Kenneth
- This article is about the fish from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! For Bowser's current voice actor, see Kenneth W. James.
| Kenneth | |
|---|---|
| |
| Species | Goldfish |
| First appearance | The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! ("Defective Gadgetry") (1989) |
| Latest appearance | The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! "(Goodbye Mr. Fish") (1989) |
Kenneth was the former pet goldfish of Mrs. Periwinkle's. As Mrs. Periwinkle never managed to have a son of her own, she wound up getting Kenneth, whom she treated like a son as best she could. Kenneth was apparently fond of piggyback rides, and at some point developed a fear of horseback riding, a pastime of Mrs. Periwinkle's. Kenneth is ultimately killed when Mario contaminates his water with a meatball. However, Mario succeeds in fooling Mrs. Periwinkle with a substitute goldfish, who secretly becomes the new Kenneth.
History[edit]
"Defective Gadgetry"[edit]
Kenneth first appears in the episode "Defective Gadgetry." While Mario is washing his gloves in a bucket of water, he reaches his hand in and pulls out Kenneth, whom he is surprised to find. Mario then tosses Kenneth aside, and went back to what he is doing.
"Goodbye Mr. Fish"[edit]
In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! live-action segment "Goodbye Mr. Fish," Mrs. Periwinkle brings Kenneth to Mario Brothers Plumbing, where she tries to convince Luigi to look after him while she goes horseback riding. When Luigi admits that he does not know much about fish, Mrs. Periwinkle turns to Mario, who agrees to look after Kenneth solely because she asks him to, and not because he knows what he is doing.
When Mrs. Periwinkle leaves, Mario starts talking to Kenneth, telling him that he cannot have a piggyback ride because Mrs. Periwinkle discouraged it. Assuming that Kenneth is hungry, Mario drops a meatball into his bowl, despite the fact that Luigi tries to stop him.
The meatball contaminates the water in Kenneth's bowl and results in his death. Mario and Luigi panick over how they will approach Mrs. Periwinkle about Kenneth's death, until Luigi comes up with the idea of fooling her with a stand-in goldfish. Mario turns to the Ratagator, and asks him to find a replacement fish in the sewer. When the Ratagator presents Mario with a trout, he rejects it.
When Mrs. Periwinkle comes back, Luigi and Mario do what they could to hide the truth about Kenneth from her. Right before Mario confesses, the Ratagator alerts him to a substitute goldfish he found. Mario presents the new goldfish to Mrs. Periwinkle, and tricks her into thinking that it is Kenneth. Mrs. Periwinkle is so happy to see "Kenneth" again, that after Mario refuses to accept payment for his services, she tells him and Luigi that she will recommend them as fishsitters to all her friends.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (simplified) | 肯尼思[1] Kěnnísī |
Kenneth | |
| German | Kenneth[2] | - | |
| Portuguese | Kenneth[3] | - | |
| Spanish | Kenneth[4] | - | |
| Swedish | Kenneth[5] | - |
