The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is coming to theaters on April 1, which means the promo tour is about to go into full swing. For many of us, the Mario series is synonymous with joy and whimsy, but it kind of feels like much of the voice cast is just here to collect a check. Except for one actor: Brie Larson, the voice of Rosalina, who seems like she’s giddy enough about her involvement in this project to blast off into a galaxy herself.
This isn’t to say that everyone needs to be a fan of the stuff they’re working on. I’m all for someone doing the work, getting their bag, and going home. But given that Illumination’s animated Mario movies already feel like a cynical, focus-tested, “made in a lab” smorgasbord of game iconography and references, having actors like Seth Rogen refuse to play ball as Donkey Kong or Chris Pratt barely be able to form a coherent sentence about playing the games leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Larson, meanwhile, is a known, certified gamer who has told stories about how she kicked a boyfriend out for saying she was taking Super Mario Galaxy too seriously. I’m sure that guy, wherever he is now, was floored when she was announced as the voice of Rosalina in the film.
Now that the movie is imminent and the actors are showing up in things like the recent Galaxy direct, the juxtaposition of Larson’s enthusiasm with everyone else kinda just reading off a teleprompter is striking to witness. Fandango has published a big cast interview (sans the newly announced actors Donald Glover, Issa Rae, and Luis Guzmán), and Larson’s excitement about Mario shines through when she talks about how landing the role was a moment of “opportunity meets preparation.”
“I think [the jump to the Galaxy storyline] just honestly, it brings so much scope and limitless potential to the films,” Larson says. “It’s part of what the games did when they came out is it was a whole other…literal universe. It’s really [the] sky’s the limit with it. And you have all of these incredible planets in the game that you travel to that you will get to see in the movie as well, which made me so proud ‘cause I know every detail of this game. And so to see the way that they honored each part of it while also honoring all of these character stories and this larger vision for it, I think it’s just a perfect next step.”
Obviously anyone who’s promoting something is going to talk about how great it is, and much of the rest of the cast gives their own canned hype in the interview, but when Larson is sharing her excitement about it, I actually believe it. Here’s hoping some of that passion shines through when the movie comes out next month.