Chris Pratt’s Mario Voice Baffles Fans After First Listen: ‘Holy S— It’s Literally Just Chris Pratt’s Voice’

Zack Sharf
·4 min read
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The trailer for Universal Pictures and Nintendo’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has debuted, bringing with it a first listen of Chris Pratt’s Mario voice. The actor told Variety earlier this year that he “worked really closely with the directors” to craft the perfect Mario voice, adding, “[We tried] out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of.”

So what does Pratt’s Mario voice sound like? He only gets two brief lines of dialogue in the trailer (“What is this place?” and “Mushroom Kingdom, here we come!”), but it was enough to send social media into a craze with reactions. Many users found Pratt’s Mario voice too similar to Pratt’s own speaking voice, which led to confusion as the actor previously touted the voice as “unlike anything” fans had heard before.

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“It’s an animated voiceover narrative,” Pratt added to Variety about the role. “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.”

“Just showed the boys the Mario trailer,” The Telegraph film critic Robbie Cullin wrote. “The way they turned around and looked at me when Chris Pratt’s voice piped up is going to be making me laugh for months, if not years.”

In addition to Pratt, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” also stars Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.

Nintendo partnered on the film with Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind hit movies like the “Despicable Me,” “Minions” and “Sing” films. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” opens in theaters April 7, 2023.

Check out some reactions to the Pratt’s Mario voice in the posts below. Click here for more of the social media buzz around the voice.

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