For all Super Mario aficionados, there’s a bad news! Mario’s voice artist for 27 years, Charles Martinet, has finally made the decision to leave his beloved profession.
Charles Martinet, a voice actor for Mario, declared the end of his career on Twitter on Monday. Charles has been the voice of the adored Nintendo video game character for the last 27 years.
“My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!”, said the post.
My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!! https://t.co/3YWYewlnXt
— Charles Martinet (@CharlesMartinet) August 21, 2023
Charles’ debut and new role of ambassador
Charles made his formal voice-over debut as Mario, an adventurous Italian plumber, in Super Mario 64’s Mario’s Game Gallery. He has also portrayed Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi.
Charles will “move into the brand new role of Mario Ambassador,” according to a statement posted on the app by Nintendo. With this change, he will no longer be doing character voiceovers for our games, but he will still tour the globe and connect with all of you while spreading the love of Mario!
The statement said, “It has been a pleasure working with Charles for so many years to help bring Mario to life, and we want to appreciate and congratulate him. Please watch out for a special video message from Charles himself and Shigeru Miyamoto, which we will release later.
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Nintendo’s appreciation towards him
Martinet will “step back from recording character voices for our games,” Nintendo said in its original announcement. Martinet will nevertheless “continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all,” nevertheless. Any mention of Martinet’s connection with the popular new Mario game released this year was noticeably lacking from that statement.
Nintendo responded to GameSpot’s inquiry regarding whether Martinet will lend his voice to Mario in the upcoming video game Mario Wonder by saying, “While Charles is not involved in the game, we’re excited to honor his legacy and contributions, including looking ahead to what he’ll be doing as a Mario Ambassador.” Prior to the game’s debut, there had been significant discussion on this subject since some fans had speculated that Martinet had been replaced owing to minor performance adjustments.
Nintendo stated, “Character voice performers will be thanked in the game credits, so please wait for the game to be published.” As for who will now voice Mario (or the several others traditionally played by Martinet), Nintendo responded, ”
Mario has been narrated by Martinet for many years. In the larger Nintendo universe, Martinet also provides the voices for Wario, Luigi, Waluigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi in addition to Mario.
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Fan’s disappointment
People were disappointed that Chris Pratt will portray Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie since Martinet’s Mario voice and acting are recognizable and unforgettable. However, Martinet made a brief appearance in the film and provided the voice of Mario and Luigi’s father.
Martinet performed in the live-action film Nine Months, starring Hugh Grant, in addition to his voiceover duties. He also made an appearance in the 1997 film The Game, which featured Sean Penn and Michael Douglas.
Although the voice actor announced it with joy, fans couldn’t help but feel sentimental and sad at his departure.
you know, there's something kind of beautiful about @CharlesMartinet concluding his time as Mario's voice actor with his final performance literally being the FATHER of Mario🥹 pic.twitter.com/LrxDOROwqS
— André (@AndreSegers) August 21, 2023
