The anticipated teaser trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now out, and admittedly, it looks hella good. Super Mario fans can expect some of their favourite characters to show up in the video, including Mario himself. But just don’t expect him to sound like the iconic Italian plumber you know from the games—he’s voiced by the very American Chris Pratt.
Brought to you by Nintendo and Illumination—the company that also brought you Minions, the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie will feature some big names voicing the characters you know. The teaser begins with Bowser and his Koopa army invading a penguin kingdom.
Bowser is voiced by the incredible Jack Black, who gave a sample of what his character sounded like during New York Comic Con. Casting him as Bowser is a terrific idea—Black is a living legend and fans of him would know he would bring everything to the role, especially as he is a noted video game fan.
Other noteworthy voices that highlighted the teaser were Keegan Michael Key as Toad, and Charlie Day as the iconic and frantic Luigi. Both of these comedic actors seem like great fits for the characters they’re portraying.
However, the voice of the titular Mario has not been widely welcomed with open arms. Ever since it was announced that the controversial Chris Pratt would be voicing our favourite Nintendo plumber, netizens have been a little concerned. People were also wondering how Pratt would deliver his lines—seeing how he would need to balance having a generic (and probably offensive) Italian accent with something more… palatable for the film.
Granted, it seems like a tough job for an actor to balance both. And the result—with what we heard in the short teaser—showed us that it is, in fact, difficult. Pratt sounded like… Pratt. And is that a slight Italian accent? What’s happening?
Despite the divided opinions on the internet about Chris Pratt’s Mario voice, I have to admit that the designs for all the characters, the locations, and details look great. It’s a great balance between what we are used to in the games with a fresh new look of what a movie version can give—very unlike the first version of Sonic.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently slated for release on 7 April 2023. Are you excited for the movie? And what do you think of Chris Pratt’s Mario?
