Patreon Pin Up 10/10/22 (Patreon)
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Well it's Mario mania on the internet this week ever since that trailer dropped for the upcoming movie, so I figured now was a good time for my take on Pauline! I've drawn her, Peach, and Rosalina now. Maybe Daisy next time? Are there any others left that I'm not thinking of?
So, this trailer releases and the general response is largely positive from what I've seen. That's frankly unheard of on the internet for video game related media, so this is a big deal. Most of us can agree that this is the best these characters have ever looked, and that some serious effort has been put in here on the project as a whole. The humor is on point, and the respect for the source material is on full display.
All well and good until Mario opens his mouth lol. Yes, quite a few fans are upset at the snippet of the performance showcased from our leading man, Chris Pratt. Said vitriol being aimed at how he barely seems to be performing anything but his regular speaking voice for the role. As for me, personally, I think he'll do fine. People will likely forget all about this initial blowback if the movie itself is half as good as it looks when it releases. It's my belief that anyone was going to sound wrong at first no matter who they cast for Mario, which leads to another facet of this debate.
This week prolific voice actress (and future Mrs. Reinbach,) Tara Strong, voiced her disapproval of Pratt's casting. For you see, Mario already has a voice actor. Charles Martinet has made Mario's iconic voice his own for pushing thirty years now. Strong considers it a slap in the face to working stiff voice actors that anyone but Martinet is voicing Mario in this movie.
I get where she's coming from, and I'm not just saying that because I'm hoping to simp hard enough to get her to notice me. But from my perspective, while Martinet's iconic voice fits the games just right, I don't think his particular performance would work in a two-hour movie. Am I crazy on this one? Martinet's Mario doesn't so much "talk" is the thing. It's mostly a lot high-pitched whoops and wahoos and I just can't picture that in a dialog-driven movie without big changes to his delivery. Martinet is the perfect Mario for the games, but I think someone else stepping in for the movie isn't exactly outrageous.
That's my take, anyway. What do you guys think? As always I'd love to hear it in the comments.