During today’s Nintendo Direct, Nintendo and Illumination Entertainment debuted the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Super Mario Bros. animated adaptation. As expected, the teaser gives viewers their first look at the film’s animated style, but little in the way of the film’s plot. Of course, the trailer’s biggest reveal is the voice of Chris Pratt as Nintendo’s mustachioed mascot, which sounds a bit similar to Mario’s voice from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. The film also now has an official title: The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie can be found at the top of this page.
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After more than two decades of hearing Mario exclusively voiced by Charles Martinet, it’s a bit jarring to hear a different voice coming out of his mouth! Pratt’s role in the film has been controversial to say the least, but during the Nintendo Direct, Pratt reiterated his longtime passion for Mario. It will definitely be interesting to see if the teaser wins over fans. Martinet’s voice will still be heard in the film, and the actor will continue to voice Mario in future video games. Pratt and Martinet will be joined in the movie by Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), CharlieDay (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin MichaelRichardson (Kamek), and Sebastian Maniscalco (Spike).
During the Direct, Illumination revealed that Animation is set to conclude next week, so it seems that the movie is pretty far along at this point! Illumination’s Super Mario Bros. movie is not the first time the video game icon has appeared on the big screen. A live-action Mario movie released in theaters back in 1993, with Mario and Luigi played by Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo, respectively, and Dennis Hopper as Bowser. While the movie has obtained something of a cult following over the last 29 years, it was a box office bomb. The movie had very little in common with the actual source material, and Nintendo has avoided theatrical adaptations ever since.
It remains to be seen whether Illumination’s film will succeed where the previous Mario movie failed, but Nintendo is being a lot more hands-on this time, and the first teaser certainly looks promising. We’ll likely see a lot more of the film over the next few months, but The Super Mario Bros. Movie will release in theaters on April 7th.
What did you think of the first Mario movie teaser? Are you excited for the movie? Let us know inthe comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
