Send in the Clown

Super Mario World episode
"Send in the Clown"
Production number	225-103A
Episode	3
Airdate	September 28, 1991 November 10, 2024
Writer(s)	Martha Moran
Featured song	"At the Circus"
Captain N episode	"Return to Castlevania"
Episode chronology ← Previous "The Wheel Thing" Next → "Ghosts 'R' Us" List of episodes

“Come one and come all, to the greatest circus of them all! The Koopaling Brothers Circus! Greatest show in Dinosaur Land!”

—Big Mouth Koopa

"Send in the Clown" is the third episode of the Super Mario World animated series. This episode is notable for being the last episode where Kootie Pie appears, as well as the only episode where Dino Rhinos, Ball 'N' Chains, Big Steelies, and the Koopa Clown Car appear.

Plot synopsis

Outside on a dirt tennis court in Dome City, Mario and Princess Toadstool are in the middle of a tennis match, using fireballs from a nearby Fire Plant as balls. As Princess Toadstool scores a point against Mario, Luigi, who acts as the game's scorekeeper, congratulates her. Princess Toadstool than proceeds to hit another fireball to Mario; before Mario can hit the ball though, Yoshi, the game's ballboy, eats it.

Mario and Princess Toadstool in a court playing tennis, with Kootie Pie putting up a poster.

Mario proceeds to scold Yoshi for eating the ball, saying he is not supposed to eat them: he is supposed to catch them only when they are out of bounds. As Yoshi calls tennis "un-fun", the scene zooms out and shows Kootie Pie and Big Mouth putting up posters for the "Koopaling Brothers Circus". As Big Mouth begins to ramble and yell at Kootie Pie, the annoyed Koopaling shoves a poster onto his face.

As Kootie Pie and Big Mouth continue to put up posters, King Koopa flies overhead in in his Flying Clown Head and, using a conch shell, begins to make an announcement about how the Cave People can visit the Koopaling Brothers Circus for free. The Cave People, believing him, follow Koopa to a Warp Tube which leads to "the circus". As the Cave People enter the pipe, Koopa snickers to himself, realizing that he tricked the Cave People into coming to his castle, and hopes his dinosaurs enjoy a "Cave People casserole".

Meanwhile, Mario and Princess Toadstool are still playing tennis, with Princess Toadstool in the lead. As the Fire Plant launches another ball, Mario makes a futile attempt to chase it, with Yoshi running after him. Mario and Yoshi end up tumbling into one another. As Mario is helped up by Luigi and Princess Toadstool, he notices that all the Cave People have disappeared from Dome City. As Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Yoshi look around, Luigi notices a poster advertising the Koopaling Brothers Circus and panickingly says, "Oh no! Koopa's at it again!"

Using the Star Path, Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Yoshi warp to Neon Castle in search of the Cave People. Entering Neon Castle, the group notice that there really is a circus tent inside it. Entering this circus tent, Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Yoshi decide to watch the show and see what will happen. After a performance by acrobatic Koopa Football Players and tight-rope walking Mechkoopas, Big Mouth, the circus' ringmaster, enters and begins an egotistical speech, only to be stopped by Koopa, who has several "clowns" enter.

Performing various stunts, these clowns decide to include a rambling Big Mouth in their act, much to his annoyance. After being flung into a pool of green goo, a furious Big Mouth begins to chase the clowns around, much to the amusement of the show's spectators; the only person not laughing is Luigi, who still believes Koopa is up to no good. Mario rebuffs his brother's claims, telling him to just enjoy the show and that they will soon find out what is really going on.

It is only after an incident involving a pie-throwing machine that the clowns are revealed to be Rexes. As the crowd of Cave People flee to the exits of the tent, several Thwomps block the doors, trapping everyone inside. Flipping a switch, Koopa and Big Mouth dump everyone in a large cage hidden underneath the floor.

Mario in a cage with Dino-Rhinos

As Mario is hanging over the cage, Koopa begins to taunt him and shoves him into the cage. After Mario is in the cage for a brief moment, Koopa grabs him and brings him back up and, shoving a chair in Mario's arms, pushes his "dinosaur tamer" into a cage filled with Dino-Rhinos.

After easily destroying Mario's chair with a fireball, a Dino-Rhino shoves Mario to the ground and, putting on a bib, prepares to eat him. As Luigi and Princess Toadstool mourn Mario's fate, Luigi helps Toadstool remember a Fire Flower that is in the Princess's hands, who then tosses it to Mario to free him. Using several fireballs, Mario defeats the Dino-Rhino and its Dino-Torch friends.

Melting the lock on his cage, Mario runs through Neon Castle searching for something he can help his friends with. While searching, Mario is attacked by an armada of enemies such as Koopa Football Players, Dry Bones, Bowser Statues, Mechkoopas, Skewers, and a Ball 'N' Chain. While fleeing, Mario bumps into a ? Block which releases a feather.

