Chris Pratt is reprising his Brooklynite version of Mario, which means his signature saying had to undergo an update.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie star recently explained why he altered the titular plumber’s catchphrase “mamma mia” in the Universal Pictures sequel, which premieres April 1 in theaters.
“I’m not going to say it right now because I haven’t done all my vocal warmups,” he prefaced, telling ScreenRant about his most common line. “I don’t want to do it, but it’s ‘Mamma Mia.’ It’s ‘Mamma Mia.’ And when you hear that original version of the character, it’s in Italian. It’s like, [high pitched] ‘Mamma Mia.’ And I’m like, ‘Why does it make sense for a guy who’s from Brooklyn who doesn’t have that accent to use that so much?’”
Pratt continued, “So it was always tough. They’re like, ‘It’s written as “Mamma Mia.”‘ But I’m like, if I’m expressing some reverence or some sense of, ‘Oh wow, Mamma Mia.’ But that’s not something necessarily a person says unless they’re doing the Italian accent. So it’s always really hard to find how ‘Mamma Mia’ works.”
The actor noted he’s “always tried to vary” the line delivery, adding, “I think that’s maybe why they slowed it down to take some of the stink off it because I’m not sure I ever fully got it right, but it’s like, ‘Maaammaaa Miaaaa.’”
In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Pratt stars alongside Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Donald Glover as Yoshi, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Brie Larson as Princess Rosalina, Issa Rae as Honey Queen, Glen Powell as Fox McCloud, Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr. and Luis Guzmán as Wart in the Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic-helmed sequel.