On Thursday night, a teaser trailer for the eagerly anticipated Mario movie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, was made public. Chris Pratt and Jack Black provided their respective voices for Mario and Bowser in the animated movie. It was enough for the internet to be incensed at the casting, even if the teaser mainly focused on the antagonist and gave Mario only two lines.
For those who are unaware, Mario is one of the most well-known and recognisable video game characters in history. According to canon, he is an Italian plumber in his middle years. He often speaks with a strong voice and an accent from Italy, none of which could be heard in Chris’ performance. The fact that Chris was speaking in his own voice rather than adopting a persona was widely reported by fans, and many of them called for his replacement.
Before all hell breaks free, the teaser trailer introduced Bowser and his arrival at Mushroom City. When he declares that no one can stop him, Mario is shown to us looking confused and unsure of his location. A user remarked, “I’ll be honest, my only major concern was Chris Pratt just uses his speaking voice,” in response to the first time they heard Chris’ voice as Mario. Chris Pratt’s portrayal of Mario, according to one commenter, “is a good illustration of why you should hire voice actors for voice acting roles because what the hell is this.”
Chris Pratt as Mario is a prime example of why you should hire voice actors for voice acting roles because what the hell is this pic.twitter.com/rOYmQqSXEv
— yehu (@comicyehu) October 6, 2022
Numerous people contrasted Chris’ performance—or at least that brief glimpse of it—with Jack Black’s portrayal of the antagonist Bower in the same teaser. One admirer wrote on Twitter, “You can tell Jack Black put a tonne of love and passion into his Bowser voice, while Chris Pratt just, uh, spoke.”
Chris Pratt’s voice is still jarring to hear coming out of Mario but everything else in the Mario trailer looked amazing. I’m genuinely excited to see this thing pic.twitter.com/3QCP7oJc0k
— Saberspark (@Saberspark) October 6, 2022
The film’s animation technique and aesthetics have received accolades from a number of viewers. One user commented, “The visuals are simply fantastic, and I adore the overall atmosphere of the whole thing.” I’m truly excited to see this thing, another person wrote.
After the 1993 live-action movie Super Mario Bros. and the 1986 anime Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the third adaptation of the Nintendo game. It also features Charlie Day as Luigi and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach in the Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic-directed film. April 2023 will see the movie’s theatrical debut.