Video game movies have historically had a storied past, with countless flops being released over the last few decades. But the sub-genre has had some success recently with projects like Sonic the Hedgehog, Detective Pikachu, and Mortal Kombat. All eyes are on what Nintendo and Universal are bringing to the table with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which recently released a second, full trailer. Although after the trailer dropped, fans are still roasting Chris Pratt's accent online.
When casting for The Super Mario Bros. Movie was first announced, the internet had a strong reaction to the concept of Chris Pratt voicing everyone's favorite plumber. The backlash increased when the first footage was released, where Pratt went for a New Yorker accent rather than Mario's over the top Italian one. These calls got louder thanks to the new trailer, which you can see below:
This trailer revealed a ton of new footage from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, including plenty of beloved characters, game mechanics, and even a Mario Kart sequence. While the generations of fans were thrilled to be introduced to Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong and Anya Taylor-Joy's badass Princess Peach, there was one point of contention for folks on Twitter: Chris Pratt's dialogue. People sounded off on the social media platform's retweets, with one user sharing:
It's so annoying because I love literally everything about this trailer except for Chris Pratt's voice.
Indeed, there does seem to be some mixed feelings for Nintendo fans out there, following the first two trailers for the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Because while the footage visually looks super accurate to the beloved games, the voice performances are a departure. And not just for Chris Pratt; Anya Taylor-Joy isn't trying to imitate Peach's voice in the game, and is seemingly taking more ownership over the character. Still, there's a ton of backlash surrounding Pratt's lines in the marketing so far.
While some fans are making their disapproval for Chris Pratt as Mario known online, other folks on Twitter are (unsurprisingly) making memes out of the situation. Case in point, one person who used footage of the Donkey King vs Mario footage, posting:
Everyone's reaction to Chris Pratt Mario be like: pic.twitter.com/d1NHKMCmvrNovember 29, 2022
Obviously it's still very early into the marketing campaign for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the public has only seen very brief clips of Chris Pratt's performance as the beloved hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. But it's his utterance of iconic phrases that's given some fans reason to pause. Case in point: the way he quietly utters the "Let's a-go", which plenty of people are sounding off about online. One such response reads:
Chris Pratt really got into that voice booth and voiced himself like not a lick of effort.
Because the internet is gonna internet, there's plenty of wild memes that have been made about Chris Pratt's vocal performance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the strong reaction that's come from the fandom. One particularly hilarious response features none other than Tiffany "New York" Pollard, in a classic clip from Flavor of Love. Check it out,
anya taylor-joy in the studio listening to chris pratt record his lines for mario pic.twitter.com/f6jNFlrTVENovember 29, 2022
All jokes aside, there are clearly some very strong feelings about The Super Mario Bros. Movie, given the generation of fans out there. Mario and Luigi were previously adapted in a truly bonkers 1993 live-action film, but the upcoming animated blockbuster is exciting because it looks and feels like the current video games. But it's for this reason that some folks are feeling so upset about Chris Pratt's dialogue in the trailers, with one Twitter user opening up by sharing:
Chris Pratt really sounds like he’s phoning it in imo, that was the most halfhearted “wahoo” i think i’ve ever heard come from Mario. He literally got the chance to play one of the most iconic characters of all time and it just sounds like he does not care.
As previously mentioned, we've still only seen very limited footage from The Super Mario Bros. Movie. So perhaps the concerns about Chris Pratt's voice performance as the title character will be quelled once the movie actually arrives in theaters. Regardless, I'm assuming this backlash will actually work toward the movie's favor in regards to anticipation/curiosity. They say any press is good press, after all.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is expected to arrive in theaters on April 7th, 2023. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your trips to the theaters in the New Year. We'll just have to wait and see if/when more footage is revealed to the public.
