Chris Pratt’s Super Marios Bros voice first went to Tony Soprano
Co-star Charlie Day added that producers thought he would become “Goodfellas” as Luigi.
Chris Pratt got too muddy for his first attempt at the Mario voice.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie actor revealed he was told his take on a stereotypical Italian-American voice bordered on a “Sopranos” parody.
“I went in for a minute and they said, ‘This is a little bit of New Jersey. You’re doing a Tony Soprano thing,'” Pratt told Entertainment Weekly.
He continued, “It was a really exciting and scary challenge. When they talk to these guys, they say, “Do you want to do the Mario movie?” I think we both said yes. Didn’t even ask, “What’s going on? What’s the matter?’ ‘Yes, I am in.’ And then we had to really dig in and find out: Are they Italian? Are they American? We know a little bit about Charles Martinet’s voice, which he interspersed with the “Wahoo!” and ‘It’s-a-me!’ and that Mario stuff, but how do you frame a 90-minute narrative with an emotional pull and create a living, breathing persona that you care about?”
Co-star Charlie Day, who voices Mario’s brother Luigi, shared that his inspiration instead came from Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas and that he believed that would be the best direction for the animated film.
“We tried different things, different voices,” Day said. “Every once in a while they’d say, ‘Charlie, maybe a little less Goodfellas in this one’ – I said, ‘Okay! I think you’re wrong, but good!’ – until they landed on something they liked.”
The Super Mario Bros. Movie producer and Illumination Studios founder and CEO Chris Meledandri clarified any casting doubts ahead of the film’s release due to the cast’s lack of Italian ancestry.
“We work together with Chris [Pratt] and his experienced team to create not just a character-licensed movie, but a new piece of entertainment that brings Super Mario Bros. brought to life on screen and allows everyone to enjoy it, whether they know the game or not,” said Meledandri during the CineEurope convention. “When people hear Chris Pratt perform, the criticism evaporates, maybe not entirely — people love speaking their minds like they should.”
Meledandri continued, “I’m not sure if that’s the smartest defense, but as a person of Italian-American heritage, I feel like I can make that decision without worrying about being Italian or Italian-American.” offend…I think we’re going to just be good.”
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