When news broke in January 2018, that Nintendo was working on The Super Mario Bros. Movie there was some excitement that, at last, there was an attempt to create another film after the critical and commercial failure of the 1993 live-action Mario movie. The Mario video game franchise is the best-selling video game franchise of all time and consequently boasts a large following worldwide.
The idea of a new creative iteration of the illustrious tales of Mario was one that got every fan of the brand excited. In September 2021, Nintendo Representative Director and the creator of Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto announced that Chris Pratt had been tapped to play the title character Mario. This news was met with backlash from fans and only time will tell if the choice of Pratt was right or wrong.
Why Chris Pratt Was A Strange Super Mario Casting
The Jurassic World star isn’t lacking in star quality and his presence may bode well for the computer-animated adventure film, however, his choice raised eyebrows for a few reasons. Pratt is a fantastic actor but has little experience as a voice actor. This might not seem like a big deal but some industry watchers reckon that experience as a voice actor must surely count for something in a role of this magnitude.
Without much recourse to the creative direction of the new film, there was skepticism from fans at the choice of Pratt to play Mario because, over the years, we had all gotten accustomed to Mario’s unique and iconic Italian accent. The original games upon which the new film is based were voiced by Charles Martinet and the thought of having Mario sound “un-Mario” was seemingly tantamount to stripping the character of its originality and its essence. According to co-director Aaron Horvath, Pratt was picked because he fit the way Mario is characterized in the film – a blue-collar hero with a ton of heart.
Chris Pratt Was Already Embroiled In Controversy
The backlash over Chris Pratt’s Super Mario casting wasn’t helped by the fact that he has been courting controversy in recent times. In November 2021, via an Instagram post, Pratt thanked his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger for giving him “an amazing life, and a gorgeous healthy daughter”. For context, Pratt’s ex-wife Anna Faris has been vocal about their son’s health challenges, and the message was perceived by many as a subtle dig at Faris.
Pratt has also been accused in the past for being a member of the Hillsong Church which is seen as an anti-LGBTQ+ church. In an interview with Men’s Health, he revealed that he attends the L. A. based Zoe Church, whose founder Chad Veach once told the New York Times that he modeled his Church after Hillsong. Despite his denials about not being affiliated with Hillsong, the perception has somewhat stuck. His view on faith, hunting, and his seeming support of Republicans have all made him an unpopular figure in some quarters.
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