The Super Mario Bros. Movie Director Defends Controversial Chris Pratt Casting – E! Online

Chris Pratt as Mario? That casting left many Nintendo fans piping hot.

And while many criticized the actor for not using the character’s Italian-inspired accent in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (as heard in trailers), co-director Aaron Horvath knows they picked a winner.

“For us, it made total sense,” Horvath—also behind Teen Titans GO!—recently told Total Film. “He’s really good at playing a blue-collar hero with a ton of heart. For the way that Mario is characterized in our film, he’s perfect for it.”

The animated film—also starring Charlie Day, Seth Rogen, Anya Taylor-Joy and Jack Black—will show a new side of the beloved character and his brother Luigi.

“It’s a bit of an origin tale,” Horvath explained, noting it begins with the duo as blue-collar plumbers in Brooklyn. “It’s the story of Mario becoming Super Mario…When you play the game, if you don’t give up, Mario will succeed. So we transferred that player experience from the game to a characteristic that Mario would have.”