Nintendo finally released the trailer for its highly-anticipated Super Mario Bros., giving viewers their first taste of Chris Pratt's take on the role at New York Comic-Con.
The trailer showcases Bowser's attack on the Mario 64 Penguins with typical Illumination humor, then reveals the moment Mario appears in the Mushroom Kingdom -- Brooklyn accent and all. After many months of speculation, this marks the first time fans heard Pratt's version of the character. Fans only had their first look at Mario's design earlier this week with a poster showcasing him gazing over the Mushroom Kingdom.
Nintendo and Illumination announced the air date for the Super Mario Bros. trailer late last month with a poster reminiscent of old loading screens for the games. The all-star voice cast includes Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.
Super Mario Bros. Faces Backlash From Fans of the Games
The two companies first announced their partnership on a Super Mario Bros. film adaptation in January 2018, though it took until 2020 for production to begin. In September 2021, the duo revealed the voice cast for the flick but quickly had to contend with backlash from fans. Many reacted poorly to the choice of Pratt for Mario in particular, partly due to his lack of Italian heritage. While details about his version of the character remained scarce until the trailer, Pratt previously promised fans that his take was "updated and unlike anything you've heard in the Mario world before."
Speaking to the controversy about Pratt's casting, Illumination Entertainment founder and Super Mario Bros. co-producer Chris Meledandri defended the join by stating that he understood the complaints. "Well, as an Italian American myself, I understand. You know, I understand the comments. Charlie Day, who's playing Luigi, actually comes from Italian heritage. Yeah so that's our nod." Meledandri continued, hinting that fans expecting to hear an Italian accent might be disappointed. "That's not the tenor of the performance throughout the film," he said.
Plot details for Super Mario Bros reportedly surfaced earlier this year, hinting at some of the directional choices the film might take with the characters. The leak claims it shares a similar style with Hotel Transylvania, with puns and meta references to video games. It also claims that Mario and Luigi have Brooklyn accents in the film, perhaps explaining previous hints about the lack of Italian accents. Notably, the leak also claimed the film would be a musical, with a few songs spaced throughout. The only specifics they gave for these included one with Bowser recalling his younger years, another about plumbing and an ensemble song near the end.
The Super Mario Bros. animated film arrives in theaters on April 7, 2023.
Source: YouTube