The face of Nintendo Entertainment and arguably the face of video gaming as a whole, Mario has become one of the most recognized figures in pop culture history since he debuted all the way back in 1981 with the first Donkey Kong game. Since 1981, Mario has appeared in a whopping 200 games, making him one of the most prolific fictional characters of all time. Even those who have never touched a gaming console know exactly who Mario is and exactly what he looks like, which is a claim that not many popular characters can make.
Mario also occasionally has a life outside the gaming world. Obviously, there is a wealth of merchandising opportunities with a character as popular as Mario. Universal Studios is particularly capitalizing on that potential with the production of Super Nintendo Land where fans can enter the Mushroom Kingdom and race alongside Mario and his friends. The land is already open in Universal Studios Japan, and the theme park's California and Florida locations are also set to get a version of the area in the near future.
You can also probably guess that Mario has even had brief forays as a movie and television star. The earliest example was The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (1989) which was mostly tame and harmless children's entertainment, but the most infamous example was the live-action 1993 film, Super Mario Bros. That's right, for whatever reason, someone decided a live-action Mario film would be a good idea, featuring bizarre casting choices like Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) as Mario, John Leguizamo (Romeo + Juliet) as Luigi, and Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider) as King Koopa (known better these days as Bowser). Set in an alternate dimension where humans evolved from dinosaurs, which has absolutely nothing to do with the original games, it remains to this day as one of the earliest and worst examples of video game-to-film adaptations.
Now Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind the Despicable Me, Secret Life of Pets, and Sing franchises are jumping at the opportunity in the way that Mario's story should be told; through animation. Set to release on April 7th, 2023, we finally got our first look at the film through a recent Nintendo Direct Digital Presentation, giving a brief introduction to the film's heroes and villains. Not long after, we got an even more in-depth second trailer, which introduces even more characters like the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and a familiar ape wearing a red tie. With the new trailers, we also got to hear for the first time the voices of some huge stars lending their voices to these iconic characters. For a guide to who is playing who in the first animated feature trip to the world of the Mushroom Kingdom, read below to find out who is invited to this "Mario Party".
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on April 6.
Chris Pratt as Mario
In a casting choice that Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto himself described as "so cool", Chris Pratt (The LEGO Movie) takes on the role of the beloved Italian plumber.
As many likely know, Mario was born in the arcades with Donkey Kong and then later with the beloved Super Mario Bros. (1985) arcade game, which also introduced his brother Luigi. Since then Mario and his friends have made a comfortable home on Nintendo's home consoles with Mario 64 (1996), Super Mario Sunshine (2002), Super Mario Galaxy (2007), Super Mario Odyssey (2017), and many, many more installments. Since the Mario games aren't exactly story-driven, details on how Mario got to the mushroom kingdom are a bit vague (though we do know he was raised by the friendly dinosaur, Yoshi). In almost all of them, Mario is saving a damsel in distress from a vicious monster, usually Bowser.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie will show Mario's first adventure into the mushroom kingdom. When we first meet him in the film, he's living in Brooklyn with Luigi, who is struggling with his plumbing business. After being whisked away to the Mushroom Kingdom, he quickly befriends Toad, who leads him to Princess Peach. In the film, Mario is noticeably not as experienced as he is in the games and learns how to use power-ups and drive go-karts, as the film progresses.
Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach
Voicing the role of Princess Peach is Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit), a character who often finds herself getting captured by Bowser, but is also more than capable of holding her own (she's widely considered to be one of the best fighters in Super Smash Bros. after all).
Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, almost constantly has herself being attacked and captured by Bowser, sometimes wanting more power, other times wanting to force Peach to marry him. Regardless of Bowser's constant attacks on her kingdom, she never lets that stop her from her unfettering love for her beloved Mario. Peach very much has fit into the "damsel in distress" archetype for many years, but in the past years, she's made a lot of strides and has been fleshed out quite a bit as more than someone who is just in need of saving.
It's worth noting that in the film, we don't see Princess Peach being captured by Bowser, as that honor seems to be going to a certain scaredy-cat plumber sibling with a penchant for green. Instead, she helps train Mario in becoming a hero and joins him and Toad on their quest to save Luigi. She was the only human in the Mushroom Kingdom before Mario came along, having traveled through the green pipe as a baby and being adopted by the Toads.
Charlie Day as Luigi
Mario's neurotic, paranoid brother is brought to life by the hysterical Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia).
A fan favorite who's often overshadowed by his brother, Luigi is more than just a green Mario. He may be scared by monsters and challenges fairly easily, but Luigi ultimately does have a heart of gold and pushes his fears to the side when the need arises. Luigi even got his own spin-off series with the Luigi's Mansion games, where players got to control the famed brother as he fought his fears through a creepy house and became a certified ghostbuster.
In the film, it's Luigi who is captured and imprisoned by Bowser, after he is separated from Mario while traveling through the magical green pipe below the streets of Brooklyn. He is shown to be extremely supportive of his brother, even when the outlook isn't looking so great.
.
Jack Black as Bowser
Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda) voices Mario's historic arch-nemesis Bowser, also known to some as King Koopa.
Just like Mario is one of the most recognizable video game heroes, Bowser is one of the most recognizable video game villains, going toe to toe with everyone's favorite plumber in nearly all of his games. Bowser typically has a vast army consisting of creatures called Goombas and Koopas at his side to fulfill his dastardly desires for more power. He even has some lieutenants that help him lead, like the sorcerer Kamek, who can be seen in the trailer, and even his own children the Koopalings, most notably Bowser Jr.
The fire-breathing turtle has never looked better as he attacks a kingdom consisting of the penguins from Mario 64, with Black giving a surprisingly unrecognizable performance thus far. It isn't long until he sets his sights on his biggest prize of all; the Mushroom Kingdom.
