Princess, I Shrunk the Mario Brothers

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode
"Princess, I Shrunk the Mario Brothers"
Production number	147
Airdate	November 15, 1989 (English) December 12, 1990 (French)[?]
Writer(s)	David Bennett Carren J. Larry Carroll
Plumber's Log #	1989
Title reference	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Live-action segment	"A Basement Divided"
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"Princess, I Shrunk the Mario Brothers" is the forty-third episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Its corresponding live-action segment is "A Basement Divided." The episode is referred to as "Princess, I Shrunk the Marios" on various home media releases while it is referred to as "Princess, I shrunk the Mario Bros." in the United States Copyright Office.

This episode is the first indication of there being a species of Mousers, as two Mousers can be seen together. Additionally, a Koopa Troopa is briefly drawn with wings when Mouser and the Koopa Troopas are placed inside a fishbowl, technically making this one of two appearances of a Koopa Paratroopa in the show.

Plot synopsis

Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad have found King Koopa's secret summer castle, where they have been captured in the courtyard, each with a ball and chain shackled to their ankle. Walking out of the castle's greenhouse, King Koopa announces that he is going to lock up his prisoners for 200 years, and orders Mouser to throw them in the dungeon. Luigi is worried about what will happen to them at this point, and Mario tells him not to worry, since he doubts that they will live for 200 years.

Mouser leads the prisoners over to the stairs leading down to the basement and tells them to proceed. Mario complains that his ball is too heavy, and while carrying it, drops it on Mouser's foot. After briefly hopping on his other foot in pain, Mouser declares that Mario's sentence has been increased by another 200 years. Mouser then orders two Koopa Troopas to push Mario and Luigi down the stairs, allowing their balls to drag them down to the dungeon at the bottom. Princess Toadstool and Toad then meet up with them, and the Princess asks if they are alright, to which Mario answers that he has been better.

Mouser and the two Koopa Troopas enter the dungeon, and while Mouser tells the prisoners to remain there, several strange droplets fall on his and the Koopa Troopas' heads. Looking up, everyone sees a floating flask, as a wizard suddenly makes himself visible, revealing that he had been holding the flask in his hand. The wizard pours some more potion onto Mouser and the Koopa Troopas, shrinking them down to the size of mice. As Toad exclaims that they have shrunk, the wizard assures him that they did due to his Magic Shrink Potion. When Princess Toadstool questions the wizard's identity, he responds by introducing himself as Waldo the Wizard, and claims that the castle used to be his until King Koopa stole it from him.

After picking up Mouser and the Koopa Troopas, then dropping them into a fishbowl, Waldo announces that he is going to vanquish King Koopa and reclaim his castle using his Magic Shrink Potion. Toad excitedly grabs the potion out of Waldo's hands, and exclaims that they now have something that will cut King Koopa down to size. Mario has second thoughts about Toad's plan, but Waldo assures them that they can succeed using the Magic Shrink Potion in conjunction with his magic, as he wiggles his fingers to cast a spell which unlocks everyone's shackles. After a little celebration, the heroes walk up the stairs from the dungeon. While walking upstairs, the group detects an odor, and Luigi wonders what it could be. Princess Toadstool figures that if they follow it, they will be led to King Koopa.

King Koopa grills burgers for his Troopas.

Outside, in the courtyard, various Koopa Troopas are either playing croquet, drinking juice, or resting on lounge chairs. Meanwhile, King Koopa is at the grill cooking some burgers, when he tells the Koopa Troopas to come and get them, and they all line up. Flipping a flaming burger off the grill, he tosses it onto the first Koopa Troopa's paper plate, and it falls right through it. King Koopa tells the Koopa Troopas to eat fast, as they are to celebrate the capture of Mario's group by letting him win a baseball game. Toad interferes and agrees with King Koopa's statement, telling him that he will be playing shortstop. Right as Toad gets ready to splash King Koopa with the Magic Shrink Potion, he accidentally hits Mario and Luigi with it instead.

