Dance
| The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! live-action segment | |
|---|---|
| "Dance" | |
 Shabba-Doo teaches Mario and Luigi his dance moves with several footpads. | |
| Production number | 115 |
| Airdate | September 20, 1989 |
| Guest star(s) | Shabba Doo |
| Cartoon episode | "Jungle Fever" |
| Zelda preview | "The White Knight" |
| << List of episodes >> | |
"Dance" is the thirteenth live-action segment of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Its corresponding animated episode is "Jungle Fever." This episode is notable for being one of the earliest mentions of "Mario" being the Mario Bros' surname. "Treasure of the Sierra Brooklyn" would later have another reference to this name.
Plot synopsis[edit]
In Mario Brothers Plumbing, Mario, wearing a party hat, is in the midst of carrying a large pizza with a candle on it. Approaching Luigi, who is seated at a table while blindfolded, Mario, after repeatedly telling Luigi not to peek, places the pizza down in front of him. After setting the pizza down on the table, Mario tells Luigi to remove his blindfold, which he does.
After Luigi removes his blindfold, Mario wishes him a happy birthday and tells him to blow-out the candle on his pizza and to make a wish. Blowing-out the candle on the pizza, a happy Luigi proceeds to hug Mario as a thanks for making him the pizza. After Luigi hugs him tells him how good a brother he is, Mario takes an envelope out from behind his back and gives it to Luigi, saying it is his birthday present.
Excited, Luigi grabs the envelope and begins to open it; finally opening the envelope, Luigi finds a large, gold colored gift certificate, saying he will be allotted one free dance lesson from Shabba-Doo. Extremely grateful to Mario for this gift, Luigi says that he will get this dance lesson just in time for the Annual Plumbers' Dance. After Luigi says this, Mario says that he also signed-up for dance lessons with Shabba-Doo.
Hearing this, Luigi tells Mario that they are going to have to prepare for their dance lesson with some practice. Agreeing to this, Mario and Luigi begin to practice dancing, by spinning in place.
Later, Mario and Luigi, who are wearing rather bizarre costumes, are still practicing their dance moves, when the doorbell of their apartment rings. Hearing the doorbell, Luigi calls for whoever is there to come in. After Luigi says this, the door of the apartment bursts open, revealing Shabba-Doo, who quickly leaps down the stairs and wishes Luigi a happy birthday while high-fiving him. Luigi, who is enthralled at meeting Shabba-Doo, begins to bombard him with praise and questions.
Eventually stopping his inquiries, Luigi and Mario watch as Shabba-Doo places several numbered footpads on the floor, saying that these footpads will help Luigi and Mario learn to dance. Instructing Mario and Luigi to use the footpads, Shabba-Doo can only watch in disdain as Mario and Luigi perform somewhat horribly at dancing.
Later, Mario and Luigi, having seemingly become better at dancing, enter their apartment and begin to dance all throughout, as Shabba-Doo plays music on a nearby stereo. Dancing like experts, Mario and Luigi are congratulating for progressing so well in dancing by Shabba-Doo, who says they will be a hit at the Plumber's Dance.
After getting this praise from Shabba-Doo, Mario and Luigi ask him if he will perform some of his dance moves for them, which Shabba-Doo more than happily agrees to. Performing several dancing feats, Shabba-Doo is joined in his dance performance by Mario and Luigi, who are a near match to Shabba-Doo.
Characters[edit]
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| German | Wo bleibst du denn Die Fliege[1] | Where is The Fly? | |
| Hebrew | ברייקדאנס[2] Vrkdns |
Breakdance | |
| Italian | Balla![?] | Dance! | |
| Portuguese | Aula da dança[3] | Dance class | |
| Spanish | El baile[4] | The dance |
Trivia[edit]
- Scenes from this segment are used extensively on the menu screens for the show's Volume One DVD set from Shout! Factory.
- When Luigi reads his gift certificate, he reads "This certificate does hereby entitle Luigi Mario to a free dance lesson from Shabba-Doo." However, when the certificate is shown onscreen, it actually says "This certificate does hereby entitle Luigi to a free dance lesson from Shaba-Doo[sic]," without mentioning his surname.
- When Mario and Luigi are dancing, they are only shown from the waist down, indicating that they were probably played by doubles.
- The episode misspells Shabba-Doo's name as "Shaba-Doo" on both Luigi's certificate and the end credits.
