Chris Pratt, Charlie Day and More Star in Super Mario Bros. Animated Film
The Super Mario Bros. animated movie will be featuring an all-star voice cast led by Chris Pratt as the iconic mustached character.
Joining Pratt as Mario are Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Charlie Day (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek) and Sebastian Maniscalco (Spike).
Fans of Charlie Day’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia had a field day when they learned of his role as Luigi:
— Dixon Poggus - Poison Chihuahua (@eliofastora) September 23, 2021
— shan horan 🎷🐛 (@shanhorandraws) September 23, 2021
Some fans don’t seem to be excited about Pratt’s role as Mario but applaud Jack Black as Bowser.
— Kev ∞ 🐸🦉 (@AwestruckVox) September 23, 2021
How is Chris Pratt going to compete with this? pic.twitter.com/ZbmUoMChhO
— Maxmoefoe Burner (@MaxmoefoeBurner) September 24, 2021
Fans had to throw in the Jurassic Park memes:
First Look at Mario and Yoshi in Super Mario Bros. (2022) pic.twitter.com/zskHGVTNH0
— 🦇 Chebi 🎩 | ❓0❓❓ (@MrChebi) September 23, 2021
The Super Mario Bros. Animated Film
— Joey (@ProperGoodGames) September 23, 2021
Illumination (2022) pic.twitter.com/eV3PTwINhx
Per the Hollywood Reporter, Illumination founder Chris Meledandri and Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary creator of Mario, will produce the film.
Meledandri said in a statement, “Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date.”
Miyamoto said, “We are collaborating with Chris [Meledandri] and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game. The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other.”
Mario first appeared as the protagonist in 1981’s Donkey Kong and first headlined his own game in 1985’s Super Mario Bros. It followed mustachioed plumber, Mario, and his lanky brother, Luigi, in their quest to save Princess Peach from villain Bowser.
Mario and Luigi infamously appeared in the ill-fated 1993 live-action film Super Mario Bros starring Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi. Since then, Nintendo has been extremely protective of its intellectual property and rarely allowed it to be adapted by Hollywood, making the upcoming animated adaptation even more alluring.
Super Mario Bros. has a North American release date of Dec. 21, 2022.
Watch the trailer for 1993’s Super Mario Bros below:
