Pirates of Koopa

This article is about The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode named "Pirates of Koopa" and also "Pirates of the Koopa". For the VHS of the same name, see Pirates of the Koopa (VHS).

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode
"Pirates of Koopa"
Production number	112
Airdate	September 28, 1989 (English) September 20, 1990 (French)[?]
Writer(s)	Ted Pedersen
Plumber's Log #	6 - 97
King Koopa's alter ego(s)	Blackbeard Koopa
Cover song(s)	"Limbo Rock"
Replacement song(s)	"It's A Dog's Life"
Title reference	The Pirates of Penzance Pirates of the Caribbean
Live-action segment	"Do You Believe In Magic?"
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"Pirates of Koopa", or "Pirates of the Koopa", is the sixteenth episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Its corresponding live-action segment is "Do You Believe In Magic?" This episode is notable for being the first episode to break the fourth wall.

Plot synopsis

In Pirate Waters, located in Pirate World, Mario and Luigi are in the middle of peeling potatoes onboard a ship. As he peels potatoes, Mario remembers how he, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool came to be on this ship; while traveling to Princess Toadstool's Castle, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool were hired as the crew of the only ship willing to sail Pirate Waters.

Continuing their peeling of potatoes, Mario and Luigi are approached by their captain, Captain Clump and his parrot, Patches, who reprimand Mario and Luigi, saying that they are peeling the potatoes too thin, making them into strings. As Mario explains to Clump that he and Luigi are planning to use the thin potato peelings to make "spatatoghetti", the nearby Toad, who is mopping Clump's ship's deck, accidentally hits Clump on the head with his mop. After Toad hastily apologizes to him, Captain Clump, after telling Toad to watch what he is doing, asks himself why he ever bothered hiring Mario, Luigi and Toad as his shipmates; Captain Clump's musings prompt Luigi to ask Clump why he did hire them. Captain Clump responds to Luigi's question by saying that his previous crew had abandoned him, being too fearful to sail Pirate Waters with Blackbeard Koopa on the prowl.

At the sound of the name Blackbeard Koopa, Mario, Luigi and Toad instantly become nervous and anxious, with Toad saying that they thought they would be safe from King Koopa and his minions on the open seas. When Toad exclaims this, Clump says that no one is safe from Blackbeard Koopa and proceeds to look across the horizon with his telescope, which prompts Luigi to use a hollow pipe to look across the sea as well.

As Clump and Luigi survey their surroundings, Princess Toadstool emerges from below the deck of the ship, carrying a tray covered in food; after Princess Toadstool exclaims that now would be a good time for a snack, she suddenly says that a storm is brewing. As Luigi claims that the weather is fine, he is suddenly hit with a barrage of rain drops as Captain Clump's ship is enveloped by red colored clouds. As everyone onboard the ship begins to panic, Mario, using a saw, cuts a square in the extremely thick clouds. Now capable of looking through the thick clouds, Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Toadstool, and Clump see a horrific sight, the ship of Blackbeard Koopa, with Blackbeard Koopa himself on the deck of it.

Seeing Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Toadstool, and Captain Clump, Blackbeard Koopa begins to taunt them and orders Clump to surrender to him. When Captain Clump refuses to do so though, Blackbeard Koopa orders two of his Koopa Troopa minions to blast Captain Clump's ship. Doing as they are instructed, the two Koopa Troopas load a nearby cannon on Blackbeard Koopa's ship and activate it, launching a Bob-Omb on to the deck of Clump's ship. As Princess Toadstool, Toad and Clump run from the Bob-Omb, Mario grabs Clump's dropped wooden sword and uses it to bat the Bob-Omb right at Blackbeard Koopa's face, knocking him backwards; getting off the deck of his ship, Captain Koopa, enraged, prepares to throw the Bob-Omb back at Mario, only for the explosive to detonate in his hand.

Blackbeard Koopa, angered even more by being taunted by Toad, orders his "Koopa Pirate Pack" to board Captain Clump's ship. As Captain Clump's ship is invaded by Koopa Troopas, Bob-Ombs and a Goomba, Mario begins to try frantically to fight the invaders, throwing Bob-Ombs overboard and even throwing one at several Koopa Troopas and a Goomba, knocking them away. As Luigi tries to trap a Bob-Omb in a barrel, only to be launched through the air by it, Mario and Patches begin to try and defeat the rest of the Koopa Pirate Pack, with Mario knocking three Koopa Troopas unconscious, while Patches detonates a Bob-Omb.

