The Ugly Mermaid Episode Guide

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Episode 18 – The Ugly Mermaid

The episode begins as King Koopa swiftly pilots his Doom Sub through the ocean, planning to conquer the underwater world of Mertropolis, which he plans to turn into Kooptropolis. Already aware of his plans, Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad pursue the sub, aided by Frog Suits.

Hip and Hop Koopa notice them and inform Koopa, who orders his Rocky Wrenches to attack. The Mario Bros. manage to catch some of the wrenches that are thrown at them, and throw them back, damaging the Doom Sub's propellers. The submarine spins out of control, firing strange beams in all directions. As Mario tries to protect the Princess from the blasts, he is hit by one of them himself. His body is encased in a block of cement, which causes him to begin sinking.

When all seems lost, a mermaid named Holly Mackerel comes out of a Warp Pipe and swims over to save Mario. She introduces herself as the mermaid princess of Mertropolis and brings Mario to the submerged city, which is covered by a dome. Luigi and the others follow, and try their best to revive the now-unconscious Mario. When he regains consciousness, Holly tells him that her fortune teller claimed a frog prince would "come hopping into [her] life". Believing Mario to be that prince, she falls in love with him and tries to get him to marry her. After some brief dodging and running away, Mario directly confronts her and tells her that they just are not compatible. Leaving her in tears, he and the rest of the team head back to the pipe leading to the ocean.

However, before entering the pipe, Mario cannot bring himself to go back. His near-death experience has made him dreadfully afraid of the water, and he refuses to leave. The others try to convince him to go, but he makes it clear that he will not go into the water ever again. Suddenly, the Doom Sub appears over the city, and Koopa shouts his demands through a loudspeaker, declaring that if the city is not surrendered in twenty minutes, he will destroy it. King Mackerel shows up, and worries about Mertropolis being destroyed.

Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad jump into the exit pipe, but Mario is still too afraid. Toadstool tries to convince him that everything will be okay, but to no avail. Suddenly, two Boomerang Brothers enter through the pipe and start attacking the city. Mario defeats them, but just as soon as they are gone, more arrive. After Mario's group battles the small troop of Boomerang Brothers, Koopa announces that he has more to come. As before, Mario is too scared to leave the city. Princess Toadstool tells him to stay behind, while she, Luigi, and Toad stop the Doom Sub.

Holly sees that Mario is still there, and misinterprets his staying as a sign of love for her. King Mackerel still sees Mario hanging around, and warns Mario about King Koopa's threat. Holly, who was mistaking a Warp Pipe for Mario's "solid build", notices and introduces Mario to her father, and plans to prepare a wedding ceremony, much to Mario's dismay.

Trivia & Bloopers

Throughout the episode, the nostrils on Princess Toadstool's Frog Suit disappear several times.
When King Koopa says that Mertropolis will be his, the rings around the spikes on his shell are briefly colored orange instead of green. In the same scene, he speaks without moving his mouth.
When Mario and his friends dodge the wrenches, Toad's eyebrows turn the same color as his Frog Suit.
In several scenes, gloves appear on Princess Toadstool. This also happens to Toad when King Koopa fires the Nasty Nets.
The opening music is different from normal, as this episode uses the water level theme instead of the standard Water Land theme.
Holly Mackerel refers to Frog Mario as her "frog prince," a reference to the German fairy tale "The Frog Prince."