Mario Bros. Animated Movie Coming from Illumination

[Salamander]

Maybe the Mario voice will settle in once there's a little more of it out there.  As it stands, this trailer was Bowser's show, and Mario was just a cameo in it.

...Also, Chris Pratt's bit to camera really spiked the punch, and it's hard to say that it didn't alter the reception of his actual voice in the trailer.  Just such a bizarre segment.  The man didn't sound like he was all there.

[Milo]

Even though Jack Black was the one choice I was intrigued in when the film's voice cast was announced, I never would had expected Illumination making Bowser and his army as a genuine threat, so that was a really nice surprise for me. Making his invasion of the Dreamland ice penguin the focus of the trailer was a great choice, especially since the Mario scene that followed afterwards was way more in line what I would expect from Illumination (and Pratt in terms of VA).

So for now, I'm optimistic. Jablinski Bowser is probably going to carry the entire movie on his spiky turtle shell back.

[Jango]

Wait, Bowser fucking TALKS in this?

You're telling me. They brough Jack Black. To not do what he does best: BLEEERG, UH BLEH n' shit? 

Literally unwatchable.

[Chili Dawg]

Chris Pratt ain't soundin' gr8, but I'm pleasantly surprised with just about everything else.

Looks fun. And it's those fuckin penguins we all dropped off a cliff! They all landed and formed their own kingdom!

[Jay_Senju]

It's so weird hearing Mario Characters having actual dialogue ngl.

[Indigo Rush]

I'm going to lay my cards on the table and say given the options, I vastly prefer phoned-in Pratt over an hour and a half of Charles Martinez talking like this. Bowser sounds perfect, too. Movie looks like it'll be a visual spectacle and that's exactly what I signed up for!

[Wraith]

Most of the characters look pretty good actually, but Mario has a few too many realistic details. I know Nintendo has been towing this line for years but it feels like they stumbled over it here. It looks uncanny. Add in a limpdick performance from Chris Pratt and I don't know if I'm up for this. It's a shame because the Bowser scene beforehand was actually pretty solid if predictable and the casting for Toad was actually spot on without completely adapting the game's grating voice. THAT's the type of shit I couldn't listen to for 2 hours. Martinet's fine.

 

Definitely a better showing than most video game adaptations but Hollywood really has to chill with these needless alterations. Universally beloved IPs don't need extra help in being successful. Everyone already loves Mario the way he is.

[Stasis]

Looks a lot better than I was expecting although I'm not sure it will bring in the casual movie goers? It has a Smurfs Lost Village vibe about it. 

[Kuzu]

Looks pretty good in all honesty, Chris Pratt notwithstanding. I expected way worse from illumination. Bowser is, as everyone predicted, the show stealer. Its nice to hear him actually talk for once as opposed to just growling with subtitles and kudos for Jack Black giving him a distinct voice that matches his design, though it kind of slipped when he started hamming it up.

Mario...yea, I ain't got nothing. Everyone has said everything to be said. Chris Pratt is here to collect a paycheck, nothing more. I kind of heard a little Brooklyn accent near the end there, so hopefully he doesn't try to completely phone it in. God, now I dread how DK will sound...

 

Outside of that, I have no real complaints. Seems to be a pretty straight VG adaptation, which at least shows they know better than to drastically alter the source material like they did in the 1990's movie.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

30 minutes ago, Wraith said:

Most of the characters look pretty good actually, but Mario has a few too many realistic details. I know Nintendo has been towing this line for years but it feels like they stumbled over it here. It looks uncanny. Add in a limpdick performance from Chris Pratt and I don't know if I'm up for this. It's a shame because the Bowser scene beforehand was actually pretty solid if predictable and the casting for Toad was actually spot on without completely adapting the game's grating voice. THAT's the type of shit I couldn't listen to for 2 hours. Martinet's fine.

Definitely a better showing than most video game adaptations but Hollywood really has to chill with these needless alterations. Universally beloved IPs don't need extra help in being successful. Everyone already loves Mario the way he is.

Add in the fact that Charles Martinet is literally IN THERE. Why on Earth didn't they give him the shot, outside of Illumination doing their usual big star thing. We've seen that he can still act well in movies thanks to the Dragon Ball Super Hero movie, so why on earth subject us to Chris Pratt just acting Chris Pratt.

[Monkey Destruction Switch]

Pretty much everything about it looks great - the writing, the visuals, the world and setting they seem to be building, and most of the voice acting. I'm seriously looking forward to it.

But Mario doesn't sound Mario-y and that's a shame. I don't think it will ruin the movie, but it is a blight.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

For as awful as it is, it's unbelievably depressing that still, the Ratchet movie is the only movie that had the right idea of getting the game's voice cast in, even if it means having celebrity voices playing other roles for the star power. Voice acting is not the same as regular acting, and these guys are highly experienced for that reason. 

And on top of that, it's more bizarre to me because out of everyone, Mario is like the exception to the rule. He is one of the most famous characters ever, with Luigi right behind him. You would be immensely hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn't played a Mario game, and hasn't become anyway familarised with Charles Martinet's voice acting. It's not like Sonic or other game characters who have had multiple voices, Mario has stayed consistent for about 20 years now, and even those outside of the gaming realm have a fairly decent idea of what he and Luigi are meant to sound like.

