From the moment the cast of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Super Mario Bros. Movie was revealed, there was only one person I had my eye on. Or ears, perhaps. I knew Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, and Jack Black would rock it, and I was more and more pleasantly su♑rprised by Chris Pratt with every trailer (culminating in being 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:🌳thoroughly impressed by him in the movie). But what💜 I wanted to know more than anything was what would happen with Charles Martinet, the original Mario voice.
He was revealed as having "surprise cameos" in the movie, but what exactly would they be? Having seen the movie a couple of weeks ago, I've been dying to talk about Charles Martinet, but Nintendo and Illumination have asked me not to, so I'm not going to. However, what I can say is that Martinet is treated with a reverence his legacy with Mario deserves, and plenty of fans eager to see/hear him will be satisfied.
For many people, Charles Martinet is Mario. He's not just a guy who plays Mario, he embodies the eager wholesomeness of the character in his public appearances and has a reputation for always being enthusiastic and friendly with fans. Martinet's career with Mario began in 1991, when he was a motion-capture Mario for a tradeshow, leading to him reading for Mario's voice the next year. While other auditionees read Mario as an Italian-American from Brooklyn (as he appears in the cartoons and via Chris Pratt in the movie), Martinet read in the softer, more Italian tones that we associate with Mario today. He debuted in 1994's Mario Teaches Typing, but took the world by storm in 1996's 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Mario 64.
Right from the start, Martinet was everything Mario needed. You know the 'Night nighty. Ahhh spaghetti, ahhh ravioli, ahhh mamma mia' idle line in 64 when Mario lies down to rest? That was added to the script by Martinet. It has come full circle, as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Martinet now saജys he dreams as Mario himself. He's not just Mario either - Martinet is also the voice of Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi. 168𝕴澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pratt himself wants Wario for the sequel, so maybe we'll see either Pratt's take on Mario's nemesis, a new actor cast, or (as many will hope) Martinet himself.
He isn't Wario in this one, and I feel safe in risking Nintendo and Illumination's wrath since Pratt is on the record saying the character would be great to see in the sequel. But if you're worried he's been pushed to the side and given a background goal like Generic Brooklyn Man #3, rest easy. This isn't a Stan Lee-style gimmick, dropping him into the movie as a passing Easter Egg for fans, as if Martinet's career is a fleeting reference to be tossed in for fans like Birdo, Pauline, Chargin' Chuck, or the Mario 64 Eel (two of those are in the movie, but Nintendo might take my thumbs if I tell you which ones).
From the initial premiere in LA a few days before the official reviews dropped, there was a lot of talk about the movie being jam-packed with Easter Eggs, and sure, there's a lot for Super Mario fans to love (and to nudge their partners or kids and tell them that thing on the screen is from Mario Clash). But mostly, it's a warm and fuzzy Illumination movie that respects the characters and world it is adapting and builds on them well, all while translating the platforming gameplay into slick action set pieces.
You'd be forgiven, after the initial talk was dominated by references and Easter Eggs, for thinking Martinet was just another picture hung up in the gallery for fans to point at as they wander past on the way to spotting a character from Mario Paint in the background of the Mario Kart race. But he is given a role as special as his own impact on Mario's legacy, and I'm glad the movie is doing right by him.