Chris Pratt's Awful Mario Voice Spells Doom For Super Mario Bros. Movie

During the Nintendo Direct on September 6, fans were given their first glimpse into the world of Nintendo and Illumination's Super Mario Bros. Movie. Needless to say, for the first movie outing of such a globally recognized IP (excluding the 1993 Super Mario Bros. Movie), a lot is riding on making this a success. 

One look at the fiasco that was the original Sonic the Hedgehog movie's character design is enough evidence that fan response can make or break your movie. Unfortunately, none were too pleased about the voice of our favorite Italian plumber, mainly because he sounds completely American! Let's talk about it. 

Chris Pratt As The Voice Of Mario

Things started out relatively tame in the Nintendo Direct. We were given brief interviews with both Chris Pratt and Jack Black before diving into the trailer itself. Fans were blown away by the animation of the trailer, as it seems like Illumination doubled, or even tripled, their budget in order to make sure the movie looked immaculate (which it did). 

• Top 10 Upcoming Anime Of October 2022 - Must Watch Shows This Fall
• 'Wednesday' Netflix Series - Release Date, Episodes List, Plot & More
• Netflix Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Anime Attracts Widespread Applause
• Is That Mount Doom In The Rings Of Power? - Answered

Furthermore, Jack Black as Bowser is a perfect fit.

Jack Black is no stranger to voice acting (appearing in such animated works as Shark Tale and Kung-Fu Panda), and his talent shines through again with his grizzly take on the King of the Koopas. 

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 f****** 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

Then, we move on to Chris Pratt, who managed to rile up fans despite only being on screen for several seconds. In two lines ("What is this place?" and "Mushroom Kingdom, here we come!"), Chris Pratt's Mario sparked an outcry from angry fans across the Twitterverse.

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

With no Italian accent and no semblance of any thought put into the character, fans are disappointed that this sounds less like Mario and just like Chris Pratt. Despite being a talented actor and lending his skill to characters like Star-Lord (Guardians of the Galaxy) expertly, this is Pratt's debut as a voice actor, and it definitely shows. 

me listening to chris pratt's voice come out of mario's mouth pic.twitter.com/yH3IKPjMBm

— allegra frank (@LegsFrank) October 6, 2022

Does this spell doom for the Mario movie as a whole? Hopefully not. The film still looks utterly breathtaking, and perhaps Black and the other talent involved can carry the weight that is Pratt.

There is also still an entire year for Pratt to work on his role, and we may see his voice remedied in a similar fashion to Sonic's redesign for his debut movie (although, don't get your hopes up for an Italian accent anytime soon). The film still looks prosperous, and only time will tell if it goes down as a success or just a giant meme.

And that's all. For more movies news and leaks, check out our dedicated category!

Featured image courtesy of Nintendo / Chris Pratt / Illumination.