A new trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie has debuted the voice that actor Seth Rogen will bring to Donkey Kong in the upcoming movie.
With characters as iconic as those from Nintendo's Super Mario Bros., casting them for the new big-screen animated adaptation was no easy task.
Nintendo and Illumination have gone all-in with a cast of A-list actors to bring the games to life that includes Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, and many more.
Fans already got their first taste of some of these voices during the debut trailer last year, but a few were notably absent. And now, a new spot has offered a gander at one of The Super Mario Bros. Movie's biggest castings.
Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong Revealed In New Mario Trailer
Following its debut during Sunday, January 29's NFC Championship Game on FOX, The Super Mario Bros. Movie posted a new trailer for the upcoming video game adaptation that sees Donkey Kong giving the famous Italian plumber a beat-down. This serves as the first glimpse at the voice that actor Seth Rogen will bring to the giant ape in the April release.
The new trailer can be seen below:
Fans React to Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong Voice
Several of The Super Mario Bros. Movie's castings have proven controversial right from the get-go, particularly with the choice of American actor Chris Pratt for the legendary Italian plumber. Although one producer has attempted to dispel fears the movie and Pratt's performance will be offensive to Italians.
Following the release of this short new trailer, fans across social media have reacted to Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong, and there seems to be a wide range of responses, from overwhelmingly positive to decidedly negative.
@LotsofLams shared concerns that the movie may be "relying way too much on star power voices and less on good voices:"
"The more I hear the more I’m convinced the people hiring are relying way too much on star power voices and less on good voices lol."
@Jebbadwella added on a similar note that, with a brand as strong as Mario, "they didn't need celebrity names to sell it," particularly noting how Rogen seems to just be playing himself with this performance:
"Is this voice ‘acting’ or just talking? Dude is just playing him. It’s Mario they didn’t need celebrity names to sell it. Stupid producers"
@MOST_Biased criticized how the voice "sounds just like any other" of Rogen's performances before adding their belief this movie has "ruined" Donkey Kong in more ways than one:
"Sounds like any other Seth Rogan movie. He’s as basic as Dwayne Johnson. First they ruined Donkey Kong by bringing back the original costume and now the voice."
@CtSpaceboy did agree that while Donkey Kong's voice is "just Seth Rogen's normal voice," they think it "surprisingly matches him" with this portrayal:
"Honestly, while it IS just Seth Rogen’s normal voice, I feel like it surprisingly matches him. I’m not kidding."
@Gekko_Amario added how they "love the voice," pointing out that Donkey Kong has rarely spoken in the past:
"Now you die? Jesus and i love the voice, donkey never talked except on the N64 game but i like his voice. Don’t like marios voice tho."
@jdxawe noted that while they had their doubts, they "really like this voice" for the character:
"You know, I had my doubts, but I really like this voice for DK."
@swshriv even called Roger's the "best voice acting alongside [Jack Black's] Bowser," based on what the trailers have shown so far.
Fans only have a couple more months of waiting to hear more of Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong to determine for sure whether he matches the character. But while this early peek has led to some backlash based on how similar this voice is to Rogen's usual, most seem to agree that he matches the character well.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie hits theaters on April 7.
