The ‘Super Mario Bros’ Cast List Was Pretty Controversial & Star Chris Pratt Finally Responded To The Backlash

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Nintendo fans were none too pleased when the Super Mario Bros movie cast list was announced, namely because their favorite mushroom stomper Mario was going to go without his signature, albeit stereotypical, Italian accent.

Film and TV adaptations of video games have had a tumultuous and checkered history, with the original Super Mario Bros. from 1993 declared among the most disastrous. But off the back of HBO’s critically acclaimed The Last of Us, based on the Playstation/Naughty Dog production and Netflix’s Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an incredible anime series based in the same universe as CD Projekt Red’s story-driven, open-world RPG from 2020; things aren’t looking so bad anymore. However, the trailer for the 2023 Super Mario Bros film certainly got the Nintendo fandom talking, loudly, we might add, about Mario’s new voice. “I totally get it, man,” Pratt told Gizmodo on March 29, 2023. “There’s a passionate fan base and I’m one of the fans. I get it. Mostly, people don’t want something like this to get screwed up. They’re precious about it. They’re careful. And I’m grateful for that.”

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In adapting this titular Nintendo character and his universe, Day and Pratt said they have both been huge fans of the IP for years. “My very first memory is the arcade. And then shortly after, probably within six months to a year, the NES came out and we had one in our house and boy, yeah, the rest is history,” Pratt told Gizmodo. “I remember playing Donkey Kong, but I don’t think it was until I owned Super Mario Bros. that I put together that that was Mario and Donkey Kong. That you, kind of, after the fact realized it. But what I remember is my set came with a double [game]. It was both Mario and Zelda. You could play either one and it was great. I played them both as much as I possibly could,” Day said.

Who is in the Super Mario Bros movie cast?

Read on for the full cast list.

Who voices Mario in Super Mario Bros movie?

Click here to read the full article.

Chris Pratt as Mario. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett
Chris Pratt as Mario. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett

Who voices Mario in Super Mario Bros movie? Chris Pratt plays the role of Mario and as mentioned, there was a pretty significant backlash to this in the beginning. “There were certainly discussions of how best to voice the character,” Pratt told Yahoo Entertainment. “We tried a lot of different things and ultimately settled on the voice that you hear when you watch the movie. I’m really happy with it, and I think people are gonna really enjoy it.”

In the video games, voice actor Charles Martinet has provided the “Woo-hoos!” for Mario and his brother Luigi and fans will be pleased he makes cameos as several characters in the 2023 film, including Mario and Luigi’s father. Pratt said his inspiration for the voice of Mario was based on a few of his favorite Brooklyn people, though he fell short of naming who. “I had a few [actors] I was aiming at, but if I say them out loud, it could potentially affect people’s ability to watch the performance,” Pratt said. “So, I won’t say it, but I had a signpost.”

Who voices Luigi in Super Mario Bros movie?

Charlie Day as Luigi. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett
Charlie Day as Luigi. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett

Who voices Luigi in Super Mario Bros movie? It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor Charlie Day voices Luigi and he told Yahoo Entertainment that his inspiration for the voice came from his own Italian heritage and his childhood growing up in New York and Providence, Rhode Island. “Knowing so many of those different accents, some are thicker than others,” he said. “I would try versions that sounded a little more Providence than Brooklyn, but [Aaron and Michael] would steer me towards what they wanted. I enjoyed getting to do [those versions] but was happy with whatever direction they wanted to go.”

Who voices Princess Peach in Super Mario Bros movie?

Anya Taylor Joy as Peach. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett
Anya Taylor Joy as Peach. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett

Who voices Princess Peach in Super Mario Bros? Anya Taylor Joy, who had her break-out role in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, voices Princess Peach. In an interview with Slash Film, she explained how she elevated the video game character’s voice to give it more weight. “I’m rather fortunate that I do have a big range in the way that I can sound. That’s usually something that, for any character, animated or not, that’s something that I start deciding to pitch. There are certain characters of mine that definitely sound a lot more soprano and others that lean in a heavier direction towards more of the alto part of my voice,” she said. “But I think I was so lucky with the script that it naturally lends itself to that undulation. It naturally lends itself to moments where that gravitas is important and commanding. Then, other moments where it serves to be softer. It serves to be a bit breathier.”

