‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ Directors Leap to the Defense of Chris Pratt

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is undeniably gorgeous and a lovingly-realized adaptation of Nintendo’s intellectual property from what we’ve seen of it so far. However, there’s been one consistent point of contention ahead of its release: Chris Pratt voicing the mustachioed protagonist.

The upcoming film’s directors, Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath, brought some context to Pratt’s bizarre take on the iconic plumber in a recent interview with Total Film (via GamesRadar) –  whether it’s for better or worse, that’s up to you. 

The pair see The Super Mario Bros. Movie as something of an origin story for Mario and Luigi, before they became ‘Super’. In the beginning, the brothers are your regular run-of-the-mill working class plumber born to immigrant parents living in Brooklyn, New York – who get whisked away to the magical world of the mushroom kingdom. In this context, Horvath was adamant that Pratt was the man for the job: 

“For us, it made total sense. 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.”

Of course, there’s an argument to be made that Chris Martinent’s original take on the character could have just as easily fit the bill of ‘blue collar immigrant’, but we suppose that if Mario and Luigi are second generation immigrants and grew up in the United States, then their accents would reflect that.

We’ll definitively find out if Pratt’s take on the character worked out or not when The Super Mario Bros. Movie hops its way into theaters on April 5, 2023, two days earlier than originally expected.

Image via Universal

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is undeniably gorgeous and a lovingly-realized adaptation of Nintendo’s intellectual property from what we’ve seen of it so far. However, there’s been one consistent point of contention ahead of its release: Chris Pratt voicing the mustachioed protagonist.

The upcoming film’s directors, Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath, brought some context to Pratt’s bizarre take on the iconic plumber in a recent interview with Total Film (via GamesRadar) –  whether it’s for better or worse, that’s up to you. 

The pair see The Super Mario Bros. Movie as something of an origin story for Mario and Luigi, before they became ‘Super’. In the beginning, the brothers are your regular run-of-the-mill working class plumber born to immigrant parents living in Brooklyn, New York – who get whisked away to the magical world of the mushroom kingdom. In this context, Horvath was adamant that Pratt was the man for the job: 

“For us, it made total sense. 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.”

Of course, there’s an argument to be made that Chris Martinent’s original take on the character could have just as easily fit the bill of ‘blue collar immigrant’, but we suppose that if Mario and Luigi are second generation immigrants and grew up in the United States, then their accents would reflect that.

We’ll definitively find out if Pratt’s take on the character worked out or not when The Super Mario Bros. Movie hops its way into theaters on April 5, 2023, two days earlier than originally expected.