Not too many Nintendo fans were likely surprised when Illumination announced that it was producing an animated film based on the Super Mario franchise. After all, it remains one of the most popular video games series of all time decades after its inception. However, much of the Internet seemed shocked when Chris Pratt was revealed to be voicing Mario. Since then, plenty of commentators have weighed in and, on the heels of the first trailer’s release, the reactions are still coming. With this, voice actress Tara Strong has become one of the latest notable stars to share thoughts.
The first trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie debuted nearly a week ago and finally allowed the public the opportunity to hear Chris Pratt as the titular plumber. Some have shared some very honest critiques, while others don’t seem too phased by the snippets of Pratt’s voice work. After the footage debuted, Tara Strong took to Twitter to drop her take and, while she didn’t reference the film by name, she did confirm who she thinks should’ve voiced Mario:
It should be Charles. pic.twitter.com/IeWoyAAHKjOctober 6, 2022
Charles Martinet has been with the video game franchise for quite some time now. Not only has he voiced Mario over the past three decades, but he’s also lent his vocals to Luigi, Wario and Waluigi. So Martinet’s resume definitely speaks for itself, and one can understand why Tara Strong feels the way she does.
Shortly after Chris Pratt was confirmed to be voicing the iconic video game character, a number of commentators took to social media to share who they thought should voice the role. Many fans were specifically campaigning for Danny DeVito to be cast in the role instead. Still, not everyone has been negative when it comes to the notion of the Guardians of the Galaxy alum playing the famed hero. Some would even argue that Pratt’s casting is somewhat inspired.
Chris Meledandri, Illumination’s CEO, has since discussed why Chris Pratt was cast as Mario. As the exec puts it, the creative team felt that Pratt had the acting chops necessary to deliver a great performance. Meledandri spoke out on the casting backlash again sometime later, noting that he could understand folks wanting an Italian-American actor to voice the character. Meanwhile, OG Super Mario Bros. actor John Leguizamo took issue with the animated film because no Latino actors were cast in lead roles. You can get a sense of what Chris Pratt is going for by checking out the trailer down below:
Given how strongly fans seem to feel about this, it’s likely that others will join Tara Strong in sharing their honest takes on the casting. Still, at the end of the day, we’ve only heard a snippet of this take on the video game character, and folks will have to see (or I suppose, hear) more before they’re able to provide complete analysis.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie opens in theaters on April 7 as part of the schedule of 2023 new movie releases.