Bowser obviously serves as the main villain in The Super Mario Bros Movie. When we first meet him, he is stealing the Invincibility star from the Ice King, so he can use it to propose to Princess Peach. He is shown to be head over heals in love with Peach, and even sings some ballads about his love for her, and becomes extremely jealous of her newfound friendship with Mario.
Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
Toad, the faithful servant to Princess Peach and steward of the Mushroom Kingdom, is portrayed by Keegan-Michael Key (Key and Peele).
Though he made a bad first impression on fans when he told players that the princess was in another castle, Toad has become a welcome member of the Mario family, always guiding Mario and the rest of the gang onto the right path and leading his fellow Toadstools of the Mushroom Kingdom. Toad also got his own spin-off game fairly recently with Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (2014), where gamers solve puzzles with the less athletic, but still determined hero.
In the film, Toad is shown to be much braver than his fellow Toads, and quickly befriends Mario and joins him alongside Princess Peach, on their quest to save Luigi and to stop Bowser from taking over the Mushroom Kingdom.
In an interview with Collider's own Perri Nemiroff, Key revealed the process behind capturing the character's high-pitched voice.
Because as I started doing the voice, I had based the rhythms of the voice on a friend of mine, and he liked that fine, and then he was just like, “But can you get the voice higher and higher and higher?” And every time he'd say, “Can you get it higher?” I'd be like, “Oh, yeah, yeah. Here we go!” And he goes, “Can you get it higher than that?” “Uh, yeah, I think I can.” “Can you get it higher than that?” “Um, yeah, okay, let’s try it a bit …” and then maintaining that.
Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong has been with Mario since the very beginning of his career, and they've been friends and foes at various points. Whatever they wind up being in the new film, the sharply dressed gorilla is voiced by Seth Rogen (Monsters vs. Aliens).
Though actually, that DK is different from the current version of Donkey Kong, who's the original game's descendant. Since then, DK's has taken on a new leaf from his grandfather, helping Mario on some of his adventures and being a willing participant whenever a game of Mario Kart or Mario Party is being held. In probably the most expansive spin-off Nintendo's ever done, there are a ton of games in DK's own Donkey Kong Country games, where DK explores the jungles of his island with his family and even gets his very own reptilian arch-nemesis with King K. Rool. He also got his own animated series, but let's just say that, like his early rivalry with Mario, is a venture that Kong and the gang want to forget.
In The Super Mario Bros Movie, Donkey Kong is the warrior prince of his kingdom with a love of making his pecs bounce. After being defeated by Mario, he soon has a sort of frenemy-like relationship with the plumber as he reluctantly joins him on his quest to stop Bowser.
Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong
Though this is a Mario movie, the first Nintendo film from Illumination also features a character who originates from the Donkey Kong Country spin-off series, that character being Cranky Kong played by Fred Armisen (Documentary Now!).
Remember when we said Donkey Kong's grandfather was the gorilla Mario fought in his first appearance? Well, that would be Cranky, who's now much too old to get into trouble as he did in the old days. As the name implies, Cranky is a bit of a curmudgeon, always grumpily chastising his family members when they annoy him. Cranky Kong being in the film could be the biggest indication that a film spin-off adaptation of Donkey Kong Country could be on the table, potentially kickstarting a Nintendo Cinematic Universe.
In the film, instead of being the grandpa archetype who spends all day relaxing on the porch, Cranky is an active ruler of a society consisting almost entirely of Kongs. This is evident by his fancy crown and throne. Instead of being a grandfather like he is in the games, Cranky Kong in the film is Donkey Kong's father.
Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek
Bowser's chief advisor and second-in-command Kamek is played by a veteran voice actor with Kevin Michael Richardson (Lilo & Stitch).
Kamek is a formidable magical adversary who prefers to fly away and annoy from afar but does occasionally find himself fighting Mario when his master tells him to. His cowardice essentially makes him the Starscream to Bowser's Megatron, but his magic is shown to be formidable in Bowser's siege from the teaser trailer.
Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike
Stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco (The Irishman) was one of the earliest casting announcements for the film, and he plays a character that's not as well known as some of the other Mario figures.
Spike originates from Wrecking Crew (1985), a lesser-known title in the Mario series where he and Luigi worked at a construction site where Spike was the foreman. Spike would constantly hinder their progress in the game, making him the Bowser of Wrecking Crew of sorts.
In The Super Mario Bros Movie, Spike is shown to be the neighborhood bully who loves to humiliate and laugh at Mario and Luigi's failures.
Khary Payton as the Penguin King
Khary Payton (The Walking Dead) is the voice of the Penguin King in The Super Mario Bros Movie who is captured by Bowser at the beginning of the movie. Later in the film, we see the Penguin King locked away in Bowser's dungeon.
The penguins made their first appearance in 1996 in Super Mario 64 and have become staples of the franchise since then.
Juliet Jelenic as Lumalee
Juliet Jelenic, the daughter of the film's co-director Michael Jelenic, memorably voices Lumalee in The Super Mario Bros Movie, in her first-ever acting role. Luigi encounters Lumalee while in Bowser's dungeon, where her cheery demeanor is just a front for her existential dread, which annoys the Penguin King and Luigi.
Lumalee made her first appearance in Super Mario Galaxy as a salesman. The characters' adoptive mother, the space princess Rosalina, does not appear in the film, but could very well appear in the inevitable sequel.
Charles Martinet as Various Characters
Charles Martinet has voiced Mario in virtually every game since 1986. In The Super Mario Bros Movie, Martinet voices a variety of different characters, including the brothers' dubbed-over voices in their commercial, Mario and Luigi's pessimistic father, and Giuseppe, an over-enthusiastic Italian citizen of Brooklyn.