love for her. She excited plans to prepare a wedding ceremony, much to Mario's dismay. Back at the battle, Bowser fires nets at his three foes, capturing all of them. Bowser then busts a hole in the city's protective dome, flooding it. Mario regains his courage, realizing he's the only one who can rescue his friends and the city- That, and he wants to get away from Holly. He swims up the advancing flood of water, and fixes the hole in the ceiling on his way out with some metal covering. The Mario Bros. use one of Bowser's nets to capture a school of Jelectros, and throw the net at the Doomsub. The electricutes the sub, forcing Bowser to retreat.
Mario and the others arrive back in the city, where he's given a medal for his heroic deeds. Holly, still infatuated with Mario, arrives and puts a wedding-day helmet on him. The helmet, however, distorts his facial appearance, and she shrieks in shock, saying that she can't marry him because he's "the ugliest frog she's ever seen." With that resolved, the heroes cheerfully head home to the Mushroom Kingdom.
