Is Chris Pratt’s Mario Voice…Bad? Does It Work For The Movie?

Opinion…

Chris Pratt’s Mario voice for The Super Mario Bros. Movie has been revealed, and many critics’ worst fears have been realized. The trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie is out, and it features a brief preview of Chris Pratt’s portrayal of Mario. The trailer also shows numerous recognizable characters from the franchise, including Jack Black as the villainous Bowser, yet none have come in for more criticism than Pratt..

Viewers have been anxiously awaiting the debut of Chris Pratt’s Mario voice since the casting of Chris Pratt in The Super Mario Bros. Movie was announced. There was speculation as to what type of voice Pratt would display for the character and if Pratt would attempt the iconic Italian accent. Although the trailer only featured a small amount of Mario’s voice, it appears as though Pratt is taking the character in a different, slightly less traditional direction.

Pratt’s Mario voice might have been even worse than expected for some because it could be argued that he isn’t even trying. The first clip of Mario’s voice in the trailer sounds exactly like Pratt himself, with no effort to make the character sound anything like his voice in the games. In the second snippet of the voice, Pratt takes on an accent that resembles that of a New Yorker but makes the character sound more like Pratt’s Guardians of the Galaxy team member, Rocket the Raccoon. As a crucial part of the character’s rich history and lineage, Mario’s voice is an immediately recognizable part of pop culture. Therefore, to have changed it so dramatically for the movie in favor of an accent that sounds almost identical to Pratt’s own voice (as well as other voiceover roles he’s had in the past) feels like it could be a potentially dangerous misstep that may alienate an already sceptical fanbase.

What Chris Pratt Needs To Do As Mario For It To Be Good

The key to Chris Pratt’s success as Mario is to lean into the wackiness of it all. When making a movie about an animated plumber who saves the Mushroom Kingdom, an Italian accent should not be something to get hung up on. Instead, Pratt’s best chance at success for The Super Mario Bros. Movie is to match the all-in performances of the other characters, like Jack Black as Bowser and Keegan-Michael Key’s Toad. The Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) movie could serve as inspiration for Pratt as a video game adaptation that leaned into the ridiculousness of the franchise and found success – not by mimicking exactly what came before, but honoring the tone.

Given the over-the-top nature of other characters in the Mushroom Kingdom, Chris Pratt’s relatively demure Mario voice has been understandably criticized. If The Super Mario Bros. Movie is to have success, it will need Pratt to buy in and fully commit to the overall tone of the project. Of course, judging the entire movie on one brief snippet may be premature. However, there is still enough evidence for audiences to have legitimate concerns about the efficacy of Pratt’s interpretation of the beloved character. Hopefully, The Super Mario Bros. Movie can still follow Sonic the Hedgehog and take public criticism into consideration to make changes and deliver what the viewers want to see. If not, The Super Mario Bros. Movie may continue to be controversial.