As the Koopa Pirate Pack continues its attack on Captain Clump's ship, Princess Toadstool dodges a lunging Koopa Troopa and throws him overboard; as Princess Toadstool mocks the Koopa Troopa, several more Bob-Ombs are launched by Blackbeard Koopa at Captain Clump's ship, creating several explosion which create a thick smokescreen. As the smoke spreads throughout Captain Clump's ship, Princess Toadstool is grabbed by two Koopa Troopas and forcibly taken to Blackbeard Koopa's ship, claiming that Blackbeard Koopa had told her that if she allowed herself to be taken willingly by him, he would leave Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Captain Clump alone; Blackbeard Koopa, amused by Princess Toadstool's ranting, tells her that this deal was voided, as she didn't come willingly.

Over onboard Captain Clump's ship, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Clump himself have all been tied to the mast of the ship with rope; Luigi, trying to remain optimistic about the situation, decides to begin singing, with Luigi's singing apparently irritating Clump, who begins trying desperately to escape his restraints.

Elsewhere, on a dock called Pirate's Port near a castle, several Koopa Troopas, as well as Mouser, Tryclyde, Clawgrip, and a Goomba, are waiting for the arrival of the rapidly approaching Blackbeard Koopa. As Blackbeard Koopa's ship draws ever closer, fireworks are launched by his minions in his honor. On board his ship, Blackbeard Koopa begins taunting Princess Toadstool, saying that its party time and that she is the guest of honor; Blackbeard Koopa goes on to say to Princess Toadstool that he plans to sell her to whoever can steal him the most Gold Coins.

On Clump's ship, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Clump are still trying to escape their bonds; it is only when Luigi is splashed on the face by some water that Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Clump notice that Captain Clump's ship is sinking, due to having several holes drilled in it by Blackbeard Koopa and his Koopa Pirate Pack. As his ship continues to sink, Clump notices that a swarm of Trouters have began to circle the ship, with their knives and forks at the ready.

Sometime later, the ship is nearly submerged underwater, with only its masts still above water. As the mast still continues to sink, Mario makes a feeble attempt to jump from the mast; after Mario's failed attempt at jumping, Luigi suddenly notices that Mario struggles have pushed him, Mario, Toad and Captain Clump up the mast slightly. Soon after realizing this, Luigi instructs Mario, Toad and Clump to push upwards as hard as they can. After a lot of struggling and squirming, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Clump manage to move up the mast of the ship, only to hit their heads on the crow's nest atop the mast.

When Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Clump hit their heads on the crow's nest though, it awakens Patches, who had been knocked unconscious by a Bob-Omb and blasted into the crow's nest. Getting up rather clumsily, Patches hits his head, which causes several stars to float around his it. Noticing the stars surrounding Patches' head, Mario instructs the dazed parrot to toss him one, the star being tossed by Patches to Mario being revealed to be a red-colored Starman. Grabbing this Starman, Mario transforms into Super Mario and using his newfound powers, vaporizes the ropes binding him, Luigi, Toad, and Clump, causing them to accidentally fall into the water, except Mario. After Toad, Luigi, and Clump fall into the ocean, Mario manages to defeat the Trouters trying to devour them by stomping on their heads.

With the Trouters vanquished, Mario helps Luigi, Toad, and Clump to climb into the ship's crow's nest with Patches. Once Luigi, Toad, and Captain Clump are in the crow's nest, Mario, grabbing Clump's sword, manages to cut the crow's nest loose from the ship's mast, making a boat for him, Luigi, Toad, Clump, and Patches to ride in.

At Blackbeard Koopa's fortress, a party, attended by several dozen Koopa Troopas and Goombas, is occurring, with Blackbeard Koopa overseeing the festivities atop a balcony. As he looks downward at his guests, Blackbeard Koopa begins to taunt a resistant Princess Toadstool, who is in a hanging cage, before starting his auction of her, the starting bid of which is one thousand Gold Coins.

Back at the crow's nest, as Mario and Luigi use their plungers to row the crow's nest forward, Captain Clump, using his telescope, sees Pirate's Port. At Clump's announcement of the approaching Pirate's Port, Mario grabs the telescope and uses it to see the flag of Blackbeard Koopa and his Koopa Pirate Pack. Just after Mario sees this flag though, he loses his Super Mario form, which causes both Luigi and Toad to seriously doubt their chances of defeating Blackbeard Koopa and his Koopa Pirate Pack. Ignoring Luigi and Toad's claims that Blackbeard Koopa cannot be beaten, Mario exclaims, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, then beat 'em."

