"Send in the Clown" is the third episode of the Super Mario World cartoon.
Plot[]
While Morton and Wendy put up posters advertising the Koopaling Bros. Circus, King Koopa flies over Dome City in his Koopa Clown Car announcing the circus and telling the Cave People that they have free admission. Meanwhile, Mario and Princess Peach are playing tennis, using a Volcano Plant as a serving machine. Yoshi is their ballboy, and he has a hard time grasping the concept that he shouldn't eat the balls he's supposed to pick up. Upon going too far out of the court, the group notices that the Cave People are missing. Luigi then notices a Koopaling Bros. Circus poster and concludes that "Koopa's at it again!"
The group takes a Star Road warp to King Koopa's Castle where the circus is being held. They go inside and find Mecha-Koopas on high wire and Chargin' Chuck acrobatics. Morton then comes out, dressed as "the greatest ringmaster of them all at the greatest circus of them all", and puts up a long speech about the circus before King Koopa stops him and tells him to "bring on the clowns", which are Rexes in disguise.
After a sequence with Morton getting caught up in the Rex-clown's act and King Koopa launching pies at the audience (Yoshi eats most of them), one Rex's clown disguise falls apart, revealing himself to the audience. The other Rexes rip off their costumes as the Cave People flee for the exits, but King Koopa has the Thwomps block them. Morton then has the audience, including Mario's companions, dropped into a cage underground. King Koopa announces to the prisoners that he is going to have them fed to his dinosaurs, and then places Mario in a separate cage to tame a Dino-Rhino and two Dino-Torches. Fortunately, the Princess remembers that she still has a Fire Flower from earlier and tosses it to Mario. He uses it to defeat the Dino-Rhino and escape from the cage, then runs through the castle to find a Cape Feather, encountering Chargin' Chucks, Grey King Koopa Statues, lava, a Dry Bones, Morton, and Mecha-Koopas along the way. He eventually finds one and attacks all of the enemies with it. He then sets his friends free, but not before King Koopa kidnaps the Princess in the Clown Car. (King Koopa says to Mario, "I WOULDN'T DO THAT PLUNGER FACE! NOT IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR PRECIOUS PRINCESS AGAIN!".) And he --King Koopa-- attacks Mario with Mecha-Koopas (as he does in Super Mario World), which Mario uses to defeat the Koopa King.
Mario says to King Koopa that he (King Koopa) must not do any more clowning around and he is "koo-put". (That is, as he says to King Koopa, "NO MORE CLOWNING AROUND KOOPA! YOU ARE KOO-PUT!". That is, before tossing a Mecha Koopa at King Koopa.) After Mario defeats King Koopa, the Koopa Clown Car goes out of control. King Koopa is defeated and flies off with the Koopa Clown Car. And Mario rescues Princess Toadstool, then he and Princess Toadstool unlock Luigi, Yoshi, and their friends.
Afterwards, the protagonists celebrate by having a circus of their own, with Peach as the tightrope walker, Yoshi as a clown, Mario as an announcer and juggler and Luigi sells refreshments.
Characters[]
- Mario
- Luigi
- Princess Toadstool
- Yoshi
- Cave People
- King Koopa (Main Antagonist)
- Big Mouth Koopa (Secondary Antagonist)
- Kootie Pie Koopa (Minor Antagonist)
- Chargin' Chucks
- Mechakoopas
- Rexes
- Thwomps
- Dino-Rhino
- Dino-Torches
- Dry Bones
Trivia/Goofs[]
- This is the only episode in which Wendy has no dialogue.
- This is the only time in the cartoons King Koopa uses the Koopa Clown Car.
- This is Morton's first appearance on the show. Also, Morton's shell is gray (just as it is in the Super Mario World artwork), unlike his appearances in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, where his shell was colored purple.
- When Peach is showing off the Fire Flower at the beginning, the shot of her holding it up is shown after the shot of her putting it away.
- Mario's ringmaster getup is very similar to what he wore on the box art of Super Mario All-Stars, even though this series was made before that collection of Super Mario Bros. games.
- Also, when Mario goes to get the feather, the cage is underground, but when Mario comes back, the cage is above ground.
- When the Rexes take off their clown costumes, they are all blue, but at the shot of the Rex's foot, the Rex is green.
- The name of the circus, "Koopaling Bros. Circus," is a take-off on the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
- At the part where Morton is hit by a pie while ringleading, the sound effects of Morton being tapped on the shoulder and getting hit by the pie are heard before either action actually happens. (This also happens near the beginning when Wendy sticks a poster in Morton's face.)
- King Koopa's line, "You are about to enter this warp pipe and into a dimension beyond space and time", is a nod to The Twilight Zone.
- The part where Mario battles King Koopa is a reference to the final boss game where Mario must throw Mecha Koopas at King Koopa and avoid the Koopa Clown Car and giant balls.
- The final boss music from the game is used twice: an abbreviated clip at the beginning when King Koopa is advertising the circus, and the full theme when he and Mario fight near the end.
- When Morton talks for the second time in the circus, he rips a giant hat, showing they were trying to shut him up.
Availability[]
.jpg "Captain N and the new Super Mario World (DVD, 2007).jpg (48 KB)")
.jpg "SMW - Koopa's Stone Age Quests (DVD, 2010).jpg (16 KB)")
.jpg "Super Mario World Complete Series (DVD, 2013).jpg (257 KB)")
