Fun as it is to rag on Pratt voicing Mario, I want to take a moment to acknowledge we’ve already dodged the worst timeline. The trailer showed no immediately dated memes. No lukewarm takes about shrooms, or peach getting kidnapped again, or Mario being a bad brother. Even better; most of the voices seem to be perfectly adequate, they nailed the aesthetic and the style of animation is stunning for an Illumination production.
The movie may still suck; it can still suck. But I think the strict way Nintendo handles it’s IP’s will prevent the most egregious scenarios. No Princess Peach as a surprise villain, no 4th wall breaking drug metaphors, no twerking Bowser, no dumb memes.
Again, excluding Pratt’s involvement, I think the movie will be acceptable. Maybe I even dare hope it’s good.