Chris Meledandri (producer for Illumination), is currently working on this project. “Super Mario Bros.” movie starring Chris Pratt, defended Pratt’s voice casting as the Italian plumber hero Mario and said you shouldn’t expect the film to lean into the thick, Italian accent of the video game character.
A video taken from a celebrity site TooFabMeledandri stated that he was an Italian American and understood Pratt’s concerns about Pratt, who isn’t from Italy, being able to voice an Italian cartoon or video game character. And asked if the movie would lean heavily into Mario’s accent from the original games and his catch phrase, “It’s-a-me, Mario!,” Meledandri explained that while the film addresses that, it’s not how Pratt intends to voice the character.
“We cover it in the movie,” Meledandri said. “So you’ll see we definitely nod to that, but that’s not the tenor of the performance throughout the film.”
“All I can tell you is the voice that he’s doing for us, and Mario, is phenomenal,”He continued: “Yeah, I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
Meledandri also noted that Charlie Day, who is playing Mario’s brother Luigi in the “Super Mario Bros.”It is possible to draw cartoons from Italian heritage.
Illumination, the force behind the “Despicable Me”Nintendo has partnered with franchise to develop the Nintendo Switch “Super Mario Bros.” film, and the film’s voice cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Keegan-Michael Key, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Kevin Michael Richardson, Sebastian Maniscalco and a special cameo from Charles Martinet, who is the original voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario and more.
The “Super Mario Bros.”Movie arrives in cinemas December 21, 2022 from Universal, Nintendo, and Illumination Animation
Pratt will voice Mario in an animated film, while Garfield will be voiced by Pratt. He’s previously been the lead voice actor in “The Lego Movie”Its sequel.
Check out Meledandri’s full comments Here.