Grabbing this feather, Mario transforms into Caped Mario. Using his new powers, Mario defeats Koopa's minions, flinging them at the Koopa king. Mario then proceeds to chase down Big Mouth, who seeks refuge in the circus tent. Once Big Mouth is inside the tent, Mario pulls it down on top of Big Mouth and Kootie Pie.

Approaching the cage holding his friends, Mario is about to release everyone when Koopa in his Flying Clown Head appears. In the Flying Clown Head, he calls out to Mario, telling him that he would not do that if he were him; unless Mario wants to see the Princess again. Holding Princess Toadstool captive, Koopa begins to hurl Mechkoopas and Big Steelies at Mario. Stomping on a Mechkoopa, Mario hurls it at Koopa, who easily dodges it. He then proceeds to try and crush Mario with the Flying Clown Head.

King Koopa with Princess Toadstool in his Flying Clown Head

Evading Koopa, Mario grabs another Mechkoopa and hurls it at the Flying Clown Head. When it smashes into the vehicle, Koopa loses control of the Flying Clown Head, dropping Princess Toadstool out of it. Catching the Princess, Mario proceeds to release all of Koopa's captives. After doing this, everyone returns to Dome City.

Back home, Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Yoshi have their own circus for the Cave People, with Yoshi as the clown, Princess Toadstool as a tightrope artist, Luigi as an ice cream vendor, and Mario as the ringmaster and juggler, with Yoshi eating the rocks.

Gallery

• 

  Title card

• 

  Princess Toadstool holding a Fire Flower

• 

  Kootie Pie covering Big Mouth with a poster

• 

  King Koopa in his Flying Clown Head

• 

  Mario laying on the ground after being tumbled by Yoshi in the tennis match

• 

  The circus poster

• 

  The warp to the Star Path

• 

  King Koopa's Castle where the circus is located

• 

  The circus tent in King Koopa's Castle

• 

  The circus

• 

  Big Mouth as the ringmaster

• 

  The audience amused at Big Mouth's performance

• 

  Luigi wondering why King Koopa would have a circus

• 

  The revealing of the Rexes

• 

  Thwomps blocking the exit

• 

  Luigi and Princess Toadstool about to fall into the cage

• 

  The Cave People falling into the cage

• 

  King Koopa taunting Mario

• 

  Fire Mario throwing a fireball in the Dino-Rhino's mouth

• 

  Mario avoiding obstacles

• 

  Mario obtaining the Cape power-up

• 

  Kootie Pie and Big Mouth caught under the tent when Mario pulls it down

• 

  King Koopa dropping a Big Steely

• 

  Mario shaking hands with Luigi after he saves the day, alongside with Princess Toadstool and Yoshi

Cast

• Walker Boone — Mario
• Tony Rosato — Luigi
• Andrew Sabiston — Yoshi
• Tracey Moore — Princess Toadstool
• Harvey Atkin — King Bowser Koopa
• Gordon Masten — Big Mouth Koopa, male singer #2
• Paulina Gillis — Kootie Pie Koopa, Female singer
• Dan Hennessey — Male singer #1
• Michael Stark — Male singer #3

