The first trailer for the long-awaited Super Mario Movie has arrived, and—hold on, I need to catch my breath, because I’ve been waiting literal years for this.
Seriously: It’s been five years since reports first emerged that Nintendo was gearing up to bring Mario to the big screen for his animated feature debut. (The less we say about the live-action mess that is 1993's Super Mario Bros., which starred Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper, the better.)
Fans' excitement ramped up in the years since, as the company confirmed in 2018 that the film was in production with Despicable Me makers Illumination Entertainment. And it hit an unbelievable fever pitch last summer, when Daddy Mario himself, Shigeru Miyamoto, unveiled the film’s English-language voice cast during a livestream. (Miyamato created the original video game.)
Among those big names are Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, and Keegan Michael-Key as Toad. But it’s Chris Pratt as Mario that caused the most consternation, because it’s Chris Pratt. If you aren’t fed up with that guy already, you’re lying to yourself—and lord knows he doesn’t need another voice acting gig after starring in The Lego Movie and the upcoming Garfield.
The teaser gives us our first looking at Illumination’s version of Mushroom Kingdom—as well as what Pratt’s take on Mario sounds like. But first, we’re introduced to Black’s Bowser, who decimates an entire kingdom of penguin warriors with one fiery breath. He’s on the hunt for—what else?—stars, and no one can get in his way.
Cue: Mario, who we see fall from the sky into a vast forest of mushrooms. “What is this place?” he asks, looking around in utter disbelief. He … sounds like Chris Pratt, alright. Which means he sounds decidedly not Italian, a key part of Mario's character. Instead, our favorite mustachio'd plumber from Japan by way of Italy sounds like a normal dude from California. Mario is Mario. This guy is just some guy.
From there, we see Toad (Michael-Key) pop up out of the field and take Mario on his way toward the kingdom, where adventure awaits. We also see, very quickly, a glimpse of Luigi (Day), who’s running from a bunch of murderous Dry Bones villains. Scary!
I can’t say for sure what the plot is, but I’m gonna guess that Mario and Bowser are going to fight at the end. Which is very cool by me—I don't need much else in my Mario, really.
It’s hard for me not to feel every feeling in the world right now, considering Super Mario is one of the most beloved franchises in the world. It’s certainly one of my favorites. This teaser does a good job of giving texture and color to the wonderful world of all things Mario, and I remain pleasantly optimistic that Illumination can get things right. But I’ll never be happy with Crisp Rat voicing Mario in his typical bland, bro-y voiec.
Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!), The Super Mario Bros. Movie will arrive in theaters April 7, 2023.
