People have been left underwhelmed by Chris Pratt's accent after seeing the official teaser trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Stepping into the shoes of Nintendo's emblematic digital hero was always going to be a tough move for Pratt.
But, it seems the 43-year-old actor has thrown caution to the wind and not even really bothered to come up with his own take.
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The response on social media was swift.
One Twitter user said: "I am once again asking Hollywood why they have this love affair with Chris Pratt when he ultimately brings nothing but a name to his voice. I can understand not giving Mario a cutesy over-the-top accent but there is NOTHING in Pratt's voice. It's just a dude."
A second Twitter user added: "Dawg, this man didn't even try using a different voice,"
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A third person chipped in with: "Everyone else in the trailer is doing a voice but this motherf**ker. I'm not even a big Mario fan, I'm just tired of this man doing the bare minimum for a fat paycheque."
As news starts to spread about the Jurassic World star's fail, social media users are even adding the tag #NotMyMario to their posts in protest.
Pratt came under fire in early 2021 when he was revealed as the voice of Mario. He's made matters worse by posting a video saying he's been 'working hard' at getting the right accent for the role.
The rest of the star-studded cast has been praised by fans, with comedian Charlie Day playing Mario's iconic brother Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy will portray Princess Peach, Keegan-Michael Key stars as Toad, Seth Rogen will play Donkey Kong and Jack Black is taking on the character of Bowser.
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Illumination Studios co-producer Chris Meledandri promised audiences that Pratt's portrayal of the beloved video game character would be 'phenomenal'.
Meledandri, who is the man behind hit animated franchises like Despicable Me, Ice Age, and The Secret Life of Pets has promised that they won't be letting things go too over the top.
He told Too Fab: "All I can tell you is the voice that he's doing for us, and Mario, is phenomenal.
"Yeah, I can't wait for people to hear it."
As for the lack of Italian names in the cast in general, Meledandri said: "Charlie Day, who's playing Luigi, actually comes from Italian heritage. Yeah, so that's our nod."
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When asked how much he planned for actors to 'lean in' to the 'Italianness' of the characters, he also hinted that the accent problem might become something of a self-referential joke in the film.
"We cover it in the movie, so you'll see we definitely nod to that," he said.
So if you're holding your breath while you wait for Pratt to say 'it's-a-me-a, Mario', then you'll be waiting a while... for it to sound good at least.
Topics: Chris Pratt, Nintendo, Super Mario, Film and TV, Celebrity
