Apparently Chris Pratt Is Set To Voice Mario In An Upcoming Movie From Nintendo

Nintendo Direct are all about new Switch video games, but one of the biggest announcements from Thursday's showcase wasn't about a video game at all. Nintendo is teaming up with the studio behind Despicable Me to bring a new Mario movie to the big screen, coming Dec. 21, 2022

"It'll be a while longer before we can share a glimpse of Mario in action on the big screen," said Mario-creator Shigeru Miyamoto, went on to announce the film's cast. Miyamoto lovingly referred to Pratt as "so cool", and promised a "monster performance" from Black as Bowser.

As someone who is usually plugged in to this kind of thing, this REALLY took me by surprise. Lets start with the obvious hesitation: The last on-screen Mario we are all familiar with was a steaming pile of dogshit. God bless Bob Hoskins(RIP) and former LCB Interviewee John Leguizamo, but that movie was literally unwatchable and I'm sure it's cited as a source for any studio hesitant about buying into a video game movie project. 

However, the big difference here is that this is an animated project. That basically clears any hesitation I have right off the bad because the suspension of disbelief needed for live-action is gone. The limits in the animated genre can go as far as your imagination, which is perfect for the world of Mario. 

This voice cast is actually really intriguing. ATJ as peach is a great pick, Keegan-Michael key is a fantastic comedic talent for toad which goes double for Charlie Day as Luigi. Jack Black as Bowser is confusing ONLY because he seems like he would be a dead ringer for Wario, but that's fine. Seth Rogen is also a great fit for Donkey Kong. I'm a little confused with the Pratt casting only because Charles Martinet, the actual voice of Mario, is also involved. How is that going to work out? Mario is one of the more iconic video game voices out there, so that is going to be a tough one to hurdle. 

Mario is a fun world meant for kids to enjoy.  Which means that plenty of adults are going to take it way too seriously, thinking it's for them. But that's just cinema, baby! I hope this turns out being good enough to serve as a jumping off point for more Mario movies, because the Mario world is really pleasant and could use shine outside of the overpriced but good Switch games.