Amy Pritchett, a language expert, offered her perspective on the controversy surrounding Chris Pratt's portrayal of Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie by Illumination. After announcing Chris Pratt's casting over a year ago, the animation company this week presented the movie's official teaser trailer.
Many fans, however, were dissatisfied with his portrayal of Mario in the trailer since it sounded so much like the actor's normal speaking voice. Other Nintendo fans were left wondering why The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which will be released in theatres on April 7, 2023, didn't have an Italian actor as Mario.
An online marketplace for language teachers called Preply employs Amy Pritchett as their manager of learning success. She recently addressed the criticism that Chris Pratt's portrayal of Mario received from the audience, stating that language and accents have a significant impact on how audiences perceive major motion pictures. She also discusses the obligation of film studios to preserve various cultures and languages as well as the relationship between the actor's identity and that of the character.
Given his cultural importance, Mario is a very significant character. Mario is a well-known Italian plumber who is a fan favourite in Nintendo games like Super Mario and Mario Kart, according to Pritchett. With the release of the new Mario movie, we are witnessing the actor controversy over character identity, particularly with Mario's accent. She points out that since The Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer debuted at New York Comi-Con last week, Google searches for "Mario accent" had surged by almost 800%. At the same time, searches for "Chris Pratt accent" have increased by more than threefold.
Pritchett continues by outlining the difficulties that film studios consistently face with dubbing, particularly when it comes to accents. Fans of a well-known property have expectations for the voices of the characters. The Italian accent that Mario fans anticipate clashes with Chris Pratt's American accent. Pritchett, however, emphasizes that casting directors need to steer clear of prejudices while selecting actors.
This begs the question is asked by many fans of why Illumination chose not to employ an Italian-speaking actor to play Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Mario has long been associated with Italian stereotypes, and a "accurate" Mario may appear to be one as well. A bilingual, Italian-speaking actor could have given the part more credibility, though.
Interestingly, several of the foreign language previews for The Super Mario Bros. Movie have given fans a hint as to what a more authentic rendition of Mario sounds like. Some believe that the performers from Spain, Portugal, and France did a better job at mimicking Charles Martinet's portrayal of Mario in the video games. One can question whether Pratt's casting had more to do with name recognition than fit for the character given that Martinet, in contrast to Pratt, is a professional voice actor who is still active in the industry.
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