Ever since a new Super Mario Bros. Movie from Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Sing) was announced, fans have been furiously speculating about the plumber’s cinematic re-debut. The bizarre 90s live-action movie gave provided plenty of reason for concern, and the casting of the likes of Chris Pratt as Mario and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong have left some scratching their heads, but given Shigeru Miyamoto himself is overseeing the production, it couldn’t be too far off the mark, right?
Well, today in a new Nintendo Direct, we finally got a real look at the Super Mario Movie, and thankfully, it seems rather promising. Mario himself looks a bit odd, but not too far off the mark, and the Mushroom Kingdom has been recreated in impressive detail. As for Chris Pratt’s voice work as Mario, well… he pretty much just sounds like himself, with a bit of a New York accent perhaps (Jack Black’s Bowser is much better). Overall, the sense of humor also seems fairly restrained – no fart jokes in the entire trailer! But hey, enough of my preamble, you can check the trailer out for yourself, below.
According to producer Chris Meledandri, the Super Mario Movie is entering the home stretch, with animation set to be completed next week. He also let slip that original Mario composer Koji Kondo will be helping with the movie’s score. As for what the movie will be about, well, Nintendo and Universal are still being cagey, although leaks have hinted at a plot that sticks fairly closely to the games (and includes songs about plumbing).
As mentioned, the Super Mario Bros. Movie is being produced by Illumination and will feature the slightly ridiculous cast of Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is slated to hit theaters on April 7, 2023 in North America. What do you think? Super excited for the movie or was this trailer Game Over for your interest?
