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Nintendo and Illumination Entertainment released the first trailer for the highly anticipated film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. on Thursday afternoon. Fans had been champing at the bit to catch their first glimpse of the upcoming animated feature, biding their time by arguing over the choice to cast Hollywood star Chris Pratt as the titular role.
Many are upset that it’s not Charles Martinet behind the mic, the man who’s provided Mario’s voice dating all the way back to 1992. The entertainment landscape, however, has seen a shift in recent years to toward more cultural sensitivity. Martinet’s cheerful interpretation of everyone’s favorite plumber is iconic and has largely avoided controversy despite its incorporation of stereotypical Italian inflections. But when the time came to bring the character to the big screen in full animated glory, it was decided that the Italian accent would be nixed entirely. Little did they know, this decision would result in its own backlash with fans upset well before any audio had been revealed. The film’s producer tried to alleviate concerns by saying when people heard the voice that the “criticism will evaporate.” But guess what didn’t happen.
Once the trailer dropped, revealing not only that Pratt’s Mario does not include the famous Italian flair, but it’s pretty much just his normal speaking voice, detractors wasted no time voicing their opinions on social media. The hashtag #NotMyMario started trending within minutes of the broadcast. One popular YouTuber tweeted out a call to action, “BULLY CHRIS PRATT BACK INTO THE SOUND BOOTH. THAT S[**] SUCKS! RE-RECORD YOUR LINES RIGHT NOW! IT’S A ME!” Other people, myself included, seem just fine with the voice and were simply excited to see an otherwise stellar looking trailer.
As the trailer’s premiere was approaching, I found myself inexplicably nervous. I really want the film to be good, and it seemed like a lot was hinging on the way Mario speaks. Then the preview started rolling. As soon as I saw the beautiful visuals, impressive presentation, and how they managed to nail the series’ aura, I completely forgot that I had been waiting for months to hear his voice. In fact, I kind of missed it when it happened – I actually had to go back and listen again. Then I realized it’s because his version of Mario is extremely nondescript. Honestly, I was surprised I hadn’t seen this coming. It was a little disappointing that the voice isn’t more fun I guess, but it will serve its purpose just fine. We had our fair warning that the the Italian accent would not be used, and if Pratt had invented his own version, it only would have resulted in additional uproar.
So I’m sending out my own call to action: don’t let something as small as an accent ruin this for you. Honestly, as much as I love Charles Martinet’s famous interpretation, it would probably get a little grating after 90 minutes. Am I bummed that we probably won’t hear the classic line “It’s a me, Mario”? Yeah, maybe. Will it stop me from enjoying what looks like a fantastic movie based on one of my favorite franchises? Absolutely not!
