Which is odd because has anyone said “hey, let’s go see this kid’s cartoon movie because ____ does a voice in it?”

I imagine it’s because these actors are being cast not because they can best embody these existing characters, but for their star power. They won’t be playing the character, but bringing themselves into the role. You don’t cast Chris Pratt or Charlie Day and have them be invisible in a role.

Having to lean so hard on star power gives the impression that they don’t have confidence in the brand or the movie itself. Mario is one of the most successful media franchises in history. In terms of overall grosses it’s on the same level as Star Wars and Marvel. It doesn’t need random celebrity voices to prop it up.…

Chris Pratt is good at playing one type of character, and Mario is not that type of character. It’s blatantly obvious that he was cast because he’s a big name celebrity, not because he’s right for the role.

My 9-year-old son loves the Lego movies. But he was deeply offended that it’s not Charles Martinet doing Mario’s voice.

i guess theres a very very small chance ill be wrong but im just going to go ahead and assume this will be awful, at least its not live action though 

Because the celebritization of voice casting is fucking stupid and makes it harder for actual voice actors to find work.

I’m just thinking in terms of vocal performance right now, and Emmett is the closest thing to Mario that Pratt has done thus far. It's STILL way off the mark for me. Even of I think of "what do I want a fully American Mario to sound like", Pratt still ain't it. I'm reserving judgment, but this is not a good start...

These motherfuckers don't learn. 

... no. Mario ain’t Emmett, Illumination. Good luck with that uphill climb...

i mean i would.

My only concern about Illumination is they’ve got a bad habit of forcing an obnoxious marketing character in there.

I believe in this case, “controversial” is a stand-in for “really fucking weird and unexpected.”

Overall I say if you’re going animated then go with actual voice actors. That being said this cast, other than Pratt, would also work great for a live action version. 

I blame Universal more than Nintendo, illumination movies are always a mixed bag