When it was first announced that Chris Pratt he had been chosen to voice Mario in Nintendo’s The movie Super Mario Bros, fans were very curious about what his voice would sound like. For years, the only voice fans knew was that fun Italian accent from the games.
Shortly after this announcement, Pratt said that the voice he had given the character was unlike anything you’ve heard. The producer also teased, “All I can tell you is the voice she does for us, and Mario, is amazing. Yeah, I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
Then when the first trailer came out, people heard the voice and it sounded just like Chris Pratt! There was nothing different, special or unique about it. Mario is voiced by Chris Pratt.
Well, now the film’s director, Aaron Horvath, is defending Pratt’s casting and saying he’s perfect for the role. In an interview with Radar Gameshe said:
“For us, it made perfect sense. He’s very good at playing a blue-collar hero with a lot of heart. For the way Mario is characterized in our film, he’s perfect for it.”
I’m sure Pratt will give a great performance, he always does a great job voicing characters in animated movies like The LEGO Movie. But, it’s not just the voice that fans have been waiting for for Mario. Producer Chris Meledandri previously said:
“When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not completely – people like to express opinions, as they should, I’m not sure that’s the smartest defense, but as someone who has Italian-American heritage, I feel like I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian-Americans… I think we’ll be fine.”
Well, the criticism is still coming, but maybe when the movie comes out it will evaporate. The movie actually looks like a lot of fun!
Speaking about the integration of the gameplay experience from the game to the film, Horvath said: “When you play the game, if you don’t give up, Mario will succeed. So we took that player experience from the game into a feature that Mario would have (a movie).”
They also star in the film Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.
It was directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!, Teen Titans Go! At The Movies) from his script Matthew Fogel (The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Minions: The Rise of Gru).
The film will release on April 7, 2023.