During 2021’s September Nintendo Direct, Nintendo Representative Director and the creator of Mario himself,Shigeru Miyamotoannounced both the release date and the casting details forThe Super Mario Bros. Movie- and it’s fair to say the choice for the little Italian plumber was divisive, to say the least.
The selection ofChris Prattto play the title role of Mario Mario garnered heavy criticism - for reasons varying from overexposure of the actor, to the exclusion ofCharles Martinet, the man who has voiced Mario in the games upon which the new film is based. However, Pratt is an A-list star which, for better or worse, will bring in a certain level of attention to a film on which he is attached.
Criticism intensified when the first trailer for the film was released, with Pratt’s performancegarnering backlashbecause, in essence, it didn’t sound how people thought it should. Silly, perhaps, but fandom can be a powerful thing. Havingpreviously defended Pratt’s castingin the film, Illumination CEO and founderChris Meledandristated that “Chris was cast because we felt he could give a great performance as Mario. And now that we’ve done about 15 recording sessions, and the movie is three-quarters done, I sit here and say that I love his performance as Mario.”
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Chris Pratt Helps Bring “Authenticity” To Mario
Now, in an interview withTotal Film, the directors of the film –Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath–have spoken of a desire to bring an ‘authenticity’ to what they referred to as the “Nintendo Super Mario experience.” Explaining that they see the film as something of an origin story for the Mario Brothers, they revealed that the “blue collar” aspect was why Pratt was seen as the ideal choice for the role.
It’s a bit of an origin tale. It’s the story of Mario becoming Super Mario. At the outset Mario and his brother Luigi are plumbers in Brooklyn, blue-collar guys… from a family of Italian immigrants. When you play the game, if you don’t give up, Mario will succeed. So we transferred that player experience from the game to a characteristic that [movie] Mario would have. For us, Pratt’s casting made total sense. He’s really good at playing a blue-collar hero with a ton of heart. For the way that Mario is characterised in our film, he’s perfect for it.
Joining Pratt is a star-studded and equally intriguing supporting cast featuringCharlie Day,Anya Taylor-Joy,Jack Black,Seth Rogen,Keegan-Michael Key,Fred Armisen,Kenneth Michael Richardson, and Martinet - who will voice a number of supporting characters.
The Super Mario Bros. Moviejumps into theaters on April 5. Check out the official trailer for the upcoming animated film below.