Before anyone can react, Mario and Luigi suddenly shrink. Toad runs over to Princess Toadstool, confessing that he shrunk the Mario Bros. King Koopa sarcastically thanks Toad, uses a sausage rope to lasso him, along with Princess Toadstool and Waldo, then orders the Koopa Troopas to attack Mario and Luigi. As the Koopa Troopas chase them, the shrunken Mario and Luigi run for their lives. Toad asks Waldo to resort to using his magic, but Waldo explains that he cannot do any magic due to the fact that he is unable to move his arms.

Mario tells Luigi to split up, as they run in different directions on the lawn. Luigi eventually stumbles into King Koopa's foot, who in turn claims that he is going to stomp him. Mario eludes the Koopa Troopas by hiding behind a croquet ball, and is seemingly unable to help Luigi as King Koopa lowers his foot down towards him. However, Mario tells Luigi to jump, as he rolls the croquet ball over to where Luigi is. As Luigi leaps out of the way, King Koopa steps on the croquet ball and falls over, giving Mario and Luigi a chance to escape down a drainpipe.

Before long, King Koopa has stuck his claw down the drainpipe, and attempts to grab Mario and Luigi, but they run further into the drainpipe where he can reach them. As King Koopa pulls his hand out of the drainpipe, Princess Toadstool, who has been tied to a lounge chair with a rope, along with Toad and Waldo, tells him to give up, as he cannot catch Mario and Luigi. King Koopa responds by saying that he does not have to, as Mario and Luigi will come back to rescue their friends. He then demonstrates what he will do to Mario and Luigi by spraying a flower with some pesticide, which makes it shatter, and causes Toad and Princess Toadstool to shiver in fear.

Inside the drainpipe, Mario asks Luigi if he said "Chomp, chomp, chomp". Luigi assures him that he did not. Looking behind themselves, Mario and Luigi are approached by four hungry beetles. Mario tells Luigi that he hates beetles, who in turn tells him not to tell that to the beetles themselves. The beetles chase Mario and Luigi through the drainpipe, and they escape by jumping out through an entrance, which leads them back onto the lawn. After a drop of water falls off the leaf of a flower and hits Mario, he and Luigi are with by water from a sprinkler, which washes them towards a flower bed.

Before Mario and Luigi can stop to rest, King Koopa appears and attempts to spray Mario and Luigi with the pesticide. King Koopa and the Koopa Troopas chase Mario and Luigi back and forth across the lawn, until they reach the entrance to the greenhouse. After some brief arguing, Mario and Luigi run into the greenhouse. Although King Koopa follows them inside, the Koopa Troopas avoid entering, due to the fact that the greenhouse is full of vegetables, which they fear.

Meanwhile, Toad feels remorse for spilling the Magic Shrink Potion on Mario and Luigi, while Waldo struggles to free himself from being tied up, stating that if he could use his magic again, he would be able to conjure up a magical antidote to restore Mario and Luigi to their normal sizes. Inside the greenhouse, King Koopa is slowly walking through the place, keeping an eye out for Mario and Luigi, who have hidden in a potted plant.

Princess Toadstool then discovers that since the lounge chairs are on wheels, that she can move around somewhat by rocking her chair around. Toad and Waldo follow Princess Toadstool across the lawn, and crash into the Koopa Troopas by the greenhouse. The collision breaks Princess Toadstool and Waldo's chairs, and Waldo proceeds to untie Toad from his. Princess Toadstool, Toad and Waldo peer inside the greenhouse, where Waldo conjures up a Magic Growing Potion that Toad picks up. King Koopa, however, manages to mildy hit Mario and Luigi with the pesticide, causing them to leap out of the plant and reveal themselves. As King Koopa chases them through the greenhouse, Mario and Luigi eventually hide inside a watering can.

King Koopa puts down the spray gun and starts to shake the watering can. However, he fails to notice Toad, who secretly inserts the Magic Growing Potion into the spray gun and backs off. King Koopa then pours the water out of the can, which washes Mario and Luigi up against some potted vegetables. King Koopa then uses the spray gun on Mario and Luigi, hitting them and the surrounding vegetables with the antidote. This causes Mario and Luigi to grow back to their normal sizes, and causes the vegetables to grow larger in the process. King Koopa asks as to what happened, so Waldo and Toad explain their plan to him, as well as Mario and Luigi.

