Yahoo Movies Super Mario Bros directors defend Chris Pratt's casting
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is soon set to arrive in cinemas with everyone's favourite Italian plumber setting off on an adventure.
Based on Nintendo's beloved Super Mario game series, the new animated movie sees Marvel star Chris Pratt take on the role of Mario himself. After hearing brief snippets of Pratt's voice in the film's trailer, some fans questioned the choice to cast him in the iconic role and took to Twitter to air their criticism.
However, the Super Mario Bros. directors have now come out in defence of the Guardians of the Galaxy star.
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The film is being made by Teen Titans Go! directors Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath who insist Pratt is the right man for the job and are confident he'll prove the sceptics wrong.
"For us, it made total sense," Horvath told Total Film magazine. "He's really good at playing a blue-collar hero with a ton of heart. For the way that Mario is characterised in our film, he's perfect for it."
Horvath went on to detail how they've strived to keep the feel of the movie as close to the games as possible and aim to impress fans of the Super Mario series.
"We wanted to make this movie a very authentic Nintendo Super Mario experience," he explained. "From story to visual development to the animation, Nintendo has been with us every step of the way."
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The directors aren't the only ones who have defended Pratt's Mario voice following the backlash.
The Walking Dead actor Khary Payton, who is playing Penguin King in the upcoming Mario movie, said Pratt's vocal performance provides a "fun take" on the character.
"I actually think that he's doing kind of like this New York, Italian guy – like a cousin of The Sopranos or something," he told Insider.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie will open in cinemas on March 31 in the UK and April 7, 2023 in the US.
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