At Pirate's Port, Mario and Luigi, having donned pirate themed clothing and the aliases of Captain Kidder and Long John Spaghetti, show Toad and Clump their outfits. Despite Toad having doubts that Mario's plan will work, he, as well as Clump, follow both Mario and Luigi into Blackbeard Koopa's fortress, after Mario manages to get permission to pass by the fortress' Koopa Troopa guards.

Once inside Blackbeard Koopa's fortress courtyard, Mario tells Toad and Captain Clump to try and sneak near Princess Toadstool's cage, while he and Luigi go to a nearby bar in the courtyard, which is run by a Koopa Troopa. After being told by Mario to act tough, Luigi makes the mistake of ordering a glass of milk at the bar, prompting him to get an odd look from the Koopa Troopa bartender and a Koopa Troopa patron. After Mario tells the Koopa Troopa bartender that Luigi wants his milk in a dirty glass, Luigi himself hears Blackbeard Koopa announce that the current bid for Princess Toadstool is one million Gold Coins. Upon hearing this, Luigi offers his bid of a billion Gold Coins for Princess Toadstool, a bid that surprises Blackbeard Koopa and causes him to announce Luigi as the winner of the auction, which causes all nearby Koopa Troopas and Goombas to glare at Luigi.

After Luigi purchases Princess Toadstool, two Koopa Troopas lift him and Mario up above their heads and begin to carry them towards Blackbeard Koopa, who is busy counting a large amount of money. As Blackbeard Koopa busies himself with his money counting, Toad sneaks over to Princess Toadstool's cage, which he unlocks. After unlocking Princess Toadstool's cage though, Toad trips, alerting Blackbeard Koopa to his presence. Before Blackbeard Koopa can react though, he is knocked off his balcony by Princess Toadstool, who hits Blackbeard Koopa in the face with the door of her cage.

After Blackbeard Koopa is knocked from his balcony, landing on several Koopa Troopas, the two Koopa Troopas carrying Mario and Luigi drop the two. After they are dropped, Mario and Luigi, upon hitting the floor, lose their pirate disguises and are instantly recognized by Blackbeard Koopa. As Blackbeard Koopa orders his Koopa Troopa minions to attack Mario and Luigi though, he, along with the Koopa Troopas, are knocked to the floor by Princess Toadstool, Toad and Clump, who jump on to their heads from the fortress balcony.

As Princess Toadstool taunts a dazed Blackbeard Koopa, she, along with Mario, Luigi and Toad, are instructed by Clump to run from the fortress. Doing as Captain Clump commands, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool exit Blackbeard Koopa's fortress and board his ship, which is docked near Pirate's Port. Once onboard Blackbeard Koopa's ship, Toad fires a Bob-Omb from a cannon on it; once fired, the Bob-Omb explodes near Blackbeard Koopa's fortress, knocking several Koopa Troopas who were exiting it unconscious. After his Koopa Troopas are defeated, Blackbear Koopa and what's left of his Koopa Pirate Pack manage to make it aboard his ship and begin to battle Toad, Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Clump and Patches.

After several Koopa Troopas and Bob-Ombs are defeated by Luigi, Toad, Clump, Patches, and Princess Toadstool, Mario defeats Blackbeard Koopa himself by swinging from a rope and knocking him to the floor as he saves Princess Toadstool from his clutches. Before Blackbeard Koopa can get up and fight again, he is grabbed by Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Toadstool, and Clump and tied to the ringing of his ship, which is pulled back and let loose, launching Blackbeard Koopa over the horizon. With Blackbeard Koopa vanquished, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool, and Clump have a hearty laugh before lowering the flag on Blackbeard Koopa's ship and replacing it with one displaying a Mushroom.

Characters

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Toadstool
• Toad
• Blackbeard Koopa
• Captain Clump
• Bob-Ombs
• Trouters
• Koopa Troopas
• Goombas
• Mouser (no dialogue)
• Tryclyde (no dialogue)
• Clawgrip (no dialogue)

Cast

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

Animation and continuity errors

• The following errors are fixed in foreign dubs of this episode:
  • After Mario says that he and Luigi are making spatatoghetti, his mouth moves, but no sound can be heard. This also happens with Toad at the end of the episode when he and his friends laugh.
  • When Mario and his friends hit the crow's nest, Captain Clump speaks through Mario's mouth.
• In several scenes, Mario switches between his normal form and his Super Mario form.
• In several scenes, Patches's eyepatch disappears.
• In several scenes, Blackbeard Koopa's ship is colored like Captain Clump's. The inverse also happens to Captain Clump's ship after Blackbeard Koopa's Bob-omb explodes, where it is colored like Blackbeard Koopa's.
• At the beginning of the episode, the mushroom on the flag is faceless, but when Mario and his friends sail on the mast, a face appears. This also happens to one of Patches's stars when he tosses it to Mario.
• In some zoomed-out shots of Captain Clump's ship, the crew is missing. This also happens to Blackbeard Koopa's crew when he appears.
• When Captain Clump asks why he allowed Mario and his friends on his ship, Mario's eyes are closed until Luigi speaks.
• After Princess Toadstool is captured by Blackbeard Koopa, the Koopa Troopa holding her left arm has a blue bandanna, but when Blackbeard Koopa says that she did not come willingly, the bandanna turns red like the other Koopa Troopa's.
  • A similar error occurs with the bartender's bandanna, where it is blue when Blackbeard Koopa gets the crowd's attention, but turns red when Mario and Luigi approach the bar.
• When Blackbeard Koopa and his crew shoot fireworks to celebrate Princess Toadstool's capture, the boats by the port are missing.
• When Luigi is singing "100 Bottles of Milk on the Wall", Toad is seen without his vest.
• When Captain Clump says that Blackbeard Koopa bothers pirates, his pants are red instead of purple.
• Although Captain Clump's sinking ship is stationary, the background is moving when Clump laments about becoming fish food.
• When Toad asks if he and his friends are finished, his vest is the same color as his pants.
• When Mario and Luigi enter the fortress, the lock Princess Toadstool's cage is missing.
• When Blackbeard Koopa begins the auction, Princess Toadstool's eyes are mostly closed.
• When crowd celebrates Mario and Luigi for winning the auction, the Koopa Troopa in the back of the crowd is missing the yellow skin behind its eyes.
• When Toad unlocks Princess Toadstool's cage, the chests of Coins on Blackbeard Koopa's balcony are missing.
• When King Koopa falls onto a Goomba and some Koopa Troopas, the Goomba's sclerae are missing.
• When a Koopa Troopa is thrown between Mario and Luigi, it glitches at the bottom-right of the screen.
• When the Mario Brothers are revealed, Mario is wearing the tank top of his disguise, but in the next shot, he is wearing his regular clothes.
• As Mario and his friends flee the fortress, Captain Clump is missing.
• When Patches grabs the Bob-omb, he misses it, but it then teleports to his talons.

• 

  The incorrect background

• 

  Toad's miscolored vest

• 

  Toad's missing vest

• 

  Blackbeard Koopa's miscolored ship

Profiles

• Netflix: The Princess is in shackles once again when Long John Koopa takes her as his prisoner, forcing Mario and Luigi into a pair of pirate disguises.

Dub edits

• With the Plumber's Log removed from the French dub, and Pirate World not mentioned anywhere else in the episode, this makes the location the episode takes place ambiguous in the French dub. The same is true for the following episode.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Chinese (simplified)	海盗酷霸 Hǎidào Kùbà	Koopa Pirates
French	Gare aux Pirates	Beware of Pirates
German	Koopas Piraten	Koopa's Pirates
Hebrew	שודדי קופא Shvdd Kvf	Pirates of Koopa
Italian	I pirati di Attila	The pirates of Koopa
Korean	해적선장 쿠파 Haejeok Seonjang Kupa	Pirate Captain Koopa
Portuguese	Os Piratas de Koopa	The Pirates of Koopa
Russian	Пираты Купы Piraty Kupy	Pirates of Koopa
Spanish	Los piratas de Koopa	Pirates of Koopa

Trivia

• During the intro, the usual rectangle with Mario's face is a star in this episode.
• While tied on the mast, Luigi suggests singing "100 Bottles of Milk," a reference to the traditional counting song "99 Bottles of Beer."
  • In the Latin American dub, this is replaced by "La sirenita," a song by Mexican musician and singer Rigo Tovar.
• Mario mentioning how he is "faster than a vanishing clog" and "more powerful than an electric drain snake" as he transforms into Super Mario is a reference to a catchphrase from the 1940s Superman animated film series. This catchphrase would later be referenced in Mighty Plumber's catchphrase in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Misadventure of Mighty Plumber."
• Mario and Luigi's alternate names in this episode are Captain Kidder and Long John Spaghetti, which are references to real-life sailor Captain William Kidd and infamous pirate Edward Teach, better known as Long John Silver, respectively.