Animation and continuity errors

• In the original version:
  • When Mario says "Huh?", his voice distorts slightly.
  • After Mario says he will keep the crowd entertained by juggling, his mouth continues moving despite no dialogue being present.
• At the beginning of the episode, the circus in Dome City can be seen even though Mario and his friends have not hosted it yet.
• The score for the tennis match at the beginning of the episode can be seen to be 30-love before Luigi announces it.
• Princess Toadstool stashes the Fire Flower away, but in the next shot it is back in her hands without any explanation.
• In several scenes, the "L" on Luigi's cap is white on a black background.
• In a couple of scenes, Luigi has four fingers on each hand instead of five.
  • Similarly, when Mario says that he and his friends should check out the circus, he has four fingers on each hand instead of five.
• When Kootie Pie is putting up a poster, her snout is the same color as her body.
• Big Mouth's head is off-model when he scolds Kootie Pie and when she places the poster on his face.
• In one scene, the rim around the Flying Clown Head is white instead of green.
• When two cave children enter the Warp Pipe, they move without moving their legs.
• When King Koopa says the Cave People will become food for his dinosaurs, his claws are the same color as the spikes on his shackles.
• When Mario goes out of bounds to hit the ball, the stripes on his gloves are the same color as his shirt. This also happens to Luigi when he and Princess Toadstool are holding onto their seats as they are about to fall into the underground cage.
• A small line appears on the light-blue mountain on the right for a brief moment when the Star Path is about to warp Mario and his friends.
• When Mario and his friends reach Neon Castle, a railing is layered over Mario.
• When Yoshi asks what doom is, his mouth moves before any sound comes out.
• When Yoshi says that the circus is more fun than tennis, a line on his underbelly appears on his left arm.
  • In the same scene, Princess Toadstool's nose is missing.
• Mario and his friends laugh upon sitting down despite there being nothing to laugh for at the time.
• When King Koopa says to bring on the clowns, the bottom of his feet is yellow instead of green.
• The audio temporarily goes out of sync in the scene where Big Mouth gets hit with a pie while demanding respect.
  • In the same scene, Big Mouth's body is missing.
• When the pie launcher starts launching pies, the crank does not move even though King Koopa is cranking it.
• When a Rex trips on a pie, the nose on its costume overlaps on Big Mouth as he passes.
• One of the Rexes performs the act with no costume on, yet nobody in the audience notices that it is a dinosaur.
• When Mario and Luigi notice that the clowns are dinosaurs, part of Mario's mouth disconnects from his face.
• When Luigi mentions that the circus is a trap, his teeth turn the same color as his skin.
• After a Rex completely rips its costume, it is green instead of purple.
• When King Koopa taunts Mario, his shell is briefly layered behind one of his shackles.
  • In the scene in the Romanian dub, when Mario pleads for King Koopa to not drop him into the cage, his mouth moves before any sound comes out.
• When Mario falls into the underground cage, King Koopa disappears.
  • In the same scene, his mouth does not move as he screams.
• When King Koopa hoists Mario out of the cage, the spikes on his tail are the same color as the spikes on his shackles.
• When King Koopa instructs Big Mouth to reveal the Dino-Rhinos, the claws on his left hand turn the same color as his body.
• When Mario fends off a Dino-Rhino with his chair, one of the latter's teeth is the same color as its body.
• When Mario suggests grace to the Dino-Rhino, his mustache overlaps its snout.
• Initially, the cage Mario's friends are in is underground, but when Princess Toadstool tosses the Fire Flower to Mario, it is at ground level.
• When the third Koopa Football Player starts swinging to Mario, a Block overlaps it.
• When the Koopa Football Players run to the door, they are depicted with spikes on their shells.
• When Mario jumps over the statue, he is layered in front of and behind the wall.
• When a Ball 'N' Chain swings over to Mario, Mario overlaps.
• When Mario lands onto the platform in the lava, the Dry Bones appears out of thin air.
• When Mario jumps onto a moving platform, he passes through it.
• When Mario screams upon seeing Big Mouth and Koopa Football Players, his mouth does not move. This is fixed in the Greek and Hungarian dubs.
  • Most dubs that retain the vocals of "At the Circus" with the exception of the Brazilian Portuguese dub also feature Mario's English voice instead of his dubbed voice.
• When Mario runs past Big Mouth and some Koopa Football Players, he can be seen layered underneath a Koopa Football Player.
• Mario is seen about to dive at King Koopa's minions but instead performs a twirl in the next shot.
• The scene where King Koopa is crushed by his minions has its background saturated.
  • King Koopa is flattened before his minions actually fall on top of him.
• Mario lands far from the peg when he stops gliding but is seen in front of it in the next shot.
• When Mario is near the peg holding up the circus tent, the "M" on his cap is white while the background is red.
• Kootie Pie's body shifts right for a frame when the tent collapses onto her and Big Mouth.
  • In the same scene, Big Mouth yells in Kooky's voice. This error is corrected in the Latin American Spanish dub, with the Brazilian Portuguese removing both his and Kootie Pie's screams entirely.
• When Mario rips open the tent, the lock on the cage faces away from it, but in the next shot, it faces towards it. When the Cave People cheer for Mario after he saves the princess, the lock is back to its original orientation.
• When Mario sees Princess Toadstool in the Flying Clown Head, his gloves are the same color as his skin. This also happens with Luigi when he is giving ice cream, although the stripes on his gloves are the same color as his shirt.
• When Mario jumps on a Mechkoopa, his eyebrows are brown instead of black.
• When Mario and a Mechkoopa duck underneath the Flying Clown Head, they can be seen to be overlapping on it.
• When Luigi, Yoshi, and the Cave People cheer for Mario, the stripe on Yoshi's tail is colored green instead of white.
• After Mario opens the cage, the Cave People inside are missing.
• When Mario is shaking Luigi’s hand, the latter's sideburns are missing, while a line disappears from his back several times.

• 

  King Koopa's miscolored claws

• 

  The miscolored Rex

• 

  Luigi's miscolored gloves

Profiles

• Koopa's Stone Age Quests DVD:
  • English:
    To feed his hungry evil dinosaurs, King Koopa lures the cave people to a prehistoric circus at the Neon Style and Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Yoshi must rescue them. But only Mario escapes King Koopa's diabolical trap. He must battle the flying clown head to rescue everyone else from becoming dinosaur snacks.

