Summary
- Chris Pratt's voice acting in the Garfield movie is more problematic than in the Super Mario Bros movie due to the expectations of how Garfield should sound.
- While Pratt's voice doesn't detract from the promising elements of the Garfield trailer, it may not reach the same level of financial success as the Super Mario Bros movie.
- The Super Mario Bros movie got away with Pratt's voice by finding an excuse for his lack of Italian accent, but Garfield's wordy and grumpy character requires a more specific portrayal.
Alongside strikes, scandals, and sequels, controversial Chris Pratt voice performances have become a staple of modern Hollywood, but The Garfield Movie's trailer confirms this criticism is more justified than it was for The Super Mario Bros Movie. To say that Chris Pratt was not a popular choice to portray the titular Italian plumber in 2023's The Super Mario Bros Movie would be the understatement of the Mushroom Kingdom. Multiple factors fueled the Pratt-lash, from allegations surrounding the actor's personal beliefs, to the overexposure that comes from being an in-demand leading man. Being cast as the lead in Garfield around the same time didn't help Pratt's case.
Two animated adaptations of beloved franchises rested on the shoulders of the "network connectivity problems" guy from Parks & Recreation, and social media was quick to express displeasure. Ultimately, Pratt's involvement did little to hinder Nintendo's mustachioed mascot, with The Super Mario Bros Movie stomping to a record-breaking box office haul. Nevertheless, Garfield is a different proposition entirely, and trailer footage has afforded a first taste of Pratt in the role. Although the online firestorm has not been as intense as the one Mario weathered, Pratt's Garfield voice is actually the more problematic of the two.
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Why Chris Pratt's Garfield Voice Is Worse Than His Mario
Both Mario in The Super Mario Bros Movie and Garfield in the addressing Mario's movie voice directly and making the character more wordy, Chris Pratt's presence immediately became less of an issue. That is not the case for Garfield.
Garfield is a famously verbose cat, and has been portrayed as such in a variety of releases on the big and small screen, most notably by Bill Murray in 2004. Compared to Mario's accented whoops and catchphrases, Garfield audiences will enter the 2024 movie with a far clearer idea of how the ginger cat should talk. Whereas Mario's voice is a relatively minor part of his character, Garfield's grumpy tones are more crucial to his success or failure. Chris Pratt doing a standard Chris Pratt voice in Garfield is, therefore, a far bigger problem than it was for The Super Mario Bros Movie.
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Making matters worse, The Super Mario Bros Movie could never have predicted the anger that greeted Pratt's casting. Garfield's creative team, however, would have seen that reaction, and had ample time to do something more interesting with Pratt's performance in response. Instead, Garfield appears to have doubled-down on prioritizing the draw of Pratt's familiar voice over crafting an original or unique-sounding version of Garfield for the modern reinvention.
Garfield Looks Good Despite Chris Pratt's Voice (But Won't Be As Big As Mario)
Christory may be repeating itself, but the Garfield trailer footage is much more than just one actor's performance alone. The animation is vibrant, and the humor is typically Garfield-ian, while the dual focus upon the feline's backstory and relationship with his estranged father promises a more introspective story than Garfield is accustomed to. Uninspired it may be, but Chris Pratt's Garfield voice does not detract from these promising signs.
That is not to say that Garfield is capable of emulating anything close to the $1.3 billion The Super Mario Bros Movie grossed at the box office. Chris Pratt's disembodied voice may lead both of these animated family-friendly franchises, but Nintendo's Mario is by far the stronger brand. The colorful, video game-inspired world also made The Super Mario Bros Movie highly accessible to a wide, casual audience, allowing it to defy lukewarm reviews and achieve mainstream success. Garfield cannot expect the same level of financial gain. Given the character's natural cynicism, it probably doesn't anyway.
