King Koopa's Kool Kartoons

KING KOOPA'S KOOL KARTOONS

Today, let's cover an odd little bit of Mario history. King Koopa's Kool Kartoons was a short-lived live action segment that ran for one year on one channel in Los Angeles, starring an actor in a rubber King Koopa costume, who'd present the next cartoon, read fan mail, and hand out prizes. Despite the short run of the series, two different actors, Christopher Collins and Patrick Pinney, played Koopa during its run, apparently having something to do with the first guy supposedly threatening a kid on live TV and being immediately replaced. Unfortunately, this show falls into the category of "lost media" which means the majority of the footage has been lost to time. So, I watched as many surviving clips as I could find, and that's just going to have to do. Really, there's not much to cover. King Koopa mostly just hosts, sitting behind a desk or standing beside the prizes, but he apparently has a dog-thing named Ratso. That's neat.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

TV Mario: plungers, wrenches, plumber's snakes, climb with plungers, pizza cutters, pizzas, spaghetti, fire flowers, fireballs, growing giant, invincibility, raccoon tail, frog suit, handstands, toss, chisels, fire flower, spring, cape, inflate, tennis

TV Luigi: plungers, wrenches, plumber's snakes, climb with plungers, pizza cutters, pizzas, spaghetti, fire flowers, fireballs, growing giant, invincibility, raccoon tail, frog suit, handstands, toss, chisels, fire flower, spring, cape, inflate, tennis

Tommy Treehugger: roller blade, yo-yo, throw trash, golf, destroy set, remote

Co-MC: roller blade, yo-yo, throw trash, golf, destroy set, remote

Princess Toadstool: flowers, sled, vegetables, float, shrinking wand, surfing, paraglider, P-Wing, tennis

TV Toad: flowers, snowboard, biker, hat parachute, vegetables, surfs, disguises as plant, powerful wand, giant pipe creatures, P-Wing.

Yoshi: tongue, wings, breathe fire, extendable tail, eat everything.

Oogtar: swing, rope, wheel, berries, hoe, club.

King Koopa: snowmobile, cage, Piranha Plant gun, door potion, magic carpet, net, vampire, turn people to stone, flies a plane, freezes people, hat shield, catapult, pesticide, grow gigantic, giant shoe, magic, Klown Kar, Ratso.

Cheatsy: magic wand, transform, pull things from TV, booby traps.

Big Mouth: tornado breath, bo staff.

Kootie Pie: tantrum, throws things, wrap in a scarf.

Bully: nunchaku, fire hose, garbage.

Kooky: time travel machine, rain machine, Lame Brainer, nice spray, Koopa Doopa raiser-upper, Goopa, Mega Mechanisaur

Hip and Hop: ball.

Robo Koopa: bullet bills, bombs from the toe, laser cage, stomp, fist from the chest, rocket pack.

Mouser: bombs, Cobrats, BMX bike, mace, spinning hat, dinosaur

Tryclyde: spits fireballs, poison, net, trident, sword, BMX bike

Koopa: spin in shell, BMX bike, Werekoopa

Wizenheimer: lightning, fog, create bombs, hypnotize, vanish, egg transformation

Dino Riders: motorcycles, graffiti, throw bowls, stink bob-omb

Evil Eric: knock out, tie up, puppets, same as Co-MC

Tammy Treehugger: knock out, tie up, puppets, same as Co-MC

Birdo: wings

Flurries: ski, ice skate, carve up blocks of ice, ice wands

Beezos: fly, spears, lances, swords, rope, nets

Rex: spears, pies, other things from the previous games

Mervin the Magician: teleport, vanish, see the future, golden plunger, plumber's snake

Genie: trampoline, stink spell, flying spell, lamp, magic carpet

Mark Twang: steamboat, rope, cannon

Brutius Maximus Grouchimus: throws shells, lions

Queen Rotunda: strength, love potion

Captain Clump: peg leg, parrot, barrel, club, rigging launch

Bunsen: hacks into computers, drills, Plumbinator, plunger sword, flyswatter, shoots eggs

Sheldon the Witch Doctor: brews potion

Mermushroom: swim, whale

Hercufleas: great fireball, launch fire, race really fast, swing a pillar

Salvado Drainaro: plumbing focus

Hooded Robin: flies, shoots plunger arrows

Flab Boys: throwing discs, zapping, boosting, bouncing on their large bellies, exploding disc launcher, rolling around

James Blonde: wrench phone, explosive drain cleaner, atomic screwdriver, laser drill, plumber missiles, pummel gun, hose nozzle with a mini plunger

Vampa White, fireballs, fangs, turn into bat, werekoopa

Zero: whip, rapier, fly with cape, cacti, turnips

Captain Abidab: harpoon, plunger shooter, rope, bucket, catapult, divers' suit

Mugga the Medicine Woman: bone, torch, brews potions, swings on vines, dropes bones

Misaki: punches, kicks, jumping kicks, throws, chops, staffs, plunger staff, nunchaku

The Three Mushrooms: pie catapult

Pronto: plumber gun, lasso, Ostro

Sergeant Kooperman: also plumbing focus

Waldo the Wizard: shrinking potion, growing potion, floats, disappears, uses magic, enchants a flying boot

Old Gray Wolf

Quirks: horns, strong sounds, fly spaceships, shoot lasers, use magnets

Queen Mushroomkhamen: staff, stomps, wrap up in tape, smash through wall

The Wizard King of the West: powerful wand, snail steed, pipe monsters.

Junior: dropping vase, boomerang, other messes, boulder catapult.

Mighty Plumber: plunger  rope, wrench, burst of water, plumber's snake, rafting on a grate, pipe battering ram

Crime Wave Clyde: tuck  into a basketball, bob-omb chain, see some Koopalings above.

King Windbag: dog

Stages:

Snow Land

Wild West

Cramalot

Forest of Perpetual Night and Terrible Dangers

Sultan's Palace

River World

Sinister Star

Linguini Empire

Beanstalk

Rotundaland

Kingdom of Youth

Planet Quirk

Pirate Ship

Roboland

Chateau Koopula

Jungle Land

Aqualand

Mythus

Sayonara

Land of Romance

Lava Land

Snow World

Victoria

Sherwood Forest

Carland

Pasta Land

Rap Land

Spyland

Fort Hardknox

Tunnel of Doom

Cloudland

Shamrock Kingdom

Toadstool Castle

El Desert Land

Ocean World

Mighty Peapod

Koopalus

Delawide River

Swiss Cheese Alps

Caveman Land

Crime Land

Sockhop Land

Parsley Land

North Pole

Pyramid Land

Red Sauce Sea

Double Cross Ranch

Plumbers Academy

Down Under Land

King Koopa's Summer Castle

Kooplyn

Temple of Koopa

Koopatraz

Far Off Woods

Castle Koopa

Doomship

Giant Land

Desert Land

Pipe Maze

Dark Land

Sky Land

Mushroom House

Ace Magic Wand Factory

Temple of Gloom

Mertropolis

Hawaii

Brooklyn

Hollywood

Miami

Venice

Paris

Dome City

Neon Castle

Lava Pits

Enchanted Forest

Haunted House

Star Path

Club Mario

King Koopa's Kool Kartoons

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover the first season of the Donkey Kong Country series!