It’s-a me, Chris Pratt! Hear his take on Mario in ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ trailer
The first trailer for Nintendo and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
Mamma mia! The first look at “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has just arrived.
More than a year after announcing that Chris Pratt will star as Mario, the iconic mustachioed Italian plumber, Nintendo and Illumination Studios unveiled the trailer for the upcoming animated “Super Mario Bros. Movie” at New York Comic-Con on Thursday. The clip introduced a new take on the game franchise’s Mushroom Kingdom and its beloved characters.
The trailer begins with Bowser (Jack Black) terrorizing a frozen landscape with his fiery attacks. Seeing their home destroyed by the “King of the Koopas,” the residing penguins retaliate with a flurry of snowballs, which ultimately prove powerless.
“That is but a taste of our fury. Do you yield?,” a penguin king asked.
“I do not,” Bowser responded, before setting the kingdom ablaze and seizing the penguins with the help of Kamek and his magical powers.
Once the ice has melted, Bowser discovers the coveted Super Star, holding it in his hands.
“I finally found it,” he said. “Now who’s gonna stop me?”
The answer? Pratt’s Mario, who has just fallen out of a recognizable green pipe into Mushroom Kingdom. Accompanied by Toad, Mario makes his way to to the castle and a dramatic rendition of the iconic “Mario” theme plays.
While the first trailer allowed fans to see what the game would look like as an animated movie, it most importantly gave viewers a taste of Pratt’s voice acting skills as Mario. And he sounds ... like himself.
The clip concludes with a quick glimpse at Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day, as he tries to outrun a hoard of Dry Bone, or skeletal Koopas.
The expansion is among only a handful in U.S. theme parks since the pandemic began, as the live entertainment world revs up for a rebound in visitors.
In the film, fans also will hear Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek) and Sebastian Maniscalco (Spike) are also in the voice cast, which touts original Mario voice actor Charles Martinet.
Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic direct the latest movie adaptation of the gaming staple, which will arrive more than 30 years after the live-action “Super Mario Bros.” movie starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo. “Minions: The Rise of Gru” writer Matthew Fogel penned the script.
Last year, Pratt said in an Instagram video that landing the lead role was a “dream come true.”
Nintendo celebrates 35 years of Mario with the rerelease of the first ‘Mario’ games to feature 3-D worlds, including the transformational “Super Mario 64,” the criminally underappreciated “Super Mario Sunshine” and the starry-eyed wonder of “Super Mario Galaxy.”
“It’s-a me, Mario,” he said in his regular tone. “That’s not the voice, you’ll have to wait to hear the voice, but we’ve been working hard at it and I’m really excited to announce that I’m gonna be the voice of that video game that I dreamed about playing as a kid.”
His casting raised some eyebrows and became a meme on social media. Despite the backlash, Illumination Studios founder and Chief Executive Chris Meledandri said he was working with the “Jurassic World” star and his team to nail Mario’s beloved voice.
“When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely — people love to voice opinions, as they should,” Deadline reported Meledandri said last year. “I’m not sure this is the smartest defense, but as a person who has Italian American heritage, I feel I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian Americans. … I think we’re going to be just fine.”
After the backlash, Pratt addressed the controversy head-on, telling Variety in June that his take on the voice will be different from what fans know.
“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,” the “Terminal List” star said. “It’s an animated voice-over 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.”
The film, which was initially set to premiere in December of this year, will instead hit theaters April 7 during Easter Weekend.
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