Mario then thanks King Koopa for making them big again, while Luigi thanks him for the enlarged vegetables, which the two of them proceed to throw at him, who runs out of the greenhouse and crashes through the Koopa Troopas. Mario and Luigi then carry a basket of the enlarged vegetables over to the Koopa Troopas, and start throwing the vegetables at them. The Koopa Troopas lower the drawbridge and flee from the castle, with King Koopa running in their wake.

Waldo then comments that King Koopa deserves to get the boot, and declares that he is going to give it to him. Living up to his word, Waldo conjures up a large, winged boot, which flies after King Koopa and proceeds to kick him in the back. Waldo then thanks Mario and Luigi for helping him reclaim his castle, and Mario responds by saying that stopping King Koopa is how they get their kicks, which prompts the group into laughing. Meanwhile, the boot continues to kick King Koopa, who questions why Mario and Luigi cannot pick on someone their own size, as he runs off towards the horizon.

Characters

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Toadstool
• Toad
• King Koopa
• Waldo the Wizard
• Mouser (two)
• Koopa Troopas
• Beetles
• Koopa Paratroopa (briefly shown when put in a glass jar by Waldo)

Cast

• Lou Albano — Mario
• Danny Wells — Luigi, Waldo the Wizard
• Jeannie Elias — Princess Toadstool
• John Stocker — Toad, Mouser, Koopa Troopa #1
• Harvey Atkin — King Koopa, Koopa Troopa #2

Animation and continuity errors

• In the title card, J. Larry Carroll's surname is misspelled as "Carrol."
• At the beginning of the episode, when it cuts to Mario and Luigi with a ball and chain to their ankles as the former concludes his Plumber's Log, he can be seen speaking it.
• When King Koopa says he will lock Mario and his friends for two hundred years, the petals fly off the flower he is holding, but in the next shot, they are back on.
  • A similar error occurs after King Koopa shatters the flower with pesticide, where it is intact in the next shot.
• Waldo the Wizard dumps all of his Magic Shrink Potion on Mouser, and his minions, but when he talks to Mario and his friends, it is full.
• When Princess Toadstool asks for Waldo's name, the latter's nose is the same color as his beard.
• When Waldo grabs Mouser and his Koopa Troopas, one of the Koopa Troopas turns into a Paratroopa.
• When Waldo tells Mario and his friends that the castle used to be his, his hat flashes.
• When Mario and his friends watch Mouser yell in pain, Princess Toadstool's chain ball is missing. This also happens to Mario and Luigi when they look at Mouser and his minions.
• When Mario says that he and his friends cannot negotiate with Mouser, he has Luigi's voice.
• When Toad grabs the potion, the screen freezes for a few seconds. This also happens to the Mario Bros. when they shrink.
• When some Koopa Troopas drink, one of their cheeks flashes.
• When King Koopa captures Toad, Princess Toadstool, and Waldo, his shell colors are swapped. This also happens when he sprays the Mario Brothers with the antidote.
• When King Koopa picks his spray gun when cornering the Mario Bros. next to some potted vegetables, he disappears for a frame in the transition to the next shot.

• 

  The title card mistake

• 

  Waldo's miscolored nose

• 

  King Koopa's miscolored shell

Profiles

• Netflix: Mario and Luigi get a taste of what it's like to be tiny when Toad douses them with a potion that shrinks them down to super-small size.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
French	Ne Rapetissons Pas	Let's Not Shorten
German	Prinzessin, ich habe die Marios verkleinert	Princess, I Have the Marios Shrunk
Italian	La pozione di Waldo	Waldo's potion
Portuguese	Princesa, os Marios encolheram	Princess, the Marios shrank
Spanish	Princesa, encogía Mario y Luigi	Princess, I shrank Mario and Luigi

Trivia

• The Plumber's Log number is the same number as the year The Super Mario Bros Super Show! and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids were produced.