The first trailer for the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie has dropped - and fans have had a mixed reaction online.
Last night, the creator of the beloved plumber, Shigeru Miyamoto, introduced the world to the first look at the upcoming movie, which is based on the popular video games.
Of course, fans of the franchise may remember the dreadful live-action Mario movie from 1993, which starred Bob Hoskins as the titular Koopa-stomping hero. That particular effort was deemed a flop, so fans were hopeful that Nintendo and movie animation studio Illumination would finally be able to deliver a feature-length movie that was worthy of Super Mario.
During the introduction to the trailer, actor Chris Pratt - who will be playing Mario - revealed that he has spent "years of his life" playing Super Mario video games, and said it has been "a life-long dream" for him to play the iconic plumber.
Pratt also introduced his co-star, Jack Black, who will be voicing the infamous Mario villain, Bowser. Black said that he was "so proud" to have worked on the movie, and promised that the flick would "make its mark on the Mario fandom forever".
Check out the trailer below:And the trailer looked amazing, kicking off with King Koopa attacking a colony of Penguins in order to finally reach the invincibility-granting Starman.
The trailer then cuts to Mario falling out of a pipe and into the Mushroom Kingdom, where the dazed and confused plumber is greeted by Toad, before embarking on their journey.
However, fans couldn't help but take issue with Mario's voice in the trailer.
In the video games, Charles Martinet has provided the voice for Mario since 1992, with many fans being able to instantly recognize his iconic catchphrase, "Let's-a-go!"
But in the trailer, there was no over-the-top and upbeat Italian accent from Mario - in fact, many fans were disappointed to hear "Chris Pratt's normal voice".
One Twitter user wrote: "who would have thought that chris pratt's big secret voice in the mario movie would be his normal speaking voice [sic]".
A second added: "Chris Pratt as Mario is a prime example of why you should hire voice actors for voice acting roles because what the hell is this."
"JACK BLACK IS DOING A CHARACTER VOICE AND CHRIS PRATT IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT," tweeted another.
"Literally the only the meh thing about the Mario Movie trailer was Chris Pratt's Mario voice," another Twitter user wrote. "Everything else was f***ing AMAZING."
Another added: "Chris Pratt saying he worked so hard on the Mario voice only for it to sound like Chris Pratt is the funniest thing."
Indeed, the revelation was even more confusing considering that Pratt told Variety back in June: "I’m providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before."
I mean... I guess fans have never heard Chris Pratt's voice in the Mushroom Kingdom before.
Others shared their love for the long-standing Mario voice actor Charles Martinet, with one person writing: "Regardless [of] how you feel about Chris Pratt voicing Mario, seeing the voice acting industry coming together and sharing their love towards Charles Martinet is indeed heartwarming. It a real wakeup call for Hollywood that celebrity casting isn't always for the best."
Of course, Martinet is set to appear in the upcoming movie, so some fans are speculating over whether or not the voice-acting legend will provide the narration as an "older Mario", with Pratt being the "young Mario".
I guess we'll have to wait and see. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently set to be released in April, 2023.
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