The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Hear More of Chris Pratt's Mario Voice in New Video
The Super Mario Bros. Movie trailers have teased samplings of Chris Pratt's Mario voice, but fans pointed out the Brooklyn-based Italian plumber of few words didn't sound like Charles Martinet's voice from the Nintendo games. Later footage revealed more of the animated movie's voice cast — including Anya-Taylor Joy's Princess Peach and Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong — with nary a "wahoo!" or an "it's-a me, Mario!" But not only did Pratt perform Mario's iconic catchphrases during a visit to BBC's The One Show in London, the actor explained why he's not doing a Martinet impression:
"There are only a handful of things we've ever heard Mario say. The 'wahoo!' A few things like… 'It's-a me! Let's go,' these types of things," Pratt said, slipping into the Mario voice. "So we were trying to find a way to put that into the movie, but in a way that would be congruent with a storyline of these working class American guys from Brooklyn."
"Mario and Luigi are Sliving"
— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) March 16, 2023
Could you get more iconic catchphrases than Mario and @ParisHilton? 👀@PrattPrattPratt, Charlie Day and Paris discuss iconic catchphrases 😍#TheOneShow 👉 https://t.co/Yzo6QpbdQv #SuperMarioMovie pic.twitter.com/NhEEBOvoKo
In another video recorded around London, you can hear more of Pratt's take on Mario. Watch it below.
Mario & Luigi together again… with @ParisHilton? You guys REALLY don’t know what’s about to hit you. I promise you, this is going to be what you’ve all been waiting for… and you will NOT be disappointed. Follow me down Rainbow Road April 5th – LEESSGOO!! 🍄🌈 #SuperMarioMovie pic.twitter.com/5oJ3Wix22i
— Chris Pratt (@prattprattpratt) March 20, 2023
"For us, it made total sense," co-director Aaron Horvath told Total Film of Pratt's Mario. "He's really good at playing a blue-collar hero with a ton of heart. For the way that Mario is characterized in our film, he's perfect for it." The director went on to describe the Mario bros. as "blue-collar guys… from a family of Italian immigrants" who wind up warped into the Mushroom Kingdom.
Though Mario has said little in marketing, producer Chris Meledandri defended the casting in an interview with Animation Magazine.
"When people hear Chris Pratt's performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely — people love to voice opinions, as they should," the Illumination founder and CEO said. "I'm not sure this is the smartest defense, but as a person who has Italian-American heritage, I feel I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian-Americans... I think we're going to be just fine."
The Super Mario Bros. Movie stars Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Mario, Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit) as Princess Peach, Keegan-Michael Key (The Lion King) as Toad, and Jack Black (the Jumanji films) as Bowser. The cast also features Seth Rogen (Neighbors franchise) as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live) as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson (American Dad!, Family Guy) as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco (Green Book) as Spike. The Super Mario Bros. Movie opens only in theaters April 5th.
