The Super Mario Bros. Movie has received a lot of criticism for casting Chris Pratt as the titular plumber, but Pixar has proved time and again that animated movies do not need A-list actors in order to be successful. The Guardians of the Galaxy actor is playing the Italian video game icon, and the casting has come under scrutiny for prioritizing star power over suitability for the role. Pratt’s voice will be especially jarring in The Super Mario Bros. Movie given that original Mario voice actor Charles Martinet has several cameo roles. However, Pratt’s lack of Italian accent is not the movie’s biggest mistake.
Pratt has likely been paid a hefty salary to use his normal, unexceptional accent when a professional voice actor could have done a much better job for a much lower salary, and even Martinet could have played Mario. While The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the most notable example, Strange World, DC League of Super-Pets, and many others are all guilty of casting stars in ill-suited roles. Pixar has made movies that feature A-list actors and movies that don’t have an A-list actor in sight, and these are perfect examples of why movie stars have absolutely no effect on animated box office success, and especially not the critical reception.
Some Of Pixar’s Biggest Blockbusters Had No-Star Casts
Pixar is the gold standard of animation, and Toy Story was revolutionary in terms of feature-length animated movies made on a computer. Pixar also has a reputation for delivering emotionally resonant narratives that go much deeper than most other animated movies. As a result, audiences will more often than not show up to see Pixar movies simply because the Pixar name is attached to it. In doing so, the studio has repeatedly proved that animated movies with no-star casts can still make hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office.
2017’s Coco was the last Pixar movie that received a theatrical release and did not feature a star in the lead role, and it made a huge $814 million (via Box Office Mojo). The movie featured an all-Latino cast led by Anthony Gonzales, who was 13 at the time. Turning Red also had a no-star cast, and while premiering on Disney+ makes it difficult to gauge how successful it would have been with a theatrical release, Turning Red was an overwhelming critical success. These examples raise questions over why The Super Mario Bros. Movie and other titles spend so heavily on star power when the impact famous voices have upon success is minimal.
Pixar’s Most Star-Studded Movies Bombed At The Box Office
Just as Pixar movies with no-star casts and huge box office numbers prove that movie stars are unnecessary for animated movies, the studio’s lowest-grossing releases cement the fact. Lightyear was a box office bomb and only made $226 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), despite Chris Evans playing the titular space cadet. That performance is even more shocking given that the movie is part of a multi-billion-dollar-grossing franchise. Casting Evans could have even deterred audiences from going to see it, as many longtime Toy Story followers think Tim Allen is irreplaceable as Buzz Lightyear.
Similarly, Onward cost $200 million to make, becoming one of the most expensive Pixar movies ever, and yet totally bombed at the box office, making just $142 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). The movie featured Pratt and Tom Holland, another huge movie star, in the leading roles, but that obviously failed to help its financial fortunes. How much of that $200 million went to Pratt and Holland is unclear, but it was likely a considerable percentage. If Pixar cast professional voice actors instead, the film would have been much cheaper to make, would have probably made just as much at the box office, and would likely have been more positively received.
Famous Actors Could Be Detrimental To Animated Movies
Some movies starring massive actors will undoubtedly be huge box office successes, but that is not necessarily because of the actors’ bankability. The Super Mario Bros. Movie has box office potential because it is part of a well-known IP, not because it stars Pratt. Famous actors starring in animated movies could be detrimental in more ways than one. A-list actors are not professional voice actors, and Pixar‘s Onward suggests that the likes of Pratt and Holland struggle to convincingly play youngsters, meaning children cannot connect to those characters. As A-list actors often demand salaries of millions, that drastically increases budgets, making it harder to be profitable with no obvious benefit.
Sources: Box Office Mojo
