Super Mario Bros Movie

Eat your hearts out classic video game character lovers, there is a big production coming down the pike with some major names attached. Super Mario Bros. is getting a feature-length animated movie and it is jam-packed with Hollywood heavy hitters voicing the roles. Chris Pratt will take on the voice of the iconic Mario character and he’s going to be joined by a number of other A-list celebrities in what could be a fantastic and long-overdue take on the character and this world. 

But for a story about a pair of plumbers saving a princess, there’s been a surprising amount of drama surrounding the upcoming movie. And a lot of it has to do with the casting. Here’s everything we know about that, along with everything there is to know about the Super Mario Bros. movie.

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE TRAILER SHOWCASES JACK BLACK AS BOWSER

The trailer for The Super Mario Bros. movie teases the ultimate showdown fans have been wanting for decades: Mario versus Donkey Kong. In the trailer, fans can catch a glimpse as Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) goes up against the ultimate fighting gorilla, Donkey Kong (voiced by Seth Rogan). The trailer also gives a pretty good preview of the film’s big bad, Bowser (Jack Black), as he threatens the other lovable Italian-American plumber, Luigi (Charlie Day), for information about his brother.

The trailer flashes through many colorful scenes, promising action, adventure, and a heap of nostalgia. Mario is clearly a noob in this world, and moviegoers will get to watch as Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) shows him how to avoid Bullet Bill, steer clear of Cheep Cheeps, and ultimately defeat Bowser. The trailer also showcases many easter eggs from the games, including a glimpse of Rainbow Road.

MARIO GOES RETRO IN SUPER BOWL AD

Illumination rolled out the big bucks for Super Bowl LVII, where the production studio put a new spin on the “Mario Rap” from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show that aired in the ’90s. Rather than promoting a trailer for the upcoming film, Illumination created a “real-world” ad for the “Family owned and operated” Super Mario Bros. Plumbing company. The ad showcased how excellent Mario and Luigi are at what they do and featured a happy customer who was ecstatic the brothers were able to drain everything but her bank account.

The commercial ended with a call to action, urging inquirers to visit Mario Bros. online or to give them a call. The website listed on the ad leads to a live mock website complete with customer testimonials. If fans were to call the phone number listed, they would be met with the voice of Charlie Day as Luigi urging customers to text the number so they can sign up for exclusive updates about the film.

CHRIS PRATT ANNOUNCED HE WAS MARIO ON INSTAGRAM

Chris Pratt had a little bit of fun when he took to his Instagram to announce that he was going to be the voice of Mario, and maybe this is one of the things that set the internet ablaze. Pratt explained how, when he was a kid, the Super Mario games were one of his favorites and how he used to “steal quarters” from the nearby wishing well so he could play his favorite game.

But as he told the story, he toyed with the Super Mario voice, saying “It’s-a-me. Mario.” He assured his fans that isn’t Mario’s real voice, but he did get a laugh out of it.

CONTROVERSY ERUPTED WHEN CHRIS PRATT WAS CAST AS SUPER MARIO

Considering all the popular franchises Chris Pratt is already a part of — Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, The Lego Movie — you might imagine that the news that he would join the Super Mario family would be met with shrieks of joy. You would be incorrect.

When Pratt’s casting in the Super Mario Bros. movie was announced, Twitter erupted in anger. On one hand, Pratt has been a subject of controversy ever since an early 2019 tweet from Elliot Page connected Pratt to an allegedly anti-LGBTQ church.

On the other, many took the casting as proof of whitewashing, since Pratt — unlike Mario or his brother Luigi — isn’t Italian. Even John Leguizamo, who starred as Luigi alongside the late Bob Hoskins in the much-maligned 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. got in on the criticism, tweeting his regret that there were no people of color among the leads.

In response to the backlash, producer Chris Meledandri expressed his understanding as an Italian-American over the whitewashing concerns. He did not give specifics — presumably to avoid giving away spoilers — but the producer explained that the usual over-the-top “It’s-a-me, Mario” voice usually associated with Mario will not be “the tenor of the performance throughout the film.”

And then there was Chris Pratt’s response. “I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear,” Pratt said to Variety. “It’s an animated voiceover narrative. It’s not a live-action movie. I’m not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over. I’m providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before.” Not only did Pratt come to his own defense, but so did one of the film’s producers, Chris Melandri, who also happens to be the founder and CEO of Illumination studios.

“We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character-licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings ‘Super Mario Bros.’ to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game,” Melandri told Deadline. “When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely — people love to voice opinions, as they should. I’m not sure this is the smartest defense, but as a person who has Italian-American heritage, I feel I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian-Americans…I think we’re going to be just fine.”

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE WILL RELEASE ON APRIL 7, 2023 IN THE UNITED STATES

We already have the release date for The Super Mario Bros. movie and it will be on April 7, 2023 in the United States. It’s important to make that distinction when it comes to the US because there is a separate and different release date for the movie in Japan. For the latter, folks will see the movie on April 28, 2023.

ANYA TAYLOR-JOY, CHARLIE DAY, SETH ROGAN, AND JACK BLACK WILL ALSO STAR IN SUPER MARIO BROS.

Joining Chris Pratt in Super Mario Bros. will be a number of other folks whose stars are on the rise. For starters, Anya Taylor-Joy will play Princess Peach, she who needed saving in the original game and has been a mainstay in the franchise throughout. Taylor-Joy is, of course, coming off masterful work in The Queen’s Gambit and has a number of other high-profile projects in the works as well. Then there will be Charlie Day as Luigi, the other half of the brother pairing. 

And it doesn’t stop there with the Super Mario Bros casting. Chris Pratt will be interacting with Seth Rogen who is going to voice the character of Donkey Kong, which means we are going back to some of the character’s original video game roots.

There’s also Jack Black as the evil Bowser and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Fred Armisen will play Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson is Kamek and the great Sebastian Maniscalco is Spike.

This cast is just completely loaded, one of the truly star-studded animated features to come down the pike in some time. And why shouldn’t it draw the best and brightest? Super Mario seems as old as video games themselves. 

AARON HORVATH AND MICHAEL JELENIC WILL DIRECT SUPER MARIO BROS.

Chris Pratt will also have a solid director team helming Super Mario Bros. with Teen Titans Go! creators Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic taking the reins. The production is a joint venture between Nintendo and Illumination which has hits like Sing, the Despicable Me franchise, The Secret Life of Pets, and Dr. Seuss adaptations The Lorax and The Grinch under their belts.

This is shaping up like the movie adaptation we’ve been waiting on for decades now. The 1993 live-action movie didn’t pass muster and since then the character and his cronies have been in a holding pattern. Apparently, the script and team were good enough for this one to draw some major names to the cast. It’s an excellent sign. 

And this might just be the start of things. If Super Mario Bros. is a success, we should expect to see more Nintendo characters making their way to the big screen in short order. Additionally, there is a very good chance this first movie is just the beginning of a major movie franchise going forward with plenty of Super Mario stories to tell.