Chris Pratt on voicing Super Mario character - 'It's a big challenge'

Los Angeles: Hollywood star Chris Pratt was aware of the fan investment in the iconic video game character Super Mario, which is why he was careful in voicing the part in ‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’.

The ‘Universal’ film, based on the famous ‘Nintendo’ games, revolves around two brothers, Mario and Luigi, both plumbers from Brooklyn, who are transported down a mysterious pipe and into a magical new world. The two are separated and Mario sets off to find Luigi, alongside classic characters Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), Bowser (Jack Black), Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key).

“It makes sense, I was pretty nervous when they offered it to me. I thought, ‘Wow, let’s not mess this up’,” Pratt told the entertainment website ‘The Hollywood Reporter’.

He added, “That’s where it all comes from, I think. People are passionate about this character and they’ve probably seen some of their favorite IPs get messed up. It’s kind of a cynical business. People make movies just because a title has been reached.”

The ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ star said he had already had some experience working on ‘Lego Movie’ which turned out great.

“So, it’s a big challenge. Just because something has reached doesn’t mean it’s going to be a good movie and there are instances of people making bad movies and ruining people’s childhoods. So, the pressure was on us to not do that and thankfully, we didn’t. I think the movie is fantastic and I think your childhood is firmly intact.”

The film’s director Aaron Horvath said Mario is this ‘everyman’ character who goes on to become a hero. Pratt, he said, fit the bill perfectly.

“He’s funny, down-to-earth and also super-heroic, so he really checked all of the boxes for us,” added Horvath.

The film releases on April 5.