# Super Mario Movie, and other weird casting decisions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 24, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287 "2021-09-24T19:21:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/21 "2021-09-24T20:11:50Z")
As long as Charles Martinet is in it… I’m in. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/22 "2021-09-24T20:29:22Z")
His eye movement just creeps me out-hope they fix it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/23 "2021-09-25T01:33:23Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Eets ah-me, Mario! Self quoting, sorry. But I came across this video of the original voice of Mario this evening by coincidence (well, not really, there’s a new movie they’re promoting) and had to post to OG ‘Eets ahme, Mario!’ guy. FF to 1:00 if the link doesn’t work but the whole 3 min clip is pretty decent: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jcdIqTFgWRA/maxresdefault.jpg "'It’s-a Me, Mario!'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcdIqTFgWRA&t=60) ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/24 "2021-09-25T02:55:57Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Self quoting, sorry. But I came across this video of the original voice of Mario this evening by coincidence (well, not really, there’s a new movie they’re promoting) and had to post to OG ‘Eets ahme, Mario!’ guy. He seems like such a delightful dude. As I mentioned, I’m so glad he wasn’t overlooked for this movie. I grew up thinking of Mario as a Brooklyn Italian as portrayed in the cartoons and previous movie. I now have a hard time NOT associating Mario and his Happy-go-lucky, exaggerated “Italian accent”. I wonder how Pratt will portray him. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/25 "2021-09-25T03:04:32Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > He seems like such a delightful dude. He really does and I’d love to meet him. And it seems like he’d go for it. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/26 "2021-09-25T03:09:49Z")
Go for it? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/27 "2021-09-25T16:49:01Z")
Agree to meet a fan if it wasn’t too much trouble. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/28 "2021-09-25T17:10:06Z")
Not that it’s my business, but I wonder if he’s LGBTQ+. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/29 "2021-09-25T18:27:29Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > > [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > > > He seems like such a delightful dude. > > He really does and I’d love to meet him. And it seems like he’d go for it. I met him at DragonCon a few years back, he was every bit as delightful and charming as videos. He hosted a panel and then I met him on the Walk of Fame and got him to sign the back of my Switch. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/30 "2021-09-25T18:54:02Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > You do realize people adopt accents when they do roles that require them, yes? > > I’m guessing he was probably asked to do his best Mario before they hired him. I would not consider the accent alone to be enough to do Mario. It needs that high pitch, nearly breaking between the falsetto and normal voice. It needs that nasality. I am hopeful that Pratt can do a proper Mario impression, and incorporated that into his acting. But he’s not an actor known for having multiple voices, as far as I know. So I understand the apprehension. Mario’s voice is so iconic now that, if it’s not right, I actually think it could doom the movie. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/31 "2021-09-25T19:10:29Z")
What if this is not the ‘same’ Mario? Or, maybe Pratt and his Brother play Super Mario Bros. on Nintendo, and somehow warped into the game’s first and second player, retaining only their voices? I mean, that sounds stupid, but the point is, we aren’t sure how this movie will go down and how they go about telling a story. I’m reserving judgment for that reason. I believe Pratt even said he the voice wouldn’t be “itza me, Mario” in an Instagram post. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/32 "2021-09-25T19:32:12Z")
It seems to me like it has to be _something_ like that. I can’t see them doing the “it’s-a-me” voice for an entire movie. But I also can’t see them not using the normal Mario character design, and that would seem weird _without_ the normal voice. So my guess is that it’s some kind of Jumanji or Lego Movie plot, mixing the real world with the Mario world. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/33 "2021-09-25T19:45:14Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Eets ah-me, Mario! So long, gay bowser ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/34 "2021-09-25T19:52:08Z")
Some good points there. I personally would be open to a separate incarnation of Mario, even though it’s risky. I know Sonic needed an overhaul after they reveled his design changes, but sonic was ugly and I don’t think he’s been “totally revamped” as much or as drastically as Mario has been in the past. I really hope this movie is something special. Not like Sonic. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/35 "2021-09-25T21:15:38Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > What if this is not the ‘same’ Mario? Or, maybe Pratt and his Brother play Super Mario Bros. on Nintendo, and somehow warped into the game’s first and second player, retaining only their voices? I mean, that sounds stupid, but the point is, we aren’t sure how this movie will go down and how they go about telling a story. I’m reserving judgment for that reason. > > I believe Pratt even said he the voice wouldn’t be “itza me, Mario” in an Instagram post. I guess, but that just doesn’t fit my understanding of why the movie is being made. It was supposed to be Nintendo deciding to have a movie that is genuinely representative of the Mario mythos. Having some real world connection (beyond maybe having the Bros come from the real world) wouldn’t fit that. Nintendo decided on Mario’s voice over 25 years ago and has kept it consistent ever since. I think it would feel wrong if the wrong voice comes out of Mario. Your quote from Pratt’s Twitter has made it where I am a lot less hopeful about the movie. And, yes, I do think you could do a version of Mario’s voice the whole time. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same tone of voice the entire time, but I do think you could make it where it sounded like the same person. You just tone it down a bit for normal dialog, but make sure that, at some point, he actually says the line. and it sounds right. Honestly, Pratt’s Twitter comment is now what has made me concerned. Up until then, I was excited about the news. Also, notice that the Sonic movie did better than Detective Pikachu, which everyone loved and said was the first good video game movie. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287/36 "2021-09-26T00:04:58Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It was supposed to be Nintendo deciding to have a movie that is genuinely representative of the Mario mythos. Where did you hear this? I’ll wait to see what they do before judgment. Maybe the ‘real’ Mario will be in it? I don’t know. We’ll have to see. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-mario-movie-and-other-weird-casting-decisions/951287.md?page=1)