The official Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer is here to announce, “It’s a’me, noticeably off-model Mario with Chris Pratt’s barely-affected voice!” Take a look.
Credit where it’s due, though: arbitrary character design shifts (Donkey Kong reverting more to his titular game cabinet design is actually pretty neat) and some questionable vocal choices aside, this is about as faithful of a Mario movie as Hollywood could feasibly manage. It’s all very recognizable; it actually takes place in the Mushroom Kingdom, rather than, say, sending a cartoon Mario through a pipe connected to the home of James Marsden; and it heaves in such a kitchen sink of references—from Mario Kart, to Smash Bros., to the classic platformer elements of the original series—it would seem like pandering were it not so apt for the material. If the movie closes with a leisurely round of golf, it would not at all be off base. (On that note, a game of Superstar Baseball would also work.) Why not lazily toss it all in there?
The Super Mario Bros. Movie hits theaters April 7. It will be followed by a sequel that’s just a different, preexisting video game movie re-skinned with Mario characters.