• Super Mario VHS:
  • Korean:
    원시인에게 서커스를 보여준다고 유인하여 모두 잡아들이는데 수퍼마리오 형제도 같이 잡힌다.
    (Romanization: Wonsiinege seokeoseu boyeojundago yuin modu jabadeurineunde Supeo Mario hyeongjedo gati japhinda.)
    (Translation: They lure the Cave People into a circus and capture all of them, including the Super Mario brothers.)

Dub edits

• In the original version, before King Koopa drops Mario into the cage with his friends, he mentions that his dinosaurs can handle Mario, despite him being high in cholesterol. This is not mentioned in the French, Brazilian Portuguese, or Latin American Spanish dubs.
  • In the French dub, King Koopa mentions Mario being high in fat instead of high in cholesterol.
• In the Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Latin American Spanish dubs, Mario's voice is added when King Koopa taunts him.
  • Inversely, in the Brazilian Portuguese dub, Mario's voice is absent during the song.
• In the French dub:
  • In the original version, Koopa tells the Cave People that they will "enter a dimension beyond space and time" upon entering the Warp Pipe to his castle. In the dub, he instead says that they will enter a "new dimension."
  • Mario mentions that the Dino-Torch's breath smells worse than a drainpipe. In the original version, he speculates that "no one invented mouthwash yet."
• In the Latin American Spanish dub:
  • In the original version, after two cave children enter the Warp Pipe to the Neon Castle Koopa comments that the Cave People will be a casserole for his hungry dinosaurs. In the Spanish dub, he instead says that they will be a pot.
  • In the original version, as Mario spots two cave children entering the Neon Castle, he says that they are headed for their doom, causing Yoshi to wonder what "doom" means. In the Latin American Spanish dub, he instead says that they are heading into the big top, causing Yoshi to wonder what a "big top" is.
    • In the European Spanish dub, he instead says that they are heading into their own grave, causing Yoshi to wonder what a "grave" is; this was likely done as a reference to Mario's original line in this scene, where he says that the cave children are headed to their doom; "doom" and tumba ("grave") are assonant with each other.
• In the original version, as he advertises the Koopaling Brothers Circus to the Cave People, he mentions that it is easier than talking Kootie Pie into going on a shopping spree. In the European Spanish re-dub, he instead says that it is easier than putting butter on toast.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Albanian	Të shfaqen kllounët	The clowns appear
Arabic	سيرك الديناصورات Sirk al-dinasawrat	The dinosaur circus
Chinese (Simplified)	小丑登场 Xiǎochǒu Dēngchǎng (Mandarin)	Enter the Clown
French (Canadian)	Le cirque	The circus
French (European)	Que le spectacle commence	Let the show begin	French DVD
German	Herein mit den Clowns	In with the Clowns
Greek	Στέλνεις τον κλόουν Stélneis ton klóoun	Send in the clown
Hungarian	Kész cirkusz	Circus ready
Italian	Manda dentro il Clown	Send in the Clown
Korean	지상 최대의 서거스 Jisang Choedae-ui Seokeoseu	At the Greatest Circus
Polish	Dawacjie klauna	Send the clown
Portuguese (Brazilian)	Que Venha o Palhaço	Send in the Clown
Romanian	Dați drumul claunului	Let the clown out
Spanish (Latin American)	Koopa Circo	Koopa Circus
Spanish (European)	Haced entrar al payaso	Send in the clown	original dub
	Que Entre el Payaso	Bring in the Clown	re-dub
Thai	ละครสัตว์คูป้า Lá-kɔɔn-sàt Kuubpâa	Koopa Circus

Notes

• King Koopa narrates the preview for this episode by saying, "Hey kids, the circus is in town! Come one, come all, to King Koopa's big top dinosaur show! We've even got a Flying Clown Head! And if you don't know what that is, you'd better tune in!"
• The Koopaling Brothers Circus is a reference to the real-life Ringling Brothers Circus.
• Mario's scream when jumping over the Bowser Statue is a recycled scream from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Reptiles in the Rose Garden" when the Chain Chomps bite him and his friends. This scream is not kept in any dub which removes the vocals of "At the Circus," nor is it present in the Brazilian Portuguese dub, as these dubs either replace the scream with an original scream or remove it entirely.
• This episode's final battle is very similar to the one in Super Mario World. As Koopa throws Mechakoopas at Mario, he throws them back, and Koopa attempts to crush him with the Flying Clown Head and drops a Big Steely on him. However, when the Flying Clown Head hits Mario, his cape does not disappear.
• The ringleader costume Mario wears at the end of the episode is very similar to the one he wears on the cover of Super Mario All-Stars a few years later, which would also become a costume he could wear in Super Mario Odyssey.