Mario Movie Boss Responds To Criticism Of Chris Pratt Voicing The Main Character
The studio head and producer of the upcoming Super Mario movie has responded to the online backlash against Chris Pratt voicing the title character, Mario. Chris Meledandri of Minions studio Illumination told Deadline that non-believers might get on board when they finally hear Pratt in the role of the portly plumber.
«When people hear Chris Pratt's performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely--people love to voice opinions, as they should,» he said.
Meledandri, who is Italian-American, doesn't believe Pratt's portrayal of Mario will offend Italians or Italian-Americans. «I'm not sure this is the smartest defense, but as a person who has Italian-American heritage, I feel I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian-Americans. … I think we're going to be just fine,» he said.
Pratt has been criticized in the past, by Elliot Page and others, for his connection to the Hillsong church. However, Meledrandri didn't comment on that in the Deadline interview. Writer-director James Gunn, who worked with Pratt on the Guardians of the Galaxy series, has defended Pratt and said people have «utterly false» beliefs about him.
Meledandri did, however, briefly touch upon the significance of working with Nintendo. «Nintendo is one of the companies we respect and hold in high esteem; this collaboration I think is unprecedented in its closeness,» he said.
Reports have suggested that the Mario movie, which was recently delayed to 2023, is just the first of multiple films coming from Nintendo and Illumination. A Donkey Kong spinoff featuring Seth Rogen is reportedly on tap next. The existence a company calledNintendo Studios was recently discovered, and that could be the title of Nintendo's
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