The much-anticipated teaser trailer for the Super Mario Bros. Movie arrived on Thursday, and naturally, fans had a-many reactions to hearing celeb actors voice the classic video game characters. Jack Black roared as Bowser (he's gonna be great), and Keegan-Michael Key piped up as Toad. But the voice everyone was waiting for was Chris Pratt as Mario, the overalls-wearing plumber who's perhaps the most famous face of video games.
The face was fine -- animated Mario has his mustache, his red cap, his denim overalls. But when fans finally got to hear Pratt speak (he barely said anything) in Mario's voice... well, it sounded like Pratt's. It's understandable he wasn't going to use the "It's-a me, Mario" exaggerated Italian stereotype voice that's so associated with Mario, but could he do something different? Check out the joy in Mario video game voice actor Charles Martinet's voice. Someone noted in the YouTube comments of that video that Martinet has "Robin Williams energy," and that's exactly what Mario needs.
Viewers seemed to agree. One wrote, "Who would have thought that Chris Pratt's big secret voice in the Mario movie would be his normal speaking voice?"
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
LMFAO literally
— ZorosWaifu (@WaifuZoros) October 7, 2022
Chris ain't even trying bc hes a celeb and not a voice actor
Please for the love of all that is holy, please replace Pratt's lines with someone else.
— MarkOfTheDragon (@MarkOfDragon) October 6, 2022
Put in Charles Martinet or someone who actually sounds like Mario has sounded all these years. Love or hate Pratt, he just doesn't sound 'right' as Mario.
Jack Black as Bowser sounds so great… meanwhile, Chris Pratt as Mario was literally just this pic.twitter.com/1PKHAmUqIa
— Arty the Gothtober 🅱unBoi 🎃 🐇 (@SuperiorArtemis) October 6, 2022
But some people approved of Pratt, arguing that an exaggerated Mario voice wouldn't work for a feature-length film.
"I'm not worried about it," one viewer wrote. "I'd like to hear more of his Mario voice. It does still sound like Chris Pratt, but I heard a hint of Mario in there, too."
I'm not worried about it. I'd like to hear more of his Mario voice. It does still sound like Chris Pratt, but I heard a hint of Mario in there, too. :)
— Werewuffe 🐺 ᚢᚠᚠᛖ (@UffeVL) October 6, 2022
1 issue, Martinets Mario is better in short catchphrases, hearing that for a full length movie would be torture, the Brooklyn accent Pratt is putting on is honestly better
— Xenodev (@ProjectXeno05) October 6, 2022
While mario does have the stereotypical italian voice in all his renditions, i don’t necessarily giving him a less heavy Italian accent is a bad thing. Its just very different.
— SunriseSlump (@SunriseSlump) October 7, 2022
Pratt or no Pratt, fans seem enthused about seeing the movie. One fan wrote, "It's kinda sad that everyone was shocked at how amazing it looked because no one thought it was going to be good."
Reminder that the Mario Movie trailer actually happened and we all didn't collectively dream it....
— Aiden139 (@AidenRS139) October 7, 2022
IT LOOKS SO GOOOOD pic.twitter.com/hKTiqnLbib
Im still in shock at how they actually pulled it off
— 🪐𝕆𝕩𝕪𝕘𝕖𝕟🪐 (@SilverRicee2) October 7, 2022
Its kinda sad that everyone was shocked at how amazing it looked because no one thought it was going to be good
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.
— CircleToonsHD (@CircleToonsHD) October 6, 2022
I'm excited for this dang Mario movie. pic.twitter.com/fDrrKEZxcs
The Super Mario Bros. Movie comes out April 7, 2023.