Feeling like star power is needed for Mario of all things is so ungodly weird. Alright, maybe for the other characters who either don't have a consistent VA (Bowser, Peach, Kamek, Toad, etc), but it's so strange to me that Mario and Luigi needed it when people loved Martinet's voice, and Martinet both has experience in VA work (He literally did DBS Super Hero earlier this year), and has played Mario, Luigi, Wario, and others outside of the games in random videos online, and can voice them in more long-form situations. 

And maybe I wouldn't even mind if whoever we got at least seemed enthusiastic and did a good job. Pratt's video before the trailer reveal was unbelievably stilted and weird, and the performance we got in the trailer was just Pratt doing his regular voice, more or less. Meanwhile you have Jack Black sitting in a throne at Comic Con, having a big bombastic intro video, and putting effort into changing his tone and voice for Bowser, even if you can tell it's him voicing Bowser. 

You compare that video and Pratt's voice acting to any time we see Charles or the sheer enthusiasm and love he clearly has for this franchise and these characters, and it's night and day. And for the very brief snippet we got of Charlie Day as Luigi, it sounded more or less just like Charlie Day's normal voice as well. 

Even then, it's still weird to me because it's not like Chris hasn't had decent VA gigs before, he was pretty charming in the LEGO Movie as Emmett, so to see him have these weird unenthused videos and this meh performance, it sucks. 

[KHCast]

Charlie Day just doing Charlie day actually works for Luigi at least imo given his personality. Can’t say the same for Pratt and his phoned in Mario.

 

Visually, this movie is shaping up to be a real treat. Love how popping everything is and how animated the characters are. It really makes me disappointed that sonic didn’t go this route cause damn this is pretty.

 

illumination seems to be the movie equivalent of KT, in that when an outside source funds a project it’s very noticeable the quality jump in that project compared to their typical. Lol

 

Mario’s design doesn’t bother me a whole lot, it seems like a mix of his old animated design and his modern one, which is weird, but I’ll probably get used to it. 
 

Everyone else looks and sounds great so far, so overall, I’m looking forward to this more than most video game films/shows

[StaticMania]

14 minutes ago, KHCast said:

...it seems like a mix of his old animated design...

From the anime, surely.

From DiC? Not really.

[SonicWind]

My thoughts:

• This was probably a given, but the movie looks spectacular. You can see the budget they put into this film, for damn sure.
• Jack Black is, of course, a magnificent Bowser. The fact that he tweaked his voice to sound deeper makes it a good fit. Also, the way Bowser just shows up in his volcanic airship lair like he owns the place and burns the ice penguin kingdom to the ground is just cool.
• I... don't actually hate Chris Pratt as Mario. Yet. He sounds... fine, but I'm gonna need to hear more than just two lines to feel it out. I'm fairly open-minded. At least he's trying a Brooklyn accent, similar to earlier animated versions of the character before 64 gave him Charles' iconic voice. Everyone that I haven't named here does a great job, too.

Definitely looking forward to seeing more out of this film if this is what the first impression is like. Illumination might have a real winner on its hands here, and I'd love for Mario and Sonic to stand tall together on the big screen, even if I'm more into the latter mascot.

[Johnny Boy]

I think Chris Pratt’s Mario voice is fine. It sounds similar to the Mario voice in super show. Everything else looks phenomenal. Especially Jack Black as Bowser. This movie is definitely a day one viewing for me.

[StaticMania]

59 minutes ago, SonicWind said:

Everyone that I haven't named here does a great job, too.

"Everyone"?

That's a lot of Toad and Kamek to praise.

[Marcello]

Visually it looks nice. Didn't find the penguin war jokes particularly funny. 

Bowser sounds great. Toad sounds good, too. Mario sounds like garbage. At least put a bit of an Italian accent on.

Don't like that it seems to be an Isekai.

[StaticMania]

19 minutes ago, Marcello said:

At least put a bit of an Italian accent on.

There is an accent, but a really weak one...

---

Weird how the King Penguin was just as small as the rest of them and not...like a big Penguin.

[Soniman]

26 minutes ago, Marcello said:

Don't like that it seems to be an Isekai.

Always has been it just wasn’t particularly called attention to. Mario and Luigi being from Brooklyn and ending up in the Mushroom Kingdom has always been a thing 

[Dejimon11]

6 minutes ago, Soniman said:

Always has been it just wasn’t particularly called attention to. Mario and Luigi being from Brooklyn and ending up in the Mushroom Kingdom has always been a thing 

Nah that got retconned with Yoshi’s Island stating that they are Mushroom Kingdom natives. Odyssey double down on this with New Donk City. The issue is that we’ve never got any adaptions since the 90’s so nothing could capitalize on this.

[StaticMania]

It did stop being a thing...but also not "since" Yoshi's Island.

The first level of DK '94 is just a non-descript metro city because that's where he's from.

Some nebulous time after Mario 64 where it's never referenced again.

 

[Sega DogTagz]

Not sure if I'm game for a Mario origin story, but whatev's.

 

Bowser looks like fun. He's been the best part of the franchise for a long time tho. I wonder how much time he'll get in the long run.

[Piko]

I don't really have anything to say about the trailer that hasn't already been said, but overall I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a run-of-the-mill Illumination trailer.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

14 hours ago, Jake_LeOFFICIAL said:

It's more his voice than Mario himself. He acts fine, looks...okay I guess? But his voice....no.

There's honestly going to be a problem if Mario is the lowest point of his own movie, given how we expect him to be the focal point.