The Super Mario Bros Movie is already a smash hit at the box office, despite many fans and critics doubting some of the casting news when it originally came out. Chris Pratt as Mario, in particular, was a controversial choice to play the legendary Italian plumber.
However, many more of the roles were cast in a way that had fans intrigued from the beginning. The Super Mario Bros Movie may break box office records for animated movies, and a lot of that success is down to the impressively A-list voice cast that was brought together to bring these roles to life.
This list contains some minor spoilers
6 Princess Peach
Princess Peach had a much bigger leading role in the Super Mario Bros Movie than fans initially expected from the character. Anya Taylor-Joy plays the role of Princess Peach in a way as similar to the games as possible. Peach isn’t exactly known for speaking in full sentences most of the time throughout the games, so it was difficult for Taylor-Joy to bring exactly the same tone of voice that Peach uses for short sentences and exclamations in the games.
In spite of this, Peach came across as one of the most natural and fun characters in the movie. She never overshadows Mario after being introduced, but in spite of this, she managed to have her own journey. This included an origin scene, showing that she wandered into the Mushroom Kingdom in the same way that Mario did. Anya Taylor-Joy played Peach as a character with her own strength while showing that she still needed Mario to be a hero himself.
5 Luigi
Charlie Day was always a fascinating choice for Luigi, and most fans weren’t against the idea from the moment that the cast was announced for The Super Mario Bros Movie. Charlie Day has a distinctively high voice which is actually a bit higher in the movie than Luigi normally comes across in the games. However, this hasn’t spoiled the fact that his voice is a great fit.
Charlie’s Luigi, complete with references to many of his own most famous video gaming moments, such as Luigi’s Mansion, was a great part of the film. Compared directly to Chris Pratt playing his brother in Mario, both fans and critics alike have been outpouring great support for the performance which Charlie Day put in as the second half of the Super Mario Brothers team.
4 Kamek
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Kamek is one of the least recognizable characters in the Super Mario Bros Movie, but many fans of the video game franchise are aware of him; if not by name, then they will almost certainly know him by sight. Kamek has appeared in many games in the Mario franchise, notably the Mario Party games. His wizard tricks there have often caused issues for players.
While Kevin Michael Richardson, who brought Kamek to life in The Super Mario Bros Movie, has a long history with voice-acting, he was one of the lesser-known actors in the movie. Nevertheless, he managed to put on one of the best performances of them all, with his style producing a voice similar in style to the sound effects which mostly made up the dialogue that Kamek ever had in any of the video games.
3 Toad
Toad is one of the characters in The Super Mario Bros Movie who actually has a more recognizable voice from the games. While Mario and Luigi make sound effects, they definitely don’t speak anywhere near as much as they do in the movie. Toad is a more known commodity, and Keegan Michael-Key managed to pull off a surprisingly similar voice to the high-pitched Toad in his performance.
Whether this Toad is even meant to be the exact same as the one who Mario is often seen on adventures within the video game franchise is debatable. Given that the entire species of mushroom-like beings are named Toad, and many of them look quite similar, it is not a certainty.
2 Donkey Kong
Considering that Seth Rogen, as a voice actor, normally ends up sounding like himself, his portrayal of Donkey Kong felt in many respects to be a fairly impressive one. There definitely wasn’t as much of the deeper style which fans may have expected out of the role, but Rogen’s version of the iconic gorilla was definitely a fun performance.
Taking a leading role alongside Mario for a lot of the third act in The Super Mario Bros Movie, Rogen’s Donkey Kong was a change-up from the style of the other characters in the movie. Rogen may have been an unconventional choice for a normally more threatening character, but it was a great way to bring DK around as a more anti-heroic character. It is notable, though, that the movie changes a lot about Donkey Kong's own history.
1 Bowser
Jack Black’s Bowser stole the show in The Super Mario Bros Movie. It is difficult to quantify what fans would have been expecting out of the fire-breathing turtle villain when they went into the movie. However, between his villainous turns and over-confident style, and the interludes where he would mourn for his love of Peach, Jack Black perfected this role.
Bowser has mostly been a one-dimensional, intimidating character in the Mario games, so it was a good idea to add layers to him. Jack Black’s own specific style may have had something to do with the manner in which the layers were added. Nevertheless, it explains much to do with the plot of the movie that Bowser is in love with Peach, and it worked extremely well with Black’s version of the character.
The Super Mario Bros Movie was released on April 7th, 2023