While it may surprise many, Mario has never had an Italian accent in movies and television. Still, the idea that the Italian plumber is missing said dialect in the upcoming movie adaptation by Illumination is still a bit weird. Let’s break down why Chris Pratt doesn’t have an Italian accent in the Super Mario Bros. Movie.
When Did Mario First Speak?
Before 1996, with the release of Super Mario 64, Mario never had a voice in the games. But the first time the character ever had a voice was in the popular 1989 children’s TV series, The Super Mario Bros Super Show, starring Captain Lou Albano as Mario.
In this show, we heard Mario speak for the first time, and it featured a plumber from New York with a Brooklyn accent, in line with Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto’s design for the character. The show writers went with what was the given canon.
Mario received the big screen adaptation with the much-maligned Super Mario Bros. starring Bob Hoskins. Hoskins went so far as to try and emulate Albano’s iteration of the voice. The movie went with the canon established by the TV show and the descriptors given by Nintendo.
The original game manual never said anything more than this description. By Miyamoto’s admission, he placed Mario in New York and made him Italian to appeal to more Western influences. It wasn’t until Super Mario 64 was released in 1996 did we get a voice for the character in-game, and it was decided to give him an Italian accent voiced by Charles Martinet. Martinet admits he originally intended to use the gruffer Brooklyn accent but went with the Italian accent to sound friendlier to children.
Chris Pratt Mario Accent Explained
For The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the producers wanted to go with the canon established in TV and films from the start, which featured a Brooklyn accent instead of an Italian one, as mentioned above. In essence, this isn’t a change or break of the canon but instead a return to form.
There has been very little from the new movie’s crew on why the choice was made. However, producer Chris Meledandri in an interview with TooFab, did provide a little insight. When asked about the choice of accent, Meledandri said, “We cover it in the movie, so you’ll see we definitely nod to that.”
That is everything you need to know about why Chris Pratt doesn’t have an Italian accent in the Super Mario Bros movie. Check out our other content on Super Mario Bros such as Twitter reactions to the Super Mario movie, All confirmed Super Mario cast members, and Jack Black stealing the show with his Bowser.
About the author
