While the official cast announcement for Super Mario Bros: The Movie has led to some guessing that the film will be hilariously bad, the casting decision that may save the film is Jack Black as Bowser. The assumption that the movie may not succeed does not stem from any lack of talent, but rather from the fact that many find it bizarre to imagine the voices of popular actors coming from characters when the video game that the film is based on features minimal dialogue from those characters. The challenge in adapting a series like Super Mario Bros. lies in considering what kind of voice would best fit each character, and Jack Black seems like a surefire match for Mario’s longtime nemesis.
In the most recent Nintendo Direct, Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto gave viewers a preview to the Super Mario Bros. movie by showing who has been selected to voice each character and the unanimous reaction from viewers was immense laughter. The film is sure to have no lack of humor, recruiting a number of comedic actors such as Chris Pratt, Keegan-Michael Key, and Sebastian Maniscalco. However, the reason why people were so amused by the announcement was most likely due to the surreal notion of hearing Mario and company being voiced by well-known actors.
The Super Mario Bros. series has a long-standing tradition of minimal dialogue, as Mario’s vocabulary in most instances is made up of catchphrases. In the games, the stories maintain a trend of simplicity by simply following the hero Mario foiling the plans of the villain Bowser, leaving little need for the characters to explain what they are doing or why they are doing it. With this in mind, what makes Jack Black’s Super Mario Bros. movie casting stand apart from some of the other choices is that Bowser as a character is well-suited to Black’s style of comedy. As the main antagonist of the series, Bowser works as a foreboding villain while also being undeniably silly, traits which Black is sure to have no difficulty bringing to his performance.
One particular detail that works in Jack Black’s favor is that he already has plenty of voice acting experience, which can be expertly used to add extra charm to his role. Animated films usually differ from live-action features in that they involve much more exaggerated levels of expressiveness from characters. The Kung Fu Panda trilogy is a strong example of Black’s capability in this kind of role, voicing the protagonist with a kind of boisterousness that shines through in comedic scenes while also being able to perform well in more dramatic sequences. In the video games, Bowser has endeared himself to players by being as comedic as he is intimidating, constantly working to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom where Mario lives while also genuinely wanting to be a good father to his son, Bowser Jr. With a thunderous voice and an exciting onscreen presence, Jack Black makes a great match for the King of the Koopas.
The more cynical reactions to the Super Mario Bros. movie’s cast reveal comes from a belief that the filmmakers chose popular celebrities solely to attract more viewers, but casting actors like Jack Black for the film seems to be proof that they were careful in their choices. Obviously, it is not possible to conclude that the film will be bad based on what little information has been made known, but the past few years have shown that adaptations of video games can be good if they are executed well. Audiences will have to wait for Super Mario Bros: The Movie to decide how well-suited for their parts the cast is.
