Chris Pratt says his ‘Mario’ voice initially sounded like Tony Soprano

Christopher Rosen
·4 min read
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Almost too much has been made about how Chris Pratt sounds as famous video game plumber Mario in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Since the “Guardians of the Galaxy” actor was cast in the voice role, he’s faced strong criticism and the bad buzz was exacerbated after the film’s first trailer last year. But those who anticipated Pratt would voice Mario with an exaggerated Italian accent similar to how the famous character sounds in the video games might be surprised by what’s actually in the movie. Outside of a brief and goofy commercial for Super Mario Bros. Plumbing where Pratt and Charlie Day as Luigi sound like the source material, Pratt’s Mario accent is more subtle and straightforward. 

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, however, Pratt and Day did confirm that an it’s-a-me version almost could have existed. 

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“We tried different things, different voices,” Day said. “Every now and then they would say, ‘Charlie, maybe a little less ‘Goodfellas’ in this one’ — I’m like, ‘Alright! I think you’re wrong, but fine!’ — until they landed on something they liked.”

“For a minute, I walked in and they were like, ‘That’s a little New Jersey. You’re doing a Tony Soprano thing,’” Pratt added, referencing the famous character played by James Gandolfini on “The Sopranos.”

Pratt, who previously voiced the lead character in “The LEGO Movie” franchise, said doing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was a “daunting challenge.”

“Talking to these guys, they say, ‘You wanna do the Mario movie?’ I think both of us said yes. Didn’t even ask, ‘What’s the deal? What’s the story?’ ‘Yes, I’m in.’ And then we had to really dig in and figure out, Are they Italian? Are they American?” Pratt said before citing original Mario voice Charles Martinet, who has a cheeky vocal cameo in the film. “We know a little bit about Charles Martinet’s voice that he’s sprinkled in there with the ‘Wahoo!’ and ‘It’s-a me!’ and these Mario things, but how do you craft a 90-minute narrative with an emotional through-line and create a living, breathing person about who you’ll care?”

Pratt and the “Mario” movie team have spent a lot of time talking about the Mario voice. In an interview last year, the actor said he was excited for audiences to hear his work. “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.”

Also last year, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” executive producer and Illumination Animation boss Chris Meledandri defended Pratt and his choice of Mario voice. 

“When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely — people love to voice opinions, as they should,” Meledandri said. “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.”

Directors Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath also defended casting Pratt. “For us, it made total sense,” Horvath said to Total Film this year. “He’s really good at playing a blue-collar hero with a ton of heart. For the way that Mario is characterized in our film, he’s perfect for it.”

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