Back in October, Universal Pictures unveiled a teaser shortly before it released a full trailer for the film with a second trailer coming in late November. Now, the studio has released a movie clip with Keegan-Michael Key, who voiced Toad, taking the stage to make the grand reveal. The movie clip opens with Mario and Toad walking through the Mushroom Kingdom bazaar on their way to Princess Peach’s palace. During their journey, Toad declares that Mario’s brother will die imminently as he attempts to clear the path. Afterward, the clip pans to the duo jumping on a floating platform similar to the ones found in the Super Mario games on Nintendo. They leap through a series of floating blocks and ride in a warp pipe to get inside the castle.
The clip and trailers show that the forthcoming film adapts details from the video game franchise. These include music from the first video game released in 1985, the stained-glass window in Peach’s Castle, the general design of the Mushroom Kingdom, and minor in-game items, special blocks, and characters like Super Bell powerup, the Coin block, floaty platforms, warp pipes, and a Cheep Cheep fish. The Super Mario Bros. Movie isn’t entirely based on the games, though. For instance, it will feature a different role for Princess Peach and Mario’s voice will also be different. Peach is portrayed in the games as a damsel-in-distress who Mario must save. However, in the film, she is a warrior who faces the enemy’s army without flinching. Mario, on the other hand, lacks his typical Italian accent, unlike Toad and Bowser. Chris Pratt, the actor who voiced the character, faced a lot of backlash for failing to adapt his voice to match what fans have come to expect from playing the games. Chris Meledandri, the CEO and founder of Illumination, stated, “We are thrilled to finally share the very first look at The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Nintendo’s Mario and Luigi are the most iconic and beloved characters in the gaming universe and it has been an incredible honor to work with Miyamoto-san over the past few years to bring this story to film in a way that is authentic to its roots.” Shigeru Miyamoto, the Representative Director, Fellow of Nintendo, said that the film combines different factors, including the story, characters’ emotions, gestures, and looks to build an incredible world. Based on this, he implored fans to experience the unique world they have created in movie theaters. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an animated fantasy adventure comedy film that is based on the Super Mario video game franchise. It is the third feature film adaptation of the video game series, after the 1986 Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! and the 1993 Super Mario Bros. It is a joint production project of Universal Pictures, Illumination, and Nintendo. Apart from Pratt and Key who voice Mario and Toad respectively, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Kevin Michael Richardson provide the voices for Princess Peach, Luigi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Cranky Kong, Foreman Spike, and Kamek respectively. The Super Mario Bros. Movie will hit theaters on April 7, 2023.
