Last night video game legend Shigeru Miyamoto proudly unveiled the first trailer for Nintendo and Illumination's Super Mario Bros. Movie. And you know what? It looks ace.
The animation is gorgeous, for one thing. Illumination has stayed true to Mario's inimitable style, adding a level of detail that we've never seen before in the Mushroom Kingdom. It's almost enough to make me wish Sony would buy Nintendo just so we can see a Mario game on PlayStation 5. Almost.
And it's funny, too! Like, genuinely funny. Jack Black's Bowser was the real focus of the trailer, which you can see below, and his rapid decimation of an adorable kingdom of penguins made me chuckle in a way I wasn't expecting.
Alas, into every life a little rain must fall. And sure enough, the arrival of Chris Pratt's Mario has proved to be the one divisive subject in a trailer that otherwise has convinced everyone that a Mario movie can be good.
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The general consensus is that the former Parks And Recreation goofball-turned movie star isn't even trying to do a Mario voice, and has instead opted to play the part of Mario as... Chris Pratt.
"Chris Pratt saying he worked so hard on the Mario voice only for it to sound like Chris Pratt is the funniest thing," wrote one Twitter user.
"Chris Pratt saying his lifelong dream was to become Mario and then just doing his normal voice is insanely good," added another.
Is it fair to judge Pratt's Mario voice based on two very brief lines of dialogue? Probably not. But this is the internet, so it was always going to happen.
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To give Pratt credit where it's due, it's clear at the end of the trailer as he dashes off towards the Mushroom Kingdom that he is trying to do a slight accent. Unfortunately, several critics were quick to point out that it sounds more like Linda Belcher from Bob's Burgers than Mario Mario from Super Mario.
Listen for yourself below. Once the comparison reaches your ears, I promise you can't un-hear it.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie arrives in cinemas April 7, 2023. May God have mercy on us all.
Topics: Mario, Nintendo, TV And Film