Elvin Lives

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode
"Elvin Lives"
Production number	139
Airdate	November 8, 1989 (English) November 28, 1990 (French)
Writer(s)	David Bennett Carren J. Larry Carroll
Plumber's Log #	19-50
King Koopa's alter ego(s)	Koopa, the Kool
Cover song(s)	"Rock Around the Clock"
Replacement song(s)	"Motor City"
Title reference	Elvis Lives
Live-action segment	"Home Radio"
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"Elvin Lives" is the thirty-ninth episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. The episode title references a discredited conspiracy theory that was popular at the time of the episode's airing, which falsely claimed that Elvis Presley did not die in 1977, but rather just went into hiding and was still alive, based on alleged inconsistencies with Presley's official death certificate. Had Presley indeed lived, he would be 54 when the episode first premiered in 1989. Its corresponding live-action segment is "Home Radio."

Plot synopsis

Elvin Parsley.

Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool travel to Sock Hop Land in search of the music king Elvin Parsley. They first ask a Mushroom person where to find Elvin. The Toad gives a response heavily steeped in 50's slang that Mario and the others cannot understand. Suddenly, every Toad in the town starts to get scared. As Mario and the others turn around, they see a group of greaser Goombas with Kool Koopa in a red convertible following behind. Every Toad then runs for cover. The Goombas and Kool Koopa stop in front of Elvin's recording studio and replace his picture on a billboard with Kool Koopa's picture that says, "King Koopa, King of Sock Hop Land". Koopa then sees Princess Toadstool and goes after her. Mario grabs the Princess and runs with Luigi and Toad into an alley. They find a dumpster and push it into the Goombas and Kool Koopa pursues them.

Mario and the others walk into a neighborhood and find Elvin's mansion, Parsley Land. As they enter the mansion, they hear the song "Jailhouse Rock" play. They also hear a sound coming from a closet. In it they find Elvin's blue suede shoes that talk.

The boots lead Mario and the others to Kool Koopa's hideout, the Half Life Malt Shop. As Mario and Luigi peek inside, they see many Goombas seated at tables with a stage at the back. Mario, Luigi, and Toad sneak onto the stage and play music to distract the Goombas while Princess Toadstool and Elvin's boots go to find Elvin Parsley. They find him in a freezer, frozen solid. Before the Princess could put the boots back onto Elvin's feet, Kool Koopa kidnaps her. As Mario, Luigi, and Toad play, Kool Koopa grabs Toad. Mario then starts a food fight to distract Kool Koopa and saves Toad. They run out of the malt shop, food still flying everywhere. Koopa comes after them, but he slips on a banana.

Later, Kool Koopa, with Princess Toadstool, drives his red convertible into town to show off. He drives past an alley where Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Elvin's boots are hiding. After a long time of thinking up a plan, Mario finally says that they should make a hot rod of their own to go after Koopa. They find an old truck and start fixing it. Luigi took the job of pumping up a tire. The tire then got too big and blew up, transforming the truck into a hot rod.

Mario and the others caught up with Kool Koopa and drove in circles around him. Luigi grabbed the Princess and they drove off. Mario then saw the Goombas charging toward them. One of them then kicks a Bob-Omb at them and blows up a tire, spinning them out of control. The car crashes and blows up into many pieces. Mario and Luigi find a field of Fire Flowers and they turn themselves into Super Mario and Super Luigi. They attack the Goombas with fire balls making them run away. Then, Mario and Luigi go after Kool Koopa and drive his car off a cliff.

With Koopa gone, Mario and the others go back to the malt shop and free Elvin Parsley. Mario and Luigi go outside to tell everyone that the king is back. The Toads come out of their hiding places and come to hear Elvin sing. Mario asks if he could play with Elvin. Knowing that Mario does not play well, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool yell, "NO!", much to Mario's dismay.

Characters

"Kool Koopa"

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Toadstool
• Toad
• Kool Koopa
• Mushroom People
• Greaser Goombas
• Elvin Parsley
• Elvin Parsley's blue suede shoes
• Bob-Omb

Cast

• Lou Albano — Mario, citizen #2
• Danny Wells — Luigi, citizen #3, Goomba #2
• Jeannie Elias — Princess Toadstool, citizen #5, feminine-sounding mushroom boy
• John Stocker — Toad, citizen #1, Goomba #1
• Harvey Atkin — Kool Koopa, citizen #4, Goomba #3
• Robert Bocksteale — Goomba #4, citizen #6
• Marla Lukofsky — citizen #8
• Dorian Joe Clark — citizen #7
• Rob Cowan — Elvin Parsley, citizen #9
• Denise Pidgeon — citizen #10

Animation and continuity errors

• When Princess Toadstool sees Elvin Parsley frozen, she incorrectly says he was turned into stone instead.
• When Mario and his friends follow the shoes out of the mansion, Toad is missing.
• When Mario and his friends walk at the beginning of the episode, Princess Toadstool's brooch has its colors reversed.
• When showing the Elvin Parsley billboard at the beginning of the episode, the words "Elvin Parsley" are orange, but when the Goombas take it down, they are red and blue.
• In some scenes, the symbols on Mario and Luigi's caps are missing.
• When Kool Koopa tells the Goombas to get Mario and his friends, a building overlaps on one of the Goombas.
• When Kool Koopa drives away with Princess Toadstool, the crown on Princess Toadstool's head is missing.
• When the Goombas clap for the Toadstool Trio, one of the Goombas' hats flashes.
• When the shoes says that Elvin will be unfrozen if Princess Toadstool puts them on him, Elvin's socks are blue instead of brown.
• When Mario and Toad become upset with the shoes, the back-right tire appears as its normal size. This also happens after it blows up, along with Luigi also being missing.
• When Princess Toadstool says that Kool Koopa has trouble, Kool Koopa's car is green instead of red.

Profiles

• Netflix: With Toad and the Princess in tow, Mario and Luigi travel to Sock Hop Land, where they learn that music royalty Elvin Parsley is in trouble.
• Off the Map DVD: The Mario Bros., Princess Toadstool, and Toad arrive in Sock Hop Land to save the music king Elvin Parsley from Greaser Koopa.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
French	Quelle Drole d'Histoire[?]	What a Funny Story
German	Elvin lebt[?]	Elvin Lives
Italian	Elvin, Re del Rock[?]	Elvin, King of Rock

Trivia

• Parsley Land is a parody of Elvis's home, Graceland.
• When the curtain goes up, Mario and Luigi appear like how they are on The Best of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! DVD cover.
• When Elvin Parsley is unfrozen at the end of the episode, he exclaims, "OW! I FEEL GOOD!" This is a line from the song "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown, despite the fact that Elvin is based on Elvis Presley.