In a world where Hollywood has a habit of ruining beloved franchises and childhood memories, it’s understandable that fans were a little nervous when Chris Pratt was announced as the voice of Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie. But according to Pratt himself, your childhood won’t be ruined.
Pratt opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about the pressure he felt in taking on the role of such an iconic character.
“It makes sense, I was pretty nervous when they offered it to me,” Pratt told The Hollywood Reporter. “I thought, ‘Wow, let’s not screw this up.’ That’s where it all comes from, I think. People are passionate about this character and they’ve probably seen some of their favorite IP getting screwed up. It’s kind of a cynical business. People make movies just because a title has reach.”
Pratt shared that he felt a similar experience working on The Lego Movie.
“I saw it with the Lego Movie. I was like, ‘How are you going to make a movie about Legos? What is that?’ And then Chris [Miller] and Phil [Lord] made this incredible movie, I was part of it, I loved it,” he said. “So it’s a big challenge. Just because something has reach doesn’t mean it’s going to be a good movie and there’s instances of people making bad movies and ruining people’s childhoods. So the pressure was on to not do that and, thankfully, we didn’t. I think the movie is fantastic and I think your childhood is firmly intact.”
Chris Pratt on the passionate fan reaction to his #SuperMario voice in the #SuperMarioBrosMovie pic.twitter.com/mQhTOm3nOr
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) April 3, 2023
The Super Mario Bros. Movie follows the story of Mario and Luigi, two plumbers from Brooklyn, as they are transported into a magical world. Along the way, they encounter classic characters like Princess Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong and Toad. the film drops in theaters tomorrow.
