A Little Learning

A Little Learning is the twelfth episode of the Super Mario World animated series.

Plot Synopsis

While rushing to school, Yoshi and Oogtar, carrying lunch-boxes and schoolbags, run-up to Princess Toadstool, who is ringing a bell in front of the schoolhouse. While Hip and Hop Koopa watch from the bushes, Oogtar hands Princess Toadstool an apple. Taking a bite of this apple, Princess Toadstool hurls it away in disgust, as it has a small Caterpillar in it. An angry Princess Toadstool proceeds to order Oogtar and Yoshi into the schoolhouse.

Seeing Oogtar, Yoshi and the Princess go into school, Hip and Hop try to follow them, only to be grabbed by Bowser. The angry Koopa king proceeds to tell Hip and Hop they are forbidden to go to school, with Bowser believing school will turn the Koopaling twins into "goodie two-shoes". As Bowser makes Hip and Hop promise not to go to school, he fails to notice Hip and Hop crossing their fingers as they make this promise.

As Bowser walks-off, Hip and Hop zoom into the schoolhouse, just in time for the Pledge of Allegiance. After reciting their own version of the pledge, Hip and Hop are asked why they're at school by a confused Princess Toadstool; Hip and Hop give the simple reply "We wanna' go to school!"

Before the Princess can reply to Hip and Hop's remark, the school is besieged by angry cave-people, who refuse to allow Hip and Hop to attend the same school as their children. As Princess Toadstool leaves to discuss matters with the cave-people and Mario, Oogtar decides to give Hip and Hop some gum, saying that the Princess loves when kids blow bubbles in their class, the bigger, the better.

After convincing the cave-people to give Hip and Hop a chance, Princess Toadstool returns to class, only to get caught in the gunk left by Hip and Hop's giant bubble gum bubble. As Princess Toadstool begins telling Hip and Hop she doesn't like gum in her class, Hip and Hop can only glare angrily at Oogtar. After reprimanding Hip and Hop, Princess Toadstool proceeds to give Oogtar and Yoshi the responsibility of showing Hip and Hop around.

Later, during a game of catch at recess, Hip and Hop pop the game ball. As Princess Toadstool goes to get another ball, Hip and Hop, hungry for revenge against Oogtar, proceed to take several dozen fireballs from out of their backpack. With fireballs blazing, Hip and Hop begin throwing fireballs everywhere.

Running from Hip and Hop, Oogtar becomes entangled in the school playground's jungle gym. Approaching Oogtar, Hip and Hop throw a pair of fireballs at him. Missing Oogtar, Hip and Hop instead release him from entanglement. Before Hip or Hop can hurl anymore fireballs at Oogtar, Yoshi eats the Koopaling's backpacks. After doing this, Yoshi is attacked by Hip and Hop, with Oogtar joining in the fighting shortly afterwards.

Rushing outside, Princess Toadstool manages to stop the fighting and, believing Oogtar to be the one who started the fight, scolds him while Hip and Hop make mocking poses at him from behind the Princess' back.

At Neon Castle, Bowser begins to wonder why things are so quiet and where Hip and Hop are. A perplexed Bowser begins to look around his castle for his youngest children.

Back at school, Princess Toadstool announces that a science fair is going to be held and advises the students to start working on their projects. As Oogtar and Yoshi work on their project, an "eggabega", a cross between an eggplant and a rutabaga, they are continually taunted by Hip and Hop. Having had enough, Oogtar begins storming over to Hip and Hop's table, only to be stopped by Princess Toadstool, who sends Oogtar back to his and Yoshi's table. While Hip and Hop work on their volcano project, Oogtar has Yoshi use his tongue to pull Hip's chair out from under him, causing Hip to fall face-first into his and Hop's volcano.

After the school day is done, Hip and Hop sneak-back into the building during the night and proceed to sabotage Yoshi and Oogtar's project by sticking a Piranha Plant in it. After doing this, Hip and Hop begin modifying their volcano.

The next day, Princess Toadstool begins to announce that the science fair is starting and proceeds to introduce the fair's judges, Mario and Luigi. As the students begin setting up their projects, Hip and Hop begin discussing their own project in a tunnel beneath the school. Having set-up an extensive piping system which goes from Neon Castle to the school, Hip proceeds to tell Hop how to work the pipes.

Meanwhile, Bowser, still searching for Hip and Hop, ends-up tripping over a newly placed pipe in his dungeon. Confused, Bowser begins to follow the pipe, which leads to the nearby Warp Tube to Dome City. Bowser, becoming increasingly suspicious, jumps into the Warp Tube.

At school, Hip begins to show-off his volcano project, which is quite spectacular and impresses everyone present. Oogtar, jealous of Hip's project, begins to dump large amounts of fertilizer on his and Yoshi's "eggabega". Unfortunately, the fertilizer causes the Piranha Plant hidden in the eggabega's leaves to grow instead.

Outside the school, Bowser exits the Warp Tube and, seeing he's at the Dome City school, instantly realizes that Hip and Hop disobeyed him. Finding Hop, Bowser grabs him and begins to walk-off with him, unfortunately, the lever that controls the amount of lava that flows through Hip's volcano spins-out of control without Hop to steady it.

Aboveground, Hip's volcano begins spurting huge amounts of lava, which causes the school to collapse. To make matters worse, the Piranha Plant, having grown to huge proportions, begins to go on a rampage, attacking any nearby people. Eating the fleeing Bowser, Hip and Hop, the giant Piranha Plant is subsequently eaten by Yoshi.

Becoming extremely bloated, Yoshi is instructed by Princess Toadstool to spit Bowser, Hip and Hop into the Warp Tube to Neon Castle. Doing so, Princess Toadstool yells into the Warp Tube that Hip and Hop shouldn't bother coming to school tomorrow, they're expelled.

Unfortunately, the lava from Hip's volcano is still flowing, right towards Dome City. Luckily, Mario and Luigi manage to turn the piping system around and shove it into the Neon Castle Warp Tube. The lava from the pipes subsequently floods Neon Castle, including Bowser's bedroom, with the panicking Bowser in it.

Trivia

• Princess Toadstool's expulsion of Hip and Hop from school seems somewhat harsh, as Hip and Hop didn't mean to cause so much destruction; it was all accidental.

• Several coloring errors can be found in this episode, such as the colors of Yoshi's saddle/shell being reversed and the color of the Piranha Plant's pot continually switching from green to gray.

• Bowser reveals in this episode that he is illiterate, despite the fact that he seemed to be perfectly capable of forging a letter in-game in Super Mario Bros. 3.

• This is the only episode of any Mario cartoon in which Luigi doesn't have any lines. But he is heard screaming in the Rockin' the High School sequence.

• The song in this episode, Rockin' the High School, is a parody of the Ramones song "Rock n Roll High School"

• Apparently, none of Bowser's children are allowed to go to school since Bowser says it will teach them how to behave. However, this may only apply to a school run by Princess Toadstool, as the writers bible from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 DVD set states that Hip and Hop flunked Koopergarten, and that Kooky graduated from a place called Frankenstein University.

• When Princess Toadstool says, "Here, Yoshi!", her mouth isn't moving at all. Additionally when she says, "Whadya do with it?", her mouth only moves once then closes.

• When Princess Toadstool was hosting the science project, they all are supposed to get paired up one by one, but however there is a odd number of children so maybe one of them worked alone.

• Some of the children only appear outside, rather than inside.