'Super Mario Bros.' Producer Defends Casting Chris Pratt as Mario

Chris Pratt will be voicing the role of Mario in the upcoming animated Super Mario Bros. film and his casting has been controversial.

A lot of fans are upset that a non-Italian actor will be voicing the iconic character and now the film’s co-producer Chris Meledandri is speaking out.

Chris is the CEO of Illumination, the production company behind such hit films as Despicable Me, The Lorax, Minions, Sing, The Secret Life of Pets, and more.

Click inside to find out what he said…

“All I can tell you is the voice that he’s doing for us, and Mario, is phenomenal,” Meledandri told TooFab. “Yeah I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

In response to the criticism of not casting an Italian actor, Chris said, “Well, as an Italian American myself, I understand. You know, I understand the comments… Charlie Day, who’s playing Luigi, actually comes from Italian heritage. Yeah so that’s our nod.”

When asked about Chris saying Mario’s famous line, “It’s a-me, Mario!,” the producer gave some insight into the project.

“That’s not the tenor of the performance throughout the film,” he said.

Check out the full cast list for the star-studded movie!