At an event, Nintendo announced that it is producing a new Mario movie. Actor Chris Pratt is slated to play Mario. The internet was full of head-shaking and complaints about this casting. For many of us in Europe, the excitement is hard to understand. Why does the internet hate Chris Pratt so much?
This was the reaction on the internet to Chris Pratt as Mario: The reaction was largely negative online. There are many comments on Twitter suggesting that people do not agree with casting Chris Pratt as Mario.
A well-known gaming YouTuber had a laughing fit alone at the idea of Pratt voicing Mario. This was intensified by the fact that Pratt was introduced at the announcement with the words, “Mario will talk a lot in the movie” and “He’s so cool.”
Especially on Twitter, there are many tweets with several tens of thousands of likes expressing annoyance about the casting:
- One tweet says: “You survived two recessions and a pandemic just to now have to endure Chris Pratt as Mario” (via twitter).
- One tweet even calls for fans to pressure a studio so hard that they are forced to change the film – just like the internet did with “Sonic” (via twitter)
- Another tweet shows Chris Pratt as Mario and people pointing at him saying: “I’m so done with that guy.”
This is not the first time Chris Pratt has faced so much backlash online. In 2020, there was already the campaign “Worst Chris in Hollywood”: It was noted that there were now many actors named Chris: Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Chris Pratt (Starlord) all starred in Marvel films. Additionally, there was Chris Pine (Captain Kirk).
However, among the 4 Chrises, it was said that Chris Pratt was clearly the “worst.”
“Hollywood’s last desperate attempt to create a star”
What is the internet’s problem with Chris Pratt? According to Kotaku, there are several things that bother people online about Chris Pratt (via kotaku):
He’s simply in “too many films” – Chris Pratt is said to be “Hollywood’s last desperate attempt to create a classic film star,” according to Kotaku. Between 2015 and 2019, Pratt starred in 9 films. He played a central role as Starlord in Marvel films and had a similar role as an action star in the “Jurassic World” films. Those were “sympathetic protagonists in action films with clear weaknesses and cool quotes.”
However, he also played roles that many feel just did not suit him, such as a ripped special ops soldier in “Zero Dark Thirty” or a star in a sci-fi romance with Jennifer Lawrence. Some online feel Chris Pratt is simply everywhere now.
Additionally, Chris Pratt is a member of a church that is considered “anti-LGBTQ” (via twitter). This caused an uproar in 2019. While Pratt countered this view and was defended by many colleagues.
Thirdly, Chris Pratt is so much “not Italian” and seems simply unsuitable for the role of Mario. Moreover, the actual voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, would be available and involved in the film in some way.
Many of the conflicts and points against Chris Pratt as Mario seem hard to understand for us in Europe.
Apparently, Ryan Reynolds is coming across online much better than Chris Pratt:
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