Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa's Katastrophe Reviewed by: Duke E-Mail: DNukem170@aol.com Presented by: DiC Entertainment Released: 2003 Format: DVD Rating: G (It's about as violent as the games are.) Genre: Comedy/Adventure Quick Opinion: Rent **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: Every good video gamer knows about the Super Mario Bros. cartoon, with Captain Lou Albano as Mario and the introduction of the infamous Mario Dance. Unfortunately, this DVD doesn't have the original series, but 6 episodes from the set of episodes based off of Super Mario Bros. 3. **************************************************************************** *CONTENT PRESENTATION* PLOT: Unlike the other two DiC discs, this DVD has 6 episodes instead of 3, though it still comes with a Sonic Underground episode. Reptiles in the Rosegarden - Kootie Pie (Wendy) hates her birthday presents and begs her dad to give her rule over the United States. So, Koopa transports the White House to the Mushroom Kingdom while Kootie takes over. Barbara Bush (no joke) calls the Mario Bros. to help out. (Editor's Note: He's NOT joking. Remember when the First Lady was on EVERY Saturday and in all those reading commercials?) Sneaky, Lying, Cheating, Giant Ninja Koopas - For some reason, Koopa wants to invade the land of the giants and turn the king Hugo into a miniature poodle. To do so, he turns four of his kids into giant ninjas, who prove too much even for the Mario Bros.' raccoon powers. The Beauty of Kootie - Koopa decides to flood a sandy land in the Mushroom Kingdom, and the Mario Bros. come in to fix things. In order to distract them while the kingdom is flooded, Kootie is turned into a knockout human girl and flirts with Mario. Oh, and Toadstool is captured. Toddler Towers of Time Travel - One of King Koopa's kids accidentally warps time and turns the Mario Brothers into kids (if only Baby Mario & Baby Luigi were around back then), then sticks them in the real world so they cannot go back into the Mushroom Kingdom. The Mario Bros. have to somehow do their plumbing so they can get back into the Warp Pipe to the Mushroom Kingdom and save Toadstool. Reign Storm - Mario & Luigi send Toadstool & Toad to Hawaii for a vacation, and run the Mushroom Kingdom by themselves. Koopa takes advantage of this by making a robot Toadstool to take over, boot out the plumbers, and make Koopa the King of the Mushroom Kingdom. Never Koop a Koopa - King Koopa surrenders to Princess Toadstool and gives her the key to his castle. However, it is a trap that forces Toadstool to sign over the Mushroom Kingdom to him. Meanwhile, in order to prove himself as a rotten bad guy to his dad, one of Koopa's kids decides to do a little double-crossing of his own. Ah, the power of the 80's. When simple, formulatic, episodic plots were all that were needed. ORIGINALITY: Before there was Pokémon, there were the Mario Bros. Not only did DiC keep a lot of elements from the video game intact, but did it in such a way as to make the series enjoyable, even to this day. Though Mario doesn't jump nearly as much as in the games, it's still a fun trip. ACTING/SUBBING: Captain Lou Albano IS Mario. The current guy is decent, but way too high-pitched. Albano, however, fits the role perfectly and really comes alive as Mario. Danny Wells is pretty decent as Luigi (better than John Leguinzamo, that's for sure), and Jennie Elias does a pretty good Toadstool (Much better than Peach's voice). John Stocker's Toad is a bit on the annoying side, but pretty tolerable, and Harvey Atkin does a good King Koopa. He gives him a nice, gravely, voice. MUSIC/SOUND: Like with Legend of Zelda, 90% of the music is the Mario theme (or the cave theme) in various remixes. This gives the series a good nostaglic trip, and fits the cartoon very well. Like Zelda too, almost all the sound effects made it in the series, including the jumps and the item pickup, though they're used a bit TOO frequently for my tastes. VISUALS: The animation is better than in Legend of Zelda, but the DVD suffers from being washed out in places. The colors don't seem as crisp as they should be, but it's not too bad. As for the actual animation, it's your basic early-90's, limited budget animation, but it's good for what it is, even if Mario moves about like Jell-O at points. Liked: The music, the VAs, the fun plots Hated: It's pure 80's fluff, so don't expect anything deep. Also, a below average transfer. **************************************************************************** *PERSONAL OPINION* POSITIVE: Everything you remember as a kid is still in effect even today. This is one of those series you can just pick-up-and-watch, unlike other 80's series. It's fun. NEGATIVE: I miss "Do the Mario." Also, I think I like Bowser more than King Koopa. And no Koopa Troopas. ;_; **************************************************************************** Improve: Incorporate some of the other Mario games (Golf, Tennis, Kart, 64, Sunshine, etc.), give it an update. RIYL: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Legend of Zelda **************************************************************************** Final Words: If you can somehow find this DVD, by all means pick it up. Though DiC is releasing the series in order in 2004, starting with the first 5 episodes. **************************************************************************** Score CONTENT PRESENTATION PLOT: 12 of 15 ORIGINALITY: 7 of 10 ACTING/SUBBING: 13 of 15 MUSIC/SOUND: 4 of 5 VISUALS: 3 of 5 Total for CONTENT PRESENTATION: 39 of 50 PERSONAL OPINION: 40 of 50 Total for both: 79 of 100 Final Score: 79% **************************************************************************** SECRETS: This disc also includes a bonus Sonic Underground episode. Joy.