Nintendo shocked the internet back in September 2021 with the announcement of the cast of their upcoming Mario animated movie. Filled with celebrities in the roles of fan-favorite characters, the news drew a lot of criticism for prioritizing high-profile actors in favor of the seasoned voice actors who’ve played the characters for years. No decision got more flack than the casting of Chris Pratt as the titular plumber, especially when Charles Martinet, the longtime voice actor of Mario, is still around and even given a cameo in the film. Speaking at CineEurope 2022 (per Variety), Illumination CEO and founder Chris Meledandri addressed the controversy at Illumination’s panel.
With much of the voice acting done for the film, Meledandri, who’s also a producer for the film, re-upped his support for Pratt’s Mario. “Chris was cast because we felt he could give a great performance as Mario,” he told event-goers. “And now that we’ve done about 15 recording sessions, and the movie is three-quarters done, I sit here and say that I love his performance as Mario.” Among the greater concerns was the fact that Pratt lacked Italian heritage of any kind. Meledandri, an Italian American in his own right, cited his heritage as a reason to accept the casting decision, saying that because he possessed “Italian American heritage, he could make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian Americans. I think we’re gonna be just fine. Especially because (Pratt) he’s given such a strong performance.”
It’s not the first time Meledandri has come out to defend the decision. Not long after the news first broke, he spoke out about how Pratt wouldn’t be trying to replicate Mario’s over-the-top caricature of an Italian accent, much to the relief of everyone. Moreover, he had nothing but praise for Pratt back then as well, saying that everyone should wait until they hear his take on the character before judging it.
It’ll be a while before fans get to hear Pratt’s voice as the famed video game mascot. The Mario movie was originally set to release on December 21, but delays pushed it back to April 7, 2023, in North America and April 28 in Japan. Joining him is a star-studded and equally intriguing supporting cast featuring Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Keegan-Michael Key, Fred Armisen, Kenneth Michael Richardson, and Martinet.
With Minions: The Rise of Gru on the horizon, Meledandri also dove into the strategy behind releasing it, along with their previous film Sing 2, in theaters despite the ongoing pandemic. While it has forced Illumination to look beyond the big screen to reach more audiences, the decision to stay in theaters was never in question for the studio. He summed Illumination’s path forward, saying “We have a committed strategy to movies as a cinema-going experience, and we can layer other businesses on top of that.”
The Mario movie comes to theaters in April 2023.
