Born to Ride

Template:SMWbox "Born to Ride" is the seventh episode of the Super Mario World animated series.

Plot

In the Dome Castle, Mario and Luigi are trying to install a sink made of bamboo piping in the place; in true Flintstones fashion, all the tools Mario uses are small animals. While Mario and Luigi are discussing their pipe installation, Princess Toadstool appears and greets them. Deciding to show the Princess the new sink, Mario and Luigi are surprised to see it doesn't work. Venturing outside, Mario and Luigi find the source of their unworking sink; Yoshi has been munching on the recently laid water pipes.

File:YoshiDinoRiders.jpg

Yoshi with the Dino Riders.

Becoming extremely angry at Yoshi, Mario and Luigi yell at him and tell him to stay out of their way. After this scolding, a disheartened Yoshi decides to run away and leave Dome City. As Yoshi, taking what little possessions he has, leaves Dome City, he encounters a rabid Caterpillar, which he quickly gobbles up. After eating the caterpillar, Yoshi is approached by three motorcycle-riding dinosaurs. The bikers introduce themselves as Duke, Lulu and Rockman, the Dino Riders; after introductions are done, Yoshi asks the Dino Riders if he can be a biker like them. At first Duke, the leader of the Dino Riders, is hesitant, but when Yoshi mentions he knows Mario and Luigi, Duke gladly lets Yoshi join, planning on using him to get to Mario and Luigi so he can capture them and turn them over to King Koopa for a reward.

File:Yoshihurts.jpg

Yoshi about to eat the paint before Duke hurts him.

Deciding that Yoshi needs to pass a "test" before joining the Dino Riders, Duke orders Yoshi to vandalize a dome-house and throw a "Stink Bob-omb" through the window of a caveperson's house. At first hesitant, Yoshi does throw the Bob-omb after being forced to do it by Lulu. After doing these deeds, Yoshi is made an "official" member of the Dino Riders by Duke and given a biker helmet and jacket. After giving Yoshi these items, Duke tells Yoshi to tell Mario and Luigi to meet him at the Tar Pit Milk Bar, saying that himself, Rockman and Lulu are going to "teach the Mario Bros. a lesson" for "disrespecting" Yoshi earlier.

Back at the Dome Castle, Princess Toadstool asks Mario and Luigi where Yoshi is; the two reply that they haven't seen Yoshi since they scolded him earlier. A shocked Princess Toadstool scolds the heroes for getting mad at Yoshi, reminding them that he's still a baby and doesn't know any better. Mario reassures her that Yoshi will come crawling back and will forgive them. Then Yoshi, in biker garb, appears to tell Mario and Luigi about how he joined the Dino Riders and about how Duke wants to meet with them. Despite Princess Toadstool's suspicion, Mario, Luigi and Yoshi set off to see the Dino Riders.

Mario and Luigi after being tied up.

Inside the Tar Pit Milk Bar, Mario and Luigi are ambushed by the Dino Riders, while Yoshi waits outside. After several minutes of waiting, Yoshi becomes curious as to what is taking so long and looks in a window and hears about the Dino Riders' plan to hand Mario and Luigi over to Bowser. A panicking Yoshi rushes off to get Princess Toadstool to help him rescue Mario and Luigi.

Mario and Luigi getting away from the Dino Riders.

Getting the Princess, Yoshi manages to track down the Mario Bros. and Dino Riders, who are camped out in a field. Jumping from his hiding spot, Yoshi frees Mario and Luigi by chewing through the ropes that bind them. Stealing Lulu's motorcycle, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Princess Toadstool take off with the Dino Riders in pursuit.

Using a Triangle Block, Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Yoshi drive up a cliff, with the Dino Riders still following them. Using a pair of Magic Wings, Yoshi manages to evade the Dino Riders, while Mario, as Fire Mario, manages to take out Rockman's motorcycle, plunging the biker into some nearby lava. Duke and Lulu subsequently end up crashing into a wall while Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and the Princess escape into a nearby Warp Tube. Once back home, Mario and Luigi finish working on the sink, but then Yoshi walks in eating bamboo again. Everyone else is upset, thinking that Yoshi had not learned his lesson, but Yoshi declares that he's just joking and the sink, to their delight, works.

Animation and continuity errors

• In several scenes of the episode, the "L" on Luigi's hat turns white against a black background.
• Lulu's helmet continually switches colors throughout the episode.
• Duke freezes mid-animation as he hits Yoshi over the head for trying to eat the Bob-omb.
• When the Dino Riders chase after Mario and Luigi, Lulu is on Rockman's bike instead of Duke's.

Trivia

• The music played during the intro of this episode sounds quite different from the music that is normally played, sounding somewhat like a rock and roll remix.
• Despite the Dino Riders working for King Koopa, he and the Koopalings don't actually appear in this episode.
• This episode could be seen as a commentary on peer pressure and particularly street gangs, an issue that was on the rise at the time this episode aired in the early 1990s.
• The episode title may be a reference to the Bruce Springsteen song "Born to Run".