RocShemp

Stunt casting for animated movies is nothing new. However, they could (and probably should) have done what Rainmaker Entertainment did with Ratchet & Clank by keeping the voice actors from the games and surround them with celebrities whose names got on the poster. Heck , Charles Martinet (the video game voice of Mario and Luigi) is in this movie, supposedly voicing a series of surprise cameos. Why not just keep him as Mario and cast Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as someone else?

Mike86

Not gonna lie I completely forgot about the Ratchet & Clank movie. I think this movie at least needed to get the voice of Mario right. So a different actor (whether the voice actor from the games or someone else) surrounded by a cast of more known names would have been better.

milo bloom

Exactly, actors who had a good pedigree and not that much drama around them (Allen's would come later).

I remember the story of how Billy Crystal turned down the role of Woody and after seeing the movie he regretted it so he told Disney to please give him another chance and that's how he got Mike Wazowski . For Pratt, it feels like they just waved a check in his face and he agreed.

Noonan

It’s easier when it’s a new character. People already have their own idea of what Mario sounds like.

Decker

Also it should be noted that Ratchet has tons of full vocal work in every single game while Mario says, what, just a few words in each game. Not really the same thing as far as vocal performance.

Mike86

Regardless of having little lines of dialogue I’m pretty sure most people mildly familiar with Mario have an idea of how he sounds. Even when it was the first trailer and Pratt delivered the signature: “here we go” line it didn’t sound good.

Also I like the Ratchet & Clank games but I would argue they’re not even close popularity wise to Mario. Like Rocshemp was saying, had it been someone else playing Mario and the need was felt to surround him with a more star studded cast I could see it working better.

RocShemp

RocShemp

Love the little Easter Eggs here.

RichC2

Yeah R&C is nowhere near Mario. Mario has the potential to pull Simpsons movie buck.

GoldenJCJ

Regardless how the movie turns out, that animation is pretty spectacular!

It would look amazing in 3D.

Troy Stiffler

It's not the Mario game I care about or want. But that trailer was awesome.

RocShemp

It'd be a huge missed opportunity if this doesn't get released in 3D. (Any chance Avatar: The Way of Water will lead to the return of 3D TVs, as well as the birth of 3D 4K UHD BDs?)

Mike86

The movie looks so fun. Might be my most anticipated of 2023 so far to be honest. Love all the references and the soundtrack is awesome how it mixes various themes from the games over the years.

Jay G.

Almost every fully-CGI animated film has gotten a 3D release, at least in theaters, for the past decade. It's the simplest 3D versions to do, since it's essentially just adding another virtual camera to one side of the original and pressing "Render." There's minimal labor involved, especially if done concurrently with the 2D render, just a bit more processing time.

As for 3D TVs, that's a longer discussion and a bit of a tangent, but it doesn't look like TV manufacturers are anticipating a resurgence, else they'd be announcing 3D for their 2023 lines.

dex14

Mike86

Nice! I wonder what other power ups we’ll see (aside from the fire flower).

RocShemp

I'm gonna so love this movie, Mario miscasting (or poor protagonist-specific voice direction) be damned.

Boba Fett

It does. The 3D trailer for it before Avatar was wonderful.

GatorDeb

Fixed that for you.

tanman

I think Disney/Pixar does the absolute best job in terms of casting their voices. They generally seem to cast the best person for the role, whether that be a huge star like Billy Crystal as a comedic one eyed cretin or a totally unknown polynesian minor Auli'i Cravalho as Moana. To me it's incredible when I see Woody and Buzz on screen I don't think about Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. They just blend in with their character really well. So when Disney casts a celebrity it feels a lot less like stunt casting. Not saying they don't do it, just that they don't do it at the possible expense of the movie. Dreamworks on the other hand does a lot of stunt casting. To the point there they just plaster their names on all the promotional material and in some cases above the characters themselves. A lot of times they still fit their characters but they will never use a "no name" actor or even a primarily voice actor for a role. If their last name can't be recognized on a poster they don't want them in the film.

And I absolutely HATE Seth Rogen. Especially as a voice actor. He does not blend in and does the same idiotic stoner voice for ever role he's in. Really hate him as Donkey Kong already.

dex14

Mike86

That’s great.

RocShemp

Love it.

Anyone called the number yet? Luigi answers.

dex14

OldBoy

That trailer looked amazing. The animation was breathtaking. I predict this will be huge. Huge. It looks great, it’s voiced great and it’s characters that is, grownups, grew up with, but also is still around for our kids. This is really for everyone. Men, kids, women alike. I don’t think I’m overstating this will be a very good to great movie. There’s been a dearth in the animation world of late that didn’t include a minion. I look forward to what looks to be a genuinely new, but still nostalgic adventure movie.