The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

Believe it or not, before I saw this series, I didn't know who Mario, or Link from the Zelda series, was. I did not own a Nintendo Entertainment System until my fifth birthday, and I first saw this show while I was three years old, which gave me my first real taste on the wonderful world of Nintendo. I loved it, and even now I miss this series. Having animated versions of both Mario and Zelda were fantastic. Mario would usually battle variations of King Koopa(who was a fused version of Mario villain Bowser and Mario 2 baddie Wart), usually in versions of movies like Indiana Jones or Frankenstein. The Zelda ones featured Link and Zelda(who actually fought in the Zelda cartoons), facing Ganon(who else?), as he tried to capture the Triforce. I thought it was really cool how both toons would use the actual sound effects from the games. I also noted how the characteristics of Mario and Luigi in the show are now the ones used for them in the current Mario games. This show reminded me of how KUSI-51 used to be cool, when they had shows like this, Ninja Turtles, Jetsons, and Tiny Toons. What happened to those days? I guess they went the way of the Disney Channel, Disney Adventures, Fox, and USA. Oh well, I was ticked off when they changed the theme song during the 90's, and instead of the host sequences of a live-action Mario and Luigi they now featured..... two guys on the top of an apartment with a big-screen TV!? Luckily, the few videos and taped episodes I have give me the chance to relive my childhood memories.

BOTTOM LINE: I don't care what anyone else says, I love this show!

"Swing your arms, from side to side/Come on it's time to go do the MARIO!/Take one step, and then again/Let's do the MARIO all together now!/Everybody!/ Do the Mario!/ Just like thaaaaaat!". What a pathetic little dance. Swing your arms and take two steps, one at a time. Wow, I have to assume that it was written the night before the show aired and was crafted with very...hmmm..."physically un-taxing" moves to accommodate ex-pro wrestler Lou Albano, who played Mario. Incidentally, if you grew up in the 80's like I did, you might remember that Lou Albano used to be in all of Cyndi Laupers videos. Remember how at the end of the song, the "just like thaaaaat!" part, how he went down on one knee, and it looked like he was about to fall over? Sigh - I love nostalgia. I used to watch this show while I ate my Nintendo Cereal (NIN-TEN-DO it's a cereal, wow!) from an actual Super Mario Bros. bowl, no joke. What a terrific show, I have the episode where Princess Toadstool got kidnaped by Koopa (go figure) and Mario, Luigi, and Toad have to go to the desert oasis to save her. And it had the irritable genie, and the flying carpets, and PIDGETS (Luigi spoke pidget, actually). This show was followed up by the strange Super Mario 3 based cartoon and the completely strange and horrible Super Mario World based cartoon.

While I haven't seen every episode (compared to the other Mario cartoons) and also the Legend of Zelda segments, I still think that the show is good. The show was split into two, a live action part with guest stars from the era (the 80s) and the cartoon. I didn't mind and even liked some of the live action parts with goofy Lou Albano and Danny Wells as Mario & Luigi but I enjoyed the cartoon better. There are parodies of film, books and legends in the show, but I only seen some of the parody episodes but I liked them but not as much as the earlier produced episodes which give a vintage charm due to better plotting.

I don't know why, but I find this series better animated than the next 2 Mario cartoons due to less colouring goofs and better voice acting, especially from Princess Toadstool (compared with SMB3 and Super Mario World) and the Mario Brothers sound more courageous (even Luigi, believe or not) which also introduced their Brooklyn accent. Even Mouser in the show has a good Pseudo German accent and character as well as King Koopa, my favourite character due to his lines and actions however he looks different compared to the games. During an episode, there would be a music track in the background that are covers from real bands and singers like Michael Jackson's Bad or Proud Mary. It is a shame that the US DVD releases have these omitted, while it doesn't make much difference in Super Mario Bros. 3 (except the Milli Vanilli episode) this is like a huge difference in mood and setting. I even compared King Mario of Cramelot US when it was aired on Yahooligans with the UK DVD which has the original music and I found the UK one more enjoyable with the Mario and King Koopa scenes, the US one was far less exciting, however it still had the remixed soundtrack of the Mario games as well in all episodes. One thing that's legendary is Do The Mario which still shows the test of time and is quite fun to dance to for the kids.

This is probably the best Mario cartoon since it started it all and is such a timeless classic that you should buy it or if it is aired somewhere, watch it.

I loved this show to death. The live action sequences featured funny cameos from celebrities, and the cartoons. . . they were just awesome, with my favorite video game heroes in amazing escapades. They really don't make them like this anymore.

I remember these cartoons (among the other Super Mario Bros. cartoons) when I was young, and have them now as fun memories. And surely the tapes I have bring back many fun, wonderful memories of my youth, and I will surely never forget them (and I am definitely not going to lose those tapes)! If these are available for purchase, be sure to pick up a few of these tapes for your children! Although brief in length, they are certain to brighten your child's day!