Aside from Saban understanding Marvel better than Toei - it's probably good that Toei didn't produce a Super Mario Bros. Anime in Japan. Super Mario Bros. was a Japanese production but the concept was done in an American territory. Super Mario was partly based on the late Mario Segale - Nintendo's landlord. It feels awkward that Super Mario is a Japanese invention but it takes place in AMERICA. I prefer to play Dragon Quest Heroes with the American voices because it feels authentic. The same goes for why Saban Entertainment doing the Mario with the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. It's unlike Power Rangers where licensed footage is used. This one has all its footage made from scratch by DiC Animation with music provided by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy.
The show deviates from the video game while keeping the theme that they're AMERICAN plumbers. The show mixes elements from Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2. For those unaware of it, the cursed game known as Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels wasn't released in America until Super Mario All-Stars. Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels should remain bashed for how unreasonable it was. The show established King Koopa (Bowser) as the main villain. Other villains came from Super Mario Bros. 2. Mouser and Tricylde (the three-headed snake) are his bumbling henchmen. Other minions only from Super Mario Bros. 2 get into the mix. Why Bowser was still named King Koopa was most likely a miscommunication. The American release always calls King Koopa as BOWSER.
The late Lou Albano and the late Danny Wells played the Mario Brothers perfectly. Japanese cast members wouldn't be the best or it'd be plain awkward. I want things to feel "authentic" as possible. They had a live segment before the actual show began. The live segments take place in BROOKLYNN. I think Saban and not Toei would be the better production studio to handle Super Mario. However, Toei could've still played the role of animation provider. Why Saban never approached Toei for that reason is still being determined. Instead, Saban chose to work with DiC Entertainment. I think Toei could've provided quality animation while Saban's side of the fence did the dubbing and music.
The show was almost formatted like Looney Tunes. King Koopa would often don several identities. It may also be because everyone's an actor on that set. Super Mario Bros. 2 introduced a curtain where you selected which character you would play. Super Mario Bros. 3 was a stage play. The show took it in different directions when King Koopa donned a different villainous identity. King Koopa would rival several Saturday Morning TV-Y7-FV villains too. That's all before Saban decided to handle the more serious Marvel franchises such as X-Men and later Spider-Man.
I believe that Saban Entertainment positively influenced the show's direction. DiC not renewing its partnership with Saban might be why the next two cartoon series were unsuccessful. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World weren't adapted properly for animation.
And I do still have a soft spot for what many consider an "abomination"
I still enjoyed this lackluster adaptation of The Legend of Zelda. I guess too much effort was put into the Super Mario Bros. Super Show that this happened. This show almost foreshadowed the failure of Saban's Masked Rider and the success of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Link just zapped enemies with his sword - something done later in Saban's Masked Rider. The show was immediately canceled after 13 episodes. The sister show was a failed experiment. I enjoyed it before and I tend to still enjoy it now. Unlike Saban's Masked Rider - I do have a soft spot for the Zelda cartoon despite it not being as good as the Super Mario Bros. Super Show.
I guess it was an era of experimentation. Maybe, Saban could've chosen to work differently with Zelda. Maybe, Saban could've had DiC work with Mario and later on work with Zelda another time. I think Toei Ltd. could've provided the animation for Zelda. Instead, I think Saban and his group bit off more than they could chew. Toei also tends to bite more than it can chew that a lot as evidenced by how several Showa-era Kamen Rider seasons usually get rushed (such as 26 episodes, 35 episodes, 39 episodes) and I find it amazing that the unpopular Kamen Rider BLACK RX actually made it for a whole year run. It's probably the reason why Toei and Saban had a long working relationship.
Like Saban's Avengers: United They Stand, I feel that the Zelda cartoon was enjoyable despite the glaring flaws. Unfortunately, I think the cartoon adaptation ain't getting vindicated any time soon. I guess people would still remember Super Mario Bros. Super Show while hating the Zelda cartoon spin-off.
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