The release of the second trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie gives fans, some with low expectations, a second listen at Chris Pratt's titular plumber with hops. However, this time, potential viewers had time with the first teaser for the Nintendo film. But this still may be the first time they are seeing it.
When Pratt was first announced as Mario, the internet reacted as it typically does. And when the first teaser dropped, the takeaway was that, well, Mario just sounded like Pratt. The problem for Star-Lord is that Mario already has an iconic voice actor. To those fans, the reinterpretation is akin to dumping Peter Graves as Optimus Prime. However, the full Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer reminded viewers there is more to this world than Mario. Familiar characters and mobs from the game finally have a context beyond simply jumping over them or harnessing them as a mount. It's reminiscent, in a way, of the difference in reaction between the first and second trailers for Sonic the Hedgehog.
How Sonic the Hedgehog Blazed the Trail for Super Mario Bros.
The problem with the Sonic character design is so notorious that it became a key plot point in rival studio Disney's Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers movie. Still, the outrage at "Sonic with Teeth" was real, and the studio spent money and time doing a bottom-up redesign. Surprisingly, it paid off. Critics and fans responded warmly to the movie, which had a fun story at its heart. It was an all-ages hit that parents had a nostalgic connection to and captured the imaginations of kids seeing it for the first time. Not only that, the sequel may not have lit the zeitgeist on fire, but it nearly quadrupled its budget in the immediate post-pandemic box office.
Part of what helped Sonic the Hedgehog is that the backlash gave people the perception that the movie couldn't be good. But it's not like they weren't going to see it. So, instead of being the perfect adaptation of a childhood character's universe, the movie only had to overcome the "Not as bad as it could've been." bar. And though positive word-of-mouth in life and online, The Super Mario Bros. Movie can become anything from good to great. Despite not sounding like anyone's mental Mario, Pratt is, at the very least, a capable actor. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special puts Petet Quill in a smaller role that feels bigger because Pratt makes every second on-screen count.
Even skeptical viewers will likely, at least, accept that is what Mario sounds like. And with that dealt with, viewers can see the rest of the movie for what it is. Super Mario Bros. might, like Sonic before it, beat the odds and actually win people over with a fun, character-focused story despite stumbling out of the gate.
Video Game Movies, Especially for Characters Like Mario, Are Tough to Adapt
Video games are a tough nut to crack for movie studios, but it almost doesn't make sense. Even the earliest Mario game, Donkey Kong, had a story. A big gorilla captured a person, and Mario had to jump over barrels to save them. Sometimes, it's the story they replace that game narrative with that sours the cinematic adaptation, but it might also be the removal of the player from the equation. Players help shape the story as they play, even unconsciously, and watching a movie or a TV show is a passive affair.
People don't necessarily love the character as written -- they love their Mario. To different generations, Mario is different things. It could even be something so simple as making sure their Mario always kills the Piranha Plants. Art is subjective, and adapting characters from one medium to another is tough in the best of circumstances. People expect to feel connected to these characters, but in most cases, they feel detached from them. That's where the Pratt casting is a genius move, if only unintentionally.
Fans are already going into the film not expecting "their" specific version of the character, so they may end up more receptive to the story Super Mario Bros. wants to tell. They will leave aside the Mario movie they've written in their heads for a decade. For better or worse, they will judge the film for what it is and not their expectations of what it "should" be.