Who voices Bowser in Super Mario Bros movie?

Jack Black as Bowser. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett
Jack Black as Bowser. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett

Who plays Bowser in Super Mario Bros movie? Comedian Jack Black voiced the spiky-shelled antagonist Bowser in the 2023 film. He told HOLA! that there were lots of opportunities “to flex the improvisational muscle” in the sound booth. “I always like to give it as written as it is in the script. First, get a few takes of that done, and then say, ‘Come on, let’s have some fun with it.’ And they have writers there on the Zoom when we’re doing these recording sessions, and they’ll have ideas, they’ll throw new lines at me and I’ll throw lines, and it’s just sort of like an improv party,” he said. “We’re all kind of coming up with ideas and exploring different avenues. That’s kind of the fun of working on an animated character like that is that it’s different rules because when you’re on the set of a movie, everyone freaked out about time. We don’t have time to do too many takes. We kind of got to get the schedule moving. But with these animated things, there’s no limit to how much you can mess around. You can really explore way more relaxed recording sessions. It’s kind of awesome in that way.”

Who voices Toad in Super Mario Bros movie?

Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Image: Getty / Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett
Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Image: Getty / Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett

Who plays Toad in Super Mario Bros movie? Keegan-Michael Key plays the anthropomorphic mushroom in the movie. “I was so shocked when they said, ‘Do you wanna do a mushroom?’ And I was like, ‘Let’s do a mushroom! Mushroom sounds great!’ So, I’m really expanding my repertoire, my range. I’m now going from aviary characters to fungus,” he said as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

When asked how he developed the voice, the comedian said he took inspiration from one of his friends who “does this thing with his vocal patterns, where he’ll emphasize the wrong word in a sentence. Or if he’s saying a word, it’s always not in the right place.” He also explained how difficult it was to offer up such a high pitch. “I had no idea I could do it,” Key said. “I just kept on going higher and higher and then it’s just like, ‘How are we going to maintain this?’ I’m thinking, ‘I don’t know…just gallons of Earl Grey tea and really tight pants, I guess.’”

Who voices Donkey Kong in Super Mario Bros movie?

Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett
Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong. Image: Getty. Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett

Who plays Donkey Kong in Super Mario Bros movie? Seth Rogen voices the powerful, barrel-tossing gorilla in the film and came up against backlash of his own because he hasn’t made any alterations to how he sounds in real life. “I was very clear, I don’t do voices. And if you want me to be in this movie, it’s gonna sound like me and that’s it,” Rogen told Comic Book. “And that was the beginning and end of that conversation. I was like, ‘If you want Donkey Kong to sound a lot like me, I’m your guy.’ But it did seem to work, you know, I think in the film and in the game, I think all you really know about Donkey Kong is that he throws barrels and he does not like Mario very much.”

Who’s in the Super Mario Bros movie cast?

Who’s in the Super Mario Bros. movie cast? It’s a star-studded cast to be sure. In addition to Chris Pratt’s Mario and Charlie Day’s Luigi, here’s who joins the ensemble:

  • Chris Pratt as Mario: A struggling plumber from Brooklyn, who is accidentally transported to the world of the Mushroom Kingdom and embarks on a quest to save his brother.

  • Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach: The ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario’s guide, mentor, and love interest.

  • Charlie Day as Luigi: Mario’s timid, younger fraternal twin brother and fellow plumber, who is captured by Bowser and his army.

  • Jack Black as Bowser: A monstrous, fire-breathing spiky-shelled turtle and the king of the Koopas, who rules the Dark Lands, steals the powerful Super Star, and plots to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom.

  • Keegan-Michael Key as Toad: A mushroom humanoid resident of the Mushroom Kingdom, who aspires to go on his first real adventure.

  • Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong: A powerful gorilla and heir to the throne of the Jungle Kingdom.

  • Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong: Donkey Kong’s father, who rules the Jungle Kingdom and leads the Kong Army.

  • Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike: Mario and Luigi’s former boss from the Wrecking Crew.

  • Charles Martinet, who voices Mario and Luigi in the Mario games, makes cameo appearances throughout the film.

  • Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek: A Koopa sorcerer and Bowser’s advisor and informant.

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