A Blooper is a recurring squid-like enemy found in most underwater levels in the Mario series. In the Mario Kart series, they are used as an Item in Mario Kart DS and onward. It sprays ink on all players in front of the one who got it obscuring their view making it harder for them to navigate the roads ahead along with oncoming hazards.
The Blooper is a recovery Item. Once the player launches it, the Blooper will go to every kart in front of them. Blooper flies around for a few seconds in front of the racers and then squirts ink all over them and their windshield, creating a distracting obstruction.
The ink obstructs the driving view of human opponents and causes CPU characters to drive terribly and swerve around on the track. In Mario Kart DS and 7, newer players will find it useful to look at the bottom screen while the ink is on the driving screen, easing their driving under the Blooper's effects, but on Wii and 8, there is no such mini map - players will have to rely on track experience. The ink will wear off after a few seconds, but can also be prematurely removed by using a Dash Panel or a Mushroom (or during the turbo boost) or entering underwater (Mario Kart 8). But doing a Power Slide Turbo Boost are useless. Blooper cannot squirt ink on some racers when they use a Star, a Boo or a Bullet Bill.
Its ink cannot be removed by mini-turbos, tricks or wheelies, because these actions are weak (except in Mario Kart Tour; it can also be deflected by a Super Horn in that game).
Reggie Fils-Aímé, Nintendo's former president, considers the Blooper to be the worst item in the Mario Kart series.
In Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Blooper's ink can be prematurely removed if the player is under the effects of a Mushroom or Dash Panel at any point during the boost, as opposed to Mario Kart Wii, where they have to enter those effects after they've already been inked.
If you attempt to use the Blooper while you are in 1st place, your own blooper will ink your screen instead since there is no opponents ahead of you.
This item can be seen in the rear view camera in Mario Kart Wii, but not in Mario Kart 8 or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
In Mario Kart Wii, the Blooper is one of three timed items, the others being the Lightning and POW Block. Bloopers can't be pulled for the first 15 seconds of a race, and once a Blooper is pulled and used, another Blooper can't be pulled until at least 15 seconds have passed.
.png "Blooper Artwork (Mario Kart DS).png (845 KB)")
.png "Blooper Artwork (Mario Kart Wii).png (580 KB)")
