Chris Pratt Can Do The Classic Super Mario Voice, But Chose His Own Take (And He Makes A Good Point)
When news first broke that Chris Pratt was going to voice Mario in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," people online naturally had takes (moreso than usual). While some were fine with the idea of Pratt voicing the iconic video game character, others were worried about what Mario would sound like. He has such a distinct voice, courtesy of Charles Martinet, in the games, people wanted something similar to be present for the film.
That division was still there when the first trailer came out, but with each subsequent clip of Mario coming out, more and more people seem to be coming around to the idea that Pratt may be onto something for his particular take on the character. In fact, in the final trailer released for the forthcoming movie, Chris Pratt gives a "Ha ha" that's pretty reminiscent of the Mario we all know and love. So while it appears he can do a classic Mario voice, he chose not to for much of the character's dialogue.
Pratt and his "Mario" movie co-star Charlie Day, who voices Luigi, swung by BBC's "The One Show" to talk about the role while Paris Hilton was there for some reason. "There are only a handful of things we've ever heard Mario say. The 'wahoo!' A few things like ... 'It's-a me! Let's go,' these types of things," Pratt explained. "So we were trying to find a way to put that into the movie, but in a way that would be congruent with a storyline of these working-class American guys from Brooklyn." Honestly, at the end of the day, it was probably the right call to make.
Mario's usual voice probably would've gotten old after a while
Chris Pratt brings up a good point in that Mario barely talks in his video games. He'll say something here and there, but for the most part, he jumps around and beats up bad guys. While everyone can do a solid "It's-a me, Mario" impression, the character obviously had to say other things for a feature-length film. And if he had that higher-pitched voice the entire time, it could've easily grown tiresome after some time.
With a film where the viewer has no control over the character, Mario has to stand on his own rather than merely functioning as a stand-in for the player. He needs an entire personality and the ability to develop relationships with the other characters. This requires Pratt to create a voice that he can sustain for long periods of time where audiences aren't distracted by the manner in which he's speaking and actually take in its content.
Paris Hilton even seems to be in agreement, saying on "The One Show" how iconic and nostalgic the movie's going to be, all the while Mario and Luigi will be "sliving," a combination of "slaying" and "living" Hilton coined that we hope goes the way of "fetch." And who knows? A generation of kids who have maybe never played a Mario game before could be introduced to the character for the first time through this movie. Pratt's voice could become their favorite iteration of the character, much like how different actors put their own spin on "Spider-Man," with no one expecting each new subsequent actor to copy exactly what the previous performer did.
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" releases in theaters on April 5.