Club Mario Hits YouTube

Oh my god… I never thought I’d see this again, and after you see it, you’ll probably wonder why I ever wanted to.

And I’ll tell you– I thought the theme song had a catchy beat. Of course, I think I heard it in another song years later, figuring they probably ripped it off/did their own version or whatever.

(As an aside– did I just hear the sound effect for Generation 1 Megatron’s fusion cannon during the Princess Centauri bit?)

But beyond that, I really don’t know. I guess there’s just something so culturally… telling about Club Mario, which was produced as basically the “second season” of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, while new cartoons went on to NBC in the form of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. Apparently, this was meant to keep the kids watching. And, much to my present guilt, it worked. I should also add that I had no friends.

For whatever reason, these bits weren’t included on the DVDs produced by Shout! Factory, which is kind of regretful in a time capsule sort of way. Thankfully, it seems that YouTube user NintendoWizard22 has gotten ahold of a couple of episodes, one bookending a Mario cartoon. Fortunately, in my opinion, it’s one of the better ones, featuring one of only two appearances by the Hammer Bros. and a plot that only lightly took anything from another story. Here’s the rest of that episode:

The other half of Club Mario, much like the Super Show before it, involved The Legend of Zelda. Running on Fridays, these episodes would usually see Co-M.C.’s evil twin brother, Evil Eric, taking over the show in his sibling’s absence, tormenting Tommy Treehugger all the while. And as luck(?) would have it, one such episode is on YouTube:

So, there you have it: The hidden shame of Nintendo and DiC, which I’m assuming they didn’t want anyone to see. You can learn a little more about Club Mario and its cast at the Super Mario Wiki.

Now, I wonder if there’s a way I can get an MP3 of that theme song…

Edit: I’ve just learned from digging around further…

I was informed that DiC wiped (erased) most of the master Beta tapes used in making the Club Mario shows, so I am providing those segments only, with all Nintendo’s cartoon segments removed, as well as the barter commercials. — coffee4binky

That’s too bad, if true. Check his YouTube page for more Club Mario clips.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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