The Super Mario Movie voice cast’s vocal performances have finally been revealed, with the first trailer for the upcoming film being debuted during this week’s Nintendo Direct. After months of speculation, viewers got to hear what Chris Pratt, Jack Black and co. brought to the table, and if their takes on the iconic Nintendo characters were similar to their video game adaptations.
The end result was a little all over the place, with some actors clearly taking their cues from the games, while others went in a much different direction. The end result can be seen in the trailer below:
With much discussion surrounding the new Mario Movie trailer and whether or not its voice cast has lived up to expectations, we’ve ranked each performance based on how accurate it is to the video games.
Super Mario Bros. Movie voice cast ranked from most accurate to least
Here are all of the Super Mario Bros. Movie vocal performances ranked from most accurate to least.
Toad (Keegan-Michael Key)
Key and Peele comedian Keegan-Michael Key is suitably shrill as Toad, and while his version of the sidekick may be a little toned down compared to his video game counterpart, that’s probably a good thing.
Bowser (Jack Black)
Bowser’s voice is a deep, guttural roar befitting his huge size. Jack Black doesn’t quite give his voice the same amount of bass, though considering video game Bowser doesn’t really speak in full sentences, it’s understandable.
Luigi (Charlie Day)
It’s Always Sunny actor Charlie Day’s voice is higher pitched than video game Luigi’s, but at least we get a suitable “Waaaah!” in the trailer. Luigi running away from danger is also befitting of his post-Luigi’s Mansion fearful persona.
Koopa
Bowser’s Koopa minions don’t speak, but rather make a series of odd sounds. They don’t say anything in the trailer, aside from one of them depicted shaking in his boots as they’re about to head into war with the penguins. It’s not very Koopa-y, but there wasn’t a lot to work with here.
Penguin King (Khary Payton)
Now the regal Penguin depicted in the Mario Movie trailer is nothing like the penguins we saw in Super Mario 64. Like the Koopas, there wasn’t a great deal of source material to work with, and we can’t blame the film’s creators for not wanting to mimic whatever the excruciating above sound is supposed to be.
Mario (Chris Pratt)
The most controversial voice actor in the entire Mario Movie, Chris Pratt’s take on Mario sounds nothing like Charles Martinet’s performance in the video games. Pratt seems to give his vocal performance a slight Italian-American tint, but it’s not all too distinguishable from his real speaking voice.
