Nintendo and Illumination have dropped a teaser trailer for their upcoming Mario movie. Released during a Nintendo Direct event on Thursday, the promo video finally revealed the official title of the film and gave fans their first listen to Chris Pratt’s voice as Mario.
In the video game on which the film is based, Mario is an Italian plumber, so when it was announced in September 2021 that Pratt will be voicing the character, a lot of fans wondered whether the actor will be doing an Italian accent in the movie.
The following month, Chris Meledandri, CEO and founder of Illumination, told TooFab that Pratt won’t be doing an Italian accent in the film and will instead be using his own unique voice to bring the beloved character to life.
“All I can tell you is the voice that Chris Pratt is doing for us and Mario is phenomenal,” teased Meledandri at the time. “I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
In a separate interview with Variety last June, Pratt shared that Mario’s voice has been “updated” in the movie. “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,” Pratt said at that time. “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.”
Because of those comments, fans had a lot of expectations from Pratt’s voice work in the movie. But now that a teaser trailer is out, it appears that Pratt’s voice as Mario is not what fans were expecting.
Fan reactions to Chris Pratt’s voice as Mario
Based on comments on Twitter, a lot of fans are not so amused with Chris Pratt’s voice as Mario, with many of them pointing out that there isn’t really special about it.
I guess technically we haven't heard Chris Pratt's normal voice in the Mario world pic.twitter.com/8Kbidb8xtc
— Nibel (@Nibellion) October 6, 2022
who would have thought that chris pratt's big secret voice in the mario movie would be his normal speaking voice
— Hard Drive (@HardDriveMag) October 6, 2022
Good to know that Chris Pratt was hired to voice Mario as Chris Pratt in #SuperMarioBrosMovie
— Alex Paps (@alexpaps1) October 6, 2022
HOLY SHIT IT LITERALLY IS JUST CHRIS PRATT'S VOICE https://t.co/fFyRhzI7vF
— Megan Farokhmanesh (@Megan_Nicolett) October 6, 2022
You can tell Jack Black put a ton of love and heart into his Bowser voice, while Chris Pratt just uh… spoke? Kinda weird but the visuals are absolutely fucking stellar, and I love the general vibe of the whole thing.
I'm excited for this dang Mario movie. pic.twitter.com/fDrrKEZxcs
— CircleToonsHD (@CircleToonsHD) October 6, 2022
And since a lot of fans were used to hearing Charles Martinet’s voice as Mario, Pratt’s voice as the popular character sounds a bit off to many.
I absolutely loved Bowser's introduction, the humor was great. Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key *chef's kiss*. I want to like Chris Pratt as Mario but it just sounds off.
— Matt Marlatt ???? (@MattMarlatt2) October 6, 2022
Chris Pratt's voice is still jarring to hear coming out of Mario but everything else in the Mario trailer looked amazing. I'm genuinely excited to see this thing pic.twitter.com/3QCP7oJc0k
— Saberspark (@Saberspark) October 6, 2022
me listening to chris pratt's voice come out of mario's mouth pic.twitter.com/yH3IKPjMBm
— allegra frank (@LegsFrank) October 6, 2022
why… why does Mario have Sonic’s voice
— dave whelan (@MrDavidWhelan) October 6, 2022
why… why does Mario have Sonic’s voice
— dave whelan (@MrDavidWhelan) October 6, 2022
Despite the criticisms about Chris Pratt’s voice as Mario, fans love the look and humor of the movie, with many of them expressing their excitement about the film.
Moreover, Meledandri previously told TooFab that Mario’s voice being different from the video games is something that the film will actually explain. “We cover it in the movie. So you’ll see we definitely nod to that,” Meledandri assured fans.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer
The teaser trailer doesn’t offer too many details in terms of plot. But it opens with Bowser (Jack Black) and his legion of Koopas facing off with the Penguin King (Khary Payton) and his army. After burning the Penguin Kingdom down, Bowser finds a Super Star. “I finally found it. Now, who’s gonna stop me?” screams the villain.
The trailer then cuts to Mario (Chris Pratt) arriving at the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time. “What is this place?” he asks, before Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) pops up on the screen and leads the way to the heart of the mushroom-filled Kingdom.
At the end of the teaser, we also see a glimpse of Luigi (Charlie Day) running away from a group of Dry Bones, which are basically skeletal versions of Koopa Troopas.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie voice cast
Aside from Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Khary Payton, Keegan-Michael Key, and Charlie Day, The Super Mario Bros. Movie voice cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco (Green Book) as Foreman Spike. Martinet, who has voiced Mario in various Nintendo video games since the 1990s, will also appear in the film for “surprise cameos.”
The Super Mario Bros. Mario release date
The film is set to open in U.S. theaters on April 7th, 2023. It will then be available to stream on Peacock 45 days after its theatrical debut.