The Super Mario Bros. Movie Director Defends Controversial Chris Pratt Casting

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."

And if Horvath hasn't sold you on the accent, allow Pratt to try.

"I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I'm really proud of and can't wait for people to see and hear," the Guardians of the Galaxy star told Variety in June. "It's an animated voiceover narrative. It's not a live-action movie. I'm not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over. I'm providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you've heard in the Mario world before."

Until then, keep reading for an inside look at who is who in the cast...