Super Mario Bros Movie Producer and Chris Pratt Shared performance details

Super Mario Bros Movie Producer and Chris Pratt Shared performance details

Last year, Nintendo revealed the cast of Illumination’s forthcoming animated Super Mario film, starring Chris Pratt as the eponymous plumber, a move that has perplexed many fans to this day.

Since the announcement, Illumination CEO and Super Mario Bros. producer Chris Meledandri has been defending the casting choice on social media, largely assuring fans that Pratt’s Mario voice is “phenomenal.” Meledandri made more remarks regarding Pratt’s casting at the CineEurope event in Barcelona, noting that he’s delivered a “good performance” and that he feels critcicism would generally “evaporate” once people hear it.

Table of Contents (TOC)

Why Chris Pratt?

“We cast Chris because we thought he could deliver a wonderful portrayal as Mario.” And now that we’ve done approximately 15 recording sessions and the film is roughly three-quarters finished, I can say with confidence that I like his portrayal as Mario…delivered he’s such a powerful performance.”

“When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will fade, if not completely – people love to express themselves, as they should.” I’m not convinced this is the best response, but as someone of Italian-American descent, I believe I can make that choice without fear of upsetting Italians or Italian-Americans. I believe we will be totally fine.”

Becoming Mario

Chris Pratt expressed his opinions on his performance in a separate interview with Variety, suggesting that it would be “unlike anything you’ve ever heard” in the Mario universe, and that he worked closely with the filmmakers to design the voice:

“I worked closely with the filmmakers and tried out a few ideas before settling on something I’m very pleased of and can’t wait for people to see and hear, which is an animated voiced story.” It is not a live-action film. I’m not going to be traipsing around in a plumber outfit. I’m supplying a voice for an animated character, and it’s fresh and unlike anything you’ve heard previously in the Mario universe.”

Of course, as of this writing, no teasers or trailers have been released depicting Pratt’s performance in action, leaving the issue of whether it will live up to expectations unanswered. Stay tuned for further updates as they become available.