Despite the majority of their adventures taking place in the mythical Mushroom Kingdom, for one day in 1990, the Mario Bros. forgot about saving a princess and had to save the President of the United States instead.
Between 1989 and 1990, Nintendo had two different Super Mario Bros. cartoons made, as part of the same multimedia push that had seen the Kyoto-based company think a futuristic Mario movie was a good idea. The first of those was called âThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!â. If youâve ever seen a Mario cartoon show, thatâs probably the one you saw.
When that series came to an end in 1990, however, a second, short-lived show was commissioned, called âThe Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3â. And itâs in an episode of that series, called âReptiles in the Rose Gardenâ, that things get political.
See, on Bowserâs daughterâs 16th birthday, she gets all spoiled and uppity. Doesnât want jewels, doesnât want a car, doesnât want a new nose. Instead, she only wants one thing.
âI want America for my birthdayâ.
So Bowser â or, as he was known in this series, King Koopa â obliges. When his little girl (Kootie Pie Koopa) proclaims she wants to be âEmpress of Americaâ, what else was he going to do?
Using his mighty Doomship, Bowser and his minions fly through a warp pipe and emerge directly above the White House. Where he spies on George Bush yammering away on the phone. Then proceeds to steal the White House and relocate it to the Mushroom Kingdom. The whole damn building, Executive Branch and all.
With Kootie Pie Koopa now installed as Empress of America, she is free to issue a number of decrees. Such as âevery kid in America must give Kootie Pie their toysâ. And âall the gold in Fort Knox will be melted down to make a lifetime supply of charm bracelets for Kootie Pieâ.
Such tyranny
Not content with this act of geodimensional terrorism, Bowser then sees fit to cement his daughterâs rule by sending both the White House and President to the bottom of the ocean.
Of course, Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach save the day â complete with frog suits and even a little plumbing â with both the President and White House returned to their rightful positions of power.
Itâs funny, while they never actually show the Presidentâs face, both his silhouette and the fact the show was run in 1990 strongly suggest that itâs George Bush Snr. Especially since theyâre only too happy to show Barbara Bushâs face every two minutes.
Fictional heroes they may be, but for one day in the late 20th century, the Mario Bros. saved more than just a make-believe Kingdom full of toadstools. They saved America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aleAdaIjDBs
Total Recall is a daily look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends.
