Chris Pratt Changed His Mario Voice After He Was Told It Was Similar to Tony Soprano

The internet went crazy when it was first announced that Chris Pratt was the Italian plumber in the high-budget adaptation of Nintendo’s Mario, one of the oldest living legends in video game history. So when the first trailer was released, there was a greater expectation for the film, especially when Anya Taylor-Joy’s (The Queen’s Gambit & The Menu) voice of the Princess Peach was heard.

The film was released on Apr. 5, and although The Super Mario Bros. Movie has joined in video game adaptations that received mixed reviews, its fan rating so far has been quite high. The movie is set to debut with a $368M in the worldwide opening weekend. This would be the second-biggest opening for an animated film domestically and the biggest ever worldwide. However, not all interest in the movie is positive. Many fans, including Mario’s core fan base, say Pratt’s voice does not reflect the traditional Italian Mario.

When the Guardians of the Galaxy star first entered the studio for sound, the film’s directors, Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, rejected it because Pratt’s voice sounded too similar to Tony Soprano, the main character of HBO’s modern cult classic, The Sopranos. Chris Pratt said in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly.

”For a minute, I walked in, and they were like, ‘That’s a little New Jersey. You’re doing a Tony Soprano thing. The voice was a really exciting, and daunting challenge. Talking to these guys, they say, ‘You wanna do the Mario movie?’ I think both Charlie Day, and I said yes. I Didn’t even ask, ”What’s the deal? What’s the story?” ‘Yes, I’m in.’ And then we had to really dig in and figure out…are they Italian? Are they American? We know a little bit about Charles Martinet’s voice that he’s sprinkled in there with the ‘Wahoo!’ and ‘It’s-a me!’, and these Mario things, but how do you craft a 90-minute narrative with an emotional through-line and create a living, breathing person about who you’ll care?”

Related: Super Mario Bros Movie’s Audience Score Powers Up and Smashes Rotten Tomatoes Critics

‘We Tried Different Things, Different Voices’

Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia & Horrible Bosses), who plays Luigi, said they tried many voices and made different things until they approved. ”We tried different things, different voices. Every now and then they would say, ‘Charlie, maybe a little less Goodfellas in this one’ – I’m like, ‘Alright! I think you’re wrong, but fine!’ – until they landed on something they liked,” Day said.

The film tells the story of Mario, who travels through the Mushroom Kingdom with a princess named Peach and an anthropomorphic mushroom named Toad to find Mario’s brother, Luigi, and to save the world from a ruthless fire-breathing Koopa, Bowser.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now available only in theaters everywhere.