Never Koop a Koopa Episode Guide

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Episode 06 – Never Koop a Koopa

Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad are eating pasta for lunch outside Toad's house. When Mario looks around, bored, he is shocked when he sees King Koopa and the Koopalings walking towards them, holding a white flag. To the surprise of Mario and his friends, Koopa announces that he is giving up his evil ways and surrendering his kingdom, and is leaving the Mushroom Kingdom forever. To try and make up for all the misery that he has caused, he gives Princess Toadstool the key to Kastle Koopa as a donation to charity. Koopa then uses his magic wand to create a Warp Pipe which he and his kids exit through.

With the key to Kastle Koopa now in her hands, Princess Toadstool decides she can turn the place into a retirement home for elderly Mushrooms. Luigi warns Princess Toadstool that the whole ordeal is probably a trap, and tells her to just throw the key away. However, Princess Toadstool points out that the old people of her kingdom need a good home, and decides to visit Kastle Koopa right away. Mario tells Luigi that he will travel with Princess Toadstool to protect her, just to be safe. Princess Toadstool and Mario then head for the Warp Pipe to Dark Land, while Luigi and Toad follow along.

Upon unlocking the front door to Kastle Koopa, Princess Toadstool and Mario are greeted by a falling Dry Bones. Princess Toadstool figures that they just need to clean the place up a bit, but Mario, suspecting danger, decides to enter first. In the front hallway, Mario and Princess Toadstool pass by portraits of the Koopalings and King Koopa; the moving eyes of King Koopa's portrait frighten Mario. After Princess makes a remark about Koopa's portrait being the first thing to go, the front doors suddenly shut.

A Thwomp near the ceiling taunts Mario and Princess Toadstool, then comes close to crushing them. Mario uses a plunger to stop the Thwomp from crushing them. Mario and Princess Toadstool run towards the other end of the hallway, dodging several more Thwomps. Two Ptooies come and attack Mario, but he deflects their balls with his plunger, allowing him and Princess Toadstool to slip past them. After running down a few more corridors, Mario and Princess Toadstool stop to count their steps, when a trapdoor opens beneath them, dropping them to the dungeon.

Standing outside the door to the dungeon are King Koopa and Cheatsy. Koopa mocks his new guests, and Princess Toadstool comments that she never should have trusted him. Koopa tells Cheatsy that he is going to give him more lessons on lying and cheating, but his son does not hear him, as he is listening to a cassette player (which is playing the underground theme). It is not until he pulls the headphones off of Cheatsy's head that Koopa gets his son's attention. He then tells Cheatsy to pay attention while he cons Princess Toadstool out of the Mushroom Kingdom. Koopa presents a contract to Princess Toadstool, but she refuses to sign it. To help get Princess Toadstool to change her mind, Koopa pulls a lever, releasing about 25 Bob-ombs into the dungeon. Knowing that Princess Toadstool and Mario are trapped with the Bob-ombs, he figures that they will surrender soon.

Trivia & Bloopers

The opening title screen for this episode is Dark Land, but the Grass Land music is played with it.
At the beginning of the episode, Mario and Luigi's have their colors swapped.
When the shot is on Luigi eating, Mario is frozen, and when it shows Mario eating, Luigi is frozen.
When Mario notices King Koopa at the beginning of the episode, he has spaghetti and a spoon in his bowl, but when he says that he is surprised that King Koopa is surrendering, the spaghetti and spoon disappear.
When Cheatsy puts on King Koopa's crown, his hair is divided in locks.
In the original NBC airing, Princess Toadstool narrates the teaser trailer promo for this episode by saying, "King Koopa promises he's quitting being bad for good, and I make the biggest mistake I've ever made when I believe him."[25]