Illumination Animation released the first trailer for their luxurious The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which features the voices of Jack Black, Charlie Day and Chris Pratt in the lead role of Mario. Many months ago, Pratt came under fire for being cast as the Italian plumber, and at the time he and the production team promised that his voice for the character would not be a faux “It’s-a me Mario” Italian accented performance. Now fans have had the chance to hear Pratt’s Mario voice, and there have been plenty of Mario fans who just aren’t impressed.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie was announced last year as a collaboration between game giants Nintendo and Illumination Animation, who are best known for the Despicable Me franchise and its Minions spin-off. The animated movie is the first big screen outing for the intrepid plumber since the now cult classic Super Mario Bros live action film from 1993, which starred Bob Hoskins as Mario. Of course while no one really batted an eyelid at Hoskins’ casting in the early 90s, the big name voice cast of the new movie instantly became the subject of controversy and is clearly going to continue to do so until the film’s release and beyond.

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When it comes to opinions on Pratt’s voice, based on the single line spoken in the trailer, fans are mixed as you would expect. Chris Pratt has delivered a voice that for the most part does fit with the character’s appearance and energy, and if there wasn’t any preconception about Mario’s previous run-outs then most people would probably be fine about it. However, like most new versions of older properties, for some, it is seemingly hard to move on from what has gone before.

Chris Pratt Says His Version of Mario is Updated

     Nintendo

When speaking about the upcoming role of Mario, Chris Pratt previously talked about how he came to the voice that he uses in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and explained that it was a collaborative effort that came from working with the directors and “trying out a few things.” He said:

Previously, Pratt’s casting in the role of Mario was defended by Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, who said that the whole purpose of bring the Super Mario Bros. to life in a new animated movie was simply to allow everyone to enjoy the character whether they have played the games or not. He added:

“I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear. It’s an animated voiceover narrative. It’s not a live-action movie. I’m not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over. I’m providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before.”

It seems that perhaps those criticisms are not going to go away quite as quickly as he believed, but perhaps they will die down by the time The Super Mario Bros. Movie hits cinemas in April 2023.

“When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely — people love to voice opinions, as they should. 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.”