Chris Pratt’s Mario voice has been called “jarring” by fans following the first trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Nintendo debuted the trailer in a Nintendo Direct presentation on Thursday (October 6), which showcased Pratt’s Mario voice, Jack Black as Bowser and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad for the first time.
While reactions have been positive on the trailer in general, the main concern appears to be Pratt’s voice for the Nintendo mascot – after decades of hearing original voice actor Charles Martinet in the games.
“Chris Pratt’s voice is still jarring to hear coming out of Mario but everything else in the Mario trailer looked amazing,” one Twitter user wrote. “I’m genuinely excited to see this thing.”
Another wrote: “Literally the only meh thing about the Mario Movie trailer was Chris Pratt’s Mario voice. Everything else was fucking AMAZING.”
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a collaboration between Nintendo and Illumination, the animation studio behind the Despicable Me franchise and The Secret Life Of Pets.
The rest of the voice cast includes Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek. Martinet, the original voice of Mario, also has various undisclosed cameo roles.
Following the trailer, Khary Payton (The Walking Dead) revealed that he provides the voice of the Penguin King.
Aaron Hovarth and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!) are directing the project, from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel.The Super Mario Bros. Movie is scheduled to be released in cinemas on April 7, 2023. (NME)