Mario Fans Worried Pratt Won’t Say ‘Wahoo!’

ENTERTAINMENT — After revealing the cast of Super Mario Brothers: The Movie, an upcoming animated film starring the loveable plumber from the globally popular game franchise, Nintendo has come under scrutiny from the internet regarding its choice to give Chris Pratt the role of Mario. “We hear your complaints, but we assure you that Chris-san will be able to say, ‘wahoo,’ ‘it’s a-me,’ ‘oh yeah,’ ‘Mario time,’ ‘let’s-a go,’ and all of your favorite Mario catchphrases with ease,” Shigeru Miyamoto, 68, the creator of Mario and many other beloved Nintendo games, said in a recent YouTube video posted to Nintendo’s page only 10 hours after releasing the film’s cast list, “Seriously, it’ll be fine. He’ll be able to say, ‘here we go,’ ‘mama mia,’ ‘waha,’ ‘okay,’ and ‘Luigi’ no problem. It’s not hard.” Fans online were concerned that Pratt would be unable to live up to the legacy of Mario’s best-known voice-over artist, Charles Martinet, and questioned whether the Hollywood leading man had ever played a Mario game. Miyamoto addressed the issue stating, “The Mario story is insane. It makes no sense. It’s all bullshit anyway. Who cares what his voice sounds like or if the actor has played the game? If he [Pratt] jumps on a goomba on Twitch or some shit, would that make you happy? It’s cast. The movie is already pretty much done. I didn’t take criticism for the live-action movie in the nineties, and I’m not taking it now. You’re still going to see it, so shut up.” Super Mario Brothers: The Movie is set to be released in 2022 and has already received a score of 64% on Rotten